I have some mixed feelings about Invincible, though they obviously are positive enough for me to start a full series reread. In college, I used to own a hardcover collection regrouping the first several TPBs, but I gave it away when moving to grad school. I was bothered by the violence and gore then, and now I can add to that the casual homophobia and ableism of the early 2000s and the low-level objectification and misogyny that are in most superhero comics. There’s some not to like in this series.

And yet, it’s also really good! It captures a lot of the goofy fun of superhero comics while not being hamstrung by decades of continuities. It also tells a really interesting story, and as much as the violence bugs me, it fits with the exploration of superhero tropes in the series. I’m going to keep up the series reread, and I think I’ll enjoy it (while keeping up my caveats along the way).

• Robert Kirkman
• Cory Walker
• Ryan Ottley
• comics
• misogyny
• homophobia
• ableism
• violence
• Invincible
• Image Universe