Author Robert Kirkman reflects on two decades of Invincible

Not every superhero comic has the confidence to declare itself the “greatest superhero comic in the universe.” But for Robert Kirkman’s Invincible, that tagline is right there on the front cover of every issue. The comic celebrates the superhero genre while also subverting it. Two decades on, it’s secured its place as one of the very best superhero sagas ever written, and Amazon’s animated adaptation is a smash hit!

Invincible takes all of the classic tropes of superhero stories and seamlessly weaves them into its narrative. Mark Grayson is just your average nerdy teenager who suddenly has to deal with getting immense superpowers. His dad is the bad guy who wants to take over the planet (at least early on). The story ventures to other worlds and there’s even a multiverse storyline. It has a little of everything.

“I think that one of the reasons Invincible has done as well as it has is that I’m not a creator that is pointing out the deficiencies of the superhero genre, or pointing out what I don’t like about the superhero genre,” Kirkman told Polygon. “Invincible is meant to celebrate everything that I love about the superhero genre. So it’s accentuating the weirdness and the bizarreness, and digging in and trying to play with all the tropes, and do new takes on them, and put my spin on familiar superhero stories.”

"Invincible was always about playing against type, taking all the tropes from the decades and decades of Marvel and DC books and subverting them in an interesting way."

Kirkman is famed for his ability to bring emotion to his stories. He also wrote The Walking Dead, another extremely emotional story. In either story, there’s always the possibility that beloved characters could be killed off at any moment. In those heartbreaking moments, Kirkman feels the pain just as much as his readers. “Anytime something is sad or devastating, there’s certainly a level of that that you feel as a writer, and if you’re able to channel that into the story, I think that’s what makes the story good,” he said.

Robert Kirkman uses violence to make his stories feel more realistic

Another one of Robert Kirkman’s signatures is to double up on violence. Invincible, The Walking Dead, Outcast, etc — they’re all gruesome reads.

“I look at [violence] like it’s one of the tools in the toolbox,” Kirkman explained. “It’s all about turning dials. It’s all about trying to figure out what’s going to get the reaction you want for a given scene, what’s going to make the audience feel the way that you want them to feel. It’s certainly a tool that I go to often in almost everything that I do.”

In Invincible specifically, the violence is a way to make the story feel grounded. “It’s something that I think is absolutely essential, especially in the world of Invincible. For Invincible, it’s a representation of realism. This is an animated series, this is a superhero world; how do you make these stakes feel real to an audience? Well, you show them horrifically graphic images that illustrate how dire these situations are!”

"How vulnerable the civilians in these worlds are, where superheroes are crashing through buildings and decimating landscapes. Some superhero stories collapse entire cities and you feel nothing. The goal with Invincible was to collapse one building and make you really sad for the people that were there. You’re feeling bad about Mark having to face his father."

I’m sure the violence will be ramped up for season 2 of Amazon Prime’s animated adaptation. After a recent teaser, Invincible season two is confirmed to drop sometime later this year. Prepare for Angstrom Levy and some multiversal chaos!

Buy a stake in the company behind Invincible! 

Are you a fan of Kirkman’s work or just comics in general? Well, perhaps you’d be willing to go a step further and buy a stake in the company behind countless beloved comics, including Invincible and The Walking Dead: Skybound Entertainment is launching a Regulation A+ campaign, which means you can now buy a stake in the company.

Investors will receive some neat bonus perks depending on how much they’re willing to give away. These perks range from an individualized lithograph to being able to design a character in a Skybound game to getting a full red-carpet experience in a future Skybound film or TV release. The latter will set you back $2 million.

Shares are now available on Republic, starting at $500. The campaign has already been a success, with the company raising just under $12 million from 4,744 investors.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan joins cast of Invincible for season 2?

Amazon’s Invincible show already stars The Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun as main character Mark Greyson. Now, The Walking Dead veteran Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) has teased that he’s coming on board as well. Check out his Instagram post:

That Kirkman with the second and third volumes of the Invincible comic. The Invincible show is about to enter its second season. You do the math.

Look out for Invincible season 2 in late 2023.

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