Written by Robert Kirkman
Illustrated by Ryan OttleyAfter all he’s done, everything he’s lived through… how does Invincible pick up the pieces and continue on as if nothing has changed? The answer is… he can’t.
I have been quite excited for this issue for a while, if only for that rather evocative cover.
Let’s see if any of my guesses about what was going to happen were true. As a note, very light spoilers are discussed.
As our issue of Invincible begins, we find Mark in a fairly different place than he has been throughout most of the notable arcs of the series. In fact, this issue marks a fairly dark turning point for our hero. After realizing that he’s fairly useless to the world now that the Viltrumite war is over and the Guardians of the Globe are actually on point, Mark has been wandering around for the past couple issues attempting to find his new place within the current status quo of the universe. The only problem is is that he’s hurting more than he’s helping, and that’s beginning to take a tole on the poor hero. Left alone with existential quandaries in the face of a quickly shifting landscape, Mark in turn comes to a decision that will assumedly stand as a status quo shifting moment, with what is arguably the most important issue since the Viltrumite war ended.
From that opening paragraph, you’re probably going to assume that I adored this issue — but oddly enough, I didn’t. Perhaps it’s just me, but lately I’ve been very confused about what Robert Kirkman’s current comic book mission statement is. A year ago this time, all of his books had a defined sense of purpose; you could pick up any random title from him off the shelves and immediately understand what he was trying to do, what was coming, and – given his history – it was fairly safe to assume that everything would be just straight up awesome. Then delays started hitting, hurting both Haunt and Super Dinosaur and effectively ruining the enjoyment of Guarding the Globe (whose final issue came out last week, three months after the fifth issue and and over a year after the first). The Walking Dead’s “No Way Out” (which I assumed would be like the final prison arc) ended on a “playing it safe” note which was rather disappointing, and Invincible’s “Viltrumite War” just kind of ended — no great final battle, no desperate last minute ressurgence over an impossible ultimatum – just a fairly simple and amicable resolution to a problem with no straight solution. It’s beginning to feel like after being king of the independent creators at Image for a while, Kirkman was losing his moxie.
Since then, Kirkman’s work – particularly this title – has been somewhat up and down, seemingly ending up somewhat directionless. There has been a rather noticeable lack of direction for Invincible in particular, as Invincible himself returns home simply to discover that life isn’t picture perfect anymore and nobody cares about him outside of his loved ones. Up until the Viltrumite War, Invincible had managed to keep a fairly light tone despite dealing with some heavy subject matter, if only because Mark himself was an effortlessly optimistic character. The idea was always that Mark wanted to be a superhero – that it was “fun” and something he was actively engaged in because he was needed. It seemed like Kirkman was setting up Mark for either retirement or a massive downfall; not perhaps a Daredevil-caliber downward spiral of emotional self-loathing or anything like that, but still a massive shift in tone of some kind. His return has found him less needed and more often in the way of others than not, resulting in Mark becoming somewhat cynical to his superhero duties.
While the book effectively relayed this through the story, it just wasn’t that interesting. It’s not all that entertaining to read a story about a superhero who no longer feels like he needs to be a superhero, especially over the course of several issues, and my interest and excitement for each issue was slowly beginning to wane. It wasn’t until reading this issue and thinking about it for some time that I finally figured out: well, that is the point, isn’t it? While I do love me some exciting superheroics in the book (and Kirkman and Ottley are rather great at ginormous and literally world-shattering superheroic moments), this is basically the same as Hellboy’s “The Storm”: a brief lull of second guessing before something huge happens in “The Fury”. Or rather, that’s what I assume, anyway — and that is pretty much what the book needs.
Continued belowI can’t take full ownership of this revelation. It was only while discussing the title with fellow writer David Harper (aka the World’s Biggest Invincible Fan That I Know) that these ideas came to form a shape in my mind. I don’t doubt Kirkman as a storyteller because so far he’s never really done wrong by me as a reader (well, ok, besides Image United, but that’s not entirely his fault). For all intents and purposes I’m willing to see where this goes, even if I’m somewhat pensive. As David pointed out, the book isn’t supposed to be “just huge moment after huge moment”, and time does need to be taken to work on the characters personal lives before true change can occur in a fashion that doesn’t involve a planet getting punched apart. That is what this entire arc has been, and without that build-up, the final moment of this issue wouldn’t matter as much as it does.
Generally, my only major complaint about Invincible is pacing. The book has been slow as of late, and that aspect of it has taken a toll on my excitement for the title month after month. However, given what we know is coming (specifically, this, this and this — theoretical spoilers abound), it does seem that Kirkman has a few irons in the fire, and for that I am grateful.
However, throughout all of the aforementioned lulls, the one constant of the book is Ryan Ottley. Ottley has been plugging away at the title for almost its entire duration, and watching him evolve as an artist through the pages of the book has been magnificent from a fan’s perspective. Where we are now, Ottley is easily one of the utmost champions of the industry, as aided by Cliff Rathburn and John Rauch on inks and colors respectfully. The book is visually crisp, the characters are wonderfully emotive and Ottley never shies away from filling the panels with rich details that truly brings this title to life. Invincible is without a doubt one of the best looking books on a month to month basis, and quite possibly the best looking title Image puts out (there are a few contenders for the title, but Ottley really is a champ).
Invincible is one of my favorite superheroes, and while I wasn’t there in the beginning, I certainly have stuck with it loyally since I picked it up in 2009. I will probably always buy Invincible at this point, bar some sort of undefined disaster that keeps me from doing so. However, despite my undying loyalty towards Mark Grayson and his various adventures, I would like to see the book returned to its former glory, where I literally can not wait to read the issue on a month to month basis. This issue is a small step in the right direction, and given what Kirkman, Ottley and Image have planned for 2012, I’m excited to see what happens next. I just wish it wasn’t taking so long to get there.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – Buy
