Schedule Monthly Genre Science Fiction Publisher Image Comics | Format Ongoing Publication date March 2015 | |
 | ||
Main character(s) Croger Babbs, Arthur McBride, Maia Writer(s) Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman Similar Descender, Stray Bullets, ODY‑C, Head Lopper, I Hate Fairyland | ||
Invisible Republic is an ongoing American comic book series created by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman and published through Image Comics with an expected run of about 50 issues. The first issue was released on March 18, 2015 to good reviews.
Contents
The story is set on a distant moon colonized by humans. After the fall of a dictator who had ruled for four decades, disgraced reporter Croger Babbs begins an investigation into the hidden truths behind the dictator's rise. The narrative is split equally between Babbs' adventures during his research and flashbacks depicting the dictator's early days.
Publication history
Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman, who are married collaborators, began working on Invisible Republic in 2009 as a followup to their graphic novel Heathentown. The title and some character names come from a 17th-century Irish ballad and anti-recruiting song. The project was delayed in favor of work-for-hire comics such as Deep Gravity for Dark Horse Comics and Planet of the Apes for BOOM! Studios.
The series was announced at the 2014 Image Expo, where it was described as "the epic history of the rise of an empire." The first issue was released March 18, 2015, and the series maintained a nearly-monthly schedule thereafter. Two paperback editions have been released. The first, released July 2015, collected the first five issues. Issues six through ten were collected in a second paperback released August 2016.
Hardman has described Invisible Republic as a big story with an ideal run of around 50 issues.
Plot
After the fall of the Mallory regime on the distant moon Avalon, disgraced reporter Croger Babbs travels there hoping to find redemption by writing the truth behind how the deceased dictator Arthur McBride came to power. Babbs has trouble finding any leads when he literally stumbles across a diary written by McBride's unknown cousin, Maia. As he reads her eyewitness account of McBride's ascension in the past, he finds her tale has real ramifications in the present as other parties learn of the diary and try to get it from him.
Critical Reception
The debut issue sold nearly 23,000 copies and was ranked the 103rd best selling American comic by units in March 2015. Reviews were mostly positive with review aggregator ComicBookRoundUp showing an average rating of 8.6 out of 10 based on 20 reviews. By the third issue sales had fallen to just above 8000 units for a rank of 207, a drop which is slightly larger than typically expected for new comic books. It continued to receive critical praise however, with Multiversity Comics' Jess Camacho saying the third issue "continues to be a refreshing addition to the science fiction genre."
