INVINCIBLE: THE SECRET ORIGIN OF ATOM EVE Issue 025, Page 03

Issue #25 is memorable for plenty of reasons, but this may be one of the most notable. Not only is this the first-ever origin story for Atom Eve, this is also the first installment of the "AT LONG LAST -- THE SECRET ORIGIN OF..." mini-series! The Secret Origin mini-series gives us brief but insightful glimpses into the pasts of beloved characters like Monster Girl, Rex Splode, Atom Eve, and more. Issue #25 also features the first appearance of Omni-Man after the events of Issue #12, as well as the first appearance of Octoboss, the Thraxxans, and fan favorite Science Dog! This is not to be confused with the iconic comic book character 'Séance Dog' from Amazon Prime's hit animated TV show that also happens to be titled Invincible. But enough about them...

This three page sequence (drawn by Khary Randolph) contains a lot of juicy Invincible history. First and foremost, this is one of the most notable installations in the 'Secret Origin' mini-series, as well as the first-ever appearance of Eve's parents and Doctor Brandyworth! This three-page sub-story would also lay the foundation for one of Invincible's most successful spinoff franchise - INVINCIBLE PRESENTS: ATOM EVE! In their own words, "Robert Kirkman presents a tale of tragedy and triumph that will have lasting effects on the Invincible series." Drawn by Nate Bellegarde, this two-issue mini-series expands directly from these very pages as a fully realized story. The success of the series would also pave the way for the creation of INVINCIBLE PRESENTS: ATOM EVE AND REX-SPLODE. In addition to all of this, the mini-franchise would go on to gain two more significant expansions in 2023 with the release of the INVINCIBLE: ATOM EVE animated special, and the INVINCIBLE PRESENTS: ATOM EVE visual-novel style video game adaptation!

All in all, this tiny little story propped up a lot of Invincible history, and paved the way for Atom Eve as a character in a big way! Robert killed it with the writing, and Khary killed it with the art. This would be one of many collaborations between the two in the early 2000s era. Happy to own such an integral piece of Atom Eve history, shout out to Ryan for the trade!