Thursday, August 29, 2013

[BOOK REVIEW] Invincible: Ultimate Collection Volume 3 by Robert Kirkman




Title:  Invincible:  Ultimate Collection Volume 3

Author: Robert Kirkman

Artist: Ryan Ottley


Genre: Superhero / Action / Adventure

Year Published: 2008

Year Read: 2013

Series: Invincible #3

Publisher: Image Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Gory Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 
 



Introduction:

After reading the first two volumes of Robert Kirkman’s fantastic superhero series “Invincible,” I was dying to read more from this brilliant series and I finally managed to get my hands on the third volume of the “Invincible: Ultimate Collection” and man, did this volume really blew me away!

What is this story about?

After the tragic events of the second volume, Mark Grayson has been trying to move on with his life which includes dating his loving girlfriend Amber and still saving the world on a day to day basis.  One day, however, Mark gets a call from an alien planet that needs his help and he realizes that his father (you know, the guy who beat him up in the first volume) is ruling the planet and he wants Mark to help him defeat his own alien race, the Viltrumites, who are coming to the alien planet to take care of Mark’s father!

Will Mark help his father stop the Viltrumites or will he let the alien planet die out of spite?

Also, this volume contains the fourth issue of “The Pact” with artwork by Jason Howard, which contains the adventures of Invincible, Shadowhawk, Zephyr and Duncan fighting lava monsters that are terrorizing the world!

What I loved about this story:

Robert Kirkman’s writing: Once again, Robert Kirkman has proven that he can write a brilliant superhero series that not only contains full throttle action, but plenty of character development!  I loved the way that Robert Kirkman wrote each character; especially Mark Grayson who is shown to be an extremely optimistic yet slightly tortured character. I actually felt sorrow for Mark’s predicament for his father as he felt a betrayal like no other and I can relate to Mark’s confused feelings about his father as he still loved him, but he cannot forgive his horrible actions in the past.  I also loved Mark’s relationship with Amber as he is extremely honest with her about his superhero antics and it was a bit interesting seeing a strain in their relationship as Mark is having a difficult time trying to maintain his relationship with Amber as he is always out saving the world.  I also loved the various different stories going throughout this volume as we have storylines that involve Mark meeting up with his father and the return of Angstrom Levy and they all managed to tie up into one storyline that affects Mark!

Ryan Ottley’s artwork:  Ryan Ottley’s artwork is truly brilliant in this volume as the artwork is a cross between being realistic and being a bit scratchy, which really brought out the gritty nature of this story while at the same time, bringing out some humor to the story.  I also loved the way that Ryan Ottley drew Invincible’s costume as it is shown in blue, yellow and black colorings, which I think made Invincible really stand out as a superhero in this series!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like gory violence in graphic novels, this volume definitely has plenty of bloody violence that involves characters getting ripped apart and being punched to death and that might be a bit discomforting for some readers.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Invincible: Ultimate Collection: Volume Three” is a fantastic volume of the “Invincible” series and I am definitely looking forward to reading the next volume of this awesome series that caught my eye from the beginning!



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