Invincible Creator Robert Kirkman Calls Out The Biggest Problem Facing The Comics Industry Today

Nowadays, the phrase "superhero fatigue" is tossed around like a ping pong ball at a kegger. There is recent evidence to suggest there is no such thing though for DC and Marvel, be it cinematically, on the small screen or in the comic book realm, but Invincible and The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman is offering up a different view of why he feels some are indeed checking out of the space entirely.

Kirkman feels it's out of sheer boredom, or a variation of it, that's rooted in an alleged lack of innovation in the comic book industry — one that he believes is far too dependent upon the franchise quarterbacks of DC Comics (Superman, Batman), Marvel Comics (Avengers, Spider-Man, X-Men) and Skybound (Transformers).

In other words, he feels innovation and the introduction of new franchise players is sorely lacking, though it does bear mentioning that Kirkman and Skybound recently formed an alliance for Transformers.

(If only the industry would make, say, Spawn a franchise player, amirite?)

Robert Kirkman: We Need To 'Move On' In Comics

Speaking from ComicsPRO 2026, Kirkman didn't exactly keep the gloves on when describing the state of the comic book industry, punching at it like an actual Viltrumite — Conquest, even.

“Things have their day and then settle down,” he said, via PopVerse.“I sometimes think the original sin of this industry, the thing that holds it back the most, is that we as an industry often refuse to move on."

He continued: "Batman was created in the 1930s. Spider-Man was created in the 1960s. Transformers was created in the '80s. Invincible was created in the 2000s. All of these started as new ideas. They had their peaks in popularity, and they’ve had new peaks and new valleys to varying degrees of success ever since.”

Given the runaway success of Invincible in both the comic book space and on Prime Video, the most recent season drawing some massive viewership en route to becoming one of the highest-rated series ever on any streaming platform, it's not out of the realm of possibility that others would borrow from the playbook.

Invincible Forcing Superman, Avengers to Adapt?

Rob Liefeld, the Marvel Comics legend that co-created Deadpool, amongst a long list of accomplishments in that outfit before co-creating Image Comics, home of Invincible, expects this to happen, and wouldn't surprised to see it — pointing at DC Comics and Superman, in particular.

“I say this with the greatest respect for Superman, but I believe now in the same way that when Star Wars came out, suddenly Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon had a Star Wars problem,” Liefeld said on Robservations with Rob Liefeld. “They were not defining the space anymore, and they were certainly not at top of mind. Suddenly, everything in the science fiction room was trying to be Star Wars. I was there. I watched it in '78, '79, and '80. Battle Beyond the Stars, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rogers. Everything had this aesthetic.”

Liefeld then dropped somewhat of a bomb: “I believe Superman has an Invincible problem now. I believe the tables have 1000% turned, and I mean, I really do believe the space of this style of superhero is now being defined by what [Robert Kirkman] ... and what the show is doing, and it’s up to Superman to somehow adapt."

It could obviously be argued that there is no Invincible without Superman, and that be it Superman or the Avengers, there were Omega-level threats to the universe long, long before a Viltrumite was ever drawn, but neither Kirkman nor Liefeld are denying that. They simply believe, as they tell it, that things are getting stale, save for Image Comics, in their humble opinion.