Invincible, Vol. 1: Family Matters

By Robert Kirkman (Author), Cory Walker (Artist) Image Comics (Publisher)

> REVIEW BY MAIA BANKHEAD

Chances are, you’ve experienced Robert Kirkman’s work (The Walking Dead, Ultimate X-Men, Marvel Zombies). But when Kirkman wasn’t making one of the most badass zombie apocalypses so far, he was writing about a quirky superhero teenager. Meet Mark Grayson, a teenage boy with a life as normal you can expect with a human mother and an alien superhero father…until he inherits his own superpowers. Invincible stands out due to its interpretation of someone knowingly living their life close to somebody that is always out fighting Lord-knows-what. Mark’s mother is a very realistic woman who has to deal with the possibility of her husband dying every day. Mark’s father is there for him to help him understand how to use his new abilities, like a father would help his son transition into manhood. There is definitely a family theme not-so-subtly hidden underneath all the superpowers, fights, and alien attacks, highlighted by Cory Walker’s use of bright colors, which isn’t something commonly seen in superhero stories nowadays. The entire graphic novel, down to the cover art, is done in a cartoonish style which manages to make any average statement hilarious when put in the right context, while also being just realistic enough that when someone gets down to business, they’re getting down to business. When reading, it’s a joyride that you can’t get off because you have no freaking clue what else is going to be thrown at you, whether it involves Mark taking on a bomber or trying to figure out whether a girl likes him. And I promise you: you’ll be laughing your butt off once you hit that last page.