Tech Jacket Volume 1 TPB

In an attempt to fulfill the decree of my son to get all of writer Robert Kirman's Image output, I happened upon "Tech Jacket". "Tech Jacket" predated the premiere of both "Invincible" and "The Walking Dead" and was Kirkman's first creator-owned output from Image. It should also be noted that "Tech Jacket" predates DC's current version of Blue Beetle as the similarities in both execution and tone are interesting. The whole time I was reading this book I kept making comparisons to "Blue Beetle". While "Tech Jacket" didn't grab me as much as Kirkman's "Invincible" did, it was a fun read. Kirkman mixes in tidbits from other superheroes including Green Lantern, Iron Man, X-O Manowar, and others and makes what could be a generic superhero book an interesting read. In Invincible's initial adventures, Kirkman kept the character on Earth. Here Kirkman gets the hero off planet for the the six-issue arc. The covers for issues #7 and #8 are in the TPB and I would have liked to read those issues. Of note, the art here by E.J. Su is different than what you see in Kirkman's current series. It has a slight manga-feel to it without being overdone. I think it fit with the tone of the series.

Kirkman has come a long way with his dialogue since he published these stories. Some of the dialogue comes off as rushed and clunky. However, the story is pretty good. You can see Kirkman laying the seeds for future stories along the way. I hope the Kirkman revisits this character. I'd like to see him team up with Invincible or Brit in their series.