• Skybound X #25 cover
    Skybound X #25
    Writer:
    Robert Kirkman, Joshua Williamson, Lorenzo De Felici, Mac Smith
    Artist:
    Ryan Ottley, Andrei Bressan, Lorenzo De Felici, Mac Smith
    Letterer:
    Rus Wooton, Pat Brosseau
    Cover Artist:
    Ryan Ottley
    Publisher:
    Image Comics
    Price:
    $4.99
    Release Date:
    2022-07-20
    Colorist:
    Annalisa Leoni, Adriano Lucas

The history and future of Skybound Entertainment, Robert Kirkman's Image Comics publishing imprint and multimedia company, are celebrated in the new anthology comic book Skybound X #25. Featuring a quartet of standalone tales, the various creative teams revisit and expand upon past Skybound tales, tease eagerly anticipated upcoming series, and weave an entirely new world. And for fans of Invincible, this oversized anthology special is a can't-miss addition to Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley's postmodern superhero world, with its short story alone making this anthology worth the price of admission.

Kirkman reunites with longtime Invincible collaborator Ottley, joined by colorist Annalisa Leoni and letterer Rus Wooton, for a story focused on the savage Invincible supervillain Battle Beast. Set immediately after the animalistic antagonist defeats Invincible and the Guardians of the Globe early in the main series, the story explores what the victorious Battle Beast does next. Dissatisfied by the lack of challenge provided by the heroes of Earth, Battle Beast sets his sights on bloodier conflicts across the cosmos worthy of his lethal potential. While this tale doesn't necessarily add anything substantial to the Invincible mythos, it does provide a fun, alternate perspective on one of the main story's key battles while teeing up a possible spinoff. And it is always a genuine treat to see Kirkman and Ottley working together again on an Invincible story. This tale does not disappoint.

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Cover B - Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas (Dark Ride)

After working together on the long-running Skybound fantasy comic book series Birthright, Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan are reteaming for the upcoming series Dark Ride. Ahead of the new title's full debut this October, Williamson and Bressan, with colorist Adriano Lucas and letterer Pat Brosseau, provide a sneak peek at Dark Ride with a fiery short prologue. Set at the sinister amusement park, Devil Land, there is something corrosive about this theme park that leads to bloody mayhem among its guests and, if this prologue is any indicator, Williamson and Bressan have another thrill ride in store for readers this autumn.

Oblivion Song co-creator Lorenzo de Felici takes point for Kroma, joined by Wooton on letters, serving as the prologue to another upcoming Skybound series. The sweeping fantasy story has the last remnants of humanity shelter behind a walled city, with monstrous threats lurking outside as the world radically changes beyond the last human settlement. Mac Smith closes out the anthology with the short story "Scurry," serving as a prologue to his debut original graphic novel of the same name, taking place in a post-human world ruled by the animals left behind. Thrilling and reminiscent of stories like Redwall and Watership Down, Scurry is perhaps the biggest surprise of this anthology.

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Cover D - Mac Smith (Scurry)

A lot of these stories really do just feel like the tip of the iceberg for bigger things to come, in most cases, by design. Still, each tells a relatively complete story -- with the Battle Beast lead-off assuming readers are at least familiar with the world of Invincible -- rather than each segment feeling like an abrupt chapter one. The most engaging of the set is Williamson and Bressan's Dark Ride, escalating to shockingly brutal levels of violence without so much as batting an eye while the most visually striking is Scurry, promising an intriguing larger story to come.

Skybound X #25 runs the gamut of comic book storytelling, from epic science fiction to post-apocalyptic survival from the unlikeliest of heroes. Serving an appetizer for a more tantalizing series of courses coming down the pipeline from Skybound Entertainment, the anthology is a genuine thrill ride for readers. For those looking to see what Skybound is cooking up next, this oversized anthology provides one hell of a sneak peek.