) PROBABLY THE BEST SUPERHERO COMIC BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE image { ж 2 М 50 w : у { „>“ ЁС | Ї ( PY \ етед 一 D rey 53 Vey 712 eo c< , 7, — үзээл, Г MAYO, ШІ | ШЇ ГЇЇ = Ш ПТТ — ІШІ г ШЇП i ШИ ІП Ш Ц | = ШІ 1111) 11 11. г 9) ORIGINI ) 155115
- im age COMICS PRESENTS Welcome to our big issue 0 origin spectacular. If you're a regular reader of INVINCIBLE you'll be glad to ROBERT KIRKMAN see this special issue continues right from where issue 22 left off and leads directly into issue 23. If you're new to INVINCIBLE and this is your first experience with the WRITER guy, welcome, it's good to have you here. This issue should serve as a bare bones recap giving you all the important info to bring you up to speed while also, hopefully, being an entertaining little yarn: RYAN 0 I I LEY If you like what you see here, don't feel intimidated about picking up issue 23 next month. You should be PENCILER 6 INKER able to hop right on and enjoy the ride. Or if you want to go back and start at the beginning there are four volumes of INVINCIBLE trade paperbacks collecting issues 1-19 in stores or available for order right now. BILL CRABTREE Another option, if you're into that sort of thing, would Бе picking up the INVINCIBLE: ULTIMATE COLORIST COLLECTION VOLUME 1 hardcover. It'll be in stores in June and will retail for à measly $34.95. It'll get you issues 1-13 for pennies a serving, along with all those DVD style extras that the kids seem to dig so much RUS WOOTON these days. So enjoy the story and thanks for forking out the half LETTERER dollar to purchase this thing. 1 hope to see you around these parts again real soon. -Robert Kirkman CREATED BY ROBERT KIRKMAN & CORY WALKER IMAGE COMICS, INC. rik Larsen - F Toda лаг t INVINCIBLE #0, April 2005. Published by Image Comics, Inc., Office of publication: 1942 Marc Silvestri - CE University Avenue, Suite 305, Berkeley, California 94704. Copyright © 2005 Robert Kirkman & Sim Valentine f t Cory Walker. All rights reserved. INVINCIBLE™ (including all prominent characters featured = он Аы ka. in this issue), its logo and all character likenesses are trademarks of Robert Kirkman & Cory Қы А r Walker, unless otherwise noted. Image Comics® is a trademark of Image Comics, Inc. All B. Clay Moore ` F 9 Coordinat rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or Allen Hui - P, t by any means (except for for short excerpts for review purposes) without the express written permission of Image Comics, Inc. All names, characters, events and locales in this publication are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or places, without satiric intent, is coincidental. PRINTED IN CANADA
TELL ME EVERYTHING. YOU HAVE YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW ФООР IT FEELS TO FINALLY GET THAT OFF MY CHEST. I’M NO--I WANT TO KNOW HOW EVERYTHING HAPPENED... I WANT TO KNOW ALL 50 HAPPY YOU'RE ABOUT YOU. I WANT TAKING THIS SO TO KNOW IT WELL. ALL. EVERYTHING? You've SEEN MOST OF ІТ ON THE NEWS. YOU KNOW МЕ-- THE SUPERHERO STUFF IS ALL МҮ TELEVISED. BOYFRIEND IS A SUPERHERO. I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW UNBELIEVABLY COOL THAT IS. ГМ STILL ІМ SHOCK. FROM THE BEGINNING, THE BEGINNING? IT’S KIND OF LATE ALREADY. ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU THE WHOLE STORY TONIGHT? MARK, ч. LISTEN TO ме. MY BOYFRIEND, YOU, JUST REVEALED TO ME HE'S A SUPERHERO. I DON’T THINK THERE'S ANY DANGER OF ME SLEEPING AT ALL TONIGHT. LET ALONE | \ АМҮ TIME 4 OKAY-- UNDERSTOOD. WILL РО. AT THE JUST LET BEGINNING. ME FIGURE OUT WHERE TO START. OKAY--LET ME REPHRASE. І/М TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE À BEGINNING 15. СОТ МЕ SOME SLACK, OKAY? I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY SAT DOWN AND TOLP THIS
OKAY--YOU KNOW NOW THAT MY DAD WAS OMNI-MAN, THE DEFENDER OF DEMOCRACY OR WHATEVER THEY CALLED HIM. HE TOLD ME ALL KINDS OF THINGS. ALL ABOUT THE PLANET HE CAME FROM, VILTRUM, AND THE KIND OF PEOPLE THEY WERE. HE TOLD ME ABOUT THE “WORLD BETTERMENT COMMITTEE.” I РЇРМ"Т KNOW ANY OF THAT. I DION’T FIND OUT UNTIL I WAS ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OLD. ОР UNTIL THAT РОІМТ--Т JUST THOUGHT MY DAP WAS A WRITER... ANYTHING? NOPE. IN FACT, UP UNTIL THE POINT WHERE HE SAT ME DOWN TO TELL МЕ--Т HAD NO CLUE WHAT WAS GOING ҚА ON. YOU DION’T SUSPECT THEY WERE РОЕМЕР ТО BRING WORLDS UP TO VILTRUM’S STANDARD OF PERFECTION. THEY WERE THE ФООР GUYS. WHILE НЕ WAS TELLING ME THIS STORY--HE TOLD ME ABOUT HIS POWERS, FLIGHT, SUPER-SPEED, SUPER-STRENGTH. HE SAID THERE WAS A ФООР CHANCE THAT I WOULD GET ІТ AND FELL IN LOVE WITH ІТ. WHEN THE VILTRUMITES DECIDED EARTH WAS TOO REMOTE ANP UNDEVELOPED FOR THEM TO WASTE THEIR TIME IMPROVING, HE QUIT, NO. HE TOLD ME WHEN I WAS SEVEN. HE SAID IF I WAS GOING TO GET POWERS THEY’D PROBABLY KICK IN AROUND PUBERTY --THIRTEEN,
DID THEY? NO--NOT UNTIL I WAS THAT'S THE THING, v MY MOM USED TO Y LIKE I SAID--IT THE POWERS SEVENTEEN. IT WAS SEE... I GREW UP TALK TO ME ABOUT TOOK FOREVER... I MEAN. DID BARELY A YEAR AGO EXPECTING MY HOW IT WOULD ВЕ I MEAN, I HAD THEY KICK IN ACTUALLY. I,UM... I POWERS. EVERY OKAY IF I WAS ALMOST GIVEN UP, WHEN YOU GUESS I’M А LATE DAY I WOKE UP NORMAL. SHE DIDN’T AND STOPPED WERE FOUR- BLOOMER. 4 ANP COULDN’T THINKING ABOUT TEEN? т. DISAPPOINT- I DIDN’T GET МҮ WANT ME TO BE TOO FLY WAS А DISAPPOINTED IF POWERS. $0, OF COURSE, I WAS THRILLED WHEN I FINALLY PIP GET MY POWERS. THE WEEKS THAT I TELL YOU, SCHOOL I EVEN PUT TOGETHER I WISH I FOLLOWED ARE A CERTAINLY TOOK A ALITTLE COSTUME, TO COULP HAVE BLUR. TESTING MY BACK SEAT THOSE MASK MY IDENTITY SEEN IT. STRENGTH, TRYING TO FIRST COUPLE WEEKS. WHILE I PRACTICED FLY, LEARNING TO DO IT WAS ALMOST FLYING. RUBBER = THINGS REALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO JUST GLOVES, A ВАМРАМА-- FAST...IT WAS А SIT INA DESK KNOWING SWEATPANTS. IT WAS LOT OF FUN. I COULD DO ALL RIDICULOUS. THAT OTHER STUFF.
I CAN SHOW ІТ 7) АМУМАУ--МУ РАР MY DAD KNEW A ONCE I НАР THE COSTUME, I To You. I STILL SAW ME IN THAT GUY--ATAILOR-- РОМЕ HEAD FIRST INTO MY LIFE HAVE IT AT HOME... GETUP ONCE AND SUPER SECRET STUFF. AS A SUPERHERO. I FOUGHT EXCEPT THE TOOK ME TO GET НЕ STILL MAKES ALL SOME GUYS--MET SOME OTHER GLOVES. MY MY FIRST MY COSTUMES. HE'S HEROES--ALL IN THE AFTER A MOM USED COSTUME. А FRIEND OF THE SPAN OF А MONTH. WHILE--I THOSE ON FAMILY. EVEN GOT TO DISHES... GO ON AFEW MISSIONS WITH MY SEEING НІМ IN ACTION WAS--I WAS IN AWE. І/р SEEN HIM ON THE NEWS MILLIONS OF TIMES WHILE GROWING UP. YOU’D THINK I WOULD BE USED TO IT. BEING THERE, SEEING HIM IN PERSON--WATCHING HIM UP CLOSE--IT WAS MESMERIZING. НЕ WAS MOVING SO FAST HE WOULD JUST SEEM ТО APPEAR WHERE HE WAS NEEDED. EVEN A SECOND. HE TRULY WAS —] THE WORLD’S GREATEST HERO. Р UP WITH HIM WHEN ме Б. FLEW TOGETHER. Bn д MARK? OH, SORRY. I WAS YEAH, OF WHAT ARE JUST--I WAS THINKING COURSE. SORRY You ABOUT THE WAY THINGS I--WHERE DOING? WERE. BEFORE ARE YOU was І? OKAY?
YOU HAD OH, YEAH. AROUND JUST BECOME THAT SAME TIME, А SUPER- STUDENTS AT OUR HERO. HIGH SCHOOL, YOU'LL REMEMBER, WERE TURNING UP ALL OVER TOWN, WITH BOMBS INSIDE ТНЕМ-- BLOWING STUFF ОР. YEAH--THAT'S RIGHT. IT WAS ABOUT А WEEK LATER THAT ATOM EVE AND Т ACTUALLY STOPPED THE GUY BEHIND IT ALL, WHO TURNED OUT TO ВЕ MR. HILES, OUR PHYSICS TEACHER. EVEN TURNED HIMSELF IMB. HE WAS GOING TO M KILL BOTH OF US IN HIS FINAL ACT FLEW HIM TO ANTARCTICA SO HE EXPLOSION WOULDN’T HURT ANYBODY. ATOM EVE? SHE'S МОТ--1 MEAN--THAT’S NOT OUR EVE 15 IT? YEAH--IT KINDA IS. JEEZ, DON’T SAY SHE'D ве REALLY PISSED IF SHE FOUND OUT I TOLD оо. ANYTHING, THOUGH. I REMEMBER, TWIN PINES MALL WAS CLOSED FOR LIKE--FOUR MONTHS. IT WAS HORRIBLE. THE WHOLE THING--NOT JUST THE MALL BEING CLOSED--OF COURSE. YOU CAN TRUST ME, MARK. I PROMISE. IF NOTHING ELSE COMES OF THIS TALK--I REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU AT LEAST KNOW THAT. OF COURSE. ANYWAY-- I FIRST DISCOVERED THEY WERE STUDENTS FROM OUR SCHOOL BECAUSE MY DAD AND I ENCOUNTERED ONE OF THEM IN LAKESIDE Pic THE GUY aur MUST mer HAVE HATED MALLS. ANYWAY, WE GOT TO HIM JUST BEFORE HE WENT OFF-- I TRUST YOU, AMBER. I WOULDN'T ВЕ TELLING YOU ALL THIS IF I DIDN'T. IT’S JUST SOMETHING YOU GOTTA SAY, Y'KNOW. I RECOGNIZED HIM FROM SCHOOL. DAD THREW HIM INTO THE SKY AND SAVED THE MALL. you were Ч ON TV, THEN. THAT WAS WHEN YOU CALLED OMNIMAN "DAD" AND EVERYONE FOUND OUT YOU WERE HIS SON. HILES WAS MY FIRST BIG SUPERVILLAIN. IF YOU CAN EVEN CALL HIM THAT.
I FACED А FEW бООР ONES: THE MAULER TWINS, TITAN, DOC SEISMIC, THE LIZARD LEAGUE, AND THIS ONE DUDE CALLED "THE ELEPHANT" BUT HE WAS REALLY JUST A LAME RIP-OFF OF GUY KINDA SUCKED. THE GUARDIANS OF THE GLOBE WERE KILLED. THE PREMIER SUPER TEAM, A TEAM WHO HAD SAVED THE WHOLE PLANET MORE TIMES THAN ANYONE COULD COUNT--WAS WIPED OUT IN ONE DAY. THEY WERE GONE. AND NOBODY KNEW WHO KILLED THEM. NOBODY No! I HAD NO IDEA WHO HAD DONE IT. YEAH, WELL--THAT’S BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT IN “THE BUSINESS." OTHERWISE YOU'D TOTALLY KNOW WHO THEY WERE. YEAH--UH--ANYWAY , THINGS WENT ALONG PRETTY SMOOTHLY FOR ALONG ПМЕ. THEN--SHORTLY BEFORE YOU AND I GOT TOGETHER EVERYTHING CHANGED. NO. I WATCH THE NEWS. THERE'S А NEW SUPERVILLAIN ON THERE EVERY WEEK. THE CHRO- NODILE, MEGA- BRAIN, SEBASTIAN KAUN... I SEE VILLAINS ON TV-- BUT NONE OF THE GUYS YOU MENTIONED. I DON’T KNOW... A MONTH. OH--HOW LONG WAS IT BEFORE YOU FOUND OUT?
I PON'T--1 VE NEVER TALKED ABOUT THIS. BEFORE... он, MARK--1'M 50 SORRY. YOU CAN STOP IF YOU WANT. I НАР МО CLUE WHAT Т. МАЗ IN FOR. I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHY THE IMMORTAL WOULD BE FIGHTING МУ РА! A HOLE THROUGH THE IMMORTAL I WAS ONLY MORE CONFUSED. PETA A І WAS IN SHOCK--IT WAS LIKE I LEFT МҮ ВОРУ. I COULDN’T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING WAS REAL. не DIDN’T KNOW I МАЗ THERE YET--I HEARD THEM TALKING WHILE THEY FOUGHT. IT SEEMED LIKE HE STARED AT ME WHEN HE FOREVER. SAW THAT 1 WAS THERE-- HE JUST LOOKED АТ ME, LIKE HE WAS AS SHOCKED AS THAT’S WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT MY FATHER--MY FATHER KILLED THE GUARDIANS OF THE GLOBE. NO, I’M FINE. THE IMMORTAL, THE LEADER OF THE GUARDIANS OF THE GLOBE, CAME BACK TO LIFE. NO DUH, RIGHT? WITH THAT NAME, I MEAN. ANWAY-- 2 НЕ CAME AFTER У MY FATHER. IT WAS ON THE NEWS THAT THEY WERE FIGHTING--SO I Q FLEW TO WHERE THEY WERE, NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS GOING ом. HE TOLD ME--HE TOLD ME THAT EVERYTHING HE HAD EVER TOLD ME ABOUT HIMSELF-—
I WANT У YOU TO KNOW Ч EVERYTHING. I DON’T WANT To KEEP ANYTHING FROM YOU ANYMORE. NO--IF I DON’T FINISH THIS Now I NEVER WILL. AND Т WANT то FINISH Ў Ts оклү, PLEASE-- JUST STOP. PLEASE EVERYTHING WAS А LIE. THERE WAS NO “WORLD BETTERMENT COMMITTEE" IT WAS THE “WORLD CONQUERING COMMITTEE." THE VILTRUMITES WEREN’T PERFECTING WORLDS. THEY WERE CONQUERING THEM. МҮ FATHER WASN'T HERE ТО PROTECT EARTH--HE WAS HERE TO ENSLAVE US. EVERY MINUTE OF MY LIFE WITH HIM WAS А LIE. HE ASKED ME TO HELP HIM-- AFTER RAISING ME AS А НОМАМ-- HE WANTED ME TO ENSLAVE THEM. I REFUSED. THE GOVERNMENT HAD A RECORDING OF YOUR ARGUMENT-— EVERYTHING HE SAID. IT WAS LEAKED TO THE MEDIA. I SAW THE SPECIAL--I MY MOM TOOK IT THE THERE'S BEEN A I DON’T KNOW WHAT HARDEST--STARTED COUPLE TIMES WHEN ТО DO. I МЄАМ--1 DRINKING. SHE BARELY YOU CAME OVER TO THE KNOW EXACTLY HOW EVER LEAVES THE HOUSE I’VE SHUFFLED SHE FEELS, WELL, HOUSE. YOU UP TO MY ROOM OR ALMOST, I MEAN, I SUGGESTED STAYING LOST MY FATHER-- OUTSIDE TO KEEP YOU SHE LOST HER HEARD EVERYTHING FROM SEEING HER-- HUSBAND. HE SAID TO PASSED OUT-- You. PRUNK. Білм WERE BOTH BETRAYED. KNOW How 局 YOU--
I Love YOU, MARK GRAYSON. I САМ РО THIS--IT’S JUST HARD. I TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT I DON’T THIS STUFF--I WANT TO LIE CERTAINLY DON’T TO YOU TALK ABOUT ANYMORE. т. I LOVE You тоо, AMBER BENNETT. BUTI CAN РО ТНІ6-- FOR YOU I CAN РО HE BEAT ME NEARLY TO I’M SORRY. I NEVER EVEN KNEW. I WAS PRETTY MUCH CECIL TOLD ME LATER UNCONSCIOUS AT THE THAT THE GOVERNMENT TIME--BUT YEAH, HE TRACKED HIM IN SPACE JUST STOPPED BEATING UNTIL HE WAS OUT OF ON ME AND FLEW RANGE--HE DEFINITELY Away. LEFT THE PLANET AND РІРМТ COME І МЕАМ--Т THOUGHT YOUR DAD DIED IN А CAR I DON’T BACK. CRASH, THIS IS KNOW WHY-- SOMEHOW НЕ ALMOST KILLED МЕ, AND THEN JUST PIPN'T JUST LOSE YOUR FATHER, YOU LOST ALL THE MEMORIES OF YOUR FATHER AS WELL.
OH, SORRY. I GUESS I GOT ALITTLE AHEAD OF MYSELF, CECIL WAS THE GUY THAT SAVED ME--AFTER MY DAD LEFT ME FOR DEAD, THAT 16. ууд! HELPING OUT MY MOTHER AND ALL. AFTER HE PATCHED ME UP, HE HIRED ME ON TO REPLACE MY DAD. PLANET AND TELL MY DAD WHERE ТО ВЕ-- WHERE HIS POWERS WOULP HELP THE MOST PEOPLE. А SUDDEN, GIVING МҮ MOM A STEADY INCOME. НЕ ALSO GOT ME A SCHOLARSHIP TO UPSTATE UNIVERSITY. OH, AND DON’T EVER STOOP. SO SAY ANYTHING: ABOUT HIM TO EARLIER TONIGHT ANYONE. HE'S WHEN I THOUGHT YOU WERE WAY TOP SECRET. TALKING TO I KNOW--T CAN YOUPOSLES TRUST YOU. i JUST GOTTA SAY IT Y'KNOW? UNDERCALLED CECIL? OH, NO--HE’S А SPOOKY GOVERNMENT GUY--REALLY NICE THOUGH. т LIKE HIM. НЕ’5 GOT SOME KIND OF SUPER SECRET UNDERGROUND BASE BELOW THE PENTAGON. THEY HAD THE ONLY HOSPITAL QUALIFIED TO TREAT MY INJURIES, IN RETURN, ALL Т HAVE TO DO 16 ALLOW HIM TO DIRECT MY SUPERHERO ACTIVITIES--I'D 8 BE SAVING PEOPLE ANYWAY -- № AND HE JUST HELPS МЕ save THE MOST PEOPLE POSSIBLE. I'VE GOT AN EAR PIECE HE TALKS 10 ME THROUGH AND UP AND LEAVING WHILE I’M OUT OF COSTUME. GO OUT AND SAVE THE WORLD. THAT’S WHY І MISSED SO MUCH SCHOOL TOWARDS THE END OF SENIOR YEAR. AND THAT’S WHY YOU HAVE THE BEEPER. You'Re NOT SELLING DRUGS. NOPE. I’M OUT SAVING THE WORLD--FIGHTING BAD GUYS AND STUFF. І САМТ BELIEVE You THOUGHT I WAS A DRUG DEALER. 2
IT’S МОТ THAT BAD-- BUT THERE ARE SOME WITH ALL ТНАТ--АЦ. THERE ARE ENTIRE WEEKS... WHERE I’M THIS SUPERHERO WEEKS THAT GOBY WORKING NON-STOP. STUFF--HOW DO YOU WITHOUT ME MAN, THE WEEK Т EVEN HAVE TIME 1 10 бото GETTING CALLED WENT TO MARS TO DO ANY- ALMOST KILLED THING. IT WAS LIKE, А WEEK BEFORE I STARTED COLLEGE. NOT LONG AGO. IT'LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT LATER, JUST--L WANTED TO APOLOGIZE TO YOU BEFORE I FINISH. W THE LAST COUPLE WEEK: TORN ME UP. І SAVED YOU FROM THAT MONSTER ON CAMPUS--BUT TO YOU-- ІТ LOOKED LIKE І ABANPONEP You. J IT 777 E S ALL THE MONTHS OF BEING VAGUE ABOUT WHERE I’VE BEEN, BEING LATE TO EVERYTHING, DESERTING YOU AND MY FRIENDS AT THE DROP OF A HAT WITH LITTLE TO NO REASON GIVEN--IT’S TAKEN IT’S TOLL. KNOW I SHOULP НАУЕ-- I SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED YOU--AND І DIDN’T. Т/М SORRY I PUT YOU THROUGH ALL THIS. DON’T WORRY. IT’S ALL BETTER Now. MY BOYFRIEND IS A SUPERYOUR BOYFRIEND IS А SUPERHERO. so THAT'S ME-- SUPERHERO MARK. THAT'S EVERY-
CALM DOWN, Т’Р KNOWN WILLIAM FOR WHAT? YEARS BEFORE МЕ You WANT МЕ EVEN GOT TOGETHER, YOU TOLD BESIDES--HE KIND OF WILLIAM FIGURED IT OUT, LIKE BEFORE YOU YOU SORT OF WANTS ME TO TOLD МЕ?! TAKE HIM ANYWAY-- YOU WANT МЕ TO TAKE YOU FLYING? YOU GET THIS COSTUME ЕЕ?
SHIPPING NEXT, МОМТН 15 ISSUE 23. IT PICKS UP RIGHT WHERE ISSUE О LEAVES OFF AND 15 THE PERFECT LEAD-IN TO THE BIG EVENTS THAT START IN ISSUE 25. IF YOU LIKED THIS ISSUE EVEN A LITTLE BIT, YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS WHAT'S IN STORE FOR OUR HERO IN THAT ISSUE. AVAILABLE FOR ORDER NOW ARE FOUR COLLECTED EDITIONS OF THE INVINCIBLE SERIES. THE FOUR VOLUMES COLLECT ISSUES 1-19 AND WILL BRING YOU UP ТО SPEED ON THE SERIES LICKETY SPLIT. АБК YOUR LOCAL RETAILER TODAY! SHIPPING IN JUNE IS A MASSIVE 400-PAGE HARDCOVER COLLECTING ISSUES 1-13 ALONG WITH SCADS OF EXTRAS IN ONE GIGANTIC OVERSIZED HARDCOVER. FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE BACK COVER:
mom an e ЛІ N | ып PRI Aw 2 | 1 РІ 5 ) 1 a > š \ x UUNIVERSE 15) ITU THIS шишийн, С ШІН EVER SEEN! (100 08165 collecting INVINCIBLE гиз /( plus LOADS 办 ШЕ 2] 12:08 ТІП) hy ROBERT. KIRKMAN 4 En WA ШШ 2,4 У a HII іші ШП |
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