Invincible #82

After the lost of Las Vegas Mark is inspired to  
 
The Good 
I've missed FCO Plascencia's color work since he left the book. Nikos Koustis' work was pretty solid and respectable but didn't wow me. I opened this issue and was immediately blown away by the coloring of John Rauch. I've liked his work on a few Marvel titles like X-23 but he really impressed me here. His colors have a very glossy style that immediately pops off the page. Ottley's full page close up of Robot really comes alive thanks to Rauch's colors. 
 
This is a very "quiet" issue, but Ottley's art stil has a dynamic sense of motion. The way he uses body language and facial expressions is topnotch. I often forget how skilled a storyteller he is because I'm enjoying all the slug fests he illustrates. He really does have a gift for character work which ought to be exploited more. Though I must say, I don't want him to stop drawing decapitations anytime soon! 
 
I jumped into Invincible at the Viltrumite War (about midway actually) What immediately struck me was how in the know I felt. Kirkman has a rare ability to write issues rooted in continuity that are approachable and welcoming to new readers. This week's issue is a fine example of Kirkman's gift to write issues that welcome new readers and satisfy long time fans.   
 
Kirkman is great at world building! The way he brings The Global Guardians, Capes Incorporated, the Actioneers,and  Wolf-Man
into this issue is very nice and adds a bit of depth to this series and reinforces it as the "core" title of this world.  
 
A bit before Mark left for space Robot and Monster Girl disappeared into a portal which lead them to the dimension of the invading Flaxan empire. The fate of the two lost members of the Guardians is revisited in this Issue. Turns out while only gone about six months in earth time Rex has lived what amounts to 12 years in the Flaxan dimension. His conversation with Cecil and the offer he gives him opens up some very interesting possibility for the future of this series and the other books in Kirkman's family of Skybound books.  
 
Kirkman's good at introducing mysteries without it becoming annoying overly drawn out. Last time he wrote a character like this it was Eve during the early issue of Mark's return and the payoff was HUGE!!! You can really tell that Robot's been through some very, very trying times while away. He hints at it during his conversation with Cecil and later with Monster Girl, and both times really got my gears turning. I'm really invested in seeing what Kirkman has in mind for Robot in coming issues. 
 
Kirkman continues to explore the ramifications of Mark's failure to stop Dinosaurus in Las Vegas both through Mark and others. This could easily be annoying, but he avoids going emo with Mark or unreasonable with others. It's refreshing to see balanced and realistic exploration of tragedy in a superhero comic.  
 
I really liked how Mark dealt with Universa. He finds a way to turn a lethal foe into a potentially powerful ally. Mark's actions lately have shown a great amount of growth and maturity. He's starting to come around to Cecil's more pragmatic P.O.V. and it's interesting to see how their relationship is changing due to this. I don't foresee them being drinking buddies anytime soon, but things are definitely getting better.   
 
There's a really fun page with Eve and Dupli-kate. I always love the frienemy nature of Kate and Eve's interactions, there's always some humor to be found when these two share panel time. Kirkman's not preachy but he does a very deft examination of female body image during this page.  
 
Cecil reveals his Invincible reanimen to Mark. Look forward to seeing how that goes, next issue. I'm betting badly. I foresee a one step forward 10 steps back movement about to occur in their relationship.  
 
The Bad 
This cover is pretty "meh" to me.  
 
There's pretty much no action in this comic, just a lot of set up and conversation. But hell does Kirkman know how to write some damn good dialogue! 
 
The reveal on what triggers Dinosaurus' transformation was a letdown for me. We'll see how Kirkman builds on this, but I don't have high hopes.  
 
Dedicating the issue to introducing so many threads takes the focus away from Mark a bit.  
 
The Verdict 
Buy This Comic!!! 
This issue has it's flaws but what it get's right it get's perfect. In the past few months Kirkman's been building towards some big changes to Invincible's status quo and I've been impressed with the things he's unveiled thus far. Invincible might not always come on schedule, but it's always on time!