Best Mainstream Comic Running?

Invincible is one of “those comics”.  You know, the ones that everyone always sort of goes on about in the periphery, and you think “maybe I should try it” but then you have so many books on your pull list already, do you really need one more cape book?

YES.

As I sit on my couch stuffed with a Pizza Hut Pan Crust Pepperoni Lovers, lazily reading Invincible #65 as Man Vs Food rambles on in the background, it occurs to me how truly brilliant this book is.

If you only read DC or Marvel books, you may still consider yourself a Robert Kirkman fan. But you’re not a Kirkman fan. If you’ve never read Walking Dead or Invincible, you don’t know Kirkman.  This is a writer who was born to do creator-owned work. When you compare the attrocities he committed on Ultimate X-Men to the splendor he injects into your brainstem with Invincible, it’s nearly impossible to conceive that they were both written by the same man.

Here, in the creatively free realm of Image, Kirkman cuts loose.

Invincible, taken on the surface, appears to be just another Superman analog.   And in many ways, when Kirkman and artist Cory Walker started, that’s exactly what it was.   Invincible’s Mark Grayson is exactly what you would get if you took the world and mind of Peter Parker, and put it in the body of Superman.   The first issues were a retrofitted throwback to the early days of Marvel.

But if there’s one thing that Kirkman refuses to do, it’s rest on his laurels.  Invincible is a constantly evolving title; each year the Universe expands and the dangers grow.   Just as soon as you’re used to the new status quo, Kirkman throws a curveball at you.    And as much as I love the Marvel/ DC characters I grew up with, their status as franchises and “company characters” means that they can never truly bleed the way Kirkman’s characters do.  When Mark Grayson hurts, I feel it. I sympathize.  Because in some ways I feel like he’s a guy I grew up with.   When the illusion that his Dad isn’t Superman hits him— what guy hasn’t had that sobering moment?

But at the same time, it’s not all doom and gloom.  The average issue will run the gammut from light hearted, to funny, to action-packed, to heart breaking.   Take issue 65.   It’s main goal is to tie up the story threads from both the Invincible War and Conquest arc.  Most comics would be content to ease into an issue like this, hitting a few sympathetic story beats and preparing for the next arc.  But not this book.   Issue 65 addresses at least 9 different story threads.  Half of those newly introduced threats and emerging problems.  Each scene addresses something unique and is accompanied by a different emotion, then switches to something new, never slowing down and never interrupting the flow.

But for all my blathering about Kirkman, I have to say that at least half of the draw is the art.   Original artist Cory Walker was great, but he didn’t last long.  He was replaced by a similarly styled artist, Ryan Ottley.   For my money, Ottley may be one of the best and most underrated artists in the business.  He doesn’t bother with all that photo-realistic nonsense that most of today’s “hot” artists seem to favor.  Ottley just gives straight cape flapping superhero art, just like Kirby used to make.   This is a strength in my eyes.  Because even though his work is closer to cartoony than some of the bigger artists of the day, Ottley’s eye for detail and ability to translate a story’s scope may be nearly unmatched.   There are few pencilers today that can make me drool.   Ottley has drawn so many mind-blowing pages, that it’s nearly common place.

Ryan Ottley, God among "Cape" artists

Sometimes Invincible comes in under the radar, even for me. It’s one of those books that is so good on a consistent basis that you sort of forget about it.   It’s never a surprise when Invincible is good because it’s always good.

And in an age where books seem to lack any level of consistency, that’s something everyone’s pull list could use.

So do yourself a favor, go down to BSI.  Tell Jason to put on his Monkey Hat and order you at least one Invincible trade (but if you’re just going with the one, order Perfect Strangers).

Trust me, you’ll thank me afterward.

Oh, and while I have you here, check out my articles.  I’m writing comics posts for the examiner.