Broken Frontier

Mark has the showdown with Cecil and everything changes.

Robert Kirkman is an evil genius. I have been saying it for three years now. Need evidence? Walking Dead should suffice, but the runaway success of the Marvel Zombies franchise should seal it. Still not convinced? Crack open a copy of Invincible #50.

First of all, he manages in a few pages to catch everyone up to speed which in one fatal swoop refreshes the memories of us comic addicts who have waited for seemingly ever for this issue and it also makes the issue fairly new reader friendly. As is often the case with a big status quo changing book, this is a great jumping on point. The back up featuring the "origin" of Cecil helps fill in gaps and will hopefully get those who ventured in this issue to give the trades a shot. The backup also illustrates the growing Kirkverse with an appearance by Brit.

As much as this issue rocks what we have taken for granted in Invincible to date, it also does the most character development for Cecil in the fifty issues of the comic thus far. Really, it is no wonder given the nature of this issue's events. Explaining much more before now would have played Kirkman’s cards too soon. Normally, withholding plot threads like Cecil’s true nature would annoy me, but with the implications for future issues as a result of the reveal, it makes the comic truly exciting again. This is something that had really been missing from the book since Mark got back to Earth after running into his dad again.

As with almost every third or fourth issue of Walking Dead, Kirkman shows that he is willing to risk everything to tell a great story. While other comics become stagnant for years and need gimmicks to refresh themselves, Kirkman has found a way to keep his stories exhilarating. There is a passion in a good Kirkman book that is akin to reading a good Kirby book. You know that this guy loves comics and wants to share his love with the world.

Ottley gets to show his chops here. The story has globe-hopping and the length of the story allows for different times of day. The ability of the art to show all the differences yet retain a narrative structure and concise yet clear strength in pencils is a rare thing in art in comics these days. Kirkman has been blessed to work with many high caliber artists over the years. As we saw Moore get better with each issue of Battle Pope or Walking Dead, we have watched Ottley grow into an artist as well. His art has gradually gone from a reverence for Walker’s work on the first twenty odd issues and into its own style and greatness.

Speaking of great artists, Kirkman announces in the back that this is the last issue to be graced with the colors of Bill Crabtree. Crabtree has been on the book since issue one and was crucial to the change in artist when Ottley came on board. His coloring has been as important to the book as the pencillers. He has graced the pages with a distinctive style that will surely be missed, but one wishes him luck in his future endeavors.

Invincible #50 is what every milestone issue should be, important to the series as a whole and a great jumping on point. Even at the $4.99 price point, it is a great value with a full (maybe longer than normal) story and two back ups. When one of those back ups features Space Dog, what more could a comic fan want?