Tech Jacket backup story by Robert Kirkman, Audrey Sitterson, E.J. Su, Ron Riley, Rus Wooton
My futile attempts to keep up with the world of serial comic books continues. As you can see, I'm still way behind.
Invincible is structured as a series of arcs that tracks Mark's growth as a superhero that starts out reminiscent of Marvel's early Spider-Man. And like a few Marvel comics from the seventies, there are numerous plot threads being advanced at any time. But the one that has propelled Invincible for most of its history is Mark's conflict with his father Nolan and the Viltrumite Empire. His showdowns with increasingly dangerous Viltrumite foes have pushed the overall tenor of the series towards the apocalyptic, making Mark more comfortable with using extreme measures in order to protect his family and loved ones. Mind you, this isn't the most subtle character development - Kirkman's dialogue tends to be a bit stiff and his characters are usually declaring their thoughts and intents for the benefit of the reader. But that to has its own retro charm, I guess.
As villains go, it's hard to beat an interplanetary-level threat like a race of bloodthirsty, world-conquering supermen given that only one is needed to crush all of Earth's armies. This also gives Kirkman an excuse to indulge in some extraordinarily brutal super-powered brawls. Since this is an Image Comics title, the blood flows more freely and doesn't shy away from depicting grisly disemboweling scenes. The series clearly shifted into higher gear when Nolan (a.k.a. Omni-Man) murdered the members of the Guardians of the Globe; then fought Mark to within an inch of his life. Mark's most involved battle so far was an epic multi-issue affair with the virtually unstoppable Viltrumite warrior Conquest - which left Mark, his half-brother Oliver, and his girlfriend Atom Eve badly hurt.
Issue 72 is the second part of the latest story arc The Viltrumite War. Kirkman organizes his stories so that the more exposition-heavy issues set up the proceeding action-oriented issues. In this case, Mark's reconciliation with Nolan in Issue 71 and preparations to take the fight to the Viltrumite Empire are interrupted by a sudden appearance of a small force led by Conquest himself. What follows in 72 is pure mayhem, dominated by Mark's rematch with Conquest.* it would be difficult, to say the least, to top that first fight. And yet Kirkman manages to do just that in one issue by upping the stakes and increasing the gross factor.
The rest of the creative team has settled-in into illustrating Kirkman's scripts. Since taking-over the pencilling duties from co-creator Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley has pretty much become the Invincible artist - his slightly exaggerated style imbues the characters with a certain muscular grace. And while this issue isn't the best example of the work of colorist FCO Plascencia, every drop of blood and gut spilled is rendered in loving detail - with bright reds and oranges.
Invincible is as solidly professional a comic to come out of the Direct Market, just as long as the reader doesn't mind getting a little queasy.
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* Tech Jacket, another Kirkman creation, appears as a supporting character, and in a forgettable backup story.
