Chopping Block Review: Invincible #98

Fans of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead: you have no excuse not to try his superhero epic, Invincible. Heading towards its 100th issue, the world of Mark Grayson, aka Invincible, looks to be ready for another massive shake up. Issue #98 is the first in the new story arc, The Death of Everyone, so you know this is going to be big. Being almost 100 issues old, does the book retain its charm, or has it runs its course?

For a brief recap of what Invincible is about, here you go: Invincible is Mark Grayson, the son of the former hero Omni Man (an alien being sent to watch and take over the planet). He has battled his father in an all out war, stopped countless alien invasions, all while retaining the normal qualities of a person (he goes to college, has girl trouble, reads comic books, etc). In the world of Invincible, Las Vegas was wiped off the map, an army of alternate reality Invincible almost destroyed the planet, and that’s just scratching the surface. With issue #98, we see a recently de-powered Mark get his powers back, and not a moment too soon. Something happens in this issue, something that is on a catastrophic level and that sets the tone for the march to issue 1-0-0.

Robert Kirkman has crafted an amazing world with Invincible, and with this issue, he shows how he pulls no punches. This will be a huge test for Mark, heck, for the whole world, to try to overcome. Ryan Ottley, the longtime artist of the book, shows why he is the only man for the job with his energetic, clean visuals. Ottley provides the artwork that every superhero book would die for. All in all, this is a terrific issue, one that sets the stage for what is sure to be the biggest storyline in Invincible’s storied history. Highly recommended, I give Invincible #98 a perfect @@@@@ out of FIVE.