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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It Sings the Right Tune, May 9, 2006
Wow... timing really is everything.
Hearing what an amazing book this was when it first came out, I picked up the first trade -- which collected the first four issues -- and was a bit underwhelmed. So, I stopped reading. Now, I could not be happier that I took a chance on this hardcover (the purchase of which was prompted by similar, although stronger, praise).
Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley, and Bill Crabtree have created something really special. Invincible tells the story of Mark Grayson, whose father Nolan is the world's most powerful superhero, Omni-Man. Besides this fact, Mark, a high-schooler, has had a relatively normal life, until one day, he starts developing super powers. So, he calls himself "Invincible," and, often at the side of his father, begins to learn the family business.
Or so he thinks.
You see, there are really two series here: Everything that happens before issue #7, and everything that happens after it. That's because issue #7 marks one of the most satisfying stunners I can recall ever reading in a comic book. (Of course, I won't spoil it here.)
So, the first four issues were still a little flat. They were okay -- very nice to look at, with some memorable characters (Atom Eve and Robot come to mind) -- but it all felt like standard superhero stuff. However, starting with #5 (Mark's space-tangle with a confused alien), things take off a little. With each passing issue, the stakes are raised: Mark's powers develop, we meet the Invincible version of the JLA archetypes... and then it happens.
*COUGH*
By the end of issue #13 (the last in the collection), there's a new status quo, one that promises some very interesting stories in the future.
Robert Kirkman has been, as far as I can tell, either gloriously brilliant or terribly mediocre with his comics writing. While Marvel Team-Up and his ill-fated Captain America run were of the latter, stuff like Walking Dead and Invincible is, thankfully, of the former. The pacing is great; Kirkman seems to understand when to give detail (for instance, how superpowers would affect the relationship between a boy and his best friend) and when to gloss over it (after Mark gets his powers, we don't go through all of his training, which would be tedious and repetitive; we just hear of it). The plot devices, which would just be spectacular stunts in another series, actually serve to move the story along here. Kirkman's characters, the ones that aren't archetypes, really pop with energy, like the aforementioned Atom Eve and Monster Girl, a chain-smoking little girl who can morph into a grotesque creature. The characters' actions give them depth, or more accurately, the characters' depth dictates their actions. It really feels like Kirkman & Co. just assembled the pieces and let the story tell itself. Not to overstate my case, but it sort of like reading Carver or Hemingway: There are no wasted words here. Every character and every line of dialogue does something, which adds to the tremendous energy of the book as a whole.
Also, more than any other comic I've read, Invincible loves to pile on the in-jokes. First, there are the story arcs, with names like "Family Matters" (the first arc, which deals with the Grayson family's daily lives and includes characters who attend Reginald Vel Johnson High School under the supervision of Principal Winslow), "Eight is Enough" (because of the seven members of the Guardians of the Globe, plus Omni-Man), and "Perfect Strangers" (in which the big twist and the character-altering aftermath come). Then, there are panels, even entire pages, there solely for the benefit of the readers paying close attention. For instance, in the first issue, one of the signs that Mark's powers are arriving is that he accidentally hurls a bag of trash into the stratosphere. Then, in #6, we're treated to a full page that simply shows a man walking his dog in England -- he's soon startled by the same bag of trash, which lands a few feet (meters?) away from him. "Ey, wot?!" is all he can manage. Had I not been reading the collected edition, I might not have understood the page, at least not so quickly. But since I was, it was a fantastic touch, and there are others like it, all of which show the creators' respect for their readers.
The artwork is uniformly stellar, not an easy thing to accomplish with two different artists. But that's the thing: If I hadn't known beforehand that there were two artists on this book, I might not have figured it out. Walker and Ottley's styles here are so similar. If anything, the book improves a little when Ottley comes aboard (issue #8), as his figures are just a bit more fluid than Walker's. But honestly, it's hard to think of a book that's better looking than Invincible. No other title boasts quite the same combination of vivid color (Crabtree deserves kudos), dynamic action, and distinctive figures. (The detail on some of these faces -- unbelievable!) And those character designs -- mostly Walker's, from what I gather -- are stunning. Omni-Man, the Immortal, Atom Eve, and Allen the Alien all have great looks. It'd be hard to argue that this is not how superheroes would look were they actually real.
Should have stuck with this book originally. Oh well. But I guess it's actually nice that I caught the hardcover collection, which is loaded with extras, some useful and interesting (the full script for the first issue, original character designs and concepts), some not so much (a few too many panel layouts). I can't imagine Invincible reading better as a monthly than a collected edition, and I can't imagine a collected edition that gives you more bang for your buck than the Utlimate Collection. I absolutely cannot wait for volume two.
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26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I give it a heck of a lot more stars than 5 but the rating only goes to five, August 20, 2005
Man I just now read the book, it's so fresh, so funny, so sad, so shocking..you wonder how can oen writer get so many emotions from you in such a short time, I had planned to read this slowly one chapter at a time but i started the first chapter, set it down and went right back and could not stop.
The book tells the story of supermans son, well not exactly, it's "Omni-man" and the justice leagie is the guardains and other little changes are made but you know what they are getting at, and it works so dang well, one of the finest stories in years, none of it seems stales like the many copy cat characters in other books, it's used well here, the freedom to tell the story as needed is key.
The book is also a family book, you have dear old dad Omni-man, Mark the new kid who just got powers, the wife and mother who holds the family house together, it all have a leave it to beaver feel with a twist, the modern day side of course, but also them being super heroes, yet they take it so calmly and eat supper or get ready for school while watching their dad/husband fight dragons in japan thinking maybe he can bring home a nice dress.
the book is also very funny, not in most cases, in a slapstick way, but just in a subtle way that is very real in some cases liek iwllaim and his name, or Invincible and his dead playing catch by throwing the ball around the world, you will love the mood.
But be ready because it has a few twists that leave you staring at the page like "no way" that change the mood, change the book..and yet as you read you never feel taken out of the story, it all works for the larger story.
Now this collects the first 3 trades, so you won't need to know a lot of history of any character or their world, it's all given right here, and the only book you will need to buy is either the second hardcover that may come out some day (but that's a long time down the road) or if your like me, the next two trades.
volume 4 and 5 continue the story up to issue 25 (current issue as of this review 21/8/05) so you can continue his adventures, they cost less than the collected hardcover and collect fewer issue at a time, but it's the best for us who can't wait for a possible ultimate edition 2 that is a long ways off.
Oh and don't fprget the extras, 80 pages of extras, this thing is packed with stuff to do once the story is done..what a value.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
13 Awesome Issues, June 16, 2006
I don't know what it is about teenage superhero books, but I am somehow drawn to them. Runaways is probably my favorite book being published and I find Young Avengers to be amazing as well. I recently learned of Invincible, and I had to check it out. While the first few issues of Robert Kirkman's Invincible may not blow you away, they serve as good set-up for the amazing story to come. Invincible is a top-notch book about coming of age, being a superhero, and dealing with family and friends. This hardcover collection has the first 13 issues of the series, which, for all intents and purposes, tells a fairly complete story that is open-ended enough to allow for following adventures (very similar to Brian K. Vaughan's Runaways, which serves as a personal measuring stick for most books I read, especially ones involving teen superheroes). You see, it is not easy for books with new characters to start up nowadays, especially ones without any connections to established icons such as Superman, Spider-Man, and other famous superheroes. As Kirkman states in one of this collection's extras, it was a challenge to make it to issue 12, but fortunately, fans embraced the story of Mark Grayson, and the series is still going strong.
In a sense, we can trace the origins of Invincible back to a simple question: What if Superman had a son? Mark Grayson is the son of Omni-Man, Earth's greatest and most popular superhero. Possessing most of Superman's powers, including indestructability, flight, speed, and strength, he keeps the world safe from supervillains, aliens, and monsters. Omni-Man, who uses the secret identity of Nolan Grayson, is an alien himself, and swore to protect Earth when he discovered this beautiful, if fragile, planet. After marrying a human named Debbie, they had Mark, and throughout his life, Omni-Man has been a great role model for Mark.
The series starts off at the end of Mark's years of puberty. He has finally manifested his own superpowers, identical to those of his father's, and he has taken up the mantle of Invincible in an effort to help protect the planet as well. Teaming up with a group known as the Teen Team (resembling DC's Teen Titans), which includes other young heroes like Atom Eve (who actually goes to high school with Mark), Rex Splode, Robot, and Dupli-Kate, Invincible makes a name for himself as one of Earth's most promising up-and-coming heroes. The first few issues deal with Invincible and the Teen Team trying to figure out why someone has been planting bombs in malls around town. While these issues are good, they didn't seem to be anything special. The story was good, but they were nothing special. However, these issues were merely meant to establish Mark and the supporting characters. Soon after Invincible and Atom Eve discover the truth, a tragic event happens. In addition to the Teen Team, there is an adult superteam known as the Guardians of the Globe. This team is modeled after the Justice League, and the 7 most iconic members of the League have a Guardian counterpart. When 7 of the 8 active members of the team are brutally murdered, an investigation is put into motion to find the culprit, while the government scrambles to find replacements. As the series progresses, we see Mark continue to develop his powers and begin to realize that sometimes, hero's have to make very hard decisions.
These first 13 issues were great, but they did have a few things that I wish were a little different. Mainly it had to do with characters; many of the supporting cast were given very little to do. Mark's family and Atom Eve were pretty much the only people we saw besides Mark. His best friend William didn't get a lot of things to do, we didn't even see Mark court his new girlfriend Amber, and Dupli-Kate, who had a fairly important part to play in a subplot involving Eve, didn't even have one line of dialogue (if my memory serves me correctly), which is strange, seeing as how she can clone herself (similar to Marvel's Multiple Man). I'm sure that these characters will get more to do in future issues, seeing as how Kirkman probably wanted to get the main story done in 13 issues, due to fear that Invincible may get cancelled.
One thing I found fun was looking for all the influences from DC and Marvel that the authors used in the book. As I already said, the two major superhero teams are based on DC's JLA and Teen Titans. Many of the villains are based on Spider-Man villains, such as Bi-Plane (the Vulture), the Elephant (Rhino), and Dr. Seismic (the Shocker). Also, I can sort of see a Mary-Jane/Gwen Stacy parallel developing between Atom Eve and Amber...
The name "Ultimate Collection" is no lie; there are tons of extras included in this set. The book begins with an introduction by Marvel powerhouse writer Brian Michael Bendis. After the issues, there are TONS of sketches that include early concept art all the way to alternate covers and promotional art. The pitch for the series is included, and the cover of each trade paperback that included the issues of this collection. Perhaps my favorite extra was four pages of drawings known as the "Invincipals", which were drawings of nearly every character that appeared in the book. They are drawn with small bodies with slightly large heads, and they are pretty funny. Even the creative team is included!
This is a must for any comic fan, and even non-comic fans may find this series enjoyable, and this collection is definitely worth the price.
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