Invincible #103 Review


Invincible #103 sees the return of a major villain (the solicit will tell you that again in just a second) who’s been all but absent from the series for nearly 40 issues. Add to that the fallout from more recent issues, and things are pretty busy. Here’s the official description from Image:

Angstrom Levy returns.

No one can ever accuse Robert Kirkman of not playing a long game. Not only does he keep half a dozen balls in the air in this issue, but he references events that took place more than half the series’ run ago (the editor’s note directs us to see issue thirty-seven for more details.) In fact, so caught up is he in laying groundwork for later issues that we don’t get to focus on any one character for too long. That said, there are some brilliant humanizing moments: Eve is terribly frustrated at having to sit in traffic, and Levy is positively normal until he discovers Mark is still alive (which is a nice addition to the “heroes are the reason villains exist” debate).

As usual, this issue includes quality artwork from Ryan Ottley. While he doesn’t get too many action shots to work with, those he does get are incredibly dynamic. The standout sees the baddie flying toward the viewer. It’s great. In one scene, Angstrom Levy’s face seems a bit off center, but given that his brain is forcing its way out of his skull, his features might not be strictly conventional. Cliff Rathburn and John Rauch get to shine (ironically) in some low-light scenes, one a middle-class suburb at dawn, the other a moody Robot lit only by computer monitors.

The issue’s final page is marvelous, from both story and art standpoints. Kirkman sets up one of the most intriguing cliffhangers I’ve encountered in some time, and while it’s accessible to newer readers, longtime fans will appreciate it even more. Ottley frames the scene as an incredibly disturbing over the shoulder shot that really brings the horror home. Not even during the “Death of Everyone” arc was I this excited about an upcoming issue of Invincible.

4.5/5


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