Thursday 12 September 2013

Invincible: Eight is Enough Review

Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artists: Cory Walker & Ryan Ottley

I have just started reading this series after buying the first compendium, which I plan to review as individual volumes (as it'd be hard to give too much attention on all the stories without it being a massive review). The first volume was brilliant, and I am really getting into this series, and I hope that it keeps this level of quality.

Plot


Mark Grayson is continuing his life as Invincible by helping an alien, also making college arrangements.

Review


This was a brilliant volume, and a great continuation to the story. Robert Kirkman continues to amaze me with how he can write characters, as he has a great talent for being able to create a character, and keeping them as interesting as possible, and although The Walking Dead is the series I consider that Kirkman has created the best characters in, this is giving it some competition. The way that Kirkman managed to up the pace in this book was also outstanding, as he took this fun series, and has managed to make it very exciting, and explosive, also having unique, and shocking developments as well. There was also plenty of action in this volume, with each and every action sequence being totally amazing, and exciting. There was also plenty of emotion in this story, which really added to the depth, and tone of the book.

The art in this book was mainly by Cory Walker, who did the art on all the issues in the volume bar the last one which was done by Ryan Ottley who would become the series regular artist following that. Both artists did a tremendous job, but I slightly preferred Ottley's art over Walker's. Walker's was just as good as it was in the last volume, suiting the fun style of the series. I was however still not a fan on his method of showing emotions, as although it works with the style of the series it still didn't appeal to me. I think this is the main reason I prefer Ottley's art, as his style also really suits the fun nature of the series, but he does a better job of showing emotion, with brilliant facial expressions. Both artists also did a great job of the action sequences, with them being very exciting, and explosive. I did however find Ottley's to be more dynamic, though there wasn't much between the two artists in this department.

This volume would start with Invincible's father, Omni-Man telling him about an old foe of his that's entering out atmosphere, but that he doesn't have time to deal with him, sending Invincible in his place. The threat is an alien who reveals himself to be a Champion Evaluator for the Coalition of Planets, and that his name is Allen. I found the interaction between Allen, and Invincible to be very entertaining, and interesting, adding a lot of humour to the volume. It also continued to show the fun side of this series in a brilliant way. The fight between Invincible, and Allen prior to their discussion was also brilliant, and very exciting.

This volume also sees Mark checking out the college he will be going to, visiting it with his best friend William Clockwell. I found this to be a very entertaining journey between the two characters, and with the addition of a Reaniman attacking the college it added excitement as well. I also loved how this allowed time to show the friendship between Mark, and William, and how Mark spends his normal life. It also showed how the series is trying to keep some form of realism to it, which I loved and the overall visit to the college was very enjoyable to read.

This volume would also see the first appearance of the Guardians of the Globe, as although they've been mentioned prior, this would see their first official appearance. Now I won't go into much detail about their appearance as to avoid spoilers, but I will say my thoughts on them. I found them to be a very enjoyable bunch of characters, and especially loved seeing the similarities to the Justice League of America, with each character resembling a JLA member in some way. I would however have loved some interaction with them, and Invincible in this volume, but their appearance was still very exciting, as well as slightly shocking.

WARNING: SMALL SPOILER AHEAD!

Atom Eve would also find herself in hard times in this volume, as she is heartbroken to find Rex-Splode cheating on her with Dupli-Kate. This really added a lot of drama to the volume, and the series in general, as along with other events in this volume it would show that this series would start to become a little more serious that it's been so far. This also allows the series to focus more on the relationship between Invincible, and Eve, as although they protest that they are just friends there is obviously a connection between the two characters.

Final Verdict


This was an outstanding volume, and a great continuation of the series. This was also slightly better than the first volume, as with the introducing over it allowed more time for excitement, and fun. The volume did however also have plenty of drama, and suspense, as well as some shocking moments as well. Due to all this I'd highly recommend this volume, and the series from this point is seriously starting to shape up.

Rating: 9/10

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