Books like Invincible: Ultimate Collection, Vol. 12

3.5I'm impressed that I stuck through this series for the entire conclusion, it was a long run. Robert Kirkman was having fun and you can tell from some of his choices with the characters, it was hard to say goodbye. I have mixed feelings with the conclusion and on some levels enjoyed the envitable showdown, but the series has always been so open ended and this is another promising volume that doesn't impress or disappoint, it lands right in the middle. I liked the series at the beginning, but I think the length of the series didn't service the arc. Robert Kirkman can write banter and characters very well, but storylines feel exhausted here. We are at it again and unlike Batman for example, he has the luxury of being reinvented with new writers. The fight for the characters survivial is here and it is quite a cliche beat by beat conclusion. Personally I would have left both villain and hero in the same fiery situation, but that is just my opinion. Some of the characters meet their deaths, but like every good story they are resurrected and this has been the nature of the series from the beginning. All the blood and gore can't hide the story lags and pitfalls. Why the 3.5?I'm just happy this series is done and dusted. I enjoyed the carnage and the fun times, but ultimately this won't be one of the series I push towards a friend or family. I think they could turn this into a six film series, that doesn't require all the slow melodramatic storylines. If you mirror this with The Walking Dead, you can see storylines recycling and that is why I couldn't love this conclusion. Robert Kirkman obviously knew the end was near when he announced the ending was coming. The series had a great run and a loyal fanbase. I think he could have condensed and left around volume 10, but I'm not in control. The lack of sacrifice annoyed me for the smackdown conclusion, so if you don't want to have a spoiler, stop reading right now. okay now that other people have clicked away. I would have left both characters to burn in the sun. What an ending. The fight was very cinematic and dare I say epic. This was what I was waiting for and It robbed us of the heroic conclusion. The ending feels too wrapped up and happy for all the death over the years. I hate to dream of what could have been, but come on. The hero has children and family, this would have made perfect sense for the audience. I know fans think Kirkman is unpredictable and to certain levels, I agree with them, but not in this volume. Like a good bottle of whisky, it does come to an end and sadly so does Invincible. For good or bad, it's over.