Invincible (comic series)

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Invincible
Invincible-24-cov1.jpg
Cover of Invincible 24 (July 2005)
by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley
Publication information
Publisher Image Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatFinished Series
Genre
Publication dateJanuary 2003 – February 2018
No. of issues144
Main character(s)
Creative team
Created by Robert Kirkman
Written by Robert Kirkman
Artist(s) Cory Walker
Ryan Ottley
Letterer(s) Russ Wooton
Colorist(s) Bill Crabtree
Editor(s)Robert Kirkman
Collected editions
Family Matters ISBN   1-5824-0320-1
Eight is Enough ISBN   1-5824-0347-3
Perfect Strangers ISBN   1-5824-0391-0
Head of the Class ISBN   1-5824-0440-2
The Facts of Life ISBN   1-5824-0554-9
A Different World ISBN   1-5824-0579-4
Three's Company ISBN   1-5824-0656-1
My Favorite Martian ISBN   1-5824-0683-9
Out of This World ISBN   1-5824-0827-0
Who's the Boss? ISBN   1-6070-6013-2
Happy Days ISBN   1-6070-6062-0
Still Standing ISBN   1-6070-6166-X
Growing Pains ISBN   1-6070-6251-8
The Viltrumite War ISBN   1-6070-6367-0
Get Smart ISBN   1-6070-6498-7

Invincible is an American comic book series written by Robert Kirkman, illustrated by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, and published by Image Comics. Set in the Image Universe, [1] Invincible follows the coming of age of superhero Mark Grayson / Invincible, a Viltrumite and first-born son of Omni-Man, the most powerful person on the planet. The series began publication on January 22, 2003, concluding on February 14, 2018 with 144 issues. A television series adaptation began streaming on Prime Video on March 25, 2021 to critical acclaim. [2]

Contents

Plot synopsis

Mark Grayson is teenage superhero Invincible. He was a normal high school senior with a normal part-time job and otherwise normal life, except his father Nolan is the superhero Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on the planet. At the age of 17, Mark begins to display superpowers, which come from his father being a member of the Viltrumite race, who, according to Nolan, pioneer the galaxy on a mission of benevolence and enlightenment.

As Invincible, Mark begins working as a superhero, with his father acting as his mentor, and meeting other heroes (including Robot, Rex Splode, Dupli-Kate and Atom Eve), discovering that his Physics teacher has been turning his students into human bombs, to foiling a plan by the Mauler Twins to make an army of robots. Meanwhile Omni-Man is kidnapped by aliens, taken to another dimension, but returns after what seems to be only a few days, but was actually eight months to him.

Publication history

Ryan Ottley, Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker at Lucca Comics & Games 2018 Ryan Ottley, Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker - Lucca Comics & Games 2018.jpg
Ryan Ottley, Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker at Lucca Comics & Games 2018

While Robert Kirkman has been the sole writer of the series, Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley have contributed the art. Cory Walker co-created the book and provided art from #1 to #7 as well as #127–132. Ryan Ottley assumed art duties with issue #8 and drew all other issues. Kirkman has provided back-up space for a few aspiring comic creators, most notably Benito Cereno and Nate Bellegarde. The book is notorious for being graphically violent despite its colorful nature and visuals.

In August 2016, Robert Kirkman announced that the series would end late in 2017 with issue #144, with Ryan Ottley "coming back to the book" for the final twelve-issue sequence. [3] The double-sized final issue was released on 14 February 2018. [4]

Characters

Grayson family

Superheroes

Allies

Enemies

Several of Kirkman's superheroes.
Cover art by Ryan Ottley. KirkmanCreations.jpg
Several of Kirkman's superheroes.
Cover art by Ryan Ottley.

In 2003 and 2004, Image and Robert Kirkman published several other superhero series: Tech Jacket pencilled in a manga style by E. J. Su (cancelled at #6), the 3-issue Capes Inc. series drawn by Mark Englert and three oneshots starring Brit, the first two with artwork from Tony Moore and the third with artwork by Cliff Rathburn.

In 2007, Brit was launched as an ongoing full-color series written by Bruce Brown, with artwork by Cliff Rathburn. The series is overseen and edited by Robert Kirkman. In late 2007, a two issue mini-series starring Atom Eve was released.

Tech Jacket was first collected as a digest-sized, black and white graphic novel and later reissued in regular sized, full color and a cover scheme similar to Kirkman's other trade paper backs. Capes was collected as a trade paperback in summer 2007, and the three Brit one-shots were colored by Val Staples and published as a collection in 2007, as well.

At first shown to barely coexist in the same universe, the characters have since been integrated into Invincible's book. Tech Jacket was an ongoing series that tied into Invincible #27, and the character has been seen in the background of various battles during the series. The characters from Capes have also been supporting characters seen mainly in large superhero battles Invincible participates in, and the series ran as a back-up in the Invincible book starting with #27. Brit has had an even less substantial role, appearing a couple of times in the aforementioned brawls (understandable considering that after the last book Brit was somewhat-retired). In The Astounding Wolf-Man , Art, Invincible's tailor, appeared, designing the title character's costume. Wolf-man has also appeared in Invincible #48 & 49.

Collected editions

Trade paperbacks

With the exception of volumes 14, 18, 22, 24, and 25, every volume of the Invincible trade paperbacks is named after a television sitcom.

TitleISBNRelease DateCollected Material
Invincible Vol. 1: Family MattersPaperback: ISBN   1-58240-320-1 2003-11-02Invincible #1–4
Invincible Vol. 2: Eight Is EnoughPaperback: ISBN   1-58240-347-3 2004-04-28Invincible #5–8
Invincible Vol. 3: Perfect StrangersPaperback: ISBN   1-58240-391-0 2004-12-01Invincible #9–13
Invincible Vol. 4: Head of the ClassPaperback: ISBN   1-58240-440-2 2005-04-20Invincible #14–19; Image Comics Summer Special
Invincible Vol. 5: The Facts of LifePaperback: ISBN   1-58240-554-9 2005-11-16Invincible #0, 20–24, 25 (origin stories from the back only)
Invincible Vol. 6: A Different WorldPaperback: ISBN   1-58240-579-4 2006-06-05Invincible #25–30
Invincible Vol. 7: Three's CompanyPaperback: ISBN   1-58240-656-1 2006-12-20Invincible #31–35; The Pact #4
Invincible Vol. 8: My Favorite MartianPaperback: ISBN   1-58240-683-9 2007-07-19Invincible #36–41
Invincible Vol. 9: Out of This WorldPaperback: ISBN   1-58240-827-0 2008-06-18Invincible #42–47
Invincible Vol. 10: Who's the Boss?Paperback: ISBN   1-60706-013-2 2009-05-20Invincible #48–53
Invincible Vol. 11: Happy DaysPaperback: ISBN   1-60706-062-0 2009-08-24Invincible #54–59; The Astounding Wolf-Man #11
Invincible Vol. 12: Still StandingPaperback: ISBN   1-60706-166-X 2010-05-26Invincible #60–65
Invincible Vol. 13: Growing PainsPaperback: ISBN   1-60706-251-8 2010-08-25Invincible #66–70; Invincible Returns #1
Invincible Vol. 14: The Viltrumite WarPaperback: ISBN   1607063670 2011-04-25Invincible #71–78
Invincible Vol. 15: Get SmartPaperback: ISBN   1-60706-498-7 2012-01-11Invincible #79–84
Invincible Vol. 16: Family TiesPaperback: ISBN   1-60706-579-1  Parameter error in {{ ISBN }}: Invalid ISBN.2012-07-05Invincible #85–90
Invincible Vol. 17: What's Happening?Paperback: ISBN   1-60706-662-9 2013-01-23Invincible #91–96
Invincible Vol. 18: The Death of EveryonePaperback: ISBN   1-60706-762-5 2013-08-13Invincible #97–102
Invincible Vol. 19: The War at HomePaperback: ISBN   1-60706-856-7 2014-03-11Invincible #103–108
Invincible Vol. 20: FriendsPaperback: ISBN   1-63215-043-1  Parameter error in {{ ISBN }}: Invalid ISBN.2014-11-12Invincible #109–114
Invincible Vol. 21: Modern FamilyPaperback: ISBN   1-63215-318-1 2015-06-24Invincible #115–120
Invincible Vol. 22: Reboot?Paperback: ISBN   1-63215-626-1 2016-02-25Invincible #121–126
Invincible Vol. 23: Full HousePaperback: ISBN   1-63215-888-4 2017-04-04Invincible #127–132
Invincible Vol. 24: The End of All Things, Part 1Paperback: ISBN   1-53430-322-5  Parameter error in {{ ISBN }}: Invalid ISBN.2017-09-26Invincible #133–138
Invincible Vol. 25: The End of All Things, Part 2Paperback: ISBN   1-53430-503-8  Parameter error in {{ ISBN }}: Invalid ISBN.2018-03-27Invincible #139–144
Invincible Compendium Vol. 1 ISBN   1-60706-411-1 2011-08-17Collects #1–47, #0, Invincible story from the Image Comics Summer Special, The Pact #4
Invincible Compendium Vol. 2 ISBN   1-60706-772-2 2013-08-27Collects #48–96, Invincible Returns #1, Astounding Wolf-Man #11
Invincible Compendium Vol. 3 ISBN   1-53430-686-2 2018-07-24Collects #97–144
Invincible Presents: Atom Eve & Rex Splode, Vol. 1Paperback: ISBN   1-60706-255-0 2010-06-14Invincible Presents: Atom Eve #1–2; Invincible Presents: Atom Eve & Rex Splode #1–3

Hardcovers

TitleISBNRelease DateCollected Material
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 1 ISBN   1-58240-500-X 2005-08-03Collects #1–13, plus extras
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 2 ISBN   1-58240-594-8 2006-06-20Collects #14–24, #0, Free Comic Book Day 2004 story, parts of #25, plus extras
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 3 ISBN   1-58240-763-0 2007-11-07Collects #25–35, The Pact #4, plus extras
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 4 ISBN   1-58240-989-7 2009-04-29Collects #36–47, plus extras
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 5 ISBN   1-60706-116-3 2010-01-13Collects #48–59, The Astounding Wolf-Man #11.
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 6 ISBN   1-60706-360-3 2011-04-05Collects #60–70, Invincible Returns #1
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 7 ISBN   1-60706-509-6 2012-02-15Collects #71–84
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 8 ISBN   1-60706-680-7 2013-05-01Collects #85–96
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 9 ISBN   1-63215-032-8 2014-08-19Collects #97–108
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 10 ISBN   1-63215-494-3 2015-12-10Collects #109–120
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 11 ISBN   1-53430-045-7 2017-05-23Collects #121–132
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 12 ISBN   1-53430-658-7 2018-05-22Collects #133–144
The Complete Invincible Library Vol.1 ISBN   1-58240-718-5 2007-03-28Collects #1–24, #0, Free Comic Book Day 2004 story, parts of #25, plus extras
The Complete Invincible Library Vol.2 ISBN   1-60706-112-0 2009-11-25Collects #25–47, The Pact #4, plus extras
The Complete Invincible Library Vol.3 ISBN   1-60706-421-9 2011-11-30Collects #48–70, The Astounding Wolf-Man #11, Invincible Returns #1, plus extras

Other collections

In other media

Motion comics

The comic has been turned into a motion comic by Gain Enterprises using the Bomb-xx process, and is broadcast on MTV2 [5] and downloadable to mobile phones, from iTunes, [6] [7] and Amazon. [8]

Cast

Film

On April 4, 2017, it was announced that Point Grey Pictures and Skybound Entertainment are set to produce a live action movie with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg attached as writers and directors and Universal Pictures distributing the movie. Series creator Robert Kirkman is also set to produce the film, along with Rogen, Goldberg, David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst. [9] In January 2021, Kirkman reaffirmed that the film is still in development despite the release of a streaming television adaptation, and that Rogen and Goldberg are still involved with the project. [10]

Television series

On June 19, 2018, Amazon Studios announced they had greenlit an adult animated adaptation of the comic series, set to consist of eight hour-long episodes with creator Robert Kirkman to executive produce the series. [11] On January 31, 2019, a full cast list was revealed featuring Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, and J. K. Simmons as Invincible, Debbie Grayson, and Omni-Man respectively, [12] with Rogen ending up being involved as a part of the cast, but he and Goldberg are not set to direct/write/produce the series. [13] It premiered on March 26, 2021. [14] On April 29, 2021, the series was renewed for a second and third season. [15]


Notes

  1. "One Fan's Opinion: Issue #14". Comic Book Resources. 2005-11-10. Archived from the original on 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  2. Petski, Denise (January 22, 2021). "Robert Kirkman's Animated Series 'Invincible' Gets Premiere Date On Amazon". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  3. Kirkman, Robert (2016-08-17). "Robert Kirkman Brings Invincible To An End". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 2016-12-21. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  4. "This Week's Comics: Invincible #144 & Slots #5 - Skybound". Skybound. 2018-02-13. Archived from the original on 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  5. mtv (2008-08-27). "Episode 1". MTV. Archived from the original on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
  6. George Gene Gustines (2008-07-14). "A Comic Book Superhero Is Headed to Small Screens – NYTimes.com". NYTimes/com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
  7. Archived November 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Amazon.com: Invincible Season 1". www.amazon.com. Archived from the original on 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  9. "Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg to Adapt Robert Kirkman Comic 'Invincible' for Universal (Exclusive)". Archived from the original on 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  10. "'Invincible' live-action movie will exist separate from Amazon's animated series". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  11. Andreeva, Nellie (June 19, 2018). "Amazon Greenlights 'Invincible' Superhero Animated Series From Robert Kirkman". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  12. "Invincible". IMDb.com. Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  13. Petski, Denise (2019-01-31). "'Invincible': Steven Yeun & J.K. Simmons Top Loaded Voice Cast For Robert Kirkman's Animated Amazon Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-05-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. Otterson, Joe; Otterson, Joe (2021-04-29). "'Invincible' Renewed for Seasons 2 and 3 at Amazon". Variety. Archived from the original on 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  16. Kirkman, Robert [@RobertKirkman] (August 9, 2009). "Flying out tomorrow to New Mexico..." (Tweet). Retrieved 2010-07-25 via Twitter.
  17. Pehanick, Maggie (November 30, 2015). "If You Blinked, You Missed This Easter Egg From The Walking Dead's Winter Finale". Popsugar . Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 2010-07-25.

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References