2013
WISE Score
Amazon
The 'Breaking Bad' of superhero comics—brilliant, addictive, and absolutely covered in blood.
4.9
4.9View →Our reviews and ratings are 100% unbiased, but as an Amazon Associate, Screenwise earns an affiliate fee if you buy a book or game by clicking one of our links. We don't get any credit if you just Google it instead :)
Invincible Compendium Volume 2 is a masterpiece of modern graphic fiction, but it comes with a massive warning label. It's essentially a prestige TV drama in comic form.
If you have a 16-year-old who loves complex storytelling and doesn't mind seeing a few heads explode, this is a must-read. If you're looking for a fun superhero romp for a middle-schooler, put this back on the shelf immediately. It's high-quality 'brain food,' but it’s definitely served with a side of nightmare fuel.
This is strictly for older teens and adults. If your kid is 12 and thinks they're ready because they saw the Avengers, they aren't. This is 'Logan' or 'The Boys' level intensity, not 'Spider-Man'.
It handles complex family loyalty and the weight of responsibility well, but the tone is often brutal and cynical. It's about growing up, but the growing pains involve literal broken bones and existential dread.
Robert Kirkman's world-building is top-tier. It takes every tired superhero trope and flips it on its head, creating a massive, sprawling universe that feels lived-in and unpredictable.
The violence is visceral and frequent. We're talking intestines, eye-gouging, and limbs being torn off. It looks like a Saturday morning cartoon but reads like a horror-action hybrid. Not for the squeamish or the young.
Deeply explores the ethics of power and the messy reality of being a 'hero' when there are no easy answers. It forces readers to grapple with moral ambiguity and the consequences of choice.
If Volume 1 was the "hook," Volume 2 is where the series reveals its true, massive scale. This 1,184-page brick is where the story stops being a clever riff on Spider-Man and becomes a sprawling, intergalactic war epic. It covers the middle act of Mark Grayson’s journey, and for most fans, this is the peak of the entire run.
While Cory Walker set the style, Ryan Ottley’s pencils define this era. His art is incredibly clean, which makes the sudden bursts of "high-octane" gore even more jarring. You’ll be looking at a brightly colored, Saturday-morning-cartoon-style panel one second, and the next, a character is being literally torn in half.
The detail is the point. When Mark gets into a fight in these issues, he doesn't just get a black eye; he loses teeth, breaks bones, and ends up in a hospital bed for three issues. It gives the stakes a physicality that most Marvel or DC books lack. If your teen is used to the "bloodless" violence of the MCU, this will be a massive culture shock.
The center of this compendium is the Viltrumite War, which is essentially the series' version of an "Avengers" level event, but with actual consequences. This isn't just a punch-up in downtown New York. It’s a brutal, multi-issue conflict that changes the status quo of the universe.
If your kid is diving into this because they’ve finished the latest season of the show, they’re going to see exactly where the "big" moments are heading. However, be aware that the comic moves much faster than the screen adaptation. If you want a deeper look at how the violence ramps up during this specific arc, check out our guide on Invincible Vol. 13: Why the “New Edition” Doesn’t Mean a Softer Rating.
In Volume 1, the "mature" themes were mostly about the shock of betrayal. In Volume 2, the themes get heavier. We’re talking about the ethics of regime change, the trauma of sexual assault (which occurs in the later issues of this collection), and the reality of being a soldier in a war you didn't start.
Mark Grayson spends a lot of this book failing. He tries to do the right thing and people die anyway. He tries to be a pacifist and gets beaten to a pulp. It’s "brain food" because it asks if being a "hero" is even possible in a world this violent. If they burn through this and are already asking for the finale, you’ll want to look at our Invincible Compendium Volume 3: A Reality Check for Parents to see how the story eventually wraps its darkest threads.
At nearly 50 issues for the price of a few movie tickets, the Compendiums are the most efficient way to read the story. Just know that these physical books are heavy. They aren't something you easily read on a bus or toss in a backpack without it weighing ten pounds. Most readers find it easier to sit at a desk or use a book stand. If your kid prefers digital, the experience is the same, but you lose the "wow" factor of seeing just how much story Robert Kirkman managed to cram into a single decade.
Get a personalized guide on any topic
