Well, this is it, the issue that slows the pulse of the series. Recently, the Invincible plot has been filled with twists, turns and intensities. Readers have been challenged to face a battery of threats as Mark grows up one moment at a time. #53 is a slower take on the situations at hand. It’s a chance for readers to catch their breath.

After Mark’s little brother killed two villains in combat, Mark is faced with laying down some mentorship and big brother guidance. As killing is utterly against what Mark is fighting for, he sees the acts of his little brother just as us readers see them, entirely horrifying. The boy beat two men to death; something that Mark has done to only one man before. Yet unlike Mark, his little brother Oliver feels absolutely no guilt. When Mark committed the act of murder, he nearly shut down. That’s what Kirkman is making readers deal with here, the cold attitude of Oliver in the face of all Mark is trying to teach him. Oliver is like his murderous father and this threat looms over every interaction between Mark and his little brother. It makes for an interesting take on their, until now, loving relationship.

We’re also given more time to delve into Mark and Eve’s life, or lack thereof. The two seem perfect for each other. Eve understands Mark’s need to be in an impossible number of places at once. Kirkman spends time padding the walls of their relationship, but if I have learned anything from what I’ve read from Kirkman before, I know this is only so he can slash it in two in a few months. So tread lightly dear readers, Kirkman’s probably just positioning us so that he can have us right where he wants us when the time comes.

As usual, the art team is nothing short of on-point. Ottley’s pencils and Rathburn’s inks detail a great set of images and exchanges. This is great as the action in this issue is on the low side. Plascencia’s color work breathes the life we’re used to into the series. Invincible never lets down when it comes to the art work within, so there’s really nothing new here.

Like I said, this is a chance for us all to catch our breath before the next plunge. The calm before the storm. Kirkman has taken a step back, perhaps to observe the whole picture, before it comes time to grind Mark and his loved ones into the dirt once more. We’ll certainly be clamoring for calmer times when this turns to crap, but #53 marks a point of relative nothingness in the series. Get the book to continue the line and to stay in touch with Invincible, but don’t be surprised when you walk away feeling less entertained than you were, say, one issue ago.

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