I’ve been waiting to tell you about this issue and maybe I should have been hyping it up ahead of time, but it’s one of those fine lines that you just never know. Series writer Jamie S. Rich was kind enough to send me an early review copy of artist Natalie Nourigat’s debut issue on the series and it was wonderful. I’m still a bit heartbroken that this issue is the beginning of the end for the series. I know that Invincible likes to boast that it’s “The Best Superhero Title”, but I think it lost that mantle when this series began. Now something I’ve always pointed out about this series is that there have been a ton of storylines that make it perfect for new readers to jump on, case in point this issue. It also has a serialized TV show aspect though, in which there is a season narrative that is running throughout the series which becomes more interesting if you follow the entire run.
This issue kicks off with some unusual suspects breaking into Dr. Flem’s lab and stealing the device that It Girl brought back in issues 6&7. It sets off a ton of alarms and soon the Doc makes the discovery and calls for It Girl. He gives her a tracker to find the stolen device and she’s off. She follows the signal until it leads her to a tree house… she follows a small figure as it closes a hatch in the floor, but she’s quick to follow. She climbs down a ladder to find a group of children agents called Kimmando with the device. They begin to banter as children and It Girl only can, but soon enough a third-party arrives to take the device.
Children are almost always annoying characters, but this is the Mad Man world so they’re pretty cool. I enjoyed all of them over playing their gimmick to the point that it became transparent. I particularly enjoyed Pugsley’s dialog and found him to be very entertaining. The plot for this issue was very interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes. It had a “Most Interesting Man in the World” vibe to it which I liked. There were a couple of twists that fit right in with the plot and the world and as usual Rick delivers an entertaining and funny story.
I first discovered Natalie Nourigat on Between the Gears and have tried to follow her work as much as possible since. Her style has definitely grown and changed since then, but it fits incredibly well with this series. I don’t know if she changed things up to match the series more or if this was more of a natural progression for her, but either way it works. The Kimmando members were well designed and blended in well with the rest of the universe. While It Girl didn’t have a many opportunities to use her powers in this issue, I still enjoyed the cleverness in the way that Nourigat drew them.
If this is the beginning of the end then, it’s a great way to go out. I’ve been impressed with this series and the bevy of talent that’s been drawn to it; while it’s a shame that it’s coming to an end I’m sure that it has left its mark on the superhero genre for yet another generation to enjoy. I’ve said this before, but if you’re not reading this series then this is a great issue (as strange as that sounds) to jump on with. You can always go back and get the trade or back issues, but there’s no reason you can’t begin here either.
Score: 4/5
Write: Jamie S. Rich Artist: Natalie Nourigat Publisher: Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 5/15/13