I.. ugh. I want to enjoy Invincible, but the show is soooo flat. I don’t know if it’s an art style thing, or narrative, or voice work, but I’ve got zero emotional connection to any of these characters. I think it’s the direction, specifically the storyboarding and pacing. You don’t get quiet moments with the characters feeling feelings. Every little bit you get is just enough to drive the plot forward, and it’s over as quickly as possible to jump back to plot, exposition and action. Jason Mantzoukas has a terrific voice and outstanding comic timing, so I feel like he has the chops to pull off a good redemption arc (like they tried to this season), but the character never felt endearing, ever. He never got a chance to make that character feel truly lived-in. Maybe it’s the demonstration of struggling with consequences that’s missing.
Compare all this to Bojack Horseman. That show has no shortage of plot, but you FEEL everything those characters are going through. And it’s rough. When good things and bad things happen to those characters, you feel it. Elation for small victories, churning guts for unearned evasion of consequences.
I haven’t read the Kirkman books, but I know how he likes to play with plot vs audience expectations, and Walking Dead was 100% about “and now what…?” consequences. Are the vibes that the show is serving just not pulling off something subtle that the comic manages to achieve?