Comic Info
Comic Name: Invincible
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Ryan Ottley
# of Issues: 7
Release Date: 2005
Invincible #15
Reprints Invincible #14-19 and Image Free Comic Book Day 2004 (May 2004-November 2004). With Omni-Man gone and the Guardians of the Globe rebuilding, Invincible finds himself as one of Earth’s most powerful heroes. Mark however is dealing with the aftermath of his father’s actions as the world begins to learn that Omni-Man wasn’t the hero they all believed. Mark is also trying to tend his mother’s growing depression and just make it through the last few months of school as college approaches.
Written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Ryan Ottley, Invincible Volume 4: Head of the Class follows Invincible Volume 3: Perfect Strangers. This collection is also collected in the Invincible Ultimate Collection Volume 2 or the Invincible Compendium Volume 1.
Invincible is just a fun series and Kirkman always manages to take the series in different directions. What started out as a normal kid developing superpowers has turned both into a Spider-Man like high school story and a family story that has more problems than a soap opera. Unlike many series, instead of being held in a timeless limbo, Invincible continues to age and grow.
Invincible #17
Most comics have the characters pass years in high school, college, etc. Here, Mark is actually aging and time is passing. It isn’t necessarily “real time”, but it does advance. I love that events that happen in earlier issues come to fruition in later issues. With continuously reestablishing this, Kirkman manages to make it the normal. A great example in this volume is the Rorschach rip-off/homage Damien Darkblood’s relentless search for the truth of the Guardians of the Globes’ murder…something everyone and the world learned months before. Kirkman does a good job timing things like this so you have just forgotten about it when it is brought up again.
This also hinders the comic as an individual issue comic. If I read Invincible issue by issue, I think I would go crazy. There are really big moments in Invincible, but it usually is a lot of lead-up to those moments. As a result, individual issues are often dull, but as a whole, the story is fun.
After Invincible 3: Perfect Strangers, Invisible 4: Head of the Class is going to be a hard follow-up. The show down with Omni-Man was a pinnacle moment so this volume isn’t as strong, but continues to propel the story forward. Invincible 4: Head of the Class is followed by Invincible 5: The Facts of Life.
Preceded By:
