Invincible – How Far Falls the Apple? - MK Stangeland Jr.

INVINCIBLE is fighting DR. PSYCHE – A new character who is the mastermind behind a new covert organization known as the INITIATIVE for GLOBAL DEFENSE (IGD). He looks kind of like a middle age psychiatrist, and has low level telepathic and telekinetic abilities, the later of which mostly manifests itself in the form of a defensive energy shield.

(5 Panels)

Panel 1: INVINCIBLE hides behind a broken piece of machinery as the VILTRUMITE KILLER DRONE (VKD) factory he’s just destroyed burns around him. DR. PSYCHE calmly walks along a still-standing elevated walkway in the background. A pair of VKDs walk behind him.

DR. PSYCHE (1): You must understand, your perception has been highly skewed. Not that I can blame you.

DR. PSYCHE (2): I am the hero here. The I.G.D. are the good guys.

INVINCIBLE: Says the crazy doctor with an evil secret organization trying to build an army of killer robots for the purpose of genocide.

Panel 2: INVINCIBLE tries to sneak around the broken machinery so he can hopefully get in a sneak attack against DR. PSYCHE without getting spotted.

INVINCIBLE: You tried to kill the Guardians! You want to explain how that makes you the good guys?

DR. PSYCHE: (Off-Panel) Regretful, yes, but they’ve dug their own graves.

Panel 3: Close-up on DR. PSYCHE as he stands on the walkway, his hands on the railing. One of his eyes glows with a pure electrical energy as he uses his telepathic powers to locate INVINCIBLE.

DR. PSYCHE (1): They made their intentions clear when they saw fit to protect your father. To protect the rest of the Viltrumite scum hiding on this planet.

Panel 4: A ‘Ghost’ of INVINCIBLE is seen from behind some of the broken debris as INVINCIBLE moves about the building. Small wavy lines are around INVINCIBLE’s head, indicating that DR. PSYCHE is locating INVINCIBLE by locating his mind.

DR. PSYCHE: To protect you.

INVINCIBLE (1): I’M ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS!

INVINCIBLE (2): I’m trying to protect Earth!

Panel 5: DR. PSYCHE points down off the walkway in the direction of INVINCIBLE (off-panel). The VKDs jump off the walkway to go after him.

DR. PSYCHE: They said the same thing about dear old daddy.

DR. PSYCHE: And we all know how that turned out.

(END PAGE)

Invincible - Hard Times For These Times - Grant McLaughlin

So I usually whip up scripts that can take place at any point within continuity, but not so this week with Invincible. What you see before you is what I imagine could be going through the minds of Eve and Mark in issue 71, the night before Mark leaves to fight in the Viltrumite War. Because any amount of time can occur in the gutters between panels, this would happen during panels 1 and 2 and before panel 3 of page 13 of that issue (for those who aren't scrambling to pull out their copy of Invincible #71 to look, that's when Mark is heading over to Eve's, but before they say anything to each other).

Because the lead-up to this script is already complicated enough, I figured I might as well go the whole nine yards and have an equally complex panel layout. This is partly to fit in all those friggin' words I wrote, but I think the visual it creates is worth a slightly crowded page.

The page has three rows of panels. The first row has four panels. Panels 1 and 2 take up the size of a single panel; they are divided diagonally from one corner to another (left to right descending), with panel 1 being the top half and panel 2 being the lower half. All three panels ("1 and 2", 3, and 4) are of equal size.  The second row is laid out in a similar fashion to the first, with panels 5 and 6 once again being formed out of the size of a single panel (the diagonal can go in a different direction if one wants) and panels "5 and 6", 7, and 8 are all of equal size. The third row is a single panel that takes up the remainder of the page.

All dialogue is in the form of thought balloons.

1 – Eve is looking down at her laundry basket on her bed, preparing to start folding. She is tired and sad. On the page, she is looking down and to the left, which with the split in the panels, has her looking directly at Mark in panel 2.

EVE: Should I bring it up?

2 – Mark is sitting on the ground next to his bed, looking out the window. He is tired and sad. On the page, he is looking up and to the right, which with the split in the panels, has him looking directly at Eve in panel 1.

MARK: Does she need to hear this?

3 – Eve reaches into the laundry basket, leaving space for all the thought balloons in this panel. She continues to look left, though she is placed on the right edge of the panel. Most of her body is off-panel, appearing to connect her to Mark in panel 4.

EVE (1): This pregnancy is all I can think about lately, but is this the right time to bring it up? Mark has so much on his mind already.

EVE (2): I'm terrified, but he's about to fight a war. How can I distract him ever further?

EVE (3): I'm so scared that he won't come back – that I'll lose him. I don't even want to think about it. Do I really want to spend our last night together worrying him?

4 – Mark is putting on the pants of his costume, leaning forward to leave space for all the thought balloons in this panel. He continues to look to the right, though he is placed on the left edge of the panel. Most of his body is off-panel, appearing to connect him to Eve in panel 3.

MARK (1): Is there really enough time to explain everything I've been going through lately? And everything that's still to come.

MARK (2): I'm terrified, but this is our last night together. How can I ruin it by asking her to bear more of my burdens?

MARK (3): And since Eve's “death”, I've been so scared of losing her. She's been so distant lately. Would my selfish concerns bring us closer together or simply push us further apart?

5 – Another split panel. Eve is folding a shirt, looking down towards the laundry basket and Mark in panel 6.

EVE: I just love him so much.

6 – Another split panel. Mark is putting on his shirt, looking up towards the ceiling and Eve in panel 5.

MARK: I just love her so much.

7/8 – Panels 7 and 8 are separate images. Panel 7 is a close up of Eve folding laundry and trying to look determined. Panel 8 is a closeup of Mark flying over to Eve's and trying to look determined. The reason I describe the two panels in one paragraph is because the thought balloon marked “BOTH” crosses onto both panels. Eve and Mark's separate thought balloons are on their own panels, but they are in mirrored positions.

BOTH: I know that, together, we can deal with this.

EVE: I need to tell him.

MARK: I need to tell her.

9 – A single panel taking up the remainder of the page. Eve's bedroom. The two stand on opposite sides of the panel / room. Eve is on the far left and Mark is on the far right. Eve looks over her shoulder as Mark comes in, looking to the right for the first time on the page. Mark is coming in the window, looking to the left for the first time on the page. They look towards each other sadly. No dialogue.

Invincible - Parody? - Danial Carroll

[I apologize for this lacklustre page, but I'm on vacation at the moment and just whipped it up quickly in between all the fun... plusidontlikethecharacter :P]


PANEL ONE
Close on Mark, out of costume and shouting I'm anger.

MARK: Are you KIDDING me!?!


PANEL TWO
From Mark's POV, we see a man in a tailored suit. He looks apologetic, but also resigned. This is Mark's attorney.

ATTORNEY: I'm sorry, but the court ruled in their favor.

ATTORNEY: It was changed JUST enough to avoid infringement.


PANEL THREE
Close on Mark again, even angrier this time.

MARK: That's BULL$#!?. I want an appeal!

MARK: I don't CARE if they changed the costume and added a few extra powers--


PANEL FOUR
Mark has slammed a comicbook onto the table, the title of which reads, "Superman".

MARK: --That's still ME, dammit!!

Invincible - Doppelgänger - Matt Duarte

Invincible in “Doppelgänger” by Matt Duarte

Panel 1

Description: Mark Grayson, in his civilian clothes, is inside his local comic book shop. He is looking at some comics on the stands while another customer and the owner of the shop discuss in the foreground over the counter.

CUSTOMER: Listen, he doesn't have his own arch nemesis. Where's his Luthor, or Joker, or Green Goblin?

OWNER: Well what about his father? That's as bad as they come...

Panel 2

Description: Mark has joined the customer and the owner at the desk.

MARK: What are you guys talking about?

OWNER: Invincible. He doesn't think he have a decent rogue gallery.

CUSTOMER: Sure, the father thing is very poetic, but they only fought once, you know?

Panel 3

Description: Same as before, Mark is talking very solemnly, obviously trying to defend the honour of his alter ego.

MARK: It's not about building a rogue's gallery. It's about stopping criminals and putting a stop to them. When you think about it, the fact that these fictional characters have a rogue galleries that constantly come back to haunt them means that they are not doing their job right.

OWNER: …

CUSTOMER: …

Panel 4

Description: The owner and the customer have gone back to discussion, completely ignoring Mark.

CUSTOMER: You know what would be cool?

OWNER: What?

Panel 5

Description: Invincible stands by himself on the moon. Except this is Bizarro Invincible, his suit is purple and red, and he is badly scarred and with a bald head.

BIZARRO-INVINCIBLE: ME AM VINCIBLE!

The End

Invincible – No Explanation Necessary – Rol Hirst

This is a sequel to Marvel Team-Up #14, in which Spidey met Invincible for the first time. A lot has changed since that comic came out...


Panel One.

A dimensional portal tears in the sky and Invincible hurtles through – straight into a battle between Spider-Man and the new Sinister Six (Doc Ock, Sandman, Rhino, Electro, Mysterio and Chameleon) which is raging outside a nefarious warehouse in downtown Manhattan.

Invincible: Woahh – not again, Levy! Where the heck have you thrown me this—

Invincible: Hey, Spider-Man – am I back in your universe?

Panel Two.

Sandman is trying to smash Spidey with a huge fist. Spidey jumps out of the way and Sandman hits Electro instead. Spidey shouts over at Invincible who’s leaping to avoid a charging Rhino.

Spidey: Who? Oh, I remember you – Invulnerable, right? Long time no—

Invincible: Invincible, Peter – why do you always get my name wro—

Panel Three.

Spidey holds a finger to the lips of his mask while he leaps to grab Invincible and pull him out of the way of Doc Ock’s tentacles. Doc Ock is the new, skinny, disease-riddled version. Mysterio stands nearby, looking menacing.

Spidey: Hey, ixnay on the eter-pay, pal – that’s not what we call common knowledge anymore – especially round the likes of Doc Ock!

Spidey: (Guess our little forgetfulness spell didn’t stretch as far as Invincible World!)

Invincible: Wait - that’s Doctor Octopus? Wow, he sure took those diet tips seriously! Who’s his pal with the fishbowl? Mr. Carp?

Panel Four.

Spidey is balanced with one hand on top of Mysterio’s goldfish bowl head while Invincible aims a punch right at the bowl.

Spidey: This is Mysterio – say hi to Invincible’s fist, Mysterio.

Invincible: Ha, I love the crazy names you guys give each other in this dimension – so much cooler than on my world!

Mysterio: Ooof!

Invincible: How’s that hot wife of yours, by the way?

Panel Five.

Invincible punches out Invincible (it’s the Chameleon is disguise) while Spidey leaps out of the way of the Rhino who’s charging back in the opposite direction with a door stuck on his horn.

Spidey: Wife!? Think you might have me confused with some other dashing and witty arachno-hero, pal – this little spider’s never been married.

Invincible: No? What about the smoking redhead supermodel you introduced me to at Revengers Tower?

Spidey: Mary Jane!? We weren’t married! Came close a couple of times, but…

Invincible: Wow. That must have been some bitter break-up...

Panel Six.

Doc Ock’s had enough now. His tentacles smash down around Spidey and Invincible with huge force, cracking the ground and shaking up everybody and everything in the panel. Punched-out Invincible turns back to Chameleon as he falls down, knocked out. Spidey and Invincible leap to avoid the shockwaves from Doc Ock’s blows.

Doc Ock: Shut up shut up shut up! I haven’t long to live – all this exposition is making my ears bleed!

Spidey: Doc – that’s just the Kirkman Curse… deal!

Invincible: I don’t even notice it anymore…

Invincible - So Give Them Blood, Blood, Gallons Of The Stuff - Maxy Barnard

One of my favourite pages of all time is the last one from Generation X #4, where Jubilee is interrupted from her next issue preview by encroaching ice, covering the details of what's to come. So this is, in its own special way, a loving tribute to that sort of page.

And more so a send-up of Invincible's love of the old krovvy (Clockwork Orange reference +1). So, let the claret fly!

-------------------------------

Page # - 16(*) panels

*Page layout note: The only panels that are truly visible here are panels 1-8 and panel 16. The rest are entirely drowned underneath the leaking flood of blood that is pouring out from panels 5-8. But for their lack of description, their occupied space still theoretically exists, taking up that bottom half of the page.

#.1
Close-up on Invincible's face as he, bloody-nosed and with broken goggles, roars towards his opponent.

Invincible: NEVER...


#.2
Super-zoomed out panel here, with Invincible slamming his fist (literally piercing) into the gut of his opponent, now revealed to be a big, fat, godzilla-esque rhino beetle.

Invincible: ..AGAIN!!

SFX: SPLATTAJAM


#.3
Zoomed back in to a reasonable size (perhaps, height-wise, from the top of Invincible's head to his knees) and posing victoriously, Invincible has pulled his bloody, gut-covered fist out of the monster. the hole he has left in the beetle's belly is now lightly spraying blood, hitting Invincible's costume.

Invincible: Yes... It's over.

SFX(blood): spppppp--


#.4
The spray from the beetle's belly is getting thick and fast, spraying harder against Invincible (Why haven't I just been calling him Mark? I digress), who is suitably disgusted by this turn of events.

Invincible: What? NO! EW!

SFX(blood): --pppuuuuuuuur--


#.5
The spray is at maximum now, almost pushing Invincible over as he leans into it, arms in front of his face. The blood is also trickling out of the panel, towards the previously described pit of blood.

Invincible: *GARGLEFRARGLESPLOGLLE*

SFX(blood): --RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT!!


#.6
Just as thick a spray now, Invincible is flying full strength against the flow now, with only his body parts at the edge of the panel not dyed red. There is more blood pouring out of this panel than the previous.

Invincible: *NRRRT*

SFX(blood): STILLSPURTIN'!


#.7
Invincible's arm, pressed against the panel looking for purchase, and his grimaced face are the only things visible against the torrent of red. And again, the blood pouring out of the panel is heavier than previous.

SFX(blood): SOMUCHSPURTIN'!


#.8
All red, save Invincible's fingers, hooked round the edge of the panel. The blood flow is heaviest here, pouring straight down into the pool of blood that is panels 9-15.


#.16
Where the 16th panel should be, there are just Invincible's gloved hands, pressed against the page as if trying to push their way out into reality.

Caption: End?

Invincible – Georgia Went Down To The Devil – Ryan K Lindsay

An entire town within Georgia has lost its entire population. All issue there have been hints in the town as to the presence of other supervillains meddling but Invincible and the team have yielded no clear answer. The last lead points towards the Devil’s hand in all this. Thus, the final choice is made at the end of the issue.
1. A splash page. Invincible stands with his team (there’s the chick, that cocky dude, the robot thing, that monster girl, and a monkey in a trenchcoat) in the middle of a suburban main street. There are press cameras setting up about 40 metres away. There is no one else around, the town looks a little derelict, like a ghost town.

Caption-Invincible: I don’t think the public will be surprised any when they see this.
Caption-Invincible: I am my father’s son, after all.
Invincible: Sorry, guys, time to die.

2. Small inset panel. Invincible clenches a fist.

Caption-Invincible: Here’s hoping this works.
Caption: Next Month – Why Will Invincible’s Team Need To Die To Survive? Find out in “Prelude To A Resurrection!”

Why Invincible?

Because comics should be fun. That’s exactly what Invincible is – fun.

Mark Grayson is the son of the world’s most adored hero, Omni Man. When Mark’s powers finally develop, his days as a superhero begin. However, that is cut short when *spoiler alert* Mark’s father reveals to his son that he is actually of an alien race, and it is his job to conquer earth – with or without Mark’s help.

Sure, there is your odd father/son super powered throwdown. Yes there are numerous real teen issues they touch on, like college life, first girlfriends and being kidnapped and turned into a robot. But it’s not all that mundane kind of stuff – there’s some humour in there too!

Invincible is a mixing bowl of all your favourite comic book characters. One would think that reading a comic that borrows/pays homage so many classic characters and storylines would be an unmitigated mess. That ‘one’ is dead wrong.

With super strength, flight and a lung capacity that puts Dolly Parton to shame (huh?), Invincible is here to remind us that teenage-angst and drama still has a place in the knock-em down, drag them out world of super hero comics. What more would you expect from Robert Kirkman?

Put simply, it’s awesome.