Cory Walker

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Cory Walker
Born1980 (age 44–45)
Area(s)Penciller, Inker, Character Designer
Notable works
Invincible, Destroyer MAX, The Irredeemable Ant-Man, Shadowpact
CollaboratorsRobert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley
Awards
  • Annie Award nomination(2021)
  • Saturn Award nomination(2022)
  • Critics' Choice Television Award nomination(2025)

Cory Walker (born 1980) is an American comic book artist known for co-creating the Image Comics superhero series Invincible with writer Robert Kirkman. He has also contributed to titles for Marvel Comics, including Destroyer and The Irredeemable Ant-Man, and for DC Comics, such as Shadowpact.[1][2][3]

Early life

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Cory Walker was born in 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. He began drawing and developing stories at a young age, with a focus on superhero themes.[4]

Career

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Walker's professional break in comics came in the early 2000s through a creative partnership with writer Robert Kirkman. The two first collaborated on independent projects. One of Walker's first contributions to comics was to Battle Pope, an offbeat superhero parody series published under Kirkman's own label, Funk-O-Tron. Walker worked on later issues of the series, which helped establish the duo's creative synergy.[4]

In 2003, Walker and Kirkman launched Invincible through Image Comics, under the Image Skybound imprint.[1] The series follows teenager Mark Grayson, the son of the world's greatest superhero, Omni-Man, as he develops his own powers.[5] Walker co-created the characters and world of Invincible and served as the penciler for issues #1-7, establishing the series' visual identity.[3] Critics and readers praised the book's fresh take on superhero mythology and its vibrant visuals.[4]

After its first story arc, art duties for Invincible were taken over by Ryan Ottley. Ottley would go on to illustrate the majority of the series, drawing roughly 137 of the 144 total issues, but Walker remained closely involved in Invincible's development. Kirkman frequently consulted him on designs and storyline ideas. "People don't realize how much I leaned on Cory throughout the entire process," Kirkman remarked, noting that even when Ottley was drawing the book, Walker often shared a studio with him and provided input on characters and plots.[3]

Walker was credited as co-creator throughout the series and returned for occasional issues and story arcs, including issues #25, #50 and #93–96. In 2016, he drew a pivotal story arc spanning issues #127–132. Alongside Ottley, he also contributed artwork to the double-sized Invincible finale issue #144 in 2018.[4]

Walker's Marvel debut was a short story in Spider-Man Unlimited (Vol. 3) #4 in 2004. He next contributed to Kirkman's revival of the anthology series Marvel Team-Up. In Marvel Team-Up #14 (2005), Walker drew a crossover story featuring Invincible alongside Spider-Man, a rare instance of Image's Invincible appearing in a Marvel comic. He also penciled Marvel Team-Up #19 (2006).[4]

Walker's primary contribution at DC was on the series Shadowpact, a supernatural superhero team title. In 2006, Walker provided artwork for Shadowpact #3 and #6.[1] These issues were fill-in roles where he stepped in to draw the team, including characters like Blue Devil and Nightmaster, during the book's first year.[4]

In addition to his work for major publishers, Cory Walker has worked on several creator-owned and independent projects throughout his career. Many of these were extensions of his collaboration with Kirkman. For instance, Walker returned to Battle Pope to draw two issues when the series was reprinted in color at Image Comics in 2006.[4]

Walker also co-created Science Dog, a comic-within-a-comic that originated as a fictional title in the Invincible universe. Science Dog stories were initially presented as backup features in Invincible, and due to their popularity, two standalone Science Dog special issues were released in 2010–2011, featuring Walker's artwork.[4]

Through the 2010s and into the 2020s, Walker largely stayed associated with Skybound, Kirkman's imprint at Image, contributing artwork sporadically to various projects. He illustrated short stories and covers for various Skybound titles. For example, he drew backup stories and variant covers related to Invincible and other Skybound series, and provided cover art for issues of titles like Void Rivals and Fire Power from 2023 to 2024.[6]

Character design

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Robert Kirkman praised Walker as "one of the greatest character designers" in the industry, lauding his visual concepts as "unique, clean, and exciting."[7] Throughout Invincible, Walker designed a large cast of superheroes, villains, and aliens. His designs were considered by some critics to be both memorable on the page and translatable to other media, as reflected in the success of the Invincible animated series.[7][8]

Animated adaptation

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Amazon Prime Video announced an adult animated Invincible series to premiere in 2021 with Walker as lead character designer.[2][9] Walker updated designs for the principal characters Invincible (Mark Grayson), Omni-Man, Atom Eve, and others to match the style of the comics.[7] Early previews of the animation highlighted how closely the character designs resembled Walker's comic art.[3][9] By Season 2 of the Invincible show, Walker was given dual credit as lead character designer and co-executive producer.[2][3][7]

Adaptation to animated series

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When discussing the adaptation, Kirkman emphasized Walker's role, stating that "no one on the planet has a better understanding of the visual take on this world and the visual appeal of this world."[3]

Bibliography

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Invincible
Publication information
PublisherImage Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing series
Publication dateJanuary 2003 – February 2018
No. of issues144
Creative team
Created byRobert Kirkman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley

Image Comics

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  • Superpatriot: America's Fighting Force #1–4 (2002)
  • Invincible #1–7, 25, 50, 66–67, 85–86, 93–96, 100, 127–132, 144 (2003–2018)
  • Invincible Returns #1 (2010)
  • Battle Pope #9–10 (2006)
  • Science Dog #1–2, 25 (2010–11, 2020)

Marvel Comics

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DC Comics

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TV series

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Notable works
Publisher Title Issues Year(s)
Image Comics Superpatriot: America's Fighting Force #1–4 2002
Invincible #1–7, 25, 50, 66–67, 85–86, 93–96, 100, 127–132, 144 2003–2018
Invincible Returns #1 2010
Battle Pope #9–10 2006
Science Dog #1–2, 25 2010–11, 2020
Marvel Comics Spider-Man Unlimited (Vol. 3) #4 2004
Marvel Team-Up #14, 19 2005, 2006
I Heart Marvel: Web of Romance #1 2006
The Irredeemable Ant-Man #7–8 2007
The Punisher War Journal (Vol. 2) #13 2007
Destroyer MAX #1–5 2007
DC Comics Shadowpact #3, 6 2006
TV Series Invincible (Amazon Prime Video) Lead character designer, Co-executive producer 2021–present

Awards and nominations

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Invincible (TV series)

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  • Saturn Awards
    • 2022: Nominated for "Best Animated Television Series or Special."
  • Critics' Choice Television Awards
    • 2025: Nominated for "Best Animated Series."
  • Harvey Awards
    • 2024: Nominated for "Best Adaptation from a Comic Book/Graphic Novel."
  • Gold Derby TV Awards
    • 2021: Won "Best Animated Program."
  • International Online Cinema Awards (INOCA)
    • 2021: Won "Best Animated Program."
  • Golden Tomato Awards
    • 2021: Won "Best Animated Series."[10][11]

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cory Walker.
  1. ^ a b c "Cory Walker". lambiek.net. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  2. ^ a b c "Robert Kirkman talks adapting Invincible to animation". Winter is Coming. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhardt, Adam (2023-10-15). "Invincible's Robert Kirkman Celebrates Artist Cory Walker's Contributions to the Animated Series". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Cory Walker (1980-): The Penciler Behind The Superhero Epic "Invincible" - Toons Mag". www.toonsmag.com. 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  5. ^ toynewsi.com. "Invincible Optioned By Paramount, Kirkman Tapped To Script". Toy News International. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  6. ^ "Cory Walker". Image Comics. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  7. ^ a b c d Sava, Oliver (2023-01-24). "Invincible creator Robert Kirkman actually loves superheroes". Polygon. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  8. ^ "Invincible (comics) | EBSCO Research Starters". www.ebsco.com. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  9. ^ a b Dar, Taimur (2020-08-06). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  10. ^ "INVINCIBLE co-creator and original series artist Cory Walker returns, artwork revealed". Image Comics. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  11. ^ "FilmAffinity". FilmAffinity. Retrieved 2025-05-30.