From people thinking issue sixty was too compressed, to complaining that the fight against Conquest took three issues, to the tease about Atom Eve's death that virtually fooled everyone reading, INVINCIBLE has certainly kicked off it's 5th year with a bang. After quite a few issues of bloodshed and punching, this one is about the aftermath and epilogue, as the cover says. The funeral on the cover is for Rex Splode, who died in issue sixty. Considering he was a long time character, it was a good idea to focus on his death and how the character had moved since his debut.
Mark is laid up in the hospital ROCKY II style as Eve watches over him, and explains what happened. Alluding to her two part mini last year, it seems Conquest nearly killing her removed the "mental block" she has over using her powers to reshape organic material. The downside is that her abilities seem to not be completely under her control; while she's upped her cup size as a result, she also started melting Mark's costume after removing it for a make out session. Mark demands that Cecil show him Conquest's body, but it seems that it was a ruse while Cecil plans to interrogate what is left of Conquest's head. While Mark and Cecil are hardly friends anymore, they've returned to being allies of convenience. Kirkman all but hammers home the point of the saga in a speech Cecil gives about merely ONE Viltrumite doing this much damage to the world and Invincible, their (seemingly) strongest hero. Even the fifty that Nolan claims exists would be a massive problem.
Mark's mom feels guilt over urging her son to be a superhero only to see him occasionally get the stuffing beaten out of him; it was an awkward scene but felt quite real. Although I must say, Eve is quite horny; Mark can barely stand and she's groping him all over. Not that he's resistant at all, but damn, kids, give it a break. For Mark's part, he is still enthused that Eve is even alive; believing that she was dead, of course, gave him the extra edge against Conquest in the end. The issue ends with Angstrom Levy prepping for more plans, a return of the Martian Sequid menace, and Mark vowing to Oliver that he was right; threats of certain nature need to be taken down. It's a bit of a hard line for Mark, but in some ways the past year or so of stories have been about him "growing up" and seeing the world for what it is, in a less naive way, and being bitten by the ugly parts. Given that the world has been destroyed, his girlfriend nearly killed, and even his ally Rex dead in the melee, it makes sense for Mark to feel that way, at least for a while. Even Spider-Man claimed criminals "will get no mercy from Spider-Man" during MAXIMUM CARNAGE, at least for a few issues (before Spidey was telling everyone that Carnage was some sweet misunderstood cherub because he'd been abused as a kid before he decided to murder people by the dozen, but that's Parker for you). Personally I am not against heroes NOT killing under ANY circumstance, so long as they know where that line is, rather than Wolverine or Punisher, who usually kill any creep who steals a purse or wanders into the wrong bar.
Series co-creator Cory Walker is returning to pencil the next two issues, which will star Nolan and Allen. That should be interesting. It will be weird seeing the title without Ottley's pencils for a short while, but Walker as improved quite a bit as an artist in five years, and it will be good seeing him "come home" again (he stopping drawing INVINCIBLE around issue #7 I believe, beyond covers for the trades and the ATOM EVE mini). Ottley's had a uninterrupted run of 58 issues, which is quite lengthy. Hopefully he returns once Walker is finished; I consider him more of INVINCIBLE's artist than Walker.
I have been in the minority and enjoyed the story so far. I loved that issue sixty took a tale that Marvel and DC would bleed into 7-8 books for sheer greed and told it in one oversized one. I liked the epic, godly battle between Mark and Conquest. It would have been a shameless death for Eve to so flat an adversary, but she's not dead, so I accept it. This issue was a good way to take a breath before the next saga.
Kirkman also takes a lot of Eve "death issue" hate mail like a trooper in the letters area.
DKDetectiveElementary, Dear Robin (he/him)
