Image served up a pretty good description (much better than the ones DC typically offers) for this issue, so I’m gonna let them start:

CORY WALKER RETURNS TO INVINCIBLE… AGAIN!
What has been going on with Monster Girl and Robot? What happened to them while they were in the Flaxan dimension? All answers will be revealed – starting now! Meanwhile, trouble is brewing in the present and the New Invincible is already in over his head! All this – and where is Mark Grayson?!

Just to be clear, this is the first issue of Invincible I’ve ever read. While I have some general knowledge of the series (ya gotta love Wikipedia), I don’t know what’s happening currently, so I’m judging this issue by itself.

While this issue definitely wasn’t intended as a jumping-on point, it still worked pretty well for me. Sure, I don’t know who Monster Girl and Robot are (they’re the main focus of this issue; Robot’s the one that turns into a giant green beast, right? and Monster Girl’s the one made of metal?) The same goes for Bulletproof and the Flaxans, but their various predicaments still resonated with me. Robert Kirkman‘s writing offered a good mix of humor and seriousness, especially in the issue’s earlier scenes involving the Squidmen. Humor waned noticeably in the second half, as the source of Robot and Monster Girl’s relationship problems was revealed. It’s a testament of Kirkman’s skills as a writer that he can get me interested in the characters within the course of a single, randomly chosen issue.

Like Image said, original series artist Cory Walker returns for portions of this issue. Thankfully, he draws scenes set in the Flaxan dimension, so the transitions between artists are easy enough. Walker’s linework is lighter than Ryan Ottley‘s, which is a good thing in this case, but he also skimps on the inks, and the lack of contrast gives his characters less visual depth. Still, I wish all multiple artist books could read this smoothly.

This was a good read overall, but unless you’ve been dying to know what the deal is with Robot and Monster Girl, there’s nothing here that demands your attention. It did interest me enough that I plan to catch up a bit before next month, so I can serve all of you a better review, next time around. I put you people first, dang it!