Invincible Ultimate Collection Volume 3

Stew has been raving for months about Invincible but I only recently picked up the series. I have no idea how he let me get away with not reading it until now. Invincible may be the greatest superhero comic that I have ever read. The depth of the characters, the uniqueness of the plot lines, and the emotionally charged nature of the conflicts come together in a symphony of art and word. Ottley's art is spot on amazing, especially when it comes to depicting gore. Seriously, in one HUGE panel there are about 2,000 droplets of blood. (its probably the best panel I've ever seen).

After finishing the first to entries in the "Invincible: Ultimate Collection", I assumed that this would be a simple story of Mark (Invincible) versus his evil father Nolan (Omni-Man). That would have been easier to handle I think. This installment in the series plunges the tale into the realm of tear-jerking unbelievability. All of the side stories are just as compelling, which makes me believe that Kirkman is a witch doctor or a soul-less swindler who's deals with the devil have made his writing potently dangerous.

The bright crisp art from Ottley is only a further credit to the script, and contrasted perfectly with the violence and gore that invariably finds its way into the panels. I cannot image any other artist making this story more compelling to look at, or more perfectly pulling off the heart-wrenching facial displays of emotion. Rarely do I force my wife to read anything, but in this case I must.

Chad de Lisle is a newly married college student in Utah. He spends much of his day with his wife Hilary and their dog Bobby Dylan. He spends his weekends as a Dungeon Master for his friend's Dungeon's and Dragon's games.

His website:

http://www.resmirch.com/

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Y - The Last Man Volume 8 (Kimono Dragons)

This chapter of the 'Y' saga creates excellent context for the rest of the series. We finally begin to understand the motives of several of the main characters. The group has finally made it to Japan, where they have begun their frantic search for the missing Ampersand. Alison and Rose head for Alison's Mother's lab while Yorick and 355 head to Tokyo for the capuchin. When Alison and Rose find that the lab has been torched and there is no sign of the Alison's family, they head for a secret garden in the city that her mother kept. They find her mother, but they also find the Ninja Toyota who has lost Ampersand. After a few stabbings and a sword fight, Toyota takes Alison's mother hostage and leaves both Alison and Rose wounded. The deal is, Alison can have her mother back as soon as they bring Ampersand to Hong Kong.

Elsewhere, Yorick and 355 discover an incredibly advanced android man (mandroid) that has been pimped out by an ex-cop. This ex-cop is named You. You tells them that she had Ampersand at one point but was forced to sell him to the Yakuza for self preservation. The funny thing is, the Yakuza is now run by a Canadian pop-star that was stranded in Japan when the plague hit. With the help of You, Yorick and his friends infiltrate the Yakuza building to rescue Ampersand, and they aren't sure they are going to make it out alive....

We finally get a glimpse of Alison Mann's backstory, how she came to resent her family so much and how she came to grips with her sexuality; also why it is so hard for her to open up to anyone. At the end, Alter rears her ugly head and extorts some information from some of Yorick's old friends in Kansas. The only good thing about this is that we finally get to see what her back story is.

Understanding these motivations adds a great deal of depth to the story. Earlier, I didn't realize how shallow some of the characters seem, but after the revelations presented here, I am excited to re-read the old volumes in context.

Chad de Lisle is a newly married college student in Utah. He spends much of his day with his wife Hilary and their dog Bobby Dylan. He spends his weekends as a Dungeon Master for his friend's Dungeon's and Dragon's games.

His website: http://www.resmirch.com/

View the original article here