Last month I had planned to review Invincible #63 for the Revolution, but due to technical difficulties I couldn’t. After the shocking moment last month with Eve killed by the new villain Conquest I was in shock and awe, as this story arc has proven to be the best Invincible storyline yet. But does the final chapter of Conquest close off the great story or ruin it? Let’s read to find out!
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Art: Ryan Ottley
Inks: Cliff Rathburn
Colors: FCO Plascencia
Writing: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art: 10 Night Girls out of 10
Overall: 9 night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: Conquest is laughing at Invincible’s threat to kill him. He invites Invincible to do his worst and the two fly at each other. Invincible punches Conquest’s metal fist so hard it shatters. They trade blows then Invincible bites a chunk out of Conquest’s arm, Conquest pushes him off but Invincible flies right back at him.
We see Eve’s corpse, her eyes open, she glows pink and suddenly is surrounded by pink energy while Invincible is shouting that Conquest will die. The pink aura catches Invincible’s attention and Conquest gets a cheap shot in.
Eve suddenly blasts Conquest, searing his upper half and most of his legs (all the while being naked, not sure why she’s naked, but I’m not complaining) Conquest is missing most of his skin and seared down to muscle. Even like this he wants to kill Eve after she passes out. Invincible shouts that he won’t touch her.
After knocking Conquest down Invincible thinks he’s won and tries to punch him. Conquest catches his fist and breaks it, mocking him. Invincible starts head butting and asks if he’s still having fun, Conquest (like the greatest ****ing villain in the history of comics now) answers “Heh, I take the good with the bad” (All of a sudden Joker and Magneto don’t look so impressive)
Invincible repeatedly headbutts Conquest’s head into slush. Invincible crawls away to find Eve and finds her naked (again, not complaining) and they talk for a second, they then both pass out as Eve asks why she’s naked (don’t rock the boat, Eve, this is almost as engaging as the fight) they then are found by Cecil as well as other heroes.
The Good: Despite being a fairly short read, Invincible #64 perfectly caps off the amazing Conquest story arc. After all that’s happened I wasn’t expecting this at all. My expectations where for a big cool fight, but Kirkman blew me out of the water and made my jaw drop so many times.
Though really I have to give top credit to not just Kirkman by Ryan Ottley. Usually I wait until near the end of the review to discuss the artwork, but I cannot wait with this issue. I have to say it right away; Ottley is one of the best artists in the business right now. He isn’t always perfect, but as of the last few issues his art has gone to a new level of incredible.
Every page, panel and little detail looks incredible. That’s also thanks to the inker and colorist but there’s no reason why Ottley shouldn’t be getting as much credit as Kirkman here for telling such an incredible story.
Now every moment was great here, I loved Conquest most of all. He’s such a great villain I’m almost upset that he’s dead. I had high hopes for the villain as it is but now I think I have a favorite villain. He’s so sadistic, crazy and wild that how could I not love this? His final line “I take the good with the bad” should speak volumes for how amazing this villain is.
Of course the main thing I should be talking about is Eve surviving. I knew she’d come back one way or another, what with the Future Eve that talked to Mark many issues back. But god I never expected right after her killing, and her revival wasn’t just random either.
Eve coming back to life was a crucial twist in the Conquest story arc because with that surge of power she weakened Conquest enough for Invincible to kill him. This is a crucial twist and part of what made me love this storyline even more. She doesn’t just randomly get better and it has no impact on the story.
Some may say Eve surviving is a cop out, but it only would be if she didn’t do anything. If she was just randomly back alive and it would be like nothing happened then yeah it would have been a cop out.
This was a very satisfying conclusion to a great story arc that anyone who has ever been fan of Invincible should read. It’s great, a little over the top, but great and it’s something that I guarantee you will love if you’ve ever enjoyed Invincible.
The Bad:
The gore was a little over the top. I don’t mind gore, but I can’t deny that wow they went really far in this story arc.
Another problem with this issue is that it was a bit too short. My synopsis did not leave anything out. That is really how thin this issue is. Pretty damn short I must say. I feel like Kirkman wanted to add more, but next issue was supposed to wrap things up so he thought it would be better if he just end it where he did. Which is a shame.
Outside of those two problems, this story was incredible.
Overall: I know this review was short and I would have loved to make it more extensive but there really isn’t a plethora of things I can say about this issue. It was short, sweet but oh so worth it. A must have for any fans of Invincible and as long as you can take your violence, anyone who likes a great super hero story.
1 thought on “Comic Book Review: Invincible #64”
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Paraphrasing Rokk, I know I'm in the minority :P, but I did think that Eve coming back to life was a cheap copout.
I never thought Kirkman was THAT original. Even though I love Invincible, The Walking Dead, Destroyer and will probably give his other books a try, I find him very overrated and think that the main thing about him being so good is that in most of his books, he can do whatever the hell he wants, and is not tied to editorial mandates or intricate continuities.
However, one of his best qualities is that he does not look back when something major happens in one of his books, no matter if the readers like it or not (see TWD for many examples). So, knowing his background and seeing Eve severely gored in #63, I was sure she was gone for good. And it was bittersweet, since I really liked her, but it felt somehow right, since (and I'm quoting CBR now) "In a book where entire cities are pummeled and razed to the ground, it's a little silly to think that the same thing couldn't or wouldn't happen to the people flying around over them, no matter how much we may have grown to like them". And after all the teasing Kirkman made about killing Eve, to bring her back after 6 pages is a bit annoying.
But it's also how he brought her back. For me, it reeks of Deus Ex Machina, appearing out of the blue and helping with the defeat of Conquest.
Eve's "rebirth" aside, I liked this arc. Conquest was a wonderful villain and I hope the rest of the Viltrumites are as savage and blood-thirsty as he was. I can't wait for the Viltrumite War. Between Allen, Nolan, the new Invincible Reanimen (and maybe a Conquest Reaniman?) and Eve's newfound powers, maybe the Earth stands a chance.
Ryan Ottley rules, too bad they're bringing Walker back in #66. And of course he wouldn't be the same without Plascencia. I didn't think that much of Ottley's art with Crabtree as colorist.