Robert Kirkman Attributes Invincible's Success To Its Emotion & Depth
Robert Kirkman has already had one of his comic properties turned into one of the biggest franchises around with "The Walking Dead," but his success hasn't slowed down with "Invincible," one iota. The animated series based on Kirkman's violent superhero deconstruction had a banger of a first season and is looking to return in 2023 with Season 2.
While you might think that "The Boys" already had the market cornered on Prime Video as far as shocking superhero stories go, the format of "Invincible" as an animated series allows it to soar as it goes to all of the many bizarre places that the comic series does, featuring appearances by interdimensional aliens and gigantic monsters.
Still, to hear it from the man himself, the appeal of "Invincible" is in the emotional depth that the characters offer and a world where they genuinely feel like they're in peril during battles. "Things were a little bit more emotional," Kirkman told Screenrant. "The stakes were a little bit more real; the depths mattered."
Kirkman thinks that the differences add to its longevity
Robert Kirkman also thinks that "Invincible" taps into the many genre conventions of more standard comics but in a unique way. "I think that 'Invincible' appealed to the hardcore Marvel and DC fanbase that absolutely love superhero books, but it did things a little bit differently," he explained to Screenrant.
It's pretty easy to see where Kirkman is coming from here, as many of his characters are fairly obvious in terms of their inspirations. For instance, the similarities between the Guardians of the Globe in "Invincible" and DC's Justice League help to add to the visceral shock viewers experience when the entire team is brutally murdered by Omni-Man (JK Simmons)/
"It was everything I loved about Marvel and DC books, but with the continuity mattering and everything leading to something else," Kirkman went on. "It all happened in one series, and it was a little bit more bite-sized." Comic fans will no doubt understand this point, as major events under DC and Marvel tend to involve dozens of issues over the course of many different titles.
Though the connections "Invincible" readers and viewers draw between the heroes of more conventional comics do offer the series an easy shorthand with fans, Kirkman agrees that it's ultimately the differences that have helped to hook fans of the other brands. "It was kind of a streamlined version of what everyone wanted for Marvel and DC, so I think that's why it caught on,'" he concluded.