UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: THE INVISIBLE MAN #3 – New Comic Review

Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man #3, by Image Comics on 10/22/25, finds Jack Griffin’s obsession boiling over in the stifling heat when he advances his experiments beyond lab animals.

Credits:

• Writer: James Tynion IV
• Artist: Dani
• Colorist: Brad Simpson
• Letterer: Becca Carey
• Cover Artist: Dani (cover A)
• Publisher: Image Comics
• Release Date: October 22, 2025
• Comic Rating: Teen
• Cover Price: $4.99
• Page Count: 36
• Format: Single Issue

Covers:

Analysis of UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: THE INVISIBLE MAN #3:

First Impressions:

This issue dives headfirst into madness with a quiet confidence that chills the spine. The pacing feels tighter and more personal than before, like the story itself has gone claustrophobic. The horror hits hardest not through gore but through its steady, suffocating psychological descent.

Recap:

Previously, Griffin’s experiments with Monocaine pushed both science and sanity past the point of recovery. His rivalry with Kemp and the oversight of Dr. Cranley created tension in a lab already weighed down by resentment. When an invisible beast lashed out amid mounting paranoia, Griffin sealed his break with humanity, embracing his new identity behind those iconic dark glasses.

Plot Analysis:

The story opens with the low murmur of local gossip in the streets. Two women whispering about a vanished acquaintance and the strange man in the tinted spectacles stalking the fog. It quickly shifts back to Griffin, now splitting time between his strained relationship with Flora and his increasingly secretive work. The oppressive heat becomes a character of its own, symbolizing the fever that drives his ambition to dangerous extremes.

Dr. Cranley confronts Griffin about his increasing use of Monocaine, warning of its mind-shattering effects. Griffin, ever arrogant, rebuffs the concern and bargains for two months to show results or lose his chemical supply. This ultimatum forces him to retreat to a grimy rented room in the city, paid under a false name, where he hunts his next experiment in human invisibility.

Enter Tommy, a desperate street boy lured by the promise of bread and shelter. Griffin drugs and binds him, beginning a new round of experiments with eerie calm. The boy’s gradual physical disappearance mirrors Griffin’s moral one, each panel shrinking humanity’s footprint a little more until both captor and victim become ghosts of their former selves.

The final pages deliver the story’s cruelest turn: Tommy’s question about reversing the procedure fills Griffin with rage, severing any trace of empathy. As the boy fully vanishes – eyes last of all – Griffin prepares to “dispose” of him, only to realize something has gone wrong. The issue closes in chaos, the lab erupting into violence, hinting that the invisible prey may now be the predator.

Story

James Tynion IV writes with surgical horror precision. Each monologue crackles with a genteel arrogance that makes Griffin both compelling and despicable. The pacing captures the fever dream of obsession perfectly, though his narration occasionally overindulges in repetition; appropriate perhaps, for a man circling his own madness.

Art

Dani’s artwork is grotesque and gorgeous in equal measure. The rough, sketch-like linework and heavy shadows give every panel a tactile grime, while Brad Simpson’s colors burn with sickly yellows, bruised purples, and melancholy blues. The layout shifts from cramped interiors to ghostly silhouettes, capturing both the physical and psychological suffocation of invisibility.

Characters

Griffin dominates every page, yet his descent only works because of the contrasts around him. Flora’s brief scenes punctuate the story with fading warmth, while Tommy’s naive chatter gives the narrative its final, tragic heartbeat. Even Cranley’s stiff professionalism feels haunted in Griffin’s orbit; each character a reflection of what he’s already lost.

Positives

The comic shines brightest in its balance between horror and restraint. The dread comes not from what’s seen but from what might be lurking off-panel. The writing’s rhythm, the visual unease, and the eerie moral precision make it a slow-burn descent handled with haunting elegance.

Negatives

Its methodical pacing occasionally edges toward predictability, particularly in Griffin’s internal monologue. Some readers may crave more tension in the closing act, where subtle dread gives way to a more conventional burst of violence. Still, even its stumbles feel intentional, like part of Griffin’s doomed spiral.

Art Samples:

Final Thoughts:

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UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: THE INVISIBLE MAN #3 crawls under your skin and stays there. It’s a humid, hypnotic meditation on control, power, and the slow corrosion of genius. Grim, poetic, and dreadfully human; a story that makes madness look uncomfortably clear.

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