Comic Info
Comic Name: Invincible
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Ryan Ottley
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2018
Invincible #142
Reprints Invincible #139-144 (August 2017-Febuary 2018). The end is here…and blood will be spilled. The battle with Thragg will leave victims and scars upon Mark’s life, but it could also change the course of his future and the future of his family. When Robot makes his final play, Mark must make a decision and the fate of the Earth and the galaxy hangs in the balance…all things must end!
Written by Robert Kirkman, Invincible Volume 25: The End of All Things—Part 2 is an Image Comics superhero comic book collection and the final collection in the long running series. Following Invincible Volume 24: The End of All Things—Part 1, the volume features art by Ryan Ottley. Issues in the volume were also collected as part of Invincible Ultimate Collection—Volume 12 and Invincible Compendium—Volume 3.
Invincible is one of the first series I only read in trades (I think that The Sandman gets the first designation of that title). I started the series shortly after volume 2 (aka through issue #8) was released and kept up with a long time. I did fall off the series eventually around the teens in collection numbers, but finally, after a few years, finished the last volume. It is always sad to say goodbye to a series, especially if the series was around for a number of formative years. Due to aspects of the story a ******spoiler alert****** is in effect for the rest of the review.
The series ends as you’d expect it if you have read Invincible throughout its run. It wraps up the war with Thragg (where Nolan lost his life…not incredibly shocking since someone had to). The series quickly deals with Robot (a bit too quick in my opinion) and sets up the last couple issues. The fights end and the final drumroll begins.
Invincible #144
The series first has to deal with the addition of another son in Mark’s life with the poorly named “Marky” (I know this is a bit picky since Kirkman and his series revel in the fact that they name everyone badly). Like the war with Robot, I didn’t feel that the Marky storyline was developed enough, especially considering how much development other aspects of Mark’s life have been over the course of the series. In the final issue Marky admits that he feels like Mark wrote him off and I kind of agree with Marky…as a reader, I expected more from this storyline.
The last issue of the collection is the big finale. It plays out a lot like the end of Six Feet Under where it kind of tracks the lives of the main characters as they grow and age. We don’t see some things (like Debbie’s death), but the story shows that life goes on, new enemies are born, and also like The Sopranos, nothing ever “ends”. A new generation of Invincible has been born by the end of the series, and Kirkman (should he choose to) could return to the series at a later date to continue the story of Mark’s offspring or even Mark and Eve.
Surprisingly, there was little tragedy at the end of Invincible. Nolan lived a long life, and the worst part probably would be the breakdown of the friendship between Mark and Allen. The comic is intentionally anticlimactic in its last issue to demonstrate that despite being over, Invincible continues on and on. Another series that demonstrated the ruthless cycle of comic books is The Sandman Mystery Theater…you have to break the cycle because there will always be more stories to tell. The galaxy might be at peace (relatively) but there will always be challenges…and as far as the reader sees, Invincible will always be there.
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