jcschildbach's review
4.0
I continue to love most things about this book. But there are those things that are grating--Atom Eve deciding to make her breasts bigger when she, well, comes back from the dead, more or less...like, wouldn't that be a disadvantage to a superhero in most situations? I mean, if it makes her feel better about herself, then... Anyway, I liked the whole debate about killing villains versus putting them away to come back again, especially given the caliber of villains that exist here. Kirkman continues to deliver intriguing plots and ideas, and the artists are on top of it.
crookedtreehouse's review
5.0
Much of the Ultimate Collections Volumes 3 & 4 were setups for this story.
When issue #60 came out in comic format, it was billed as a one-issue vent comic crossing over with all the Image Comics superhero teams and characters. And I Hated It. As a single issue, I found myself irritated at the pacing, the lack of time spent with any characters (seriously, the "crossover" aspect could have been entirely edited out of this "event", as the four people excited over seeing [b:Spawn Collection, Vol. 1|287396|Spawn Collection, Vol. 1|Todd McFarlane|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388273720s/287396.jpg|278828] in the pages of Invincible were probably so bummed out that Spawn is kind of sort of in one panel, that they complained about it to their hockey action figures (aka only friends) all night long, until their local comic store opened, at which point they went in to complain to the person behind the counter who Absolutely Hates Them.
But as the first part of a major shift in the Invincible story, it's actually very good. There is so much medicorely-written mopiness and romantic pining in the previous two volumes, that it's kind of nice to start a story that's all action and consequences but very little discussions of feelings and regret. That all comes in the net few issues, but the action at the beginning of the story makes it seem necessary as opposed to something to suffer through before the action. "I feel bad about peeing on my friend's cat" is much more easy to identify with than "Should I pee on my friend's cat? What if they're not my friend? What if they're my friend but their cat isn't? What if they aren't but their cat is? Do I even have to pee? Why did I drink three gallons of Gatorade this morning? You know what, fuck Terry, and fuck Terry's cat. I had to listen to that guy gripe about [a:Todd McFarlane|26019|Todd McFarlane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1210968056p2/26019.jpg] comics for an hour this morning. Maybe instead of peeing on Terry's cat, I should pee on his comic collection. I hear Spawn issues are one of the few comics that go up in value when they're drenched in urine. I'd actually be doing him a favor."
Where was I?
Ah yes, the emotional exposition in this volume is placed better than in the previous two, and makes the story feel more vital than previous volumes.
"Still Standing", while great on its own, is also a wonderful buildup to "Growing Pains", where several of the B plots take turns being center stage, and somewhat resolved. There's still plenty more story to go, but it's nice to feel that some parts of the story are wrapped up so we can prepare for the next big twist.
The one drawback to this collection is the final issue "Invincible Returns". Why this was put at the end of a volume makes no sense, as it's a recap of the previous seventy issues. Including what you just finished reading. An editor who paid more attention to how narrative works, would have put this at the beginning of the next volume, as opposed to the end of this one. But even if they'd done that, it's just a [a:Chris Claremont|15091|Chris Claremont|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206644417p2/15091.jpg] Narration Box Clip Show with forgettable art and absolutely no impact on the rest of the series. It's like an illustrated Wikipedia entry of the first seventy issues. Skip it. Kirkman is better than this issue, [a:Ryan Ottley|125988|Ryan Ottley|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is better than this issue, [a:Corey Walker|3860863|Corey Walker|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is better than issue, and you are better than this issue.
I recommend this to fans of superhero stories with conclusions to storylines, Justice League enthusiasts who get hard when someone whispers "Starro" in their ears, event comic fans who can only budget for one issue of one title, costume designers who want to see dozens of variations on the Invincible costume, and those four guys who really wanted to see Spawn in that one panel. Viva Mcfarlane!
When issue #60 came out in comic format, it was billed as a one-issue vent comic crossing over with all the Image Comics superhero teams and characters. And I Hated It. As a single issue, I found myself irritated at the pacing, the lack of time spent with any characters (seriously, the "crossover" aspect could have been entirely edited out of this "event", as the four people excited over seeing [b:Spawn Collection, Vol. 1|287396|Spawn Collection, Vol. 1|Todd McFarlane|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388273720s/287396.jpg|278828] in the pages of Invincible were probably so bummed out that Spawn is kind of sort of in one panel, that they complained about it to their hockey action figures (aka only friends) all night long, until their local comic store opened, at which point they went in to complain to the person behind the counter who Absolutely Hates Them.
But as the first part of a major shift in the Invincible story, it's actually very good. There is so much medicorely-written mopiness and romantic pining in the previous two volumes, that it's kind of nice to start a story that's all action and consequences but very little discussions of feelings and regret. That all comes in the net few issues, but the action at the beginning of the story makes it seem necessary as opposed to something to suffer through before the action. "I feel bad about peeing on my friend's cat" is much more easy to identify with than "Should I pee on my friend's cat? What if they're not my friend? What if they're my friend but their cat isn't? What if they aren't but their cat is? Do I even have to pee? Why did I drink three gallons of Gatorade this morning? You know what, fuck Terry, and fuck Terry's cat. I had to listen to that guy gripe about [a:Todd McFarlane|26019|Todd McFarlane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1210968056p2/26019.jpg] comics for an hour this morning. Maybe instead of peeing on Terry's cat, I should pee on his comic collection. I hear Spawn issues are one of the few comics that go up in value when they're drenched in urine. I'd actually be doing him a favor."
Where was I?
Ah yes, the emotional exposition in this volume is placed better than in the previous two, and makes the story feel more vital than previous volumes.
"Still Standing", while great on its own, is also a wonderful buildup to "Growing Pains", where several of the B plots take turns being center stage, and somewhat resolved. There's still plenty more story to go, but it's nice to feel that some parts of the story are wrapped up so we can prepare for the next big twist.
The one drawback to this collection is the final issue "Invincible Returns". Why this was put at the end of a volume makes no sense, as it's a recap of the previous seventy issues. Including what you just finished reading. An editor who paid more attention to how narrative works, would have put this at the beginning of the next volume, as opposed to the end of this one. But even if they'd done that, it's just a [a:Chris Claremont|15091|Chris Claremont|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206644417p2/15091.jpg] Narration Box Clip Show with forgettable art and absolutely no impact on the rest of the series. It's like an illustrated Wikipedia entry of the first seventy issues. Skip it. Kirkman is better than this issue, [a:Ryan Ottley|125988|Ryan Ottley|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is better than this issue, [a:Corey Walker|3860863|Corey Walker|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is better than issue, and you are better than this issue.
I recommend this to fans of superhero stories with conclusions to storylines, Justice League enthusiasts who get hard when someone whispers "Starro" in their ears, event comic fans who can only budget for one issue of one title, costume designers who want to see dozens of variations on the Invincible costume, and those four guys who really wanted to see Spawn in that one panel. Viva Mcfarlane!
elliot_lcq's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Wao… La première partie de ce volume est juste une énorme claque, je regrettais que la guerre entre les différents Invincible du Multivers s’arrête au bout de 2 numéros mais ça en valait la peine… L’arrivée de Conquest, j’ai jamais été aussi émerveillé et choqué devant des dessins, un vrai ascenseur émotionnel qui fait parti des meilleurs numéros de la série. Après de tels numéros, la suite se tasse un peu et on reprend sur un arc plus calme qui reste intéressant grâce au développement du personnage de Mark autour de son code moral. J’attends de lire la suite qui, j’espère, arrivera à maintenir le niveau qu’on a atteint voir aller plus loin.
paziinyaa's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book collects trade paperbacks volumes #12 and #13. And damn if the first half is not the best story arc so far. Which is funny because the latter half, which corresponds to volume #13 is the worst volume so far. So yeah, you have the highest high and lowest low, which for Invincible still is a great deal of fun.
stilldirty's review
5.0
Wow. So, all THAT happened.
"Invincible" continues to be one of the easiest-to-keep-reading graphic novels books I'll ever read. And I love how wide-reaching some of the plot points can be and are. Basically, I enjoy the hell out of these books.
"Invincible" continues to be one of the easiest-to-keep-reading graphic novels books I'll ever read. And I love how wide-reaching some of the plot points can be and are. Basically, I enjoy the hell out of these books.
nimqua's review
5.0
this was a crazy omnibus, conquest is such a bad ass, invincible finally has his first kill,
i guess it starts a new series "invincible returns" we will have to see what is different
i liked the appearance of spawn
i guess it starts a new series "invincible returns" we will have to see what is different
i liked the appearance of spawn
trike's review
3.0
I think it's official: Ryan Ottley likes drawing people getting eviscerated, pummeled to death and their faces pulled off. The bloodiest installment of Invincible yet, it's finally started moving away from riffs on other superheroes and become its own book.
zorpblorp's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0