Disclaimer: All of the comics reviewed in this column were either provided by the respective creators/companies, or were purchased from Dr. Volts Comics in Salt Lake City.
BIFF! BANG!! POW … WOW!!!
By Jerk-Bot
ALL-NEW INVADERS #1&2 (monthly comic mini-series, full color, Marvel Comics, $3.99) (7 out of 10)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? James Robinson (script); Steve Pugh (art); Cory Petit (letters) and Guru-FX (colors).
Contrary to popular belief, the so-called “Marvel Age of Comics” didn’t start in the 1960s. It actually began back in the 1940s, when the company was still known as Timely, and such colorful characters as the supersoldier Captain America, the android Human Torch and the half-human/half-amphibian humanoid Namor the Sub-Mariner gave comics fans a welcome, fun-to-read diversion from the horrors of World War II.
Each had their own titles, or was featured characters in anthology books, and the three were also part of The All-Winners Squad, a superstar team of Timely heroes that also included an otherworldly Vision, the speedy Whizzer and the lovely Miss America, as well as Cap and Torch’s teen sidekicks, Bucky and Toro.
After the war ended, Timely went through some series changes in focus and content in the following years, becoming Atlas Comics and eventually turning into Marvel Comics – the latter, under the leadership of writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/comics god Jack Kirby, who eventually revived all three of those main characters. Namor first re-appeared in the pages of “Fantastic Four” #4, and that series did the same for The Human Torch (in Annual #4, which had him come face-to-face with his modern-day, human equivalent). As for Cap, he quickly took over “The Avengers” (after being thawed out in issue #4).
Enter comics historian/writer Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema, who first re-introduced the All-Winners Squad concept in an “Avengers” issue (#71, in flashbacks). That bit was so successful that it merited its own “tryout” book, “Giant-Size Invaders” #1, and eventually led to a monthly title, “The Invaders,” which paired Thomas with another veteran, comics artist Frank Robbins (“Johnny Hazard”).
“The Invaders” ran for 41 issues before poor sales led to its cancelation. Subsequent attempts to reboot the concept (as “New Invaders” and “Invaders Now!”) were met with mostly indifference – especially their attempts to move the characters to present-day adventures.
But now writer James Robinson and artist Steve Pugh are teamed up for “All-New Invaders,” a Marvel NOW! monthly that’s also set in the present-day. In the first story line Cap, Bucky (now known as The Winter Soldier), Namor and Torch are fighting hostile Kree forces who have come to Earth to retrieve Gods’ Whisper, a device that will allow them to bend Asgardian gods to their will.
THE GOOD.
Robinson, whose previous works (DC’s “JSA,” “Earth Two”) have included similarly themed teams, has created a tale (judging by the first two issues at least) that’s pretty self-contained — that in spite of the fact that there’s so much history between these characters. Also, given that this book spins out of two recent Marvel “event” miniseries, “Age of Ultron” and “Infinity,” that comes as a huge relief.
And instead of bludgeoning readers with useless, continuity-bound material and intrusive exposition, this story hits the ground running. The Torch, now trying to fit into a small Midwestern town, is attacked by the forces of Tanalth, a Grand High-Pursuer of the Kree Empire.
That leads to some spectacular, breathless action, well-rendered by British comics veteran Pugh (DC’s “Hellblazer,” “Preacher,” “Hitman”).
THE BAD.
Robinson is clearly still finding “voices” for these characters, who sound like they’re still rooted in World War II, instead of being integrated into modern society (Cap, in particular).
And Pugh is clearly in the process of changing his customary art style, which occasionally created grotesque caricatures. At times, the book appears to have been drawn by at least two different, but talented artists.
THE UGLY.
While the first two issues have been a lot of fun, Marvel hasn’t really done much to draw new readers to the book, in spite of Robinson’s obvious attempts to make it as new-reader-friendly as possible.
And aside from Cap, there aren’t any characters so far that have been able to carry their own monthly solo books for long. Which calls into question whether there will be an expected “crossover” with a more popular property to get some needed attention and new eyes on the book.
IN CONCLUSION.
Given the past history of the various “Invaders” books, it’s hard not to expect this one to fail, sooner than later. However, of all the versions that have followed the original, this is by far the most accomplished and most fun to read.
Here’s hoping Marvel bean-counters will be patient with the book if it struggles to find an audience. It’s definitely worth a look if you’re a fan of these characters and Robinson’s similarly themed works for the Distinguished Competition.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10
Jeff Michael Vice, aka Jerk-bot, can be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (www.thegeekshowpodcast.com), as well as be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff)