Invincible #75
The Coalition of Planets, led by Thaedus, launches their final assault on The Viltrumite homeworld. War is hell, and it most definitely breaks loose when these two forces collide.
The Good
I've got to start off by saying that this is an ACTION PACKED ISSUE!!! This sets up the titanic art team of Ottley, Rathburn,& Plascencia to shine like 1,000 exploding suns. The cover is fantastic! The coloring, the line work, the character models, the background details, it's all superb. Not a single inch of space is wasted on this glorious two page cover. This cover let's you know exactly what you're in for in this issue. I must note that's something that I can rarely say about most covers today. It perfectly sets the tone of the story before you even open the book and read a single bit of dialog, that is quite an accomplishment.
Throughout the issue Ottley's pencils are olympian and really capture the epic, space opera feel of Kirkman's narrative. This issue is basically a large battle from front to back. This really works to Ottley's advantage, you really get a chance to admire his mastery of displaying motion. Most artists rely on large, heavily blurry lines to express motion. However Ottley's more restrained approach to depicting motion accomplishes so much more. The quick, wispy flourishes of lines he adds to his characters limbs and blood really makes me feel as if I'm witnessing an epic battle of super powered beings.
The way Ottley depicts violence is beautifully ugly and something to behold. Having this battle set in the cold vacuum of space really helps to express this. Every broken bone, severed limb, decapitation, impact of a blow is not only seen, it's felt. Plascencia's colors really, really breathe life into Ottley's impressive pencils. The bright, colors that he generally uses on this series take on an eerie quality in this issue. His colors are very warm, effervescent, and cartoonish in the best kind of way. They have an "Invincible: The Animated Series" vibe to them. When combined with the intense violence in this issue They become gorgeously ghoulish. There's a scene of Allen the Alien's fist penetrating the chest of a Viltrumite and exiting out of his mouth that looks especially awesome. Did I mention that Allen wear's said Viltrumite as a meat gauntlet for a few pages thereafter? This my friend is war...in all it's over the top, ugliness. Plascencia's colors really bring the bloodshed in this issue to life. The blood from open wounds looks fantastic as it ethereally floats through space.
There are so many artistic highlights in this issue that I don't know where to start. Well, there's the aforementioned meat puppet panel, another takes place when we see Oliver impetuously attempt to take on Lord Thragg. Let's just say junior get's schooled, and it's a bloody lesson that neither he nor Mark will ever forget. As the C.O.P. forces approach Planet Viltrum you get a little taste of Viltrumite culture. We see how the Viltrumites honor their dead. They've turn their home world into a mammoth mausoleum. The bodies of their fallen have been placed into orbit around Vltrum creating a planetary ring as a monument to the victims of the plague that ravaged and nearly wiped them out. Really disturbing, macabre stuff. The issue ends with Lord Thragg taking drastic actions after the C.O.P. forces do something very, very drastic to his home world. The close up of an enraged Thragg let's you know that next issue the shits about to hit the fan, and everybody's gettin' sprinkled.
Kirkman's writing in this issue is stellar. Before the fist start flying we see a great father son moment between Mark and Nolan. These two have a strained relationship to say the least, and it was really touching to see Mark confiding his fears to his Father. As dark and foreboding an atmosphere as this story arc has it's nice to see that Kirkman's still able to inject his trademark humor here an there. The Way Kirkman depicts the Viltrumites, especially Thragg is excellent. Kirkman's turned them into the best kind of menace. They're not just a faceless, blood thirsty enemy horde. Instead they are depicted as a proud race of warriors who are sincere in their dedication to their culture, heritage, and history. You may not like them, you may even hate them, but you must respect them. Discussing them here would ruin them but let's just say Kirkman's scripted some truly eye popping moments in this issue that will leaved you floored and salivating for the next issue.
The Bad
This books price is STEEP, I'm talking 5.99 steep. It's a great issue, but the main story is only the length of a regular issue. There are two back up features but if you haven't been following them then they're pretty much a non-factor in justifying the price. This issues pretty embedded in the series history so this is NOT a jumping on point
The Verdict
Invincible is an amazing series and this issue does anything but disappoint, if you got the 6 bucks to drop on this I'd highly suggest you do.