A Return to Normalcy...Relatively Speaking That Is
Nolan and Debbie go on an intergalactic couple's retreat, Eve & Mark move in together, Will comes out of the closet, and Dinosaurus sets his sites on Sin City. Oh yeah, and Kirkman takes shots at the DCU Reboot. Oh snap! Beef, son!!!
The Good
The title's trademark humor returns full force and that's a very welcoming thing considering how tense and serious the last issue was.
Nolan and Debbie's brief departure would be nonsensical and baffling in any other title but makes perfect sense in the context of this title. Mark's totally creeped out by Eve's suggestion that they move into the master bedroom. Nobody likes the idea of their folks bumping uglies but Mark's almost puritanical discomfort with the idea is quite amusing. And Eve's teasing on the subject doesn't do much to put his mind at ease.
Will comes out of the closet to Mark and it all plays out very realistically. Mark's very much taken aback but to his credit is very mature about the situation and while he does put his foot in his mouth a bit we can see that his heart's definitely in the right place. This revelation will definitely change the dynamic of the relationship, but Mark isn't gonna let that change be for the worse. One of the things I love about this series is the way it approaches serious issues without out trying too hard. Kirkman scripts this exactly as it should be considering the nature of the characters involved.
With invincible Kirkman has all but flouted all of the familiar superhero tropes and I couldn't love him more for it. This issue Kirkman tackles the mad scientist/genius inventor villain. While out on patrol Mark encounters a would be villain by the name of "The Gravitator". Mark's interaction with this guy is excellent and has a lot of humor and heart to it. I really liked the way Mark went about dealing with this guy. As much as I like to see Mark get down and dirty and throw some blows, this was more intriguing to me than the epic fisticuffs the series is known for.
Being involved in a space-wide war can really cause a guy to get behind on his weekly pulls. That being the case Mark heads to his local shop to pick up his back issues. This is possibly my favorite part of this issue because it plays out just like a real visit to my shop does. I swear the cashier at Mark's shop is my dude Scott at mine. Almost word for word there conversation was one of ours. Marks little aside about the pointlessness of resetting at #1 was oh so timely. Ottley's inclusion of references to various titles from the big two and image in the shop were a very nice touch, cool little easter eggs all around for astute observers.
As much as I've liked the come down from the Viltrumite War I was beginning to miss the action a bit. The issue ends perfectly with a back to business battle between Dinosaurus and Mark. This is my second time actually reading Dinosaurus so I had no idea he was an eco terrorist, very interesting. I always like when a villain has a point to their actions and an ideological position that I can get with to some extent, even when I personally condemn their actions. I thought he would be one of the many amusing one off villains that Kirkman's peppered throughout the series, but I'm pleasantly surprised to see him getting some more screen time and development. I'm very much interested to see where he goes as the series progresses, of course with the explosive note this issue ends on he may or may not have a future.
The last few pages of this comics is one big "HOLY FRAK!" moment that leaves you immediately wanting to know what happens next. Invincible is about to go through some very, very big changes and I can't wait to see what Kirkman's got on the horizon.
The Bad
Nikos Koustis' colors are very solid but they're just missing that special something that made Plascenscia's jump off the pages.
The Verdict
BUY THIS COMIC!!!
Another month and it's business as superb business as usual for Invincible. Kirkman delivers another issue which backs up the big claim of "The best superhero comic book in the universe!" Humor, action, drama, this issue delivers it all and delivers it a plenty. I know that some were getting a bit with the last two issues, but I for one applaud Kirkman's post war pacing. But for those wishing for some more action in between the covers, this is the issue that'll satisfy you.