The Invincible Thread, It's a great book, so it deserves it's own thread. Options

[Carl Shinyama]

So, how about that Mark Grayson, huh?

[Gonzogoose]

Love the book. I'm way behind on it, but what I've read I really enjoy.

[Cary]

I wait on the trades, mostly because I'd rather read more of the story at one time than the floppy offers me. That, plus I didn't get into it till the 30th issue or so. I enjoy it for the most part. Some of the stories seem to drag unnecessarily, but that's true of a lot of comics these days. Overall, great series. Ottley's art is just incredible.

[Ron Fortier]

I'd never read a single issue of this popular series, though lots of my pals kept pushing it on me. Two weeks ago stopped in at GRAND SLAM CARDS & COMICS in nearby Loveland, CO, and saw the first few trades on a shelf and finally picked up the first one. Read it the next day and thought it was very,
very cool. We'll most likely pick up subsequent trades...like Cary, and it read it in chunks.

[Carl Shinyama]

Cary, would you mind elaborating on Invincible stories dragging itself? I haven't come across a single issue that did, but then, that's just me.

[Gonzogoose]

I'm the same way, read it in trades. I found a great deal on the first two hardcovers last year at C2E2. And while I had read some of that, I hadn't read most of it, so picked that up. For me, so far of what I've read, nothing has dragged at all. But then maybe later on I'll encounter a story that does.

I think reading in trade in general does give you the advantage of reading more of the story at once, but in turn may also cause the lag Cary speaks of. If a book is written to be a monthly then it's quite possible it could be perceived differently reading it all at once. Just saying.

[Cary]

Cary, would you mind elaborating on Invincible stories dragging itself? I haven't come across a single issue that did, but then, that's just me.

Sure. Consider the Eve/Mark relationship for instance. Is there anyone in the world that has read Invincible that didn't know they were gonna get together? I mean seriously. And yet it took for freakin EVER for that to happen, and needlessly so IMO. I also thought the whole thing with the Government was drawn out a lot farther than it had to be. I mean you KNOW Cecil is not completely on the level, and you KNOW it's coming to a head, but it was just way too long in coming. Mark isn't stupid. He should have seen through Cecil a lot earlier. I also have issue with his sometimes Viltrumite issues and then sometimes not, primarily with his anger. Again look at the Cecil thing. He gets insanely angry with Cecil, but it's his own fault that Cecil took advantage of him. I mean Cecil isn't evil, but he's driven, and he's going to do what's in his best interest. Mark chooses not to see things and then gets mad when he's forced to see them. That's not all that consistent really. If Mark has anger issues, then fine, that's cool I guess. But he hasn't always had those issues, so where did they come from? He has angst for killing, and then kills again, this time justifying it. There's a lot that I could go into about the series that either doesn't make sense, is drawn out, or inconsistent, but at the end of the day I still dig the series. I forgive the flaws because it's fun. I think that's probably the highest praise I could possibly give a story, regardless of the genre.

[Cary]

I'm the same way, read it in trades. I found a great deal on the first two hardcovers last year at C2E2. And while I had read some of that, I hadn't read most of it, so picked that up. For me, so far of what I've read, nothing has dragged at all. But then maybe later on I'll encounter a story that does.

I think reading in trade in general does give you the advantage of reading more of the story at once, but in turn may also cause the lag Cary speaks of. If a book is written to be a monthly then it's quite possible it could be perceived differently reading it all at once. Just saying.

Well that's sort of my point. You write these huge years spanning arcs and leave dangling plot threads all over, you probably at some point get called on it, you know? I for one prefer the shorter arc format, with occasional and subtle plot extending threads rather than having it shoved down my throat, but I grew up on the Claremont/Byrne X-men so go figure.

[Liam Bradley]

Love it.

Ottley's artwork is so fresh.


Can't believe I just said fresh.

[wwi3313]

While I do commend Kirkman on evolving the Levitz Paradigm (he creates multiple threads, but unlike Levitz setup, they can almost be considered benign ideas that he's not planning to follow up with), I think he does suffer from extremities of "jumping-the-shark" to an incredible lag (especially the current arc). I don't think it upholds a succinct rhythm and aims too often at shock value than genuinely wow us (I think they've only done it twice, first with the fight between Omniman and Invincible and second the Conquest arc).

I HAVE no complaints about Ottley's work -- he's gotten better with every push of the pencil!

[Carl Shinyama]

Sure. Consider the Eve/Mark relationship for instance. Is there anyone in the world that has read Invincible that didn't know they were gonna get together? I mean seriously. And yet it took for freakin EVER for that to happen, and needlessly so IMO. I also thought the whole thing with the Government was drawn out a lot farther than it had to be. I mean you KNOW Cecil is not completely on the level, and you KNOW it's coming to a head, but it was just way too long in coming. Mark isn't stupid. He should have seen through Cecil a lot earlier. I also have issue with his sometimes Viltrumite issues and then sometimes not, primarily with his anger. Again look at the Cecil thing. He gets insanely angry with Cecil, but it's his own fault that Cecil took advantage of him. I mean Cecil isn't evil, but he's driven, and he's going to do what's in his best interest. Mark chooses not to see things and then gets mad when he's forced to see them. That's not all that consistent really. If Mark has anger issues, then fine, that's cool I guess. But he hasn't always had those issues, so where did they come from? He has angst for killing, and then kills again, this time justifying it. There's a lot that I could go into about the series that either doesn't make sense, is drawn out, or inconsistent, but at the end of the day I still dig the series. I forgive the flaws because it's fun. I think that's probably the highest praise I could possibly give a story, regardless of the genre.

I think it's best when romantic relationships take it's time, because it keeps the audience, or in this case, the reader, coming back for more. To me, that's smart writing.