Invincible #98

Sometimes I wonder if anyone was ever critical of Michael Jordan back in his heyday.  “He’s just too good too often,” someone might remark.  Or, a friend would ask you how the Bulls’ game last night was and you might listlessly respond, “Eh, same as it always was, MJ was amazing.”  You get the point. 

That’s how I’m starting to feel about Invincible.  98 issues in and I still do not have a bad thing to say about this comic.  But I have nothing good to say other than, “It is great” either  It is almost hard to speak on something that is month-in-month-out fantastic.  And I don’t just mean “oh, it’s consistently a solid, run of the mill comic book” I mean every month Invincible is one of the greatest things being published.  From the art, to the wonderful long-form story we’re getting, all the way down to the lettering, Kirkman and company continue to astound all expectations for this book.

I know a lot of folks read Invincible in trade, so I won’t divulge too much of the current paradigm, but needless to say we have reached one of those famous Kirkman moments where everything is set up for a moment of calm before the storm opens up and chaos rains down upon our beloved characters.  Issue 98 is not going to be something people rave about online or an issue that goes down in the pantheon of world changing Invincible issues, but it is a fantastic comic nonetheless.  It is a tension building issue.  After all, you can’t kill everyone until all of the pieces are set back in their proper places.  The ramp up to the crossing of the Rubicon with issue 100 really kicks into high gear here.  We’ll see what happens, but things are really not looking good for our titular hero.  And trust me, Kirkman and company make that completely tangible with this issue.  It’s solid writing from the word “go.”

For an issue with a whole heap of talking heads, this was a gorgeous looking set of pages.  Ottley just belongs on this book, and even doing simple dialogue, he shines.  However, I sincerely believe that Ottley wouldn’t look half as good as he does if it were not for the just plain ludicrous coloring talents of John Rauch.  Just phenomenal.  There really isn’t a color palette like his in a whole lot of other books.  It’s rich and just perfectly toned for this universe.  If you get the chance, flip through the issue and take a look at the redish-purple hue he achieves on the early skyline shots.  That’s talent.

I am really enjoying the themes Kirkman is grappling with in his ongoing superhero title, especially lately.  The questions this issue introduces (that are only going to be asked more loudly in the ramp up to issue 100) are interesting and give the cape and tights genre an adventurous twist while still maintaining the familiarity and comfort that characters like Invincible and Atom Eve provide.

If you’re one of the many readers who usually waits for trade paper back compilations for Invincible, I would highly suggest that you make the switch to floppies in time for issue 100.  I think these next three issues are going to be some of Robert Kirkman’s best work he has ever done and will be something you’ll regret missing in monthly format.