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In Skybound X’s “Rick Grimes 2000,” the world of the Walking Dead is reframed through the vibrant ultra-violence of Invincible.
WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for “Rick Grimes 2000” from Skybound X #1-3, on sale now.
The Walking Dead skyrocketed from indie comics darling to a worldwide phenomenon since its 2003 debut. Over almost two decades, the world of The Walking Dead has explored a grim, violent world with morally complex characters and brutal set-pieces. Now, Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, and Cliff Rathburn return to the world of the dead alongside Dave McCaig, Rus Wooten, and Sean Mackiewicz in “Rick Grimes 2000,” a story from Image Comic’s Skybound X that has combined the universe of The Walking Dead with the brutal, bloody sci-fi aesthetic of Invincible.
In a continuation of the bonus ending to 2010’s The Walking Dead #75 by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard, the series’ foremost hero Rick Grimes awakes to find himself alone in a medical bed, much like how his story began. This time, however, Rick’s surroundings are very different, as his ventures outside of the room into alien corridors and wearing what can only be described as a superhero costume. In an instant, Rick is dropped down to the Earth from a spacecraft and discovers his friends and loved ones being torn apart by zombies, or fending them off with shocking new abilities. As a returned Tyreese explains to him, aliens have been behind everything that has happened, collecting the survivors as they died to be turned into unwitting super-soldiers for their invading army.
Skybound X‘s “Rick Grimes 2000” doesn’t just invoke Invincible with the brightly clad costumes adorning the typically monochromatic characters of The Walking Dead; it also turns up the action to frenetic levels never before experienced by this cast. The carnage playing out in the background as Rick reconnects with allies he long thought lost would be right at home in either series, but the casual contempt that Rick’s compatriots show for their new surroundings drives home just how much different things are now.
Even the most gruesome deaths have been given the Invincible treatment as they are dished out with mechanical limbs, lightsabers, and biomechanical blasters. The most deeply felt interpersonal relationships aren’t safe from the altered tone, either. In a moment torn straight from a superhero soap opera, the now scantily clad and superpowered Lori resigns herself to her dour fate by turning on Rick just when he has gained the upper hand over the Governor.
If it weren’t for the recognizable nature of the characters at hand, none of this would feel out of place in the pages of Invincible or another similarly set series.
While reframing The Walking Dead through the aesthetic lens of Invincible and the extreme Image superhero comics that inspired it is ultimately something of an experiment, it underscores the different types of brutality in both series. Where The Walking Dead‘s deaths were violent, the horror of them was in their psychological impact as much as anything else. However, “Rick Grimes 2000” takes the Invincible approach, which opts for over-the-top spectacle and vibrant colors stained by blood.
Although this ultimately comes off as a one-note experiment that’s not designed to be sustainable long-term, this still underscores the differences between the two biggest Image Comics of the last decade.
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