The back of the dust jacket makes a bold declaration: “COLLECTING THE FIRST 13 ISSUES OF WHAT IS PROBABLY THE BEST SUPERHERO COMIC BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE.” Quite frankly, it’s a statement that’s difficult to deny. At the very least, “Invincible” is probably the best traditional superhero comic around, but then, part of that’s because it’s not really so traditional once you get into it. Not a surprise considering the creator, Robert Kirkman, got his start in the funny book business by self-publishing a little opus, “Battle Pope.”

The first thing you notice when you hold the “Invincible: Ultimate Collection” hardcover in your hands is how much it takes from Marvel’s line of oversized hardcovers they launched around the time the Ultimate universe was starting. For god’s sake, it’s got “Ultimate” in the title, and the cover evokes the Ultimate line’s cover design as well. This is good thing. Like Marvel’s books, “Invincible” is slighlty larger than your standard comic’s dimensions, which makes it feel somehow more special. Even better and more importantly, the larger size really allows Corey Walker and Ryan Ottley’s artwork to breath - they share a similar, simple and clean style, and it really benefits from this format.

Aside from all that, the package wouldn’t mean a damn if the content weren’t quality as well. If you’ve spent any amount of time online reading just about any review sites, then you know by now that “Invincible” is the proverbial “critic’s darling.” Everyone seems to love the book, and Kirkman says that sales have been on a constant and steady increase since day one. However, it still deserves to move more issues a month than it does, and judging by the back issue market, the demand is there if the retailers would pay attention. Kirkman, Walker and Ottley (along with colorist Bill Crabtree) have crafted what is easily one of the finest superhero “coming of age” tales I’ve ever read. This collection conveniently collects the entire first stage in the title character’s life with super powers, and at a mere $34.95 cover price (and only 23 bucks through amazon), is a steal. It’s especially a bargain once you take a look at the prices issues 1-13 are commanding on the secondary market!

The best part about getting the HC instead of the TPBs or individual issues, however, is the amount of extras Kirkman stuffed in the back of this monster. You often hear creators talk about the “DVD extras” that they’ve included in their collections, but it’s rare that they’re as comprehensive as what’s been included here. I’m just estimating, but there must be 30-40 pages of sketches, character studies, script pages and more, most of which are accompanied by commentary by Kirkman. It even includes the covers, not only for the individual issues, but those used on the TPBs as well.

What it all comes down to is pretty simple. If you’re a superhero fan, if you’re enjoying any of Kirkman’s writing on the Marvel titles he’s writing, if you just plain enjoy reading Good Comics: get yourself a copy of “Invincible: Ultimate Collection.” After all, it’s probably the best superhero comic book in the universe - says so right on the cover.

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