Invincible Graphic Novel Series

After finishing the fantastic season 3 of the show, I couldn’t wait to see what happens next. 144 issues and 3,600 pages later I am left depressed leaving behind such nuanced and deep characters. A lot of the ideas behind being a hero, what’s perceived as good and bad, and intentions vs results are explored throughout this epic saga.

The comics up to season 3 are mostly the same material. There was some differences in the timeline and ways stuff happened, but for the most part it felt like I could have skipped ahead up to that point. Once I got past that, wooo buddy. I haven’t been into a graphic novel series this much since Saga many years ago. This isn’t a story where the good guys always win and everything is black and white. Mark goes from being the hero to questioning what’s really important. Is defeating the “hero of the day” really changing things?

Mark and Eve’s relationship is a treat to watch develop. How understanding and graceful they are with each other after all the shit they constantly go through is true love. Their issues and reactions felt human and it rarely seemed overreacted just for the plot.

This series was brutal in the best way. Characters died unexpectedly and no one felt safe. With Eve, she was attacked several times during her pregnancy and the possibility of her losing the baby frightened me. Most authors wouldn’t dare, but I wasn’t so sure with Kirkman. On the flip side, it seemed like people were also being revived enough to where some deaths were losing impact.

Omni-man ended up being one of my favorite characters by the end. Never would have guessed that after he mass murdered the guardians of the galaxy. Mark going back in time and reliving that event gave a lot of context behind his thinking. I thought he was insane for trying to get back with Debbie as well, but again, over time it just made sense. He ruled the Viltrimites justly, fought with the coalition to protect the galaxy, and handed his empire down to Mark while on his death bed.

I could have went through another 100 issues of this. The final arc felt a little rushed and I wish we could have had a little more time at the end to explore everything that happened. The solution to finally stopping Rex was smart. I thought there was no way to logically move past him ruling without fucking up all the good he did, but using his brain with The Immortal making the final call was genius. The final fast forward scenes with Terra and Markey were nice and I didn’t mind how short that part was. It leaves a lot to infer with how their grievances came up, while still having a solution to lead into the happy ending.

Rating: 903/1000