Invincible: The Ultimate Collection Volume 6

Since it launched some seven or eight years ago, Invincible has been building toward the long promised "Viltrumite War," involving a confrontation between the teenage Mark Grayson and an entire race of aliens bent on the domination of Earth. While the story of that war is chronicled in the issues that follow those collected here, writer Robert Kirkman and artist Ryan Ottley produce one of the most tense, most action packed, most jaw-droppingly beautiful collection of Invincible stories since the series began in the pages of this volume. Simply put, Invincible is one of the best series being produced by any comic company bar none, and Invincible Vol 6 contains some of the best stories of that excellent series. Based on two major arcs, namely an invasion by 'alternate reality" evil Invincibles and a brutal confrontation between Invincible and a foe far more powerful than our titular hero, Vol. 6 is a resounding success due to basically two things - it radically ramps up the tension and stakes involved for our hero and it is also maturing, finally beginning to advance that long gestating plot involving the invasion by the cruel Viltrumites. Kirkman is a master here, enjoying himself with action sequences that are both stunning in their violence but that also resonate because they ring true, and smaller, more comedic or personal moments between characters that lend the world a believability and internal coherence that is admirable. The art by Ryan Ottley is just incredibly beautiful and pitch perfect for the tone Kirkman is striving for, and remains a huge part of the books success. Invincible will be significantly less entertaining when Ottley leaves, if he eventually does. This volume also is an incredible steal at the price Amazon offers it. Containing roughly a year's worth of stories, it is oversized and hardcover, looks fantastic on the shelf and will provide hours of reading entertainment. It's simply one of the best ways to experience those stories, and I think, provides far more value for money than other editions that are available. My highest possible recommendation!!!!

As someone who has been reading comics since the 1950's, Invincible is a fairly new (started in 2003) addition to the genre, but I can honestly say that this is the best 'new' comic I've come across in years. This collection includes Invincible issues (#60 thru #70) plus Invicible Returns #1. The original creative team - Robert Kirkman (writer), Ryan Ottley (penciler) and Russ Wooten (letterer) - with Cory Walker (penciler, inker), FCO Plascencia (colorist), Cliff Rathburn (inker) and Dave McCaig (colorist), continue to amaze in what they have produced, a superb blend that plays on the established traditions of the superhero genre while bringing in original takes and twists that make it all fresh and new again. The lead-in lines inside of the dust jacket pretty much set the tone for the series: "Girls, acne, homework, super-villains. When you're a teenager, it helps to be INVINCIBLE" ... and while the lines on the back of the dust jacket that set the stage for this sixth volume may seem rather over the top... "This is the volume you've been waiting for! The Invincible War, set in motion by Angstrom Levy! The epic battle with Conquest! The final buildup to the Viltrumite War! The Sequid invasion of Earth! It's all inside and it's almost too much for one superhero to handle. This is probably the most explosive, most action-packed volume of Invincible to date -- don't miss out!" ...the volume truly delivers on this buildup in whirlwind, breath-taking paced action. In this volume, the army of 'evil' Invincibles who Angstrom Levy has recruited from alternate universes is unleashed to wreak havoc on our Invincible's Earth. And there are casualties. And as if that were not enough to contend with, the Viltrumite's latest emissary - a super badass named Conquest - shows up to demand that Invincible get with the program or be destroyed, and the sequid spawn that have been growing in secret make their move to come out to take over. In the meantime, Allen the Alien and Nolan start their preparations for taking the fight to the Viltrumite Empire. Mark/Invincible gets to meet Eve's parents, which is almost as unpleasant an experience as wading through a swarm of sequids. His younger brother Oliver has a growth spurt and gets a new look and a new costume. And a green-skinned scantily-clad sexy alien foe called Universa is introduced. One thing I have to say, the red ink really flows in this volume. Kirkman and Ottley hold nothing back when it comes to the blood and gore that comes with these no holds barred showdowns. Characters do take major damage and they show it in unbelievably gristly detail. And as always, the collection has as an added treat another Sketchbook section at the end with all kinds of artwork and commentary showing the creative process the team went through developing and promoting the comic. Highly, highly recommended for anyone who enjoys quality work in the superhero comic genre.

The Invincible Ultimate Collection packages the Invincible War and Conquest arcs in the fantastic hardcover format used to in the last 5 volumes. Content wise, this volume is action packed and which means Ryan Ottley is the real star of this collection. The detail and amount of chaos that goes on is breath taking, but be warned: this is not for the squeamish. There are several memorable splash pages which are great to ogle but also frustrating when you realize how fast this volume flashes by. This volume also has a 2 issue arc featuring the return of original artist and co-creator Cory Walker which is a treat as well. The supplemental material has some great fan requested sketches as well as an awesome step by step look at the 4 page Invincible war cover featuring almost the entire Image universe. Be warned: there is a lot of Walker and Ottley gushing over each other but when you look at the art, it's well earned. The Invincible hardcovers are some of my favorite tales to go back to again and again and Vol 6 doesn't fail to deliver on form and content. The only bad thing is the insufferable wait in between volumes.

I heard of many stuff that newer version ibn books are changing the book to be sleeves and have the book dust jacket art cover on the book hard cover it self, I have purchase 9 books from amazon of this series and only got one without the dust jacket art. if you do get one without dustjacket and have the hard cover art newer version ask for a return and be specific and keep pushing it took me to return book twice.

In a nutshell, Invincible is the son of a thinly-veiled Superman analogue who struggles with work, love, life and the fact that his father was actually an alien invader here to conquer Earth. It's a book with humor, drama, memorable characters and where things actually change. In this volume (reprinting issues 60-70 of the monthly book) Invincible faces first an army of alternate selves from parallel Earths, then an attack by an alien general and finally the return of his father Omni Man. Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley have never shied away from blood and gore. They always show that when superhumans fight and buildings are tossed around people get hurt. That being said this is one of the most graphic books so far with shattered bones, broken bodies and lots of blood and it may turn off some readers. In between the epic battles Kirkman and Ottley find time for humor, relationships and fun which keeps this book from being a downer. Invincible is simply the best superhero book around these days and deserves a lot more attention than it gets.

I was one of those people that kept hearing how great Invincible was, but not wanting to take on another series. I thought that if I avoided it, I would eventually forget about it and could go on my merry way... never to have to spend the dough to catch up. Boy was I wrong. A friend of mine convinced me to buy the first volume, and I did. I devoured it and bought the next volume.. and the next... and the next. This series is like crack, I dare say that I love it more than Kirkman's other Opus.. The Walking Dead. And I am a HUGE TWD fan, so that is saying a lot. This volume has one of the most epic battles I have ever seen in a comic, Mark's battle with Conquest. Holy **#@ is it amazing. Ryan Ottley continues to amaze me with his talent, as he really pushes his art to new heights with his work in this volume. If this volume doesn't make you rush right out and buy the next volume, nothing will. So much of the drama that was built up in the prior volumes comes to a head and pushes Invincible to his limits physically and mentally. I won't spoil any of it, just trust me on this... You are missing out if you are not reading this series!! Take it from a cynic that didn't want to read it either, I was dumb.. don't be dumb like me. Pick it up. Do it now. It goes places Marvel and DC would fear to tread. Nobody is safe, anything can and usually does happen.

Volumes could be, and have been, written praising Kirkman's work on this title, and it's well-deserved, so I thought Ryan Ottley, the series' artist following Cory Walker's departure, should know his work is greatly appreciated as well. I have to say, I only really noticed that the series changed artists after seeing the different sketches in the back of the hardcovers and finding different sketches attributed to Walker and Ottley; that's how smooth the transition was. There are times when a title has to switch artists and it can be jarring, especially when you get attached to a particular style. I was disappointed when Tony Moore left The Walking Dead, Kirkman's other prominent addicting series from Image, since his style was more gritty and detailed, so I was pleased that we got an improvement on the series' look when a new artist came onboard this time around. If I had to describe Ottley's style to others that have been fortunate enough to see the works of other notable talents in the industry, I would say its a cross between Ed McGuinness and Scott Kollins. Ottley's lines are clean and simplistic, but he knows when greater degrees of detail are called for, and he incorporates a style where the thickness of the lines depends on distance, which really adds weight to the brutal close-ups of the fights and blows your mind on the backgrounds of splash pages or ensemble shots. Ottley's deceptively simple artistic approach truly reflects the deceptively simple premise of the title. Whether it's the epic battles between beings with the power to level cities in minutes or the subtle expressions on faces of characters you'll grow to love or the texture on everything from charred rubble to alien squids, Ottley's work on this series never fails to impress.

Yet another fantastic entry into the stories behind the Man Robert Kirkman. I mean literally any story he writes in some was shape or form I absolutely love. Added that invincible is nearly unlike any other comic out that and that itself makes this paticular volume of issues a little out there. No Spoliers, but this issue is super at hinting at the future volumes that come afterwards if you aren't reading them in rapid succession like myself. But you will find that all of them are just as interesting as the last and packed with random origin stories to help understand the other characters a little better. It's defiantely worth any Kirkman collectors time and triple that if you are just in it to read all about everyones favorite Viltrumite.