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One of the reasons Image Comics greenlit Invincible was because they had a lack of superheroes in their line

In 2003, Image Comics realized it was barely publishing superhero comics - then came Invincible.

It’s hard to think about comic books without thinking about superheroes, but in 2003 Image Comics had a superhero shaped hole in their lineup.

“We were desperately trying to get people to come to Image,” former Image Comics publisher Jim Valentino says during an episode of Robservations with Rob Liefeld. “It was really tough. And we looked at the line, and we realized we had no superhero books. The only superhero book was [Savage Dragon] and Baby Spawn, if you considered it a superhero book. Other than that, we had no superhero books whatsoever. So, we set out to get some, and that’s where Invincible came in.”

However, the series almost went by another name.

“Incidentally, I made [Robert Kirkman] change the name. He was originally going to call it Bulletproof. And he came back like a day later and said, ‘What do you think of Invincible.’ And I was like, ‘Awww, the gods have spoken to you! That is a perfect name.’”

The name Bulletproof would later be used for another character in the Invincible comic. Funnily enough, Bulletproof briefly took on the Invincible mantle when the original hero was missing in action. Valentino probably made the right call in encouraging Kirkman to change the name. After all, imagine how awkward those title card puns would’ve been for the Amazon Prime Video animated series.


 

Joshua Lapin-Bertone

Joshua Lapin-Bertone: Joshua is a pop culture writer specializing in comic book media. His work has appeared on the official DC Comics website, the DC Universe subscription service, HBO Max promotional videos, the Batman Universe fansite, and more. In between traveling around the country to cover various comic conventions, Joshua resides in Florida where he binges superhero television and reads obscure comics from yesteryear.

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