There are two issues collected in this volume that are GOLD. Like, peak Invincible. But there's also so much other stuff, not bad per se, that water down the goodness of it all. Also, my I hate Eve era starts here, I guess. I did not miss that part.
Original review (from 2016):
4 Stars.
Invincible: Three's Company collects issues #31-#35.
As always, there are a lot of minor plot lines happening that tease things to come and keep things interesting. In this volume we have a trip to Africa, Robot's side job finally makes sense, we have a superhero patrolling the streets (I love that guy.) We have great, cute and personal moments between Mark and his family AND we get some precious hints to what can help against the viltrumites.
The most important thing, however, is the unexpected reappearance of an old face. This character changes the tone completely and things get dangerous for Mark and his family. I was scared and nervous and the story worked out so well, because, as Kirkman does in this series, he already had planted the seeds for this moment. He gave us the backstory and motivations of this character a few volumes ago and that's why the danger and threat of the situation is believable and the stakes are terrifying. But, even though I loved the confrontation, I do wish it could have expanded more because the pay off wasn't entirely satisfying and the last moments felt quite convenient... Still, it was one of the most thrilling moments of the series so far.
I'm so invested in the Grayson family and all of that is thanks to Kirkman's storytelling and writing.
As always, Invincible's strength comes from Mark as a character and his personal relationships. There are pretty good moments with his mom, with Amber, Cecil and even at the end with Art. This time Kirkman plays with the cliché of the love triangle, and I gotta say, I was very happy with the outcome and how Mark goes to Art to talk about it. It's such personal problem and we can subtly notice how Nolan's disappearing still affects Mark, more as a father than as anything else.
The Art by Ottley is great, I had fun looking at the multi-verse panels and I've been loving the artwork so far. It still captures the feel of the series and he does a great job with action scenes.