In the aftermath of Mark's revelation concerning his father, he's forced to pick up the pieces of his life and carry on. The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 2 collects Invincible's struggle to become his own man, to stand on his own and live his own life. This is a can't-miss for any Invincible fan and a perfect addition to any bookshelf.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fresh and nostalgic at the same time,
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This review is from: Invincible: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 2 (Hardcover)
This hardcover graphic novel collects issues #0 and 14-24 of Invincible as well as at least part of the Image Comics Summer Special #1.
The collected issues represent a superb run on this comic. The world Robert Kirkman is creating is fleshed out more thoroughly, the main characters develop more fully, and the flow of unusual and bizarre side character heroes and villains continues unabated. Ryan Ottley handles almost all the penciling work on these issues, giving this collection a more consistent look than the first hardcover volume, where the initial artwork was done by the talented Cory Walker. In terms of production values the hardcover looks fantastic. Ottley is developing a real talent for depicting character's facial expressions and thus hinting at their inner emotional life. This is one of those comics where you can recognize and distinguish the major characters easily even when they are not in costume. The art reproduces beautifully here and is worthy of the slightly oversized pages you see. The coloring in particular really seems to "pop" off the page. Ottley's talent for conveying the feelings of characters is necessary to keep up with Kirkman's scripting here. He's managed to produce a comic that feels character-driven while still throwing in big plot twists in the grand tradition of silver age comics. The best description I've heard so far of Invincible's appeal is that it is a Silver Age comic book for adults. Many of us have fond memories of the comics we read when we were young. For me it's the early Spider Man. Yet when you re-read those issues, you find that the characters are often one-note, the continuity is shaky, and characters experience massive personal upheavals in one issue only to return to the same personality in the next as though nothing had happened. The characters in Invincible may fall into certain familiar archetypes at first, but over time they change with their experiences. There's a hint of realism thrown in to discussions of how the bills are going to be paid without going overboard into trying to portray "heroes in the real world." In this delicate balancing act Kirkman's writing resembles Kurt Busiek's Astro City comics, except the focus here is much more firmly on the trials and tribulations of the heroes. You even get much more insight and personality from the villains than is typical. And you can never be sure when a minor villain from one issue will reappear as a major player down the line. It feels like a lived in universe. Most of all, Invincible reads like a story produced by people who love superhero comics and want to bring out the elements that made them love those comics--the scope of the stories, the challenges of balancing heroism with a normal life, the ethical questions of when and how to get involved, the sheer wow factor of having superpowers and making a difference. There's no deconstruction of the genre going on here or blatant satirizing of superhero comic book tropes. Which is why I say Invincible is fresh and yet nostalgic. It is a classic being born before your eyes and the opportunity to own it in these lovely and durable hardcovers is a definite treat for fans of superhero comics.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Robert Kirkman's Superhero Story Continues To Improve,
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This review is from: Invincible: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 2 (Hardcover)
Invincible is still a fairly recent discovery for me. I just sort of came across it one day, but everything I heard about it was positive. I decided to check out the first hardcover, and I was hooked. Though the story started off a little slow, the early character development paid off many times over after the series' first big twist. This second Ultimate Collection hardcover is even better than the first; the characters grow naturally from the events that they have experienced, new villains and allies are introduced, and many subplots are set up. Some of them come to fruition in this collection, others are merely hinted at.
Mark Grayson is the teenage superhero Invincible. As the son of Omni-Man, one of Earth's most powerful superheroes, he has powers such as flight, invulnerability, superspeed and strength, and the ability to hold his breath for a very long time. He and his dad fought a lot of villains together, but just when Mark was getting the hang of the superhero gig, he learned a terrible secret: his father was a member of an antagonistic race of aliens bent on galactic domination. Omni-Man's mission on Earth was to survey the planet and get it ready for conquest. This revelation caused Omni-Man to nearly beat Mark to death, though he had a sudden change of heart, and left Earth. Now, Mark and his non-superpowered mom Debbie are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. Mark finds himself unable to speak with even his closest friends, including Atom Eve, a fellow superhero, William, his best friend and future college roommate, and Amber, his girlfriend. Debbie, on the other hand, turns to alcohol to make the pain go away. As Invincible, Mark has taken on a job with the government. He answers to a creepy higher-up named Cecil who communicates with him through a beeper and an earpiece. Cecil expects Invincible to drop everything whenever he is called upon, making his personal life and school work hard to manage. The issues in this collection begin to introduce villains that are actually a threat to Invincible. In the first 13 issues, most of the villains that Invincible dealt with were pushovers, the main exception being his father. Now he is fighting the worst of the worst, and begins to realize that he may not be as invincible as he once thought. One of the best things about this book is the huge universe of characters who all exist in this one title. DC and Marvel have universes that encompass dozens of books, but Invincible has a comparable continuity that only needs one book to tell the story. Most of the protagonists introduced in the first collection are expanded upon (Amber and Dupli-Kate actually get dialogue this time around), and we actually learn some of the characters origin stories, all of which are great. Furthermore, numerous future stories have their foundations set in these issues. While there are many seemingly one-shot issues, they all serve to sow the seeds of future stories. I don't want to give away too much, but let's just say that it takes about 10 issues for the story of Angstrom Levy to finally pay off, but the journey itself is very fun. While a few side characters are still a little one-dimensional (Rex Splode is just the "jerk" until we see his origin at the end), most everyone has a lot of depth to them. Mark and Debbie get the most development, but Eve, Amber, and William are also expanded upon. Derek, who was a side character for most of the first 13 issues, reemerges and there are hints that he may play an important role in future issues. The writing is amazing; the plots are consistently interesting and the humor is always great. The biggest improvement is the art. While I believe that the art style in the first hardcover was supposed to be part of the theme of the book, I greatly prefer the more professional-looking visuals of this collection. Another thing I love about this series are the numerous references to more famous series, especially Spider-Man. Mark's trials and tribulations are fairly similar to those of Spidey, though Invincible is much more well-received by the public and is funded by the government. Also, many supporting characters in Invincible mirror supporting characters in Spider-Man (William/Harry Osborn, Amber/Gwen Stacey, Eve/Mary-Jane Watson, Derek/Flash Thompson), and many villains are caricatures of established villains. Once again, the term Ultimate Collection is appropriate. In addition to issues 14-24, the Free Comic Book Day issue, issue 0 (which is a recap for new readers), and the origin stories, there is a huge extras section which includes numerous sketches, a script for issue 23, and an introduction by Damon "LOST" Lindelof. Kirkman and co. have outdone themselves with this collection; the story is great, but the extras are the icing on the cake (I just wish that they had included more Invincipals, those were hilarious). This book is worth every penny, it is hard to find a story this good packed with such extensive extras.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not quite as good as the first one,
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This review is from: Invincible: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 2 (Hardcover)
Don't get me wrong this is easily one of the most engaging comics I've ever read but i can't bear to give it a 5 and i'll tell you why. Vol. 1 was unbelievibly awesome, and although this collection was also good there was no closure on any of the plotlines. Kirkman explains that this is all just a big set up for whats to come but it didn't leave me with the same feeling as when i finished the first one. So my four isn't saying this isn't great its just saying that the first one was better.
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