The sporadic schedule does mean that I usually have to look up when an issue is out. It's on my pull list, but my shop is small and they sometimes get slighted orders on smaller stuff.
I haven't re-read the entire series in ages, likely because I don't have the time to go through 80 issues of stuff most times.
Dread, I can tell deep down in your bones, in your heart of hearts you don't like the book anymore. You just are reluctant to drop it due to your deep emotional connection to the book going back over the years. I understand, I had the same thing. But that made it all the more painful realizing how bad the book had become.
Just because I can see the flaws of certain recent story-lines doesn't mean I dislike the book. If I did, I would drop it. I have dropped books for apathy before, even ones that were $2.99 and shipped sporadically. I read ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN in trade from it's debut, but after the Ultimate Clone Saga after the 100-something-th issue, I abandoned it and never looked back.
I am aware that Kirkman, like many writers, has his strengths and flaws, and his tics, and will change plans on the fly and come up with some stuff as he goes along. It's part of the dance.
I liked the VILTRUMITE WAR overall. Were there flaws? Sure. I thought he left a lot of stuff to be addressed by walls of text exposition. And I understand that the task of avoiding writing himself into a corner probably was executed a little awkwardly. He couldn't eliminate the Viltrumites as a threat forever, because he'd have nothing to do otherwise. And he couldn't have all his lead characters die. Thus, the stalemate was the only thing that prevented an ending that was just another bloodbath, like the CONQUEST arc and the INVINCIBLE WAR issue. Not that I mind blood-bath brawls - I go nuts for that crap. But I understand not wanting to just do a third one. In order to really flesh out the VILTRUMITE WAR on the level of many space epics, it could have cycled through the book 12-36 issues instead of 8, and I can understand many readers and Kirkman himself not wanting to do that. I do think that having the Viltrumite King up and decide not to kill Mark was awkward - there needed to be a better way to the conclusion.
As for the abortion story, it was a possibility and I understand why Kirkman did it - although one could say it is short sighted. It's the Campbellion Hero thing which states that every hero's journey has to end when he has a family, and thus things like marriages and/or kids have to be fled screaming from. Thus, the idea of "saddling" Mark & Eve with a kid at 19 becomes a problem, especially given the kid would likely be a demigod chased from all angles.
I remain bemused by how many American writers continue to adhere to Joseph Campbell's "THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES" novel from 1949, yet in Japan, they had DRAGON BALL Z. No, seriously. The main hero not only grows up, not only gets married, not only has a kid, but becomes a GRANDFATHER. Yet somehow Goku's adventures never stopped and he is only one of the most well known figures to teenagers, adults, and young boys across two coasts. Yet the world would collapse unto itself if Spider-Man had a baby. Madness. And I don't consider DBZ to be high art, but they seemed to buck that trend.
I don't think Eve is a terrible character for her actions...but she has proven to be more emotionally fragile than I expected. It is awkward for her to whine about raising a child alone while within 1-2 issues the fact that she and Debbie have grown close is used for comedic relief. If Eve's close enough to Debbie to know all sorts of embarrassing things, then she's close enough to have had help raising a baby. Come to think of it, isn't Amber so emotionally needy that she gives a second chance to a guy who gives her a black eye? Not saying she should have hooked back up with Mark, but...for many strong women, that would have been a last straw, not something that can be forgiven like missing a birthday or forgetting to pick up soda. Maybe Kirkman struggles a little writing female characters long term. At least he didn't kill Eve off during CONQUEST, as he teased.
I will say THAT is getting old. It was clever the first time, but now every time I see someone mutilated, I don't take it at face value. Which is good or bad.
In fairness, Kirkman does admit some of his faults in the letter column. He states when he forgets to name a character on panel, which has happened once or twice. He admits to relying on certain cards too often and feels certain issues were a rut, although the debate rages as to when. He certainly needs to invest in newer villains, so I am glad Dinosaurus and Power-Plex will be getting focus lately, with Galexia likely coming up. The Siquids are also a threat, but a third go may get a bit old.
The series was gearing up for the Viltrumite War for years, and then I think Kirkman realized just how finite his series could be if things went to certain conclusions, so he had to do some Bat-turns to avoid them. Now I believe Kirkman is trying to come up his next long term subplot, and in the meanwhile will coast a bit on soap opera and amping up his newer villains via a "baddie of the month" format - which is all fine if executed well. I've liked William showing up more, for instance.
Still, I feel every long run has it's ups and downs. Ed Brubaker has been writing CAPTAIN AMERICA for 6+ years now, and I can surely attest that there have been peaks and falls. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did 100 issues of FANTASTIC FOUR, and while they had many classic and iconic issues, they also had some bizarre stinkers. Even "BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES", across 6 seasons, over 100 episodes, and 2 networks, had at least a dozen or two episodes that were either mediocre or lousy. Lord knows there was a lot of crap in Chris Claremont's UNCANNY X-MEN run as well as some inspired stuff. What keeps me is the sense that while some stories are better than others, that an upswing is reasonably coming.
INVINCIBLE is still a book I enjoy, and it is still a book that I reasonably believe will top itself in the future. When I no longer feel so, I'll call it a day. Especially after 80 issues.
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