Mark Grayson is just like everyone else his age, except that his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet. And now he's begun to inherit his father's powers. It all sounds okay at first, but how do you follow in your father's footsteps when you know you will never live up to his standards? THIS The Guardians of the Globe are dead. The super-hero community is a buzz with the who, what, when, where, why and how. Unbeknownst to him, Invincible is at the center of the most dramatic event to hit the superhero community in decades. If you've been waiting for the trade, here it is! Don't miss out a second time on the series ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY gave an 'A-.'
Series Description
Mark Grayson is teenage superhero Invincible. He was a normal high school senior with a normal part-time job and otherwise normal life, except his father Nolan is the superhero Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on the planet. At the age of 17, Mark begins to display superpowers, which come from his father being a member of the Viltrumite race, who, according to Nolan, pioneer the galaxy on a mission of benevolence and enlightenment. As Invincible, Mark begins working as a superhero, with his father acting as his mentor, and meeting other heroes. Then, superheroes around the world begin to die.
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Invincible for Image Comics, as well as Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt. He is one of the five partners of Image Comics, and the only one of the five who was not one of the original co-founders of that publisher.
Robert Kirkman's first comic books were self-published under his own Funk-o-Tron label. Along with childhood friend Tony Moore, Kirkman created Battle Pope which was published in late 2001. Battle Pope ran for over 2 years along with other Funk-o-Tron published books such as InkPunks and Double Take.
In July of 2002, Robert's first work for another company began, with a 4-part SuperPatriot series for Image, along with Battle Pope backup story artist Cory Walker. Robert's creator-owned projects followed shortly thereafter, including Tech Jacket, Invincible and Walking Dead.
The Guardians are dead! What next for Invincible and his fellow young heroes, will they be asked to fill the gap? And what will Mark do when the truth is laid out in front of him! It was around this part of the series when I know that there was a lot more to it than the first volume indicated. Collecting #9=13. Getting better now with 7 out of 12, feeling it Three Star read. 2017 and 2011 read
This is it, the moment where the series turns. When your friends talk about how great Invincible is, this is what they are referring to. The book transforms itself from teenage superhero drama to earth-shattering revelation upon revelation. And it's so well done. Mark's fight is just gut-wrenching. Yes, there are still those fun moments. One of Kirkman's best gags is in here, when Mark meets the creator of his favorite comic book.
With the Guardians of the Globe dead, we’re gonna have tryouts for a new superhero team! Also, Mark discovers the shocking truth behind his dad - he was never “Superman”, he was more like “Zod”!
The main part of this third Invincible volume is a ton of exposition from Mark’s dad, Omni-Man, a reveal I thought was pretty good - until I tried to follow the reasoning behind it all and, wow, was it confusing! So, unlike Superman whose powers change with different suns, Viltrumites’ (Omni-Man and Invincible’s people) powers work anywhere in the galaxy? Alright. Weirdly, Superman's explanation for his powers makes more sense but whatever, let's go with this lazy assumption.
So, about the explanation: the Viltrum people want to expand their brilliant eugenics-type empire across the galaxy by force but only by targeting worlds that are less developed than their civilisation. Anyone stands in their way, they’re killed. If they become part of the empire then their race takes a massive leap forward with the help of Viltrum’s shared technology. Earth is less developed – Viltrum want to bring us up to speed. What’s bad about that? Nothing I can see!
So what was Omni-Man doing on Earth? Well, he’s there to research and protect Earth for 500 years until Viltrum invades and they see if Earth will become part of their empire. Ok - why not just invade straight away? Why wait 500 years? And why that number – why not 10 years? And is that Earth-years or Viltrum-years or is an Earth year a standard unit of measurement in the galaxy? Because our version of time is only really suited to humans on Earth!
Robert Kirkman’s increasingly convoluted and crap explanation continues to trip itself up. One minute Omni-Man is saying he made certain major choices because he fell in love with Mark’s mother and his feelings made him act differently - then, mere pages later, he’s saying that she means nothing to him. Zero consistency.
And apparently the death of the Guardians was Omni-Man’s way of preparing the way for Viltrum to invade by wiping out Earth’s defences - but if they’re all like him, and it takes only one of them to effectively cripple Earth in a minute, why even bother with a pre-emptive strike? A handful of Viltrumites, let alone who-knows-how-many, would easily defeat anything Earth could possibly throw their way! It just makes the last book completely contrived.
There’s a kernel of a good idea amidst this incredibly messy exposition but Kirkman’s incapable of finding it. He just throws in pretence after pretence for no reason! Despite the superhero tryouts being as boring as they sound, I had thought that, following Omni-Man’s actions, this book would be the turning point in the series where Invincible stops being a crap superhero parody and becomes its own thing but re-reading Kirkman’s garbage about Viltrum changed my mind. Oh and look, in case you missed seeing that place in this volume, Mark’s going back to high school in the next book... yay...
On a related note, Tom Cruise read this volume and instantly became a believer in the Viltrum race, giving millions of dollars to his new idol, Robert Kirkman!
This is a collection that takes place immediately after the finale of the previous collection. In this one Mark has a deep conversation with his father and finds out the truth. Will Mark agree and side with his dad's plans or will Mark go against his father's wishes?
This is the reason why this series is so beloved by many, many fans. Wow. Even though I knew it was coming because I watched the first season of the television show I was still blown away by this collection. Where to start? I guess I will start with the twist. Who saw that coming and oh my god!!! Every now and then you come across a twist in a book, show, or a movie that makes you gasp and will stay with you forever. This is one of them. And then the ensuing result from the twist. The feels just hits you in the gut. Kudos to the writer for making me care so passionately for what is happening to Mark and his mom. The twist also lets the reader speculate on what will happen now between Mark and his father. Whether we go down the road I believe we are going down will be a fun journey.
The only reason I continued after the first two collections because I knew where it was going and I knew it was a game changer. It is. Even with prior knowledge I could not read fast enough. This was some terrific writing and artwork. It left me shocked while evincing all kinds of feels. Consider me hooked now and I cannot wait to see what happens between Mark and his father.
And this is it. The defining moment the REST of us freaked out about at the end of the first season of the tv show, all here for us to see in its original comic glory.
Talk about messed up.
BUT. Even though this is nearly as good as the cartoon adaptation, it's the DETAILS that are added that make the show THAT much better than the comic.
Yes, this is one of those rare examples where the show outdoes the original material and it never goes off the rails. The show intensifies the core and the feel and improves the timing.
But seriously, the comic allowed it all to happen, so daaaammmmnnnnn. :)
What will you have after five hundred years?! You dad. I'd still have you.
Second read: 1/3/20 I'M BUMPING THIS UP TO 4.5 STARS AND ROUNDING IT UP TO 5! I LOVE THIS VOLUME!!!!! I MISS THESE CHARACTERS, HOW HAVE I NOT FINISHED THIS SERIES?! The last three issues here, ugh, so good.
Original review: 4.25 Stars. First reaction: Well... shit! shit shit shiiiiiit.
I want to write so much about this volume because it was amazing, because it changed the whole direction of the story, but I won't 'cause it'd ALL be spoilers. So what I will say is this: What happened in these five issues were such a contrast to the first two volumes. This opens so many doors for what's to come, the dynamics and view of our heroes and beloved characters are going to change from now on and I can't wait to know what's gonna happen. This is why I started reading Invincible, for this moment and let me tell you... Perfect Strangers doesn't disappoint.
Please, please, if you're planning to read this series you have to read the first 13 issues. Like I said before, everything changes here, it is painful and shocking. It is surprising and quite graphic. What happens in these issues will affect you and it will because Kirkman made an excellent job with the first two volumes of introducing the characters and their dynamic, of letting you knowing them, of letting you appreciate and care for them. Like I said in my previous reviews, the greatness and the strength of Invincible lie in the characters and the relationship between them and that's why this revelation was fantastic and so powerful. Good job Kirkman.
I'm really getting used to the artwork, I'm enjoying it and appreciating it so much more now. Because there were so many dark and dramatic moments, there were a lot of graphic, bloody scenes and those panels were as powerful as the dialogue was. The action and fight scenes were great, but the last issue, with my favorite alien, was beautiful to watch. The art by Ottley adds so much to the tone of the comic as a whole.
(Also, can we talk about the great and hilarious moment at the beginning of the volume where Mark meets his favorite graphic novel writer? What a funny, meta moment. I was laughing so hard and, of course, it was too a nod to what was to come, a lot of panels were ''recycled'' in this volume and I personally loved it. It was much more impactful that way, learning the truth through familiar panels, taking what you already knew and shattering that illusion, bravo for that amazing storytelling choice.)
I think it's starting to improve. This volume was the equivalent to the final two episodes of the show. It's all new territory for me after this. The focus was a bit tighter this volume than in the first two. It wasn't anything close to detail heavy, but it felt like we actually got a full story for the volume.
Cecil and Amber finally showed up, kind of. Amber's character seems to exist solely to delay Mark and Eve from getting together. Cecil looks like he'll play a major role moving forward.
For the most part, it appears the show used the comic as the outline and filled in a lot of the details. There's a lot of race, gender and sexual orientation swapping between the comic and the show, but it doesn't really change much. The comic was pretty diverse, so not really sure it was necessary; especially for characters who appeared once and are then gone. Changing William's sexuality was the only thing that seemed have any effect on things and that was minor in the comic so far. I like the change and kind of hope William eventually comes out in the comic.
The comic volumes are pretty quick reads, so I'll probably keep reading them until I run out of volumes stocked by my library or it gets really bad.
This is when my love for this series truly began. Up until now it was fun, cute, coming of age story. Now...now we get into the drama. The dark side of it all. And damn is it sweeeeeet!
"Dad?" UGH that part gets me every single time.
This is the issue Omni-man finally shows his true self. Mark at first listens, tries to grasp it all, but in the end refuses to see it the way his father does. Humans are not to be slaves, they are to make their own future, and Mark will fight for us. Even if it means going against his father.
His dad's thoughts? Well he about to fuck shit up. Including his own son.
This volume has some fun moments leading up to the final showdown. It also is heartbreaking to see Mark getting tossed around like a weakling when his father goes on his rampage. However, it hits even harder with Mark trying to reach his father through the entire fight.
So yeah, this is it, this is the turning point, this is when things get real good. If you were unsure about enjoying this series in volume 1-2, check this out, you will NOT be disappointed.
To be truthful, the reason I keep reading this book is that the hardcovers are really pretty and easily available at the library. I do tend to like the supervillain plots, but find the relationship stuff to be tedious as hell. WHICH personality-less girl should the self-centered hero get with?
There's a lot to admire about this book. Unfortunately, I kept getting distracted by the way that the author is running a clinic in how to fail the Bechdel test (two women having a conversation about something besides a man, at SOME POINT in the book). I resorted to flipping through the book to find the (few) pages with more than one female on them, and if they weren't talking about The Hero, they were talking about *how many calories were in their food*. I wish I was kidding.
This isn't a situation where I feel like the author's never met a woman, but it is one where I feel like he's never thought about what they are saying or thinking when he's not in the room.
(I'm still finishing the book, it's fairly engaging, I just had to get that rant out. I *like* these women, I just wish they got a chance to exist in some way besides their relationship to The Hero.)
World: Solid art that still sets the tone wonderfully. When this book needed to get heavy the art really stepped up. The world building is good. It's still very intimate and tied to Mark but the scope got bigger in a good way.
Story: The story takes a turn that sets this story up for awesome drama. This was when the book took hold of me last time and the turn is good. It's an interesting choice and the teen drama still gets good but the extra layer makes for some great superhero stuff. The tone and the humor is nice to balance it and the human drama is the best part about this book.
Characters: This is the arc where Mark becomes an interesting character. His choices from here on out is him and defines who he is. It's still very to type for superheroes but the landscape he is in is interesting. The rest of the characters are also good with Mum taking an interesting position that is great for story. I am avoiding the bombshell cause readers need to experience this.
This is the point where this book finds it's own identity.
Well here we go, this is the volume that completes this charming series' transition from great to greatly great.
All is revealed re: the deaths of the Guardians of the Globe, and Mark is forced to grow up pretty fast. As always the character design and colour palette make for delightful visuals to accompany a compelling story.
If you haven't started in on this series yet, I highly recommend jumping on board from the start so this volume's emotional payload hits home.
This series has really hit it's stride. The first volume was so bland/generic I can't help but think it was done on purpose to create some contrast for Kirkman to flip the genre on it's head.
One of the main reasons I pick this series is I was looking for a huge run. Kirkman really likes his long running stories maybe I'll finish Walking dead off some day also.
This volume was so good and easily best of the series so far. We learn more about Omni man and his true intentions and the secret history of the Viltrumite empire and then when Mark learns the truth he has to make a choice. Plus that fight between father and son is epic and what Mark chooses will change the fater of the Earth forever and then we have new GOTG and enter Mr Cecil Steadman and Mark's new position and also Debbie :(. It was a heartbreaking moment but it makes you feel at all times. Also that talk between Allen and Mark was too good. Amazing volume and definitely my favorite one so far.
This edition of INVINCIBLE has picked the story up a bit. It's still moving really slow for being 13 issues deep into the series, and I'm still perturbed by the use of repeating panels, but finally some of the plot is revealing itself to the reader, and I can honestly say Kirkman dropped a pretty darn good and unexpected surprise in "Perfect Strangers." After having fallen to two stars with the last collection ("Eight is Enough"), this series is now back up to a solid three stars. One of the reasons I've been struggling with this series is because I don't find the main character all that believable. He seems very flat. But finally Kirkman gave the kid a pair of kuyons. He's standing his ground against a major life-changer and for that alone I'm starting to at least become somewhat more interested. I think I only groaned with contempt maybe once while reading this, which is better than last issue, consisting of at least two groans and an eye roll.
After reading three graphic novels in two days, can I recommend INVINCIBLE yet? Hmmm...I really don't think so, but perhaps more of the plot will unfold in INVINCIBLE vol. 4 "Head of the Class" and I can recommend the series as a whole up to that point. Let's see, shall we?
Score: 4.15 out of 5 Grade: 83% (A-) | The Real Beginning
This was the moment. The moment that Invincible set itself apart from other comics. The father/son dynamic; the betrayal; the straight-up crossing the line for "Worst Dad Ever."
The art has found its groove, characters are starting to become their own, and the world feels a whole lot bigger.
What this series ends up doing so well is taking superhero tropes and throwing in a bunch of curveballs. Expect the unexpected, but also expect a ton of blood.
Now we're talking! The pacing is still a little too fast for my liking, but this is when the fun truly begins. Everything from this point forward is gold.
It blows me away how good a job the show did of adapting this stuff. in many ways, it was better. I can't wait to see how well they handle the rest of the source material coming up.
P.S. Seth Rogen as Allen the Alien is the best casting ever.
Okay, I'm fully on-board now. Robert Kirkman doesn't hang about here, delivering an exceptional turn in the story which has much promise for the future. I'm fully invested in Mark's story, and am loving the humour, with Bi-Plane's cameo being one of the funniest things I've seen in a while.
Tohle. Bylo. Boží. Vývoj postav je tady neuvěřitelný, a vůbec je strašně skvělý jak Kirkman otočí dynamiku okolo našich hrdinů než jsme zvyklý. Tohle nejde nemilovat, je to úžasný a posledních pár stránek byla strašná mňamina.
Rough day at the office. Father and son had a disagreement. People died.
It wasn't as bad as I'd been led to believe, though.
I expressed my doubts in the first volume's review whether one could really mix together superhero shenanigans and high-school slice-of-life. The two are so far removed that putting them together should inevitably make for an over-the-top black comedy, or a farce. I still kind of feel like that. They try to take it seriously, they're appropriately traumatized by the death of thousands... but they still gotta go to school.
At least the comic rolls with it. The final line is pretty funny: it makes it clear that the story is in on the joke, to some extent. And I still feel for the characters and want to see things work out for them, which is never a bad thing.
Another good read. I'm still comparing to the tv show and there are a few differences in the comic. I think I'm about to get into some content I haven't seen before, which should be fun.
Der perfekte erste große Kampf für einen Superhelden Comic. Invincible at its best. Big plot twist, big fight, big world building. Art Style wird auch immer nicer. Sehr emotional, sehr gutes foreshadowing. Meine favorite line I’m Gesamten comic in Verbindung mit dem Ende des Comics. Just greatness.
Invincible is the best superhero comic book in the universe.
This is the best volume yet. It essentially covered the last two episodes of the first season. This comic is faster paced than the show, almost to the point of it being rushed. The artwork of the fight scenes are really good. I’m quickly becoming a big fan of this series and I can’t wait to get further into this comic series.