In Invincible #34, Mark Grayson is trapped in another dimension, having accidentally killed villain Angstrom Levy. The true face of Global Guardians hero Robot is revealed, and Mark hears a plea from an older version of heroine Atom Eve. Spoilers abound in the next paragraph. You’ve been warned…

While the emotional focus of #34 is Mark’s discovery that Atom Eve loves him, the star of the story is Robot’s true creator. As it happens, Robot is the creation of a handicapped, bedridden individual who lacked contact with the outside world-- thus, the creation of Robot. Now, the bedridden creator has cloned hero Rex Splode and transferred his own memories--and consciousness--into the clone. The man (rather, adolescent clone) behind Robot is determined, brilliant, and extremely certain of his decisions. His personality is reminiscent of a more intriguing, slightly more amoral, Tony Stark, and it will be exciting to see how Kirkman shapes him in further issues.

Invincible’s team of artist Ryan Ottley and colorist Bill Crabtree are constantly excellent, and occasionally innovative. Invincible has its own unique artistic sensibility, established by features like full page, panel-less images in almost every issue. The bigger illustrations must mean more work for Ottley and Crabtree, but their cinematic scope pays off.

Worth the money? Definitely. Even if you don’t know the story, the art is terrific, and each character has a unique, cleanly defined voice that makes for excellent reading.