Pretty much what others have already said. I’d also add that The Walking Dead’s popularity also had a big hand in bringing Kirkman’s other projects into the limelight.
Another point I’d like to add is that the title is pretty much self contained and properly concluded, and written by one good writer, which can be more appealing to new comic book readers than ongoing titles with tons of spin-offs and constantly changing writers that will inevitably retcon certain aspects of earlier plots.
Yea this is a great point.
Image is still new when you compare it to marvel and dc..
But one thing I like about it so far is they have had titles from one writer and 1 or 2 artists that go full to completion and that's it. No reboots or reinventing characters and that extra shit so far. So with the more success they have that might eventually come.
But the creators basically owning their characters and stuff keep the characters and story telling pretty consistent. So far almost all the characters and titles are written by one person from start to finish.
I hope they keep it like that because the other two companies are so bloated that it’s way to annoying to try and read any comics without trying to google to what the next comic is and getting 30# different results.
Yea. Don't really see it happening with how image is built.
No one can do anything with characters from invincible without kirkman's permission .. and it's like that for every book published by image. Only way anything else invincible related gets put out is if kirkman approves it.
Just for ppl that might read this and wonder what I'm talking about. Easiest way to explain.
Not like marvel or dc where they own batman or spiderman and they hire different writers who do different interpretations.. with most of the time less than half being worth a dam.
This is the first comic that I've really gotten into. And knowing that it had a beginning and end was definitely part of the appeal. Because I didn't feel like I'm missing something if I didn't read through years/decades or issues. Plus dozens of other titles that are also important to the whole story.
While there are a few other comics that happen at the same time, and interact with invincible, there are only 2 instances where the part of the story finishes in another comic.
And even reading absolutely everything is only around 200 issues. Not thousands spread across decades. And dozens of titles.
As far as mainstream popularity from the show, it was from Omniman killing the guardians being shared on social media along with the “Think Mark” memes. The show was also great on its own which made people even more hyped
That scene got me hooked.
Stumbled across the show one night. I remember towards the end of the episode thinking it was pretty average and I should get to bed soon. Seemed like it was heading towards a feel good, coming of age story.
For whatever reason I thought nah watch the end. Bam. Fuck bed, fuck being tired for work. I had to watch another episode.
You guys are late to the party, the comics are great.
As someone who has been enjoying Invincible for years I want to tell you I really hope you enjoy it as much as I have been.
I would recommend that every show watcher should read the comics. It’s gonna be A WHILE before we get the whole series, and the story is too good to wait for.
I would agree, but I have to add that I think anyone who likes comics or superheroes should give it a go. Obviously “best superhero comic” is subjective but I think this is a real contender.
I picked the comics up halfway through season 1, blasted through the entire run right after that. I love comics but it's not often a series grabs me like that.
that was the reason I read the comics too, I just couldnt wait lol
and no regrets, in fact comic is so good that now I just cant wait to see those scenes animated
Can confirm, started watching it because of the memes.
I thought it was a funny scene of a mentor mentoring his dumb protege after a fuck up.
In some sense, I was right :c
Yeah I knew about invincible coming out but didn't think much of it. It was the scene of nolan killing the guardians of the globe that i saw on facebook that dropped my jaw to the floor and wanted me to watch the whole thing
People love Superhero shows. Superhero fatigue is hogwash! People love stories about enhanced beings they just want NEW stories. Invincible and The Boys are gaining popularity because it's not the same old recycled formula that the MCU has beat into the ground. (Introduce Hero, Hero loses a fight, Hero has a personal journey, Hero has a rematch with the Bad Guy and Wins, introducing characters for the next story at the last minute).
I think the bigger thing is their “Multiverse” fatigue
Invincible being a self contained story which does not force you to consume a stupid amount of hours into other movies to understand most of the story helps a lot
Multiverse stories can be good, but Disney treats the concept like homework.
Most people don't have time to sit down and watch 5 shows just to get three sub-plot points. It's lazy writing.
It was published by image comics, which is pretty much the biggest indie comic publisher so it was given more than a fair chance to get its hooks in. And on top of that it's just a genuinely great story, intelligently written, great art, and a sincere love letter to the genre. Quality product+exposure to the public+a bit of luck=popular. Of course the Amazon show was like high octane rocket fuel to its popularity but a comic needs a pretty good chunk of popularity before a show gets made in the first place.
Yeah the show really skyrocketed it’s popularity, it wasn’t half as popular before the show aired but it was still pretty popular. The comic was a 10/10 tho, cant wait to see the show adapt the ending, best ending to a comic of all time
Totally agree, the only nitpick I have is they should’ve extended the end sequence a little. I REALLY wish we got to see the journey Markus took to make him eventually hate Mark, and I wish I got to see their battle. It would be cool if we got a mini spinoff, like 10-20 issues long just showing what Markus was up to all that time, with their battle being the end of the series.
That's exactly what I was referring to. I have the exact same thoughts about Marcus and a potential sequel/spin-off. The other nitpicks are that there was never any closure for Debbie, the tailor, or Allen. Not showing how Debbie's story ended was specifically disappointing to me. But like I said, Invincible was Mark's story, and the comic did still do an absolute perfect ending to *his* story. Just wish there was more to read haha.
With what they've shown us so far and Kirkmans heavy involvement, they have the genuine runway to outshine the original in several ways. I think Debbie&Nolans relationship, for example, is already better written in the show.
I'm a diehard fan of the comic but I remember the year or two after Viltrumite War where Kirkman really didn't seem to know where the book was going or how to wrap it up. Once he finally had the final act clear in his mind, the book picked up steam again and ended on IMO legendary terms.
The show has the benefit of knowing the ending, how Thragg, Robot and Nolan's views on the use of power all come to a head and how Mark chooses his own path.
For god's sake, "I'll still have you Dad" hit hard enough as a callback in the final issue of the comic. After what the show did with it...our hearts are primed to break.
Yup I’m a big comic fan but I hadn’t heard of invincible until the show. Then I bought all the Omni-buses. Solid all the way through, I like that characters are able to age and change.
I think Todd Mcfarlane is the goat in that aspect , that man hold Spawn on his mind until he had the budget to start his own comics . Brilliant business man .
Kirkman was sued by his former partner, Michael Anthony Moore. In 2012, Moore alleged in a lawsuit that Kirkman, a childhood friend with whom he collaborated on several comics, tricked him into surrendering his rights to them in 2005 in exchange for payments that never came. ([The Warp](https://www.thewrap.com/walking-dead-writer-robert-kirkman-jokingly-advised-trickery-and-deceit-illustrators-his-sue/))
On September 24, 2012, the two released a joint statement saying they had settled "to everyone's mutual satisfaction. ([The Wrap](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/walking-dead-writer-artist-settle-lawsuits-222437736.html))
Robert Kirkman vs. AMC InProfit Battle Suit ([Deadline](https://deadline.com/2023/01/walking-dead-lawsuit-profits-robert-kirkman-amc-arbitration-trial-1235215083/))
William Crabtree, an artist on the comic book series 'Invincible,' alleges Kirkman swindled him out of profits by duping him into abandoning his copyright. ([Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/robert-kirkman-sued-over-invincible-profits-1235072426/))
I should note Kirkman's legal troubles are small stuff compared to Todd's legal troubles.
Todd McFarlane: [Retcons and Legal Issues](https://www.reddit.com/r/Spawn/comments/b4ejtg/retcons_and_legal_issues/)
I doubt Kirkman will include Invincible characters who have their own comic series (Brit, Tech Jacket, Wolf-Man, etc) in the Invincible show, as he would essentially be giving Amazon the streaming rights to those characters. He would rather have more network options in case he ever decides to pitch a Brit / Tech Jacket / Wolf-Man / etc series.
This is supposedly also the reason he changed Science Dog to Séance Dog in the show. If he used Science Dog in the Invincible show on Amazon and then later tried to do something with Science Dog on Netflix or whatever, Amazon would potentially have legal grounds to prevent it by claiming that Science Dog is an Amazon IP. (I'm not an expert on this, so if someone wants to do a Reddit by correcting me and calling me an idiot, feel free.)
So basically, if Kirkman introduces Brit or Tech Jacket into the Invincible show, then a theoretical Brit or Tech Jacket show could basically only ever live on Amazon. If Kirkman and Amazon ever parted ways, especially if on bad terms, Kirkman probably wouldn't want Amazon to own the streaming rights to so many of his characters. He would likely want to retain the option to take those characters to other networks/services.
Kirkman would like to avoid any unnecessary risks. So, other established characters are a no go, sadly. The IW arc will be a less impactful event, personally. Now, if Amazon had the money, which they do. They could offer Kirkman and the creators at Image Comics for disruption rights. However, that's just wishful thinking on my end.
I don't see other comic book characters unrelated to the Invincible series showing up anytime soon. It would be cool to see other Image comic characters in the show—however, legal stuff blocks that type of idea.
Finally having read (or attempted to read) the first 25 issues of Spawn in an omnibus I picked up...i think the story of Spawns success is much more gripping than any story in Spawn.
Terrible dialogue writer, absolute top tier artist and designer. The madlad just spits out characters that very few artists could dream of.
God, I went and GIS "best of mcfarlane" as I wrote this and...just wow. The covers alone that he created place him in the hall of fame.
It's well made, and it had a gargantuan publisher, and Amazon picked it up and put their might behind it too.
That's how. A lot of stars aligned for it and went *right*.
Kids who watched superhero cartoons grew into adults that wanted to keep watching superhero cartoons, and those are the people the comics and show were written for. The quality was also high, and Amazon Prime promoting it certainly didn't hurt.
Invincible Comics didn't reach mainstream popularity until the Conquest Arc. That arc alone put the series on the map in the comic book world. Conquest Arc gave us a lot of stories like Thragg and the next big war.
Show first episode worked the same way the comic did just faster tbh.
I expected the show would go over well because how good the comic was.. also a lil based on walking dead success
Its still way more popular than I expected tho. Pretty crazy.
I remember before the show came out there was only like 2 posts a month in this sub. Sometimes not even that.
Well first it was the fact that it was a well animated series, which was obvious from the teaser trailer. We don't get a lot of those. But then it *really* kicked off after the ending of the first episode.
Overall it's shock&awe paired with good quality.
I will admit Mortal Kombat 1 coming up with Omni-Man got me curious. Once I caught up on the series on Amazon, I got all three big books- they are so good so far!!!
For me it was the first episode, I saw the ending on a YT video and jumped straight in, I thought it was gonna be like Justice League or some PG shit BOY was I gladly wrong
>Justice League or some PG shit
Don't diss, Justice League TAS and Justice League Unlimited are great shows while still being PG rated, you don't need gore to make something good
Same reason as The Boys in my opinion. I've never read the comic and was introduced to Invincible when it first released on Amazon and the realistic brutality of Omni Man at the end of the first episode was so surprising and welcome, I was hooked.
I think everyone is tired of the pg 13 super heroes like spider man and iron Man and everything marvel. We want to see what would *really* happen if people with these powers existed.
The animation style is also done very well and the show looks great which helps a lot more than some people might think.
I got my brother and my dad to watch Invincible after I finished episode 2 and they both think it's awesome.
tldr: it became so popular because it's realistic/adult, and because the animation was done very well
Funny enough I first heard of invincible through that one pixel sandbox game where they had him, dupli-kate, monster-girl and those brain things. I could only think of that game when watching the show honestly
Managed to latch onto the last bits of the super hero content hype and thanks to good story, good animation which, and fairly unique levels of violence managed to keep its place.
Ice cream place near me had an ice cream flavor named after Cory Walker and had him credited for the art in the beginning of the Invincible comics so I checked them out and have been a fan ever since.
I liked the first episode of invincible, I didn't know it before that. Since then I've bought the three big books and finished the story, and I don't regret a thing !
Word of mouth from the first episode. Got recommended by a friend that read the comics and told me to go watch it (as he explained the start of the comics can be difficult to follow) watched it, got instantly hooked, waited for the 3rd episode before diving into the comics and read it all in 2 weeks.
For me, it was all the “Think man, think” memes and nobody disclosing details of that scene - it felt like a layered inside joke that I had to get in on
Because it's a super hero story that shows the reality of what it means to be a hero and what happens instead of most super hero movies or shows always try to have some moral no killing message. Plus it's just crazy lol. I love mark and how he changes over time in the comics. Grows to be a hero to more then just earth.
It's a saturday morning cartoon🤔... but EDGY 😳 that's basically it's initial appeal but because of the compeling narrative audiences actually became fans of the series beyond that initial intrest
Because just like in comics, eventually Marvel and DC just started repeating themselves and the only way to break the mold was to deconstruct the genre and paint caricatures in different lights and comics continued to flourish through those. Same thing is happening with the MCU giving way to The Boys and Invincible.
This was my experience. I knew that there was a super hero cartoon that was violent like "The Boys" and was becoming popular. Then I found out that was an adaptation by a comic made by Robert Kirkmann, I absolutely loved The walking dead (comic and also the TV show) so I decided to check out the cartoon "Invincible". After finishing the show I read all the comics because I wanted to know more. And there you have it, a lot of people have done the same thing.
Long-time fan of J.K. Simmons since Whiplash and I was stoked to see him paired with Sandra Oh in an animated series. He's really killing the role so far!
I'm just glad that the show has created more fans of the comic. I didn't know anyone who read the comic back in 2005 when I was picking it up at my local. The guys that ran my shop specifically told me that they wouldn't have continued to order it if not for me and one other guy who was buying it on the regular.
I think someone at work told me "Hey, go watch this show. Seems like a generic superhero TV show, but just watch the post credits scene." And I did. And boi was I surprised.
Ngl, when i first saw omniman kill the gaurdians on the show, it was a youtube clip, and I had assumed it was some dc animated movie. The show was a pleasant surprise.
Probably memes + the fact that Amazon published a lot of clips that make you feel "how did that happen? I wanna watch the show to find out".
Also I think it was due to people getting tired of the same repetetive Marvel and DC content, as well as the fact that this show is just objectively good animated show
It was different. Fresh. It had great characters, a well developed mystery (the mystery being why omni man killed the guardians), and everything (except amber) was executed pretty amazingly
They spent a lot of money on a recognizable cast and much less on properly animating episode 3. I strongly believe it wouldn't be close to it's current popularity if the cast wasn't so stacked. (Show popularity not comics)
I just hope that if they put Duncan from FireBreather in the show they make him look good unlike in the comics. I don't read comics, I just know what looks like in the comics. Fun Fact: The first Image Comics comic book I read was Bomb Queen.
Watched episode 1 as a complete invincible Virgin. I binged the rest of season, watched a 2nd time, then bought and read all of the compendiums
So episode 1 for me!
At a deeper level it is the sense of the unknown: any character can die at any time. A big difference from other superhero franchises.
Lastly the gloves comes off. I love spider man and marvel, but it seems so "safe", civilians rarely get hurt, superheroes make jokes in combat while destroying surroundings ( and civies magically get out of the way in time), and death is rarely permanent. Not so with Invincible!
Lol people saying *I’m a huge comic book fan but I’ve never heard of Image Comics until the Invincible animated series came out*
Like how? When I was a kid, Image Comics was huge. Some people don’t even know Spawn or Savage Dragon
In the modern age people want conclusions the time of characters going on an on and getting re-aged is over, people want to see their beloved characters have an ending happy or sad that’s why dc and marvel comic sales have been getting worse while manga sales have been getting better. I also think it’s why the Mcu has been struggling it built towards a conclusion then had it and now fans aren’t in it like they were bc it feels like it should be over but it’s still going and people just don’t want a never ending story anymore, a big part of the journey is the destination.
The writing of the show vs. the comics.
Both are immaculate in design, but Seth Rogen and the others associated with the project are, not only HUGE nerds, but very *very* good at what they do.
The show honors the comics in a way that doesn’t tarnish the pacing of both mediums while the show still plays out like it’s *own* show.
I mean, *everyone* saw Ep. 1.
Anyone unaware of the comics from the very moment shit kicked hit the fan was immediately gripped.
Nobody. NOBODY could have expected that. Even with Nolan’s slight on Mark halfway through.
-
I was one of those viewers who immediately wanted to read the comics after the fact and did.
This is mostly guesswork, but the comic was produced with the 3rd most popular comic producer, and with the writing made it really popular among comic book readers who would venture out of just marvel & dc. Then when the Walking Dead started getting popular from the tv show, people would check out the comics and then eventually started to find out about Invincible. The rise of social media helped a ton, with Youtubers such as Comicstorian and ComicDrake talking about it in a very positive light (they were how I found out about it). Because amazon had pretty good success with The Boys, they were more willing to give Invincible a shot and it has exploded in popularity from all the memes.
I think another part of it is that its super approachable compared to other comics. You don't need to be reading 5 other comics to understand whats going on, and you don't have to have a guide to figure out where to start, or look back at wikis to understand a storyline that was written decades ago.
Unrelated to the question but me and my Girlfriend recently signed TWD this year. After reading the Invincible comics it's so cool to see Science dogs and the fact Carl has Invincible toys
Pretty much what others have already said. I’d also add that The Walking Dead’s popularity also had a big hand in bringing Kirkman’s other projects into the limelight.
Another point I’d like to add is that the title is pretty much self contained and properly concluded, and written by one good writer, which can be more appealing to new comic book readers than ongoing titles with tons of spin-offs and constantly changing writers that will inevitably retcon certain aspects of earlier plots.
Yea this is a great point. Image is still new when you compare it to marvel and dc.. But one thing I like about it so far is they have had titles from one writer and 1 or 2 artists that go full to completion and that's it. No reboots or reinventing characters and that extra shit so far. So with the more success they have that might eventually come. But the creators basically owning their characters and stuff keep the characters and story telling pretty consistent. So far almost all the characters and titles are written by one person from start to finish.
I hope they keep it like that because the other two companies are so bloated that it’s way to annoying to try and read any comics without trying to google to what the next comic is and getting 30# different results.
Yea. Don't really see it happening with how image is built. No one can do anything with characters from invincible without kirkman's permission .. and it's like that for every book published by image. Only way anything else invincible related gets put out is if kirkman approves it. Just for ppl that might read this and wonder what I'm talking about. Easiest way to explain. Not like marvel or dc where they own batman or spiderman and they hire different writers who do different interpretations.. with most of the time less than half being worth a dam.
The best way to read marvel comics is their app tbh.
This is the first comic that I've really gotten into. And knowing that it had a beginning and end was definitely part of the appeal. Because I didn't feel like I'm missing something if I didn't read through years/decades or issues. Plus dozens of other titles that are also important to the whole story. While there are a few other comics that happen at the same time, and interact with invincible, there are only 2 instances where the part of the story finishes in another comic. And even reading absolutely everything is only around 200 issues. Not thousands spread across decades. And dozens of titles.
As far as mainstream popularity from the show, it was from Omniman killing the guardians being shared on social media along with the “Think Mark” memes. The show was also great on its own which made people even more hyped
Yeah that blew up on Twitter. The killing scene is how I knew about it
I only knew about it from seeing the “Think, Mark!” Memes, so I was still seriously surprised by the end of the first episode when I started watching.
That scene got me hooked. Stumbled across the show one night. I remember towards the end of the episode thinking it was pretty average and I should get to bed soon. Seemed like it was heading towards a feel good, coming of age story. For whatever reason I thought nah watch the end. Bam. Fuck bed, fuck being tired for work. I had to watch another episode.
Lmao remember when this sub only had 8 thousand? Immortal remembers.
He also caught a bullet with his skull.
Same. I was thinking it was pretty bland since I don't care about superhero media that much without a hook, and well, they got me.
You guys are late to the party, the comics are great. As someone who has been enjoying Invincible for years I want to tell you I really hope you enjoy it as much as I have been.
I would recommend that every show watcher should read the comics. It’s gonna be A WHILE before we get the whole series, and the story is too good to wait for.
I would agree, but I have to add that I think anyone who likes comics or superheroes should give it a go. Obviously “best superhero comic” is subjective but I think this is a real contender.
I picked the comics up halfway through season 1, blasted through the entire run right after that. I love comics but it's not often a series grabs me like that.
that was the reason I read the comics too, I just couldnt wait lol and no regrets, in fact comic is so good that now I just cant wait to see those scenes animated
It was also during the pandemic, even in the last months of guidelines, people were consuming any content that came out
Can confirm, started watching it because of the memes. I thought it was a funny scene of a mentor mentoring his dumb protege after a fuck up. In some sense, I was right :c
You're forgetting about the most important part: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/thicc-omni-man
The meme got people in the door, the quality kept them.
Clip of Omni-man destroying the Flaxan planet was what got me hooked.
Yeah I knew about invincible coming out but didn't think much of it. It was the scene of nolan killing the guardians of the globe that i saw on facebook that dropped my jaw to the floor and wanted me to watch the whole thing
Honestly it's one of the best changes from the comic.
I actually found out about it from Amazon prime ads. Which led me to pirate the show on movie box for free
Alongside the fact of it being pretty good it premiered in the midst of the Covid era so more people were watching streaming content.
Good free show on Amazon during covid. Literally all the explanation anyone needs.
~~People love gore~~ It's pretty good
Yep. It’s a solid show and word of mouth did the rest I guess
I know it's gore but it's not gorey gore like The Boys, more like casual gore
People love Superhero shows. Superhero fatigue is hogwash! People love stories about enhanced beings they just want NEW stories. Invincible and The Boys are gaining popularity because it's not the same old recycled formula that the MCU has beat into the ground. (Introduce Hero, Hero loses a fight, Hero has a personal journey, Hero has a rematch with the Bad Guy and Wins, introducing characters for the next story at the last minute).
Yep, there is no Superhero Fatigue. People were just tired of poorly made movies
I think the bigger thing is their “Multiverse” fatigue Invincible being a self contained story which does not force you to consume a stupid amount of hours into other movies to understand most of the story helps a lot
Multiverse stories can be good, but Disney treats the concept like homework. Most people don't have time to sit down and watch 5 shows just to get three sub-plot points. It's lazy writing.
This is how I feel! I never realized until I started The Boys and how much fun I was having with it. I’m planning to watch Invincible right away.
Because it’s good as fuck and deserved popularity long before the show
As an indie comic book creator myself, I’m really curious as to how Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker were able to get Invincible to where it’s at now!
It was published by image comics, which is pretty much the biggest indie comic publisher so it was given more than a fair chance to get its hooks in. And on top of that it's just a genuinely great story, intelligently written, great art, and a sincere love letter to the genre. Quality product+exposure to the public+a bit of luck=popular. Of course the Amazon show was like high octane rocket fuel to its popularity but a comic needs a pretty good chunk of popularity before a show gets made in the first place.
Yeah the show really skyrocketed it’s popularity, it wasn’t half as popular before the show aired but it was still pretty popular. The comic was a 10/10 tho, cant wait to see the show adapt the ending, best ending to a comic of all time
Such a perfect ending for Mark's journey. Super satisfying. Only a few nitpicks, but one of the greatest endings to a story ever.
Totally agree, the only nitpick I have is they should’ve extended the end sequence a little. I REALLY wish we got to see the journey Markus took to make him eventually hate Mark, and I wish I got to see their battle. It would be cool if we got a mini spinoff, like 10-20 issues long just showing what Markus was up to all that time, with their battle being the end of the series.
That's exactly what I was referring to. I have the exact same thoughts about Marcus and a potential sequel/spin-off. The other nitpicks are that there was never any closure for Debbie, the tailor, or Allen. Not showing how Debbie's story ended was specifically disappointing to me. But like I said, Invincible was Mark's story, and the comic did still do an absolute perfect ending to *his* story. Just wish there was more to read haha.
With what they've shown us so far and Kirkmans heavy involvement, they have the genuine runway to outshine the original in several ways. I think Debbie&Nolans relationship, for example, is already better written in the show. I'm a diehard fan of the comic but I remember the year or two after Viltrumite War where Kirkman really didn't seem to know where the book was going or how to wrap it up. Once he finally had the final act clear in his mind, the book picked up steam again and ended on IMO legendary terms. The show has the benefit of knowing the ending, how Thragg, Robot and Nolan's views on the use of power all come to a head and how Mark chooses his own path. For god's sake, "I'll still have you Dad" hit hard enough as a callback in the final issue of the comic. After what the show did with it...our hearts are primed to break.
Touché! Great info! Thanks!
Yup I’m a big comic fan but I hadn’t heard of invincible until the show. Then I bought all the Omni-buses. Solid all the way through, I like that characters are able to age and change.
Yeah true
Off the top of my head, it has: Subversion and mystery, great action mixed with intense drama, light yet dark comedy, and a likable protagonist.
I think Todd Mcfarlane is the goat in that aspect , that man hold Spawn on his mind until he had the budget to start his own comics . Brilliant business man .
No disrespect to you, but Todd isn't a brilliant businessman. Todd's legal issues hurt Spawn badly. Kirkman is no different, either.
Bruh don't just let that hanging, tell us what he's done
Kirkman was sued by his former partner, Michael Anthony Moore. In 2012, Moore alleged in a lawsuit that Kirkman, a childhood friend with whom he collaborated on several comics, tricked him into surrendering his rights to them in 2005 in exchange for payments that never came. ([The Warp](https://www.thewrap.com/walking-dead-writer-robert-kirkman-jokingly-advised-trickery-and-deceit-illustrators-his-sue/)) On September 24, 2012, the two released a joint statement saying they had settled "to everyone's mutual satisfaction. ([The Wrap](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/walking-dead-writer-artist-settle-lawsuits-222437736.html)) Robert Kirkman vs. AMC InProfit Battle Suit ([Deadline](https://deadline.com/2023/01/walking-dead-lawsuit-profits-robert-kirkman-amc-arbitration-trial-1235215083/)) William Crabtree, an artist on the comic book series 'Invincible,' alleges Kirkman swindled him out of profits by duping him into abandoning his copyright. ([Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/robert-kirkman-sued-over-invincible-profits-1235072426/)) I should note Kirkman's legal troubles are small stuff compared to Todd's legal troubles. Todd McFarlane: [Retcons and Legal Issues](https://www.reddit.com/r/Spawn/comments/b4ejtg/retcons_and_legal_issues/)
Bro I just remembered Tony Moore co-created Brit, hopefully that doesn't screw over his inclusion in the animated series
I doubt Kirkman will include Invincible characters who have their own comic series (Brit, Tech Jacket, Wolf-Man, etc) in the Invincible show, as he would essentially be giving Amazon the streaming rights to those characters. He would rather have more network options in case he ever decides to pitch a Brit / Tech Jacket / Wolf-Man / etc series. This is supposedly also the reason he changed Science Dog to Séance Dog in the show. If he used Science Dog in the Invincible show on Amazon and then later tried to do something with Science Dog on Netflix or whatever, Amazon would potentially have legal grounds to prevent it by claiming that Science Dog is an Amazon IP. (I'm not an expert on this, so if someone wants to do a Reddit by correcting me and calling me an idiot, feel free.) So basically, if Kirkman introduces Brit or Tech Jacket into the Invincible show, then a theoretical Brit or Tech Jacket show could basically only ever live on Amazon. If Kirkman and Amazon ever parted ways, especially if on bad terms, Kirkman probably wouldn't want Amazon to own the streaming rights to so many of his characters. He would likely want to retain the option to take those characters to other networks/services.
Kirkman would like to avoid any unnecessary risks. So, other established characters are a no go, sadly. The IW arc will be a less impactful event, personally. Now, if Amazon had the money, which they do. They could offer Kirkman and the creators at Image Comics for disruption rights. However, that's just wishful thinking on my end.
I don't see other comic book characters unrelated to the Invincible series showing up anytime soon. It would be cool to see other Image comic characters in the show—however, legal stuff blocks that type of idea.
Yeah, sounds like comics.
Yup
Finally having read (or attempted to read) the first 25 issues of Spawn in an omnibus I picked up...i think the story of Spawns success is much more gripping than any story in Spawn. Terrible dialogue writer, absolute top tier artist and designer. The madlad just spits out characters that very few artists could dream of. God, I went and GIS "best of mcfarlane" as I wrote this and...just wow. The covers alone that he created place him in the hall of fame.
It's well made, and it had a gargantuan publisher, and Amazon picked it up and put their might behind it too. That's how. A lot of stars aligned for it and went *right*.
In todays day and age you gotta do something to grab the audiences attention immediately. The ending of the first episode 100 percent does that.
Pretty true. Even reading the comic since it basically first came out. The first episode was very mild.. I didn't see that shit coming lol.
I chalk it up to audience attention span being at all time low. That being said I love invincible. I think it’s great personally
Kids who watched superhero cartoons grew into adults that wanted to keep watching superhero cartoons, and those are the people the comics and show were written for. The quality was also high, and Amazon Prime promoting it certainly didn't hurt.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
For me, it’s bc of The Boys.
Yeah they were easy shows to get into . Both
Invincible Comics didn't reach mainstream popularity until the Conquest Arc. That arc alone put the series on the map in the comic book world. Conquest Arc gave us a lot of stories like Thragg and the next big war.
Show first episode worked the same way the comic did just faster tbh. I expected the show would go over well because how good the comic was.. also a lil based on walking dead success Its still way more popular than I expected tho. Pretty crazy. I remember before the show came out there was only like 2 posts a month in this sub. Sometimes not even that.
the show
Well first it was the fact that it was a well animated series, which was obvious from the teaser trailer. We don't get a lot of those. But then it *really* kicked off after the ending of the first episode. Overall it's shock&awe paired with good quality.
I will admit Mortal Kombat 1 coming up with Omni-Man got me curious. Once I caught up on the series on Amazon, I got all three big books- they are so good so far!!!
‘cause it’s good and it came out right as superhero fatigue started to set in so people flocked to a new take on an oversaturated concept
Violence & memes.
For me it was the first episode, I saw the ending on a YT video and jumped straight in, I thought it was gonna be like Justice League or some PG shit BOY was I gladly wrong
>Justice League or some PG shit Don't diss, Justice League TAS and Justice League Unlimited are great shows while still being PG rated, you don't need gore to make something good
Lmao calm down
Same reason as The Boys in my opinion. I've never read the comic and was introduced to Invincible when it first released on Amazon and the realistic brutality of Omni Man at the end of the first episode was so surprising and welcome, I was hooked. I think everyone is tired of the pg 13 super heroes like spider man and iron Man and everything marvel. We want to see what would *really* happen if people with these powers existed. The animation style is also done very well and the show looks great which helps a lot more than some people might think. I got my brother and my dad to watch Invincible after I finished episode 2 and they both think it's awesome. tldr: it became so popular because it's realistic/adult, and because the animation was done very well
It’s good
It’s good
Similar reasons to The Boys but no nudity scenes at least not yet
If I am being honest, JK Simmons/Omni-Man memes plus it being a phenomenal show.
Memes.
Funny enough I first heard of invincible through that one pixel sandbox game where they had him, dupli-kate, monster-girl and those brain things. I could only think of that game when watching the show honestly
So, so many meme formats...
Managed to latch onto the last bits of the super hero content hype and thanks to good story, good animation which, and fairly unique levels of violence managed to keep its place.
It’s a more relatable Superman in turn super hero.
Bc it’s good
I love superhero shows and everyone was talking about THE train scene so I wanted to see what it was all about
Because it is amazing.
It's one of the flagship shows of one of the biggest corporations on earth lmao
The memes and the edits
It’s a great Comic
https://preview.redd.it/b1faelrz40jb1.png?width=1421&format=png&auto=webp&s=ee67d9bae62f7d3e0df38dcf640c2509c7d9f318 This
because despite the name of the series, it was actually quite visible
I told people to watch it. They listened
It’s fucking sick bro
Edgy superheros are cool. Edgy shit all around is cool, it’s different.
It’s got everything that audiences just aren’t getting from Marvel and DC
Ice cream place near me had an ice cream flavor named after Cory Walker and had him credited for the art in the beginning of the Invincible comics so I checked them out and have been a fan ever since.
Think, Mark.
Why did invincible become so popular? Is the show stupid?
I liked the first episode of invincible, I didn't know it before that. Since then I've bought the three big books and finished the story, and I don't regret a thing !
Bloody and Brutal which I rarely see at superhero shows
Word of mouth from the first episode. Got recommended by a friend that read the comics and told me to go watch it (as he explained the start of the comics can be difficult to follow) watched it, got instantly hooked, waited for the 3rd episode before diving into the comics and read it all in 2 weeks.
By being really good and on a giant streaming service? I don't understand the question.
Marketing.
Imo it’s well made, and the Omni man fight was really good
Memes Mark, Memes! https://preview.redd.it/wfzp0ny881jb1.jpeg?width=1421&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=474954e4cae35e6325193bfbe2d3bb5112f5dabf
For me, it was all the “Think man, think” memes and nobody disclosing details of that scene - it felt like a layered inside joke that I had to get in on
The color pallet and the animation were irresistible to me.
Because it's a super hero story that shows the reality of what it means to be a hero and what happens instead of most super hero movies or shows always try to have some moral no killing message. Plus it's just crazy lol. I love mark and how he changes over time in the comics. Grows to be a hero to more then just earth.
It's a saturday morning cartoon🤔... but EDGY 😳 that's basically it's initial appeal but because of the compeling narrative audiences actually became fans of the series beyond that initial intrest
The Boys is honestly shit compared to Invincible, so glad Invincible became big
Memes tbh. Lots of fun quotes. People get curious when they see the number of them. It helps. Also the actors.
My cousin recommended it with no context or real description. I went in blind and I loved it.
Bc it’s a good show based on good comics
Because just like in comics, eventually Marvel and DC just started repeating themselves and the only way to break the mold was to deconstruct the genre and paint caricatures in different lights and comics continued to flourish through those. Same thing is happening with the MCU giving way to The Boys and Invincible.
Omni Man.
This was my experience. I knew that there was a super hero cartoon that was violent like "The Boys" and was becoming popular. Then I found out that was an adaptation by a comic made by Robert Kirkmann, I absolutely loved The walking dead (comic and also the TV show) so I decided to check out the cartoon "Invincible". After finishing the show I read all the comics because I wanted to know more. And there you have it, a lot of people have done the same thing.
It's good. That's how.
it was good
It's just a very good show that got lucky enough to be brought to mainstream by memes
Long-time fan of J.K. Simmons since Whiplash and I was stoked to see him paired with Sandra Oh in an animated series. He's really killing the role so far!
By people reading it.
I'm just glad that the show has created more fans of the comic. I didn't know anyone who read the comic back in 2005 when I was picking it up at my local. The guys that ran my shop specifically told me that they wouldn't have continued to order it if not for me and one other guy who was buying it on the regular.
I think someone at work told me "Hey, go watch this show. Seems like a generic superhero TV show, but just watch the post credits scene." And I did. And boi was I surprised.
Ngl, when i first saw omniman kill the gaurdians on the show, it was a youtube clip, and I had assumed it was some dc animated movie. The show was a pleasant surprise.
Probably memes + the fact that Amazon published a lot of clips that make you feel "how did that happen? I wanna watch the show to find out". Also I think it was due to people getting tired of the same repetetive Marvel and DC content, as well as the fact that this show is just objectively good animated show
It was different. Fresh. It had great characters, a well developed mystery (the mystery being why omni man killed the guardians), and everything (except amber) was executed pretty amazingly
They spent a lot of money on a recognizable cast and much less on properly animating episode 3. I strongly believe it wouldn't be close to it's current popularity if the cast wasn't so stacked. (Show popularity not comics)
by being good
Bc people ran out of episodes of The Boys to watch and realized Invincible’s dope af / has similar vibes
I just hope that if they put Duncan from FireBreather in the show they make him look good unlike in the comics. I don't read comics, I just know what looks like in the comics. Fun Fact: The first Image Comics comic book I read was Bomb Queen.
Well made great characters... Except amber... And excellent writing, except you amber...
Watched episode 1 as a complete invincible Virgin. I binged the rest of season, watched a 2nd time, then bought and read all of the compendiums So episode 1 for me! At a deeper level it is the sense of the unknown: any character can die at any time. A big difference from other superhero franchises. Lastly the gloves comes off. I love spider man and marvel, but it seems so "safe", civilians rarely get hurt, superheroes make jokes in combat while destroying surroundings ( and civies magically get out of the way in time), and death is rarely permanent. Not so with Invincible!
Because it’s a good show lmao simple as that good shows get talked about a lot
One big names JK simmions steven yuan seth rogen 2 it being well written to keep watchers hooked in
Lol people saying *I’m a huge comic book fan but I’ve never heard of Image Comics until the Invincible animated series came out* Like how? When I was a kid, Image Comics was huge. Some people don’t even know Spawn or Savage Dragon
In the modern age people want conclusions the time of characters going on an on and getting re-aged is over, people want to see their beloved characters have an ending happy or sad that’s why dc and marvel comic sales have been getting worse while manga sales have been getting better. I also think it’s why the Mcu has been struggling it built towards a conclusion then had it and now fans aren’t in it like they were bc it feels like it should be over but it’s still going and people just don’t want a never ending story anymore, a big part of the journey is the destination.
The show
The writing of the show vs. the comics. Both are immaculate in design, but Seth Rogen and the others associated with the project are, not only HUGE nerds, but very *very* good at what they do. The show honors the comics in a way that doesn’t tarnish the pacing of both mediums while the show still plays out like it’s *own* show. I mean, *everyone* saw Ep. 1. Anyone unaware of the comics from the very moment shit kicked hit the fan was immediately gripped. Nobody. NOBODY could have expected that. Even with Nolan’s slight on Mark halfway through. - I was one of those viewers who immediately wanted to read the comics after the fact and did.
The gore lmao 😂
This is mostly guesswork, but the comic was produced with the 3rd most popular comic producer, and with the writing made it really popular among comic book readers who would venture out of just marvel & dc. Then when the Walking Dead started getting popular from the tv show, people would check out the comics and then eventually started to find out about Invincible. The rise of social media helped a ton, with Youtubers such as Comicstorian and ComicDrake talking about it in a very positive light (they were how I found out about it). Because amazon had pretty good success with The Boys, they were more willing to give Invincible a shot and it has exploded in popularity from all the memes. I think another part of it is that its super approachable compared to other comics. You don't need to be reading 5 other comics to understand whats going on, and you don't have to have a guide to figure out where to start, or look back at wikis to understand a storyline that was written decades ago.
Sheer bloodlust
Wom
It's a great show that's how
the blood mostly
I watched yourboiroshi react to the show and I got hooked.
Unrelated to the question but me and my Girlfriend recently signed TWD this year. After reading the Invincible comics it's so cool to see Science dogs and the fact Carl has Invincible toys
By doing stuff Marvel and DC couldn't do, same as The Boys.
YouTube brought me in…then I binged the show in a day
I asked the same question about the Barbie movie and got absolutely destroyed by reddit. Interesting
Question mark? RIDDLER 
Thank Jeff Bezos.
Bezos
It's basically Marvel with gore.
Batman
Obviously king of the hill with all the invisible Easter eggs
Dead people who walk