Those who read my reviews regularly know that I am what is referred to in the DSM-IV as a "format whore." That is to say, I love hardcover comic collections more than most rational people, and can be counted on to buy hardcovers of even work that I've already read if: A) I like the work enough and B) the hardcover is nicely produced. Invincible Ultimate Collection Volume 1 fits both of those criteria. I'm also lucky enough that it fits a third criteria of: C) it was comped to me, but really, that's just clever marketing on the part of Robert Kirkman and Image, because format whore that I am, having now sampled Invincible in hardcover format, I'm going to have to pick up the rest of the books in this format. Invincible Ultimate Collection lives up to its name, a hardcover treasury of the first big story arc of the Invincible comic, as well as 80 pages (!) of extras, all in the oversized hardcover format that really allows the art to shine. If you've never picked up Invincible, this is a terrific jumping-on point, and if you've already bought the book in single issues and/or trade form, it's still worth a look.
I've reviewed the story contained in this hardcover a few time, both in single issues and later when the trade paperbacks came. Truthfully, there's not much more I can say about them, but there is definitely a difference to reading the books serially and in larger chunks, and when presented as #1-13 all in one, the story does read slightly differently. Kirkman's writing has always given a sense of the long-term thinking, but you can see that even more in reading the issues collected in this hardcover. It's not just small things, like the payoff of the repetitive dinner table scenes that set up the routine of Mark and his family or the flung trash gag that pays off several issues down the line. It's larger things, like the zombie robot subplot that is teased but ultimately unresolved in this issue and the introduction of characters whose role in the story will be far more important down the line than they are here. I'm pretty sure that on occasion, I've given Kirkman grief for stretching his stories out a little too long, but what seems a little week in serial format makes rereading or reading in the collected format more rewarding. Ultimately, whether or not this style of storytelling works for you depends upon your preferred format as much as anything else, and I like the collected editions, so I'm actually pretty OK with it.
The key story of this first arc is not what it first appeared to be, and in retrospect, I'm actually kind of amazed that Kirkman managed to pull it off. I mean, think about it, he spent six and a half issues telling the readers that the book was one thing, and then at the end of issue seven, revealed that it was about something else entirely. That's a balls-y move, especially when the story direction set up in the first six issues was good and good enough to sustain an ongoing already. The shock of the change, and the aftershocks that result, read just about perfectly in this format, as we get the leadup, the climax and then the fallout over the course of a couple more issues, ending on a moment that perfectly encapsulates the blend of day-to-day average and superhero weirdness that makes Invincible work. In pacing terms, the hardcover is probably the closest to how the story works at its best.
But that's enough about the stories. A quick search of the site will turn up plenty of reviews on Invincible from me and Don. What makes the Ultimate collection so cool isn't just the quality of the stories contained within, but the note perfect packaging of those stories. The oversized format really allows the artwork by Walker, Ottley and Crabtree to shine, and the more impressive moments, such as the knockdown dragout between Mark and his father, are especially impressive at this size. The cherry on top of the sundae, though, and the thing that makes this worth a look even if you already have the trades, is the copious amount of extras contained in the book. 80 pages... that's basically almost four issues worth of extra material. The extras include everything from design sketches to page roughs to "how-to" style guides to the creation of covers, and they're accompanied by commentary by Kirkman as well as often funny notes on the art itself by the artists. It's a great insight into how Invincible went from pitch to rough draft to finished product, with a full script from issue one and the actual proposal to Image included along the way. I especially enjoyed the look at the early costume designs and the revelation that Invincible was originally called Bulletproof (Invincible definitely works better), and of course the pages of "Invincipals," Chibi-style versions of the entire Invincible cast, including its creators.
Bottom line, this is how you do a super-deluxe collection of a successful series. Everything that makes the series entertaining is there, the production values are terrific, the extras are copious and excellent and the price point is reasonable. I believe a Walking Dead hardcover might be in the pipeline as well, and if it's as good as this one, I can't wait.
