James Robinson and Steve Pugh cut the crap to give you an “Invaders” title that sneaks its way to being a terrific “Invaders” title, even if it technically isn’t the “Invaders” you thought you were getting. Get it?
Written by James Robinson
Illustrated by Steve PughEisner Award winner James Robinson (STARMAN, EARTH 2) returns to MARVEL, uniting with Steve Pugh (ANIMAL MAN, HOTWIRE, GEN-X”) to create a unique new take on the INVADERSAs the ORIGINAL HUMAN TORCH decides to rejoin the human race, he and his fellow INVADERS face the savage fury of Kree’s ultimate hunter, TANALTH THE PURSUER! How can they beat a threat that seems unbeatable?Learn the long-forgotten secret Invaders’ mission — involving dead heroes, Nazis and Norse Gods!And what is the desperate measure the Invaders decide to save their teammate NAMOR from the clutches of the SUPREME INTELLIGENCE?
Here we are at issue #2, so you probably know by now that this book takes place in the present Marvel Universe. If you didn’t know that, now you do. James Robinson seems like a perfect match for “World War II” era heroes, but that’s not the order of the day here. The good news is that this book has a better chance of pleasing both fans of today’s Marvel Comics and fans of classic “Invaders” than just one or the other. Robinson accomplishes this by side-stepping some current comic trends, but doing so with modern characters who reflect and are informed by their Silver Age team affiliation.
Other than because of great marketing and a Marvel “title” that had been benched for a while, why is this particular team back together at this particular time? Robinson sets it all up as a potential Kree conspiracy against the original Invaders specifically based on secret happenings that occurred all those years ago. This not only gives the players involved all a reason to be there, but it also brings to mind the modern Marvel “Illuminati” caste – who very much deal in the same sort of backdoor dealings while the rest of the Marvel 616 remains oblivious. But where certain comic writers like to turn a secret kept between heroes into big, massive self-righteous speeches about distrust and lies – Robinson takes a no-nonsense approach. When it’s discovered that the whole reason the Invaders are in danger is because two of them did something decades ago, the third party basically says “eh, I can look past that.” Best of all, it feels totally within character, which is why I’m taking such pains not to spoil who’s who in this deal.
All Robinson’s characters are concerned about is that some Kree shit is going to hit the fan, and they’ll lose their kidnapped ally (ally?) Namor. It’s classic characters, in a modern setting, with a classic sensibility about good vs. evil – with none of the in-fighting. That may change in the future, and a little in-fighting can be good too, but for the present it’s a hell of a refreshing turn by Robinson. And for those readers that feel they’ll miss the WWII era heroes they wanted – there are plenty of references and a gloriously rendered flashback or two on the part of artist Steve Pugh.
Pugh, who recently left the soon-to-be-ending “Animal Man”, jumps on board here and brings the same sort of classic/modern mix that Robinson is attempting. Though there is a bit of a disconnect between the flashback and the modern era scenes that is problematic. A shift in visual style is certainly a prudent approach to flashbacks – one that so many other comics use to great effect. The problem with “All-New Invaders” #2 is that the art in the flashback is actually far more appealing than the rest of the art, which is solid yet unspectacular.
In the flashback, Pugh’s characters are crisply rendered using a cleaner Silver Age type line, complete with a simpler approach to shading and coloring from GURU-eFX. This brief sequence is exceptionally aesthetically pleasing. Pugh’s modern scenes are solid, to be sure, but they evoke less of a specificity. Those flashbacks have personality by looking the way that they do. The modern visuals have less identity, and actually make noticeable some of the current weaknesses in the modern versions of these characters. The action sequences, too, are not as memorable or clearly rendered as the flashback sequences. When that short sequence overshadows the rest of the book visually, it makes you wonder what impact the book would have if the stylistic decision were made to completely do a modern “Invaders” title in a throwback style. The modern art is fine – Pugh is a terrific and reliable talent – it just doesn’t make nearly enough of an impact by comparison.
“All-New Invaders” is a title for anyone who likes the Silver Age of Marvel and wants to see these characters revisit that time, if even only in their memories. There are some new, inventive nuggets for those fans to discover within. Fans of modern comics who wouldn’t mind some classic sensibilities thrown into the mix with characters that they’ve been keeping up with in recent years will find a lot to like here too. Robinson and Pugh’s efforts on these first 2 issues make one thing clear – whatever era their book is set in, their going to make these characters click together.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Buy
