Invincible

Invincible 1-13

Here we go, the other epic Robert Kirkman series in my collection.  I have considerably better memories of this one, and Walking Dead still ended up with really positive ratings.  

Three trades in, and things are going swimmingly.  Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker do a fantastic job setting up Mark Grayson and his world - and then comes the massive heel turn that will drive the series to its conclusion one hundred and forty-odd issues from now.  It’s so well executed, and the graphic beatdown that follows is completely unexpected and heartbreaking.  It’s a true “and things will never be the same” moment.  

Ryan Ottley is a godsend for the series in so many ways.  If not for him, the series may literally not have continued.  (Cory Walker was incapable of drawing a monthly title.)  And while Walker is a capable artist, Ottley is tremendous.  Just getting that out of the way now.

Setup...

Throwaway payoff five issues later.

I've always loved this around the world game of catch.

This has to be Bendis.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good (Really good starting w/ 11)

Invincible 14-24

I’m a little surprised that this hasn’t elevated beyond Good for more than a couple of issues so far; I remember it being just a little bit better.  Still, it’s awfully good superhero comics nonetheless.  Robert Kirkman really has a gift for taking standard superhero tropes and mixing them with standard out-of-costume drama into an intoxicating concoction.  There doesn’t appear to be anything new with what he’s doing, but new it definitely is.  The fun factor is impressively high.

Major milestones: Mark graduates high school.  Mark goes to Mars and brings back an alien infiltrator:

Reminded me of the classic Simpsons ending...

Atom Eve quits the superhero business to do some practical good around the world.  Allen the Alien gets his origin story, and he’s totally Beta Ray Bill.  Mark reveals his secret to his girlfriend Amber.  Angstrom Levy (one of my favorite comic book names) gets his evil origin story.

Plus some other good stuff:

She apologizes later, but this kind of thing will fester.

Is this really how Kirkman ties up this loose end?  Hilarious.  Some seeds bear more fruit than others.

Two pages on fish sex...

Zomg, Kirkman's taking this throwaway gag a step further.  How many more to go?

And one thing that would be funny if it weren’t for a horrible choice of words. I'm not going to dig up the two previous references:

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Invincible 0

Nothing but a recap.  A waste of time since I’ve read everything it’s reviewing less than 24 hours ago.

Regret buying: No (Yes if it hadn’t been part of the trade)

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Boring