The artist who helped makeInvincibleone of the greatest indie superheros of all time justshared some early designs for the villainous Mark Grayson variants that once invaded the series.As Season Three of Amazon’sInvincibleadaptation airs, creator Robert Kirkman’s superhero is going from fan-favorite comic book hero to full-on phenomenon status, and fans areclamoring for every detail they can about the franchise.
Invincibleartist Ryan Ottleyposted the concept art on X, showing his original sketch of the iconic page featuring twelve distinct alternate universe versions of Mark Grayson, which appeared inInvincible#58, showcasing how it evolved between initial pitch and final form.
The evil Marks were a threat that loomed large overthe trajectory ofInvincible’sstory, providing context for the potential downfall of the series' protagonist, as the main Mark Grayson struggled to actualize his potential as a hero, and avoid his fate as a violent conqueror.
Invincible Artist Ryan Ottley Pulls Back The Curtain On Some Of His Early “Evil Mark Grayson” Character Designs
Draft Vs. Published Version, Explained
“Compare to the other to see the rejects!” Ryan Ottley wrote in his social media post, inviting fans to take a closer look, with the changes between initial and finalized version offering an exciting insight into the creative process behindInvincible. This is, of course, the great thing about concept art; like all creative mediums, comic book illustrations develop across successive drafts, andnot every idea makes it to the page – including some good ones, as the two versions of thisInvinciblepage make clear.
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Amazon Prime’s Invincible animated series continues to rock, but to really shine, it must feature this iconic moment from the original comics.
What did and did not make the cut as thisInvinciblepage evolved is interesting, and certainly, fans would like to know the context surrounding some of the changes. The top row of Marks, for example, are nearly identical across both versions – except the Invincible in panel two is wearing a baseball cap in the sketch, a flourish which is omitted in the published version. The second row is also essentially unchanged, while the third curiously omits a “samurai” version of Mark, or at least, his gear; his hair-style seems to have been retained.
As Invincible Becomes More Widely Popular, Fans Every Scrap About The Series They Can Get
Excitement ForInvincibleIs At An All-Time High
The last panel of the sketch features a fully-zombified Mark; while the final, full-color version retains the design’s strained posture, it lacks the gore of the original concept art. There were certainly reasons for each of these changes, and fans will continue to houndInvincible’screators for more answers as the franchise continues to grow in popularity. Fans of authorRobert Kirkman’s other legendary series,The Walking Dead, will know that the current re-release of that series features detailed retrospective notes on the writing of the series from the creator, something he could also do withInvinciblein the future.
Ryan Ottley’s willingness to share behind-the-scenes looks at the originalInvinciblecomics has only further stoked the flames of excitement surrounding the history of the comic.
While this is no more than speculation, it arises fromstill-increasing buzz surroundingInvincible; as interest in the series continues to widen with the release of the animated adaptation,there is a corresponding increase in appetite for lore surrounding the franchise – not just in-universe canon information, but also details about the creation of the series.Ryan Ottley’s willingness to share behind-the-scenes looks at the originalInvinciblecomics has only further stoked the flames of excitement surrounding the history of the comic.
