Invincible: The Ultimate Collection Vol 7 [Hardcover]

You. Must. Buy. This!

If there is truly a superhero comic being published today which is as creatively pure, as consistently high quality and as mamothly entertaining as Invincible, it's probably being published in a parallel universe on an earth remarkably similar to our own, but on this earth, it doesn't exist. *Nothing compares* to the insane creativity and mesmerizing art of Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley and co. on Invincible, and jaded comic fans looking to reclaim some of that childhood magic of looking forward to a new issue of any comic character on a monthly basis, should simply forget the other stuff they normally get and start clicking right now, on the 'add to cart" option here on Amazon for all the Invincible Ultimate Collection HCs instead. They're so good, they could honestly be your comic diet staple and you probably wouldn't notice you'd stopped reading everything else...

In Vol.7, everything Kirkman has been working toward since issue one of the series is finally given expression and the team simply blows it out of the park. Mark has gone off into space with his father Nolan and half-brother-full-of-crap Young Omni-Man to join Allen the Alien and fight the vicious Viltrumites, leaving his beautiful girlfriend and mother behind on Earth. In an epic struggle in which our heroes are maimed, nearly killed and in which the stakes are unbelievably high, Mark's determination to win and save the human race moves him to make incredible sacrifices and endure tremendous odds. With battles so epic that they literally involve the fate of worlds, Kirkman and crew take readers through an emotional rollercoaster that quite literally produces the extremes of jaw dropping disbelief and heart wrenching sorrow. And then, just when you think Kirkman has turned the final screw and all hope is lost, he delivers a final gut punch so deep and so mean, entire organs recede in your body to make way for your sinking heart... and it's sOoOoOoOoOoOOooOo good it's bloody fantastic! So good in fact I'm deliberately going to avoid discussing more story details here because I want new readers to take that voyage of discovery I had when I first read these stories! They're in for a ride!

While Walking Dead, the other major work by Kirkman, has been waning just a little of late, Invincible is a comic rolling along with the creative energy and urgency of a runaway freight train. Often compared by fans to a hybrid of Superman and Spiderman, Kirkman has nonetheless managed to create something incredibly original and vital with Invincible. As a hero, Mark Grayson is relatable and very human, and despite his amazing and incredible powers is a character that you can't help but cheer for. Surrounded by a vast array of intriguing and incredibly exciting characters, and grounded in a world that is at once recognizable but amazing, Invincible is a pure undiluted entertainment fix that should probably be illegal due to the high levels of "happy hormones" it likely releases for the comic reading public on a regular basis.

To be fair, it has to be admitted that, if Kirkman were the only real talent here, you wouldn't be reading this review. This book looks great and always has. The art by Ryan Ottley, together with amazing inkers and incredible colors, makes Invincible simply one of the best looking books on the stands. Drawing the book regularly since about issue 8, Ottley has turned Invincible into his own, and in vol.7, Ottley unleashes image after image of jaw dropping penciling sweetness that has to be seen to be believed. Between epic battles, alien worlds, gorgeous but believable women, fantastic space ships, amazing aliens and sensational super-heroics, Ottley delivers some of his best images and pages yet, topped off by some of the most detailed and beautiful covers he's produced for the entire series so far.

These Ultimate HCs are just fantastic books, and probably the best way to experience this comic. With oversized pages, extensive "dvd like extras" of sketches and commentary at the back, solid HC stock and beautiful, colorful slipcase covers, it's pretty hard to beat their value, and for the discount Amazon offers them, it should frankly be a criminal offence to visit Amazon for graphic novels and not purchase one. For those who read this series regularly, I don't need to convince you. But I've written this review principally with those who have never bought an Invincible book or who may have lapsed reading Invincible from the early days. It was the loads and loads of glowing Amazon reviews of early volumes that caused me to pick the first volume up in the first place, and I'm grateful to those people who did, `cos I wouldn't have found the greatest comic being published in this universe, or any other, without them. If you have never read Invincible before, don't start here, but do buy this! Buy all the previous volumes. And enjoy!

Title: Invincible Ultimate Collection Volume 7
Publisher: Image
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artists: Ryan Ottley (pencils), Cliff Rathburn (inks), FCO Plascencia, Nikos Koutis, John Rauch, Sheila Saldana, Ivan Plascencia, Mike Toris (colors), Ryan Ottley, John Rauch (covers)
Collects: Invincible #71-84
Price: $39.99

I now own all of the Invincible Ultimate Collection editions. I have been buying them as they have been released, and normally I can patiently wait the year or so between releases. This time, however, it was very hard to wait. I knew that this book was going to contain the climax of the book. Not the climax of a story arc, mind you, but the climax of the entire series! Ever since the first story arc, things have been building towards this event - the big showdown between the remnants of the Viltrumite Empire and the Coalition of Planets! That story alone (also contained in the TPB Invincible Volume 14 TP) made this book worth the purchase price. It was everything I had hoped for in a big battle, and the artwork turned in by Ryan Ottley was just fantastic! Loads of action, loads of two-page spreads! Death and sacrifices on both sides! Power unleashed to its fullest! I loved it, and if you've been reading this series at all, so will you!

The second half of this book (which is also collected in the TPB Invincible Volume 15: Get Smart TP), focuses on Invincible's return to Earth and his readjustment to life with Atom Eve, Cecil Steadman, his parents, and the rest of his old friends. Mark also examines his life, thus far, and tries to think of ways to do things better than he's been doing them in the past - i.e. non-violent resolutions to problems.

I had mixed feelings about the second half of this book. There were some things I liked, but plenty of things I didn't. Kirkman lets his own feelings on certain political issues show forth in this book, vicariously, through his characters. I could have done without that, as I'm probably a polar opposite to him in my own views on these issues. Also, I know it's been his thing to title all of his TPBs with names of TV shows from the `80's, but I really hope he isn't concocting storylines just to shoehorn them in to fit with available show titles. That's a bit too much of the tail wagging the dog, and this is the first time that I've sort of got the feeling that it might be happening in the book.

Regardless of its flaws, this was still a great book, and I'm more than satisfied by the conclusion of The Viltrumite War. I liked the way that Kirkman has left the door open for future confrontations with the lone Viltrumite survivors, and it will be a true test of his writing chops to see if he can make long-time readers sympathetic to these villains that they've grown to scorn for all these years.

This collection is the most expensive of the Ultimate Collection editions, but it's also the largest since the very first one. The book contains 14 issues, and one of those single issues had extra content in it, I believe, so you can accept the increase in cover price. If you're like me, you'll probably want to find a quiet place and read the whole thing through in one sitting, anyway, so give yourself some time to enjoy it to the fullest extent. Really, if you're a fan of the character, I can't imagine you not loving this book! The sketch book at the end of the book was as cool as ever, too. This is a book that I give the highest recommendation to!

Writing: 8/10
Artwork: 9/10
Cool Factor: 10/10
Value: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Invincible Ultimate collection 7
The Viltrumite war between the Coalition vs The viltrumite Empire all leading up to its epic conclusion and aftermath of the war.
This volume contains Isuues 71-84
If you have read the last volume and thought it was great well things just keep heating up with this series
rob kirkman just keeps giving us that lovely combination of action, humor and Gore and with this series it just seems to work beautifully!!!!!!!
the only cons of the book well me personally i could have done with a little less full page spreads As awesome as the art was

10/10 LOVED IT!!!!!!!!