Invincible Presents Atom Eve & Rex Splode #1 (OF 3)

I love Rex Splode. He has always been my favorite character in the Invincible universe. So, as you could imagine, I was pretty upset when Kirkman decided to kill him. Well, lucky for me this issue fills that Rex-sized hole in my heart and sets the stage for what will hopefully be an entertaining ride.

If you have yet to read an issue of Invincible, fear not friend. There is no prerequisite reading for this. Because this is an origin story, everything you need to know is presented in this issue. Rex comes from a poor family that sells him to the government so that they can train and modify him to carry out black-ops assignments. Through the issue Rex begins to doubt the true intentions of his handlers and we are then left with a cliffhanger that, though predictable, will bring a smile to any Invincible fan.

This entire book is a workshop for how to tell a great story. Everything about it is solid storytelling; nothing flashy. Cereno keeps a consistent pace through out the whole issue. We get the beats during Rex's training and modification, and move ahead into the part of his life where, presumably, the focus will be on. The same can be said about Bellegarde's art. I never once felt confused in what I was seeing or who the characters were. His work has just a hint of Ottley in it, and that is never a bad thing. His style fits perfectly with the rest of the artist that that work on Kirkman's shared universe books. The addition of Crabtree and Wooton on colors and lettering, respectively, add those extra touches that go a long way towards making this look and feel like an issue of Invincible.

Overall, a great issue that sets the stage for the rest of this mini series. Fans of Invincible will enjoy it, but new readers could easily use this as a springboard for getting onto the monthly book.