Robert Kirkman's Blog, page 57

Twitter Reacts to Invincible Ending

This week Robert Kirkman announced in a letter to his fans that after 13 years we’re ending our beloved superhero comic INVINCIBLE. The news came as a shock to almost everyone, though fans should take solace in the fact the series still has a YEAR left to wrap up. However comforting that may be, it didn’t stop our amazing fans from expressing their dismay at the end of one of their favorite comics. To honor the passion fan’s have for Invincible, we compiled the best Twitter reactions to the news:

Fan Reactions



Some Fans Were Super Bummed

Me after hearing the #invincible news today. @RobertKirkman @RyanOttley @Skybound @corenthal @ImageComics pic.twitter.com/DEsvue19JU

— Mike (@mikerb2223) August 17, 2016

@Skybound @RobertKirkman @RyanOttley Nooooo!!!! Haven't been this bummed since Watterson ended Calvin and Hobbes. Thanks for the great ride!

— Tom Lee (@NoDrummerBoy) August 18, 2016

@RobertKirkman and @RyanOttley to end #Invincible comic book in 2017. https://t.co/0YmmD7mxXV #BenAndNateHeartbroken pic.twitter.com/PCLze2np81

— The Lazarus Pit Pod (@Lazaruspitpod) August 18, 2016

How ironic is it that the night I start #invincible @Skybound announces that the series is ending… -__- pic.twitter.com/EPEd1Grf6d

— Akasan (@akasan) August 18, 2016

@Skybound sad to hear its ending, but like all great things, right? Just hoping for a great ending that befits it. #dontsopranosit

— Jared Bosak (@Scromtar) August 18, 2016

@Skybound @RobertKirkman No, just no. This is unaccceptable.

— Chaw Choo (@waitam) August 17, 2016

@TheWalkingDead @RobertKirkman oh my fuck!

— Disco Wolf (@Afflictedwolf) August 17, 2016

@Skybound Invincible is my favorite comic series and I will be sad to see it end. I'm glad we will have closure to this series though.

— Spicy Boy (@VVipeout) August 18, 2016

@Skybound @RobertKirkman

— Nahuel Roark (@nahuelroark) August 17, 2016

Bummed that Invincible is coming to an end but I've always said that one of the big appeals for me was that it WOULD one day end.

— Tony Polanco (@Romudeth) August 18, 2016

@Skybound @RobertKirkman Sad to see such a great book go but better to go on your own terms and still while this book tops art/storywise..

— Jose Nieves (@SNOWMN71) August 17, 2016

Invincible is ending next year. Lmao how about my life just end WITH ALL THE THINGS I LOVE.

— ABSLYMPICS (@PUNCHDRUNKFU) August 18, 2016

@Hectorisfunny please tell me you are just as depressed as the rest of us that Invincible by @RobertKirkman is coming to an end

— Tom Sawyer (@Darge718) August 18, 2016

Other Fans Resorted to Gifs

@Skybound @RobertKirkman @RyanOttley I love and support you guys all the way but still: pic.twitter.com/5g7Muc6gio

— Gabe (@GabrielCesana) August 17, 2016

@Skybound @RyanOttley @RobertKirkman pic.twitter.com/Uo2jUAXdn2

— Eric Epote (@EricEpoteArt) August 17, 2016

@Skybound pic.twitter.com/ou3lgDOprU

— Rob Zeida (@robbiez) August 18, 2016

@Skybound @RobertKirkman pic.twitter.com/xquoUZbofP

— Rob Hagemeister (@rob_hagemeister) August 17, 2016

Some Skybounders Weighed In

My heart breaks once again because of #Invincible Hands down the best comic in the universe. https://t.co/j2e08m1r7I

— Shawn Kirkham (@BigClutch) August 17, 2016

Almost got a little misty reading the outpouring of support from fans. It's gonna be crazy year for INVINCIBLE. https://t.co/UDWxedD0kC

— Brian Huntington (@NotZombies) August 17, 2016

But Most Fans Were Just Grateful

@Skybound @RobertKirkman @corenthal @RyanOttley Sad for me, happy for you guys, thanks for the fun! Really love this book! #Invincible

— Shannon Eric Denton (@ShannonDenton) August 17, 2016

Thank you @RobertKirkman @corenthal and @RyanOttley @Skybound love you guys. All great things must come to an end. pic.twitter.com/x3a9YjV4XG

— Ryan Alexander (@FunnyComicGuy) August 17, 2016

Just thinking about Invincible finally coming to an end and, man, the first volume of the hardback collections was a MAJOR influence on me.

— John Cullen (@nellucnhoj) August 18, 2016

.@Skybound @RobertKirkman @RyanOttley @corenthal Looking forward to reading the finale. I'll miss Invincible!

— Eddy Choi (@Eddy_Choi) August 17, 2016

One of my favorite titles to end, but it will end in the best, most natural way possible. I LOVE INVINCIBLE. https://t.co/XBuuo1tG4M

— Leila, Boston D701 (@leiladelduca) August 17, 2016

@Skybound @RobertKirkman Has it been this long already? Thank you for your dedication. Invincible is and will always be my fav superhero.

— Padawan Julie (@veganium) August 18, 2016

I still can't believe that #invincible is coming to an end. Of all the books I've read, it may be the best.

— Edgar Blackmon (@edgarblackmon) August 18, 2016

@Skybound @RobertKirkman Robert. Thank u for this great book! I will miss it but look forward to what's to come! Love your writing! Thx!

— Mr. Bloom (@ChrisChicarello) August 17, 2016

@Skybound INVINCIBLE is the best superhero comic i've ever had the privilege of reading, been an AMAZING journey & i'm sad to see it ending!

— Ayed oukhay (@AyedOukhay) August 18, 2016

@Skybound Invincible has been the best 100+ issue run of a superhero comic since Stan Lee on Amazing Spider-Man. So sad to see it go!

— Radio Shock (@radioshock) August 18, 2016

@TheWalkingDead @RobertKirkman Goodbye #Invincible … It was a wonderful and great time. We will miss you!

— Miss Deee (@Hanny_Nanny) August 17, 2016

@Skybound @RyanOttley @RobertKirkman I wouldn't be a comic book artist w/out this book, thanks for the run and the inspiration

— Alex Cormack BCCD230 (@AlexCormack4) August 17, 2016

I prefer stories that end, so this is great news. https://t.co/AxiEeTqqg6

— Fabian Rangel Jr (@FabianRangelJr) August 18, 2016

@Skybound It's been incredible, loved it enough to name my sons after characters in the book. Can't wait to see how it ends.

— Robert Swathwood (@slycomics) August 18, 2016

@Skybound Sad, but thrilled at the same time for what's to come. This doesn't mean past issues will disappear, he is Invincible after all.

— TheInvinciblePodcast (@InvincibleCast) August 18, 2016

Sad to see Invincible go, but I've loved every second of the ride. Thank you, @RobertKirkman and @RyanOttley. https://t.co/eUa8RPqmtX

— Greg Miller (@GameOverGreggy) August 17, 2016

…Including Comic Creators

“Birthright” Writer Josh Williamson:

Bummed to hear about the end of Invincible, one of my favorite comics, but excited for @RobertKirkman & @RyanOttley ending it their way.

— Joshua Williamson (@Williamson_Josh) August 17, 2016

When I first started pitching Image, all publishers really, I obsessed over @RobertKirkman's pitch for Invincible in the first hardcover.

— Joshua Williamson (@Williamson_Josh) August 17, 2016

“Saga” Artist Fiona Staples

13 years and well over 100 issues! @RyanOttley is the strongest and most dedicated artist in comics. I'm in awe. https://t.co/Nglp91BunY

— Fiona Staples (@fionastaples) August 17, 2016

“Chew” Artist Jon Layman

Probably should have said this yesterday, but let me add to outpouring of love for Invincible, and the fact that @RyanOttley is a god.

— Layman (@themightylayman) August 18, 2016

More than once, in script notes to @Rob_guillory, during particularly bloody fights, I urged him to "go full Ottley." (@RyanOttley)

— Layman (@themightylayman) August 18, 2016

“Savage Dragon” Creator Erik Larsen

Invincible is ending? Oh, no! Say it ain't so! https://t.co/Za62M5JMlN

— Erik Larsen (@ErikJLarsen) August 17, 2016

“Outcast” Artist Paul Azaceta

Congrats to @RobertKirkman @corenthal & @RyanOttley for a tremendous run on a creator owned book. It's not everyday you can do 100+ issues.

— Paul Azaceta (@paulazaceta) August 17, 2016

“Glitterbomb Wayward” Writer Jim Zub

And every @Marvel+@DCComics editor just sat straight up, realizing @RyanOttley, one of the best modern artists, will be available in 2018…

— Jim Zub (@JimZub) August 17, 2016

“Revival” Artist Mike Norton

2017
Me: Revival’s over! What’s next?
Comics: You didn’t hear? @RyanOttley’s drawing all comics now.

Based on a nightmare I had last night

— Mike Norton (@themikenorton) August 18, 2016

And last but not least…”Invincible” Artist Ryan Ottley

Awesome to get all the well wishes and messages from you all! We still have a while to go though, awesome things coming! #invincible

— RYAN OTTLEY (@RyanOttley) August 17, 2016

You people are too nice to me. Someone say something mean to me, quick!

— RYAN OTTLEY (@RyanOttley) August 18, 2016

How did YOU feel about the announcement? Tell us in the comments below and THANK YOU for being an Invincible fan!

Daedelic Presents Silence at SDCC

Swiftor & Dan Murray host the Skybound Livestream along with Daedlic’s Marketing Director Claudia Kuehl, who shows us their new game Silence: The Whispered World 2! The sequel to The Whispered World is an adventure game with beautiful art, so go check it out!

Superfight The Video Game Round 4 at SDCC

Watch as Jack Conway, Brittany Walloch, Leo Camacho, and Matthew Ryan Key duke it out in Superfight: The Video Game! Check out the interactive version of the super awesome card game, which is available to play on Steam now!

Sebela & Walter Talk Demonic

Our new series DEMONIC starts today! Our partners at Image Comics sat down with writer Christopher Sebela and artist Niko Walter to get the inside scoop on this new horror/crime project!

IMAGE COMICS: DEMONIC started out a while back as a story by Robert Kirkman and Joe Benitez from Top Cow’s Pilot Season program. How did you two come to create the standalone series?

CHRISTOPHER SEBELA: I was was contacted by Sean Mackiewicz at Skybound back in 2013 right after my first creator-owned book High Crimes started coming out. They must’ve liked what they read, because Sean said they had some projects I might be a good fit on, and he sent me a few options to read over and think about.

I probably reread all of them about three times, and I could see a lot of potential in each one, but I’m a crime fan and a horror nerd, so DEMONIC was the book that stuck with me most. When I told Sean, he said he suspected it’d be the one that I was the best fit for, too. So it felt kind of ordained. Then we got to work mapping out the series, deciding what stuff from the original first issue was going to stay and what we could lose and rebuild. No one was super precious about anything, so it was a cool back and forth between me and Sean and Robert Kirkman about what would serve the book best. Then I crawled off to my cave and wrote it.

NIKO WALTER: I was at a con a few years back attempting to get editors to look at my portfolio. Sean was the only editor who took the time. He gave me his card and we later exchanged a few emails. After a couple of days I was offered DEMONIC. The ideal convention experience.

IC: What was it about the story that worked for you? What was the hook that unlocked how you wanted to approach writing and drawing the tale?

WALTER: I never had a clear approach. I was too green. I came at it from a number of directions. Adapting and discarding as I learned what worked and what did not. Though, as I got comfortable, there was I think a perceptible change. The characters became more defined, excessive lines were culled somewhat, and the page layouts became less aggressive. Paring things down ended up becoming a focus. The script was clear yet supple, giving me plenty of room to explore. The dark nature of the story also gave me opportunities to spot plenty of blacks and play around with contrast. That was fun. The main thing really was making sure everyone else involved was satisfied. Very important.

SEBELA: A few things. One, it had demons and a dude in a mask with an affinity for knives and violence, both of which are big horror landmarks. There was a permission slip of sorts that I could go crazy and sort of paint the walls with as much blood as I wanted. I saw lots of room to really go for it on this book, and it intimidated me wondering if I could pull it off, which always makes me want to do something even more. But the thing that grabbed me the most were the characters and trying to make human people fit in the middle of all this madness we have going on. My hook is always the characters, what makes people tick and how that stuff gets torn away and banged to hell when they’re thrown into a nightmare. DEMONIC had lots of room to explore that while also coming up with some really disturbing, stuff-I-think-about-as-I’m-trying-to-go-to-sleep imagery at the same time.

IC:DEMONIC features deals with the devil, cop drama, and secret societies, which makes for a lot going on. Chris, how do you describe the story to people? What are the brass tacks for you?

SEBELA: For me, DEMONIC is the story of a guy with a past packed with personal demons who finally comes face to face with one of them in the flesh. This demon lends Scott aspects of her power so he can go out and kill for her, to keep his life intact and his family alive. It’s meant to be a torture to this paragon of serving and protecting who’s struggling to find a loophole out, but eventually the idea that Scott might like it, even prefer it, compared to the life he’s fighting so hard for is what becomes the real horror story. I tried to build this world out as dense as I could, going into decades previous and dealing with cults and police bureaucracy and family history, all of it as stage dressing for the story of a man covered in blood who isn’t sure if he should laugh or scream and is wondering if he really wants to be free of this curse.

IC: Scott is the main character of the series, a family man, police officer, and weapon…What’s the most interesting or resonant aspect of his character?

WALTER: Got to be the family. Mostly for selfish reasons. Drawing capes, claws, and buildings is a great deal of necessary fun, but I found that I enjoyed being able to break that up with domestic scenes. Plus, the family is, in my view, the heart of the book and the thread holding it all together. Even if I would nearly rather grind glass with bare hands than draw children, it was a rewarding challenge.

SEBELA: The part that resonated with me most was this idea that Scott is trying to make himself a better person, and dealing with the question of if the potential to be a good person is still within him or if he’s just faking it as best he can. Scott had a pretty messed up childhood, which we’ll get into in the book, and he did his best to build a perfect life to make up for it. He’s got all the trappings: a wife, a daughter, a job that puts him in a position of authority and that he’s good at, a city he loves. Then Scott managed to screw it all up with drinking and cheating and corruption.

He fell down the hole but his family rode it out, he didn’t lose his job, his partner stuck by him, and he came back from it, living up to his promises to everyone that he could be that man again. But what if he’s not that man? What if that’s the mask he wears for the world and all the ugly stuff that threatened to wreck his life is his truest self, who he’s meant to be. That’s what really hooked me when I first got onboard and it’s that question I hung onto through the whole run.

IC: Niko, DEMONIC splits the difference between supernatural thriller and a realistically rendered police drama. How do you balance those two sides of the story in terms of visuals? Are you looking ot anything for inspiration? Some of the layouts are especially fascinating, particularly when you move away from using the grid. What are you trying to get across with these scenes? How do you know when’s the right time to go for the more dynamic layouts?

WALTER: There’s a funny thing that happens when your hobby becomes your profession—suddenly all your long gestating, carefully crafted notions about technique, layout, and so forth start lining up against a wall and before you know it you have blood on your shoes and your fingers are black with powder. I had all these ideas about what I liked or didn’t like and would or wouldn’t do.

And then…I got a script and a deadline. Forget it. That was a challenge that, along with a few others, forced me toward the layouts you mentioned.

1) I love working on a grid. If I had my druthers, it would be very rare for me to break it. Yet, I had thought, possibly erroneously, readers may get bored with what was more or less a fairly fixed grid. Too little spice?

2) The Scott/Demonic divide was what I was latching onto in the first few issues. How do I show that split, and further, how do I show the havoc it was causing him internally? I attempted to create this divide by stepping away from the grid when Demonic was the focus of a scene.

3) I image-searched the original DEMONIC and saw a handful of Joe Benitez pages. Coupling what I saw there with the desire to visually split Scott and Demonic, along with childhood memories of Marc Silvestri’s comics (who was also involved in the Pilot Season version), I thought it might fun to honor the ’90s Image Comics aesthetic that they brought to mind. Again, this manifested primarily in the layouts.

4) I did make some attempts at distinguishing between Scott and Demonic beyond layouts. Largely by spotting fewer blacks when focusing on Scott, as well as a few other little things. This also plays into the question of balance. In most instances, I endeavored to use the same principles to distinguish the police from the supernatural. Dan Brown’s wonderful colors really amplified this.

5) I discarded a lot of my old notions. Before DEMONIC, when I drew something, I designed it to my strengths and comforts. If I had an idea that hinged on something especially difficult for me to draw, like horses or a car chase, I could choose not to do it. Or change it as needed. Suddenly, that option was gone. Everyday I get up and pull on my pants. Right leg, left leg. Two, maybe three, times in my life, I got the order backwards. Left leg, right leg. Nearly fell on my face. It’s a bit like that. As for inspiration, certainly there are those artists who loom enormous in my mind and inform my approach at a rudimentary and almost unconscious level. However, I’m not certain that any of them came through with any real vigor, as they are beyond my reach. Considered further, I suppose that the scripts themselves contained much of the inspiration. All of the guideposts are laid out with clarity. Throw in the library of terrific comics that Skybound has put out, along with a great team (Chris, Dan, Sal Cipriano, Sean, Arielle Basich), I had no choice but to be inspired.

Robert Kirkman and The End of INVINCIBLE!

As you’ve probably already heard today, our long running series, Invincible, is coming to a close next year. We know, we know, we’re upset too! While the feelings are bittersweet, we’re really stoked to see what comes next and what the last 14 amazing years have been leading up to! Here what the man himself, Robert Kirkman, has to say about the inevitable end:

RED FLAGS W/ MALCOLM BARRETT & PHIL DEFRANCO at SDCC

Malcolm Barrett, the star of NBC’s new show Timeless, and Phil DeFranco hang out with ZombiUnicorn & Bree Essrig on the Skybound Livestream as they play Red Flags! Watch the players battle to find the perfect date for one another in the fun-filled card game!

Robert Kirkman on the End of INVINCIBLE

“My greatest hope in life is to one day, when I’m much older, be reading an INVINCIBLE comic book by younger creators I haven’t met, who are doing a book that I hate.”


I’ve been asked many times over the thirteen years of writing INVINCIBLE how long I think this book will go. Some form of that statement has always been my answer. I always thought it would be a great honor to see Invincible rise to the level of Superman or Spider-Man in the pantheon of comic book superheroes. Characters who far outlived their original stories and eventually transformed into story engines that sort of tell the same story (to a certain extent) in perpetuity for generation after generation.


It wasn’t until recently that I realized that goes against everything INVINCIBLE, as a series, has stood for since the very beginning. When Cory Walker and I created him, and with Ryan Ottley, since he joined the team with issue 8, the point of this series has always been to celebrate what we love about superhero comics, but always put our own spin on it. To play with the tropes of the genre, but twist them into something new, at all times, no matter what.


That is why villains sometimes win, and heroes give up… and eventually stop being heroes altogether… and change happens, and sticks, and characters die, and never come back… no matter how popular they are (we maybe should have kept Conquest alive).


So then, it stands to reason, that if most superhero comics continue forever with no end in sight and over their runs do not, in any way, tell a cohesive story that holds together to form a singular narrative… shouldn’t INVINCIBLE do the exact opposite?


It’s been many years now that Ryan Ottley and myself, with occasional help from co-creator Cory Walker (issue 130 in stores soon!) have been chronicling the adventures of Mark Grayson and the many characters that orbit his life. As I began plotting out the issues that lay ahead of us over this next year, I started to realize I was reaching a… conclusion. The big Viltrumite epic, which began with Nolan Grayson going to Earth and fathering Mark, and kicked off with their confrontation all those years ago in issue 11… was coming to an end. Everything was converging in this one story, and looking back, I realized I’d been working toward this the whole time. In talking it over with Ryan I learned, much to my surprise, that the idea of drawing something other than INVINCIBLE someday… and not being stuck in this monthly grind we’ve been in for well over a decade… appealed to him. So it wasclear, I was writing to a conclusion and Ryan was also drawing to one.


So that led to the question of what comes next?


I briefly considered bringing on another team, starting that eventual march to that book I’d read in my old age and throw across the room saying, “This isn’t INVINCIBLE!” And while I did consider some really cool options that would have led to some really cool issues of INVINCIBLE… more and more as I thought about it, I realized ending the series was the right thing to do.


So that’s what we’re doing! Issue 144, the conclusion of the 12-part epic THE END OF ALL THINGS, will be the final issue of Invincible. I’m sure when it’s all said and done, I’ll be sad, and I know I will miss these characters, but for the time being, I’m excited. Ryan will be coming back to the book with issue 133 in November, and we’re going to hit the ground running. We’ve got a wild ride in store for the fans where we’re going to touch every corner of the Invincible Universe, and in the end, tie things up in a really cool and unexpected way.


So we’ve got a little over a year to go, and it’s going to be one hell of a year! So please join us for our swan song, thirteen years in the making! We couldn’t have done it without you, the fans, so lets all cross the finish line together!


Robert Kirkman

Backwoods, CA

2016

Labyrinth at SDCC

Swiftor & Dan Murray host the Skybound live-stream for an in-depth look at Free Range Games’ newest release: Labyrinth! CEO Chris Scholz and Creative Director Bradley Fulton of Free Range walk us through the RPG card game that gives you the chance to be an adventurer and a dungeon master!

OXENFREE Live Reading at SDCC

Erin Yvette, Gavin Hammon, Aaron Kubin and the crew of Oxenfree join the Skybound live-stream for a live-reading. The cast also discusses a few of their favorite scenes from the game. Also, the guys from Night School Studio take a moment to discuss what’s next for the Oxenfree universe! Make sure you pick up Oxenfree on Steam, PS4, and Xbox One.

Out This Week: Demonic #1! Horizon #2! Manifest Destiny #22!

We’ve got a big Wednesday for you guys this week! Manifest Destiny #22 continues the hunt for a Sasquatch.

We’ve also got the second issue of Horizon! The first issue was a smash success and this issue brings even more of the action. The stakes are raised in a big way!

Finally this week we have the new limited series Demonic from writer Christopher Sebela, artist Niko Walter and colorist Dan Brown. If you love Outcast and demon possession, this is the next book you’ll wanna check out!

Like we said, lots of great stuff this week! Scroll down to see previews of all three books. What are you most looking forward to?

DEMONIC #1 (of 6)

   

STORY: CHRISTOPHER SEBELA

ART/COVER: NIKO WALTER & DAN BROWN

AUGUST 17 | 32 PAGES | FULL COLOR | MATURE | $2.99

Detective Scott Graves will do anything to protect his family… even bargain away his soul. Now, the only thing to fear isn’t New York’s worst criminals, but what’s already raging inside of him. After all, what’s the cost of your soul when it’s already damaged?

Eisner-nominated writer Christopher Sebela (High Crimes), newcomer Niko Walter and colorist Dan Brown unleash a vigilante who answers to no man, only the demon within.

            

HORIZON #2

STORY: BRANDON THOMAS

ART/COVER: JUAN GEDEON & FRANK MARTIN

AUGUST 17 | 32 PAGES | FULL COLOR | TEEN+ | $2.99

Zhia Malen is not the only newcomer on our planet. Now, Earth will meet the rest of her squad, as their six-fingered hands hover over humanity’s throat. The retaliation against Earth has already begun…we just don’t know it yet.

            

MANIFEST DESTINY #22

STORY: CHRIS DINGESS

ART/COVER: MATTHEW ROBERTS, TONY AKINS & OWEN GIENI

AUGUST 17 | 32 PAGES | FULL COLOR | TEEN+ | $2.99

“SASQUATCH” Part 4 of 6

What does sasquatch taste like? Find out this issue!