In Invincible: Head of the Class, Robert Kirkman expands Mark Grayson’s world and lets his fans know that their hero’s world is far larger than they might have at first thought. The series also takes a more serious tack on Mark’s home life, giving him a lot to worry about.
As if finding out your father was actually an invading force from another planet posing as a superhero wasn’t enough to throw a monkey wrench into a guy’s life.
Mark deals with the fallout from his dad in this graphic novel collection, and the writing and art are up to their usual standards. But a lot of darkness invades his life and makes every day a little harder. The most emotionally draining of everything facing him is his mother’s inability to cope with losing her husband and her faith in their love. Kirkman does an excellent job of showing this loss and how it affects Mark. He’s torn between getting on with his life, learning the superhero game, finishing school, and a new love interest. He doesn’t want to be held back, but he can’t abandon his mother either. Even worse, for all the power that he has, he can’t help her.
The death of the previous Guardians of the Globe plays out in this one as well, as a new team gets assembled. Mark gets invited to the team, but he opts out because he’s got too many things going on. But the events surrounding the Guardians never quite leave him. Kirkman also builds up the mysterious menace of Angstrom Levy, and the splash page initially revealing this is awesome.
There are a few other subplots dangling out there that Kirkman will doubtless return to, and he manages to bring in Savage Dragon characters (ones that Kirkman has worked on) as a side plot that’s fun.
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