September 16, 2003
INVINCIBLE, Volume 1
Written by Robert Kirkman and Drawn by Cory Walker
Published by Image Comics
Mark Grayson is like just about every other teenager. He gets up, goes to school, has a difficult time staying awake through class, and eats a hearty dinner with both of his parents. Well, most of the time, that is. Sometimes, his dad’s off saving the world, or battling an army of inter-dimensional commandos, or flying a stray nuclear weapon into the sun. That’s just the way it is when your father happens to be the most powerful superhero on Earth. And then suddenly, you accidentally threw the garbage at the can but put it into orbit…
…being a teenager can be tough. Peer pressure, dating, drugs, and then throw in picking out an “iconic” costume and finding a codename? Forget it! That’s only half the fun of this entertaining little book that somehow sprang from the demented mind that created BATTLE POPE.
This “son of Superman” take has turned out to be one of the more quaint and joyful comics of 2003. Lacking any sort of meanness, Kirkman has approached this story and these characters with an open awe of the classic Lee/Ditko SPIDER-MAN stories and combined them with a taste for the days when Superboy was playing alongside the Legion of Superheroes. Somehow, he transplants those factors to his present day story and makes them work. I think the only reason that it does is that he does it with absolute sincerity; you never get the sense that Kirkman is mocking the old stories or his own concept in any way. You can away with a lot in this world if you can at least fake sincerity, and I don’t feel at any point while reading that it’s being faked.
Artist Cory Walker was a nominee for this year’s Russ Manning Award For Most Promising Newcomer, and frankly he was robbed in not winning. Walker evinces an unusual style reminiscent of Kevin Nowlan of all people, and frankly with all the clones running around out there who think they can be Jim Lee or Pat Lee, I’m pretty happy to find a book on the stands where an artist is showing some deference to a craftsman like Nowlan. He’s also made to look even better by one of the most underrated colorists in the business, Bill Crabtree. Crabtree uses a very bright palate that evokes the bygone era of Kirkman’s influences and yet grounds the story in our modern day. Very strong work is being done here.
This volume finds Mark discovering his powers, getting a name and costume, meeting his fellow youth superheroes, and trying to solve the mystery of why some students in his high school are disappearing. The one fatal flaw of the book is that there’s no sense of urgency to any of the proceedings and that makes it easy to lose a connection to the arching plot going on through the book. That given, I liked Invincible just fine and am intrigued to see where the creative team takes the concept next, or what they do next in the comics field. Grade: B
Should It Be A Movie?
I don’t think so. But should it take a step into other media? You bet.
INVINCIBLE is a comic that almost screams and begs to be an animated project of some kind. With the recent successes of JUSTICE LEAGUE and TEEN TITANS, we’re finding out that cartoons based on superheroes, when done right, can be ratings smashes. JUSTICE LEAGUE has used appropriately “big” plots to whet the appetites of the comics fans used to Grant Morrison’s grand tales from the mid-90s, and with the rise in popularity of Anime and Manga, it was a genius move to animate the TEEN TITANS in a form that the YU-GI-OH set wouldn’t dare to miss.
I would imagine that there’s a network out there, whether it’s Cartoon Network or someone else, that could take Invincible and ride it to millions in profit. You have superheroics, teen angst, and a vibrant world to work with; a basic melding of LIZZIE MCGUIRE, ROCKET POWER, and the TEEN TITANS. I can smell the merchandising cash from here.
If I were Kirkman and Walker, I’d definitely hope for a series instead of a film, because as we’ve seen, traditional animation at the movie theatre is deader than Pauly Shore’s career. No one wants to see a project die a horrible death on the front page of Variety. Best of luck, guys.
Also Reviewed:
TECH JACKET: LOST AND FOUND
Written by Robert Kirkman and Drawn by E.J. Su
Published by Image Comics
Zack Thompson, normal teenager, has just been infected with one of the greatest weapons in the galaxy, the “tech jacket.” A physically weak alien race, the Geldarians, created the tech jackets as symbiotic weapons that would help build their strength and protect themselves from their enemy, the Kresh. The bad news is that the jacket never comes off until you die, and the Geldarians are badly in need of someone who can save their civilization. Kirkman again travels the road of great power being given to a teen and seeing what sort of heroism can be found inside him, but with a bit less success here. The story combines GREEN LANTERN with THE LAST STARFIGHTER and SPIDER-MAN, and while it finds a decent middle area, it feels rushed. The true star of the book is artist Su, who provides some stunning detail in his work. Originally the first portions of the book were printed in color, but this printing takes away that color and replaces it with some lovely gray tones. Having never seen the color, I’d guess that the black and white is an improvement. Color tends to obscure the kind of detail an artist like Su puts into his work. Grade: B-
THE ANNOTATED MANTOOTH
Written by Matt Fraction and Drawn by Andy Kuhn and Tim Fisher
Published by AiT/PlanetLar
Recently, Jeffrey Wells’ column here at the Shoot asked what, precisely, is a romp? Jeffrey, I’ve found your answer: this book is a romp.
Mantooth is the most hilariously overblown trade paperback ever published. A scant 39 story pages lie within this 96-page book. The rest is taken up by three introductions, an epilogue, two text pieces, and the original scripts along with annotations. Fuck almighty. This book has more overkill that an invasion of Grenada. Still, Fraction never forgets to remind you that he knows that the entire book is an exercise in ludicrous overkill, and that allows you to be invited along for the ride with relative ease. The “stories” involve super-spy ape Rex Mantooth battling a variety of villains, but really, who cares? This book isn’t about the stories, it’s about the rollicking good time that Fraction and company want you to have while paging through it. Mantooth might be the most critic-proof book I’ve seen in a long time. Either you liked AIRPLANE or you didn’t, you know? I can live with that. Grade: Unnecessary.
Send all review copies to: Marc Mason, 1756 S. College Ave, Tempe, AZ, 85281. Send all charming and witty e-mail to the address below. Send all hate mail to editor-in-chief Chris Ryall. He knows where you live and where to send the goons.
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