This is it kids. Invincible, Mark Grayson, versus Cecil and the Reanimen for the safety of his friends, family, and for his sanity. Cecil is using everything at his disposal to save the world, whether that be the murderous Darkwing or DA Sinclair (creator of the Reanimen and sometime villain to Mark) and Mark will not stand for it. So we learn that Cecil, the dirty dick that he is, put a beacon in Mark's head when he was nearly killed in issue 12 by his dad, Omni-Man, to stop him in the event that he went off the reservation.

What a dick right?

So Mark fights the Reanimen in the white room and is surrounded by an army, and he will not back down. But Cecil holds the trigger to the head-bomb, and will stop Mark, who then takes to flight in an attempt to break away from Cecil (who uses the super-expensive teleportation to track him down). But Mark is smarter, stronger, faster than he was when he lost to Omni-Man. He goes to the Guardians for assistance, and they offer it ten-fold. The Guardian team of Rexplode, Monster Girl, Robot, Bulletproof, Dupli-Kate, all vs. the Reanimen to assist Mark, and it sure is nice to see Rexplode not being a total dillhole right now. Robot manages to interrupt the frequency for the trigger in Mark's brain, and these Guardians quit, take Mark's side, and Cecil starts to leave, when Mark attacks him. Throws him against a wall. And tells him to leave his family alone. And is summarily fired prior to this. But really takes it to Cecil's throat and tells him he will kill him if he doesn't leave them alone.

With the end of this first story, we see Mark discussing the future with his bro Oliver, his mom, and finally, FINALLY, hooking up with Atom Eve. Thank everything that is holy Mr. Kirkman.

The second story is the origin of Cecil Steadman, who is of course, an allusion to Nick Fury who was wrapped up in international intrigue and was captured by a group of villains that was going to unleash a virus upon the world (Chemical X, straight out of Mojo Jojo's lair) which rends flesh from bone. Brit saves him, takes him to the Global Defense Agency, and he learns the truth from that point on. The original defense leader was using the villains to protect himself, to save the world. And Cecil will not have that, and goes so far as to go to jail because of his actions in killing those same villains that took his original face from him. This leads to jail time, the offer of taking over for the Global Defense Agency, and the biggest shock: Cecil met Omni-Man while he
was still a greenhorne superhero on Earth, heard his story of coming to Earth, knew it was a lie, and didn't care. He would do whatever it takes to save the world. Including harboring an intergalactic super-villain to protect the interest of Earth.

The third story is devoted to Science Dog and advances his plot from issue 25, which for the love of God, is just a hysterical way to continue a story along every 25 issues or so. Cory on art is obviously perfect for the story of Science Dog, and it makes this fan wish that Science Dog had his own ongoing alongside the wonderful Madman and Invincible and Wolf-Man and Brit to make just a spectacular group of goofy characters that can exist in the same Image-verse.

Kirkman does it all in stride. He takes the characters in a different route (just like Walking Dead) and he advances the plot in a way that it has to. The characters are growing up before our eyes. And I can safely say, I hope I'm not the only one wondering what Mark's anger will mean for the future. We've gotten glimpses of Nolan in the prison worrying about his family and his wife and sons, and now we're seeing Mark break loose. Will he help the Viltrumites when they come to Earth? Or will his love of Science Dog, his mom, Eve, and Oliver stop him from allowing the invasion?

With Kirkman, you never have any idea what to expect. Ever. Anyone can die. There is always that sense that you will open the book and this issue, maybe Mark will die and his bro will take over. Or maybe Nolan will die and Allen will be the main star. There is never any idea what will happen next.

Special notice on this issue goes to Bill Crabtree. His wonderful colors have followed this book for the last 50 issues, and it will be sad to see him go. Alongside a lot of the great colorists in the business currently, he is on the frontline of giving colorists a real name in the comic business. I pay attention to who the colorist is in a book nowadays because of people like him. I pay attention to a book when it has a colorist I enjoy. And I have every thought in my head that you will begin to see more and more colorists getting exclusives from the big two in the upcoming months as they give a distinct flavor to the books we all love.

And nothing but kudos can be given to Cory Walker (Doing his wonderful linework on Science Dog) and the amazing Ryan Ottley. If you look at his artwork from issue 8 on, it has only gotten better and better. There is absolutely nothing he can't do, and I'll be damned if he isn't one of the best ongoing comic pencillers alive right now. His linework is kinetic, it's gorgeous, it flows through the page, and it is on par to take the world by storm if he ever chooses to take over on one of the Big Two's main books (maybe a run on Spidey or X-men if he ever chooses to leave these here pages). I hope he never does. His Invincible has grown up, as have his pencils. And it just keeps getting better and better.

This is one of two books that gets a pass from me on lateness. Madman is the other. I don't seem to mind the wait between issues as each and every one is just so much fun. This is most certainly the BOOK OF THE WEEK! And I can't help but want more and more and more.

Keep them coming and I'll keep on buying. And I will do my best to turn each and every comic fan I meet onto this book. Just ask my LCS owner what I tell anyone and everyone who steps foot. Buy the first hardcover, the first trade, and be astonished. Be turned onto the book you should have been reading for years. This is the book for all those people burned out on Secret Crises and Final Invasions and all the big events storming the world and shooting up the charts. Get behind this book. Do yourself a favor and sit down with it. Hell, if you live near me, get in touch with me and I'll tell you even more about why this book rocks my face off monthly (or semi-monthly) and why I've read each single issue multiple times and re-read the Hardcovers every few months in one sitting (3 in a row). And I probably would let you borrow them too, if you're nice to me.

Get out there and buy this book. You will be pleasantly surprised and amazed and entertained. Now MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE!