Star writer/creator Robert Kirkman‘s other major series, Invincible, makes the leap to triple digits this month with an oversize 100th issue and no fewer than 8 covers for your wallet’s displeasure (although that’s not as many as The Walking Dead #100 had last July, and only a drop in the bucket compared to next month’s Justice League of America #1). Heads up that this review will contain SPOILERS (!) for the beginning of the issue, as it’s hard to say anything meaningful without a bit of context, but events toward the end will remain secret. Here’s the official description of Invincible #100 from Image:

THE DEATH OF EVERYONE: CONCLUSION! It’s all been building to this. Mark Grayson’s entire life as a superhero, all he’s learned, all he’s endured, it’s all been leading to this one moment. Will he become the hero he was meant to or will he choose… a DIFFERENT path? The aftermath of this EXTRA-SIZED issue will shock you.

Robert Kirkman follows through on the cliff-hanger ending of the last issue when (final SPOILER warning!)…Dinosaurus crushes Invincible’s head and proceeds to rip his body in half, on live television. It’s a gory scene that Ryan Ottley may have researched and carried out a little too well. That’s followed by a double-page spread of fifty-seven panels (again, !) showing the reactions of Mark’s friends, family, and adoring public, which is a triumph on Ottley’s part.

This is when the book’s really heavy developments come out, as we learn that Dinosaurus actually faked Mark’s death by incapacitating him and swapping him for a lifeless Invincible clone of Dinosaurus’ own creation. (This also accounts for the disappearance of Mark’s costume, which bothered me last issue.) Why did he do this? So that Mark would be free to help him solve the world’s bigger problems without all the additional pressures that come from being a superhero in the public eye. There are a few additional twists, and a final cliffhanger, but the remainder of the book is mostly Invincible coming to an agreement (of sorts) with Dinosaurus. 

There are two elements of particular interest here: first is a lack of both an extended action sequence (which, admittedly, Kirkman got out of the way last issue) and a major retrospective, which are common staples of a landmark issue such as this. Second is the setting up of a new status quo, while at the same time bringing back elements that have been missing from the series for a while. In this sense,Kirkman has made Invincible almost musical in nature, utilizing the techniques of repetition, variation, and contrast (these techniques actually occur across any number of media, but they’re most commonly associated with music).

Ryan Ottley’s art is truly excellent this issue, from the aforementioned gore scenes to Mark’s parents and Eve’s grief, to the efforts of the other heroes to fight the rising tide. I said it last month, but I have to say it again, the Oscar for Best Drawing of an Anthropomorphic Lizard definitely goes to Ryan Ottley. This being an oversize issue, Ottley had a bit more on his plate than usual. Kirkman lightens the load a bit by having several scenes consist of Mark against a solid black background. Cliff Rathburn‘s inks obviously play a major role here, and he strikes an ideal balance, where Invincible doesn’t stand out too starkly from the backdrop, but doesn’t disappear into it either.

Invincible #100 bucks quite a few expectations for an anniversary issue. It’s nice to see that, not only is Robert Kirkman looking forward to the book’s future, but he’s also setting up a new status quo that could propel the story for years and years to come.

 4/5