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I can’t say that I like the Avengers-Invaders series, but I sure do love this poster, which will be on sale this winter.

It’s hard for me to get into any Alex Ross series that doesn’t have him doing the artwork.  Justice was great because they had Doug Braithwaite doing the art.  Speaking of which, Braithwaite’s doing great work on Secret Invasion Thor.

Here’s another nice piece by Alex Ross, the cover of Avengers Invaders #6.  There’s a sad emotion conveyed as Toro probably realizes that he is dead in the modern Marvel era.

Nuff said. 

It doesn't seem that long that I read Secret Invasion #2 and the third issue is already here!  With the associated titles, I am getting my Avengers fix every week and learning more about the Skrull plot to conquer the world.  I haven't had this much fun since the Avengers-Defenders war when we got two titles a month.  I am really impressed by the high quality of all the SI tie-in titles.

Let's look at what we had in the past month:

5/7/2008: Secret Invasion 2, Mighty Avengers 13

5/14/2008: Secret Invasion Fantastic Four

5/21/2008: Mighty Avengers 14, Avengers: The Initiative 13

5/28/2008: New Avengers 41, Ms Marvel 27

6/4/2008: Secret Invasion 3

Eight comics related to this event in the span of one month.  OK, maybe Avengers the Initiative doesn't really count, but Skrully Yellowjacket was in it.  Brian Bendis wrote five of these books, really impressive considering that he is writing a ton of other stuff besides Avengers!

And this all just an excuse for me to use this image of Spider-Man meeting Kazar, Shanna, and Zabu in the Savage Land.  Bendis through in all kinds of fanboy love here for obscure Savage Land characters that appeared in various Kazar stories throughout the years.  I was wondering if that pterodactyl dude is Sauron?  Nuff said. Technorati Profile

Secret Invasion #3 was action-packed, cover-to-cover action!  We finally get to see those Mega-Skrulls (loaded up with several super-powers) taking on the Young Avengers and the Initiative.  This is an incredible battle in the heart of Times Square, and I couldn’t help but think how this can replicated in a video game or even a movie.  Brian Bendis and Leinil Yu are doing work here that ranks up along with Roy Thomas and Neal Adams.  Never thought I’d say that!

I really don’t think Bendis likes the Vision at all.  But he’s gotta come back, right?  It’s kind of getting old, though, like when they used to blow up the Metal Men in every other issue of their comic.

Meanwhile, in the Savage Land, that cover where we see Spider-Woman kissing Tony Stark is in play.  Tony’s trying to assemble a new set of armor that the Skrulls can’t hack and Jessica shows up.  As we all know, Spider-Woman is the Skrull Queen and she lays down a Total Recall type mind-fuck on Tony.  I don’t believe a word of it, not at all!  It’s too easy to say that the Civil War was the result of a Skrull.  Marvel won’t go down that road.

The new Howling Commandos on the last page: Wahoo!  Nuff said.

Mighty Avengers has been recreating a number of classic covers for this series of stories during the Secret Invasion.  The cover to Mighty Avengers #14 has Marko Djurdjevic recreating one of my favorite Avengers covers of all time...

Avengers #57 cover by John Buscema, inks by George Klein.  What a dramatic way to introduce a new character!  Is he friend or foe?  The answer was not obvious, as the Vision was sent to destroy the Avengers by his creator, Ultron.  He was able to defy Ultron, which led to the Vision becoming a full fledged Avenger.  He was a unique character that was created solely to be in this team book, unlike the other Avengers, who had all been created elsewhere.  His origins and behavior were shrouded in mystery which provided a meaty subplot for the next five years worth of stories.

West Coast Avengers #45 cover by John Byrne.  Notice Byrne's signature on the lower left, giving credit not only to John Buscema, but to George Klein as well.  This is a philosophy that both John Byrne and Walt Simonson shared, giving credit back to the original artist when recreating a famous cover.  I just thought both of them were complete gentlemen for doing this.

Mighty Avengers #14 cover by Marko Djurdjevic.  It's a shame that credit was not given to Buscema on the cover or inside the credits page.  I cannot fault Djurdjevic, it seems to be a corporate policy now at Marvel.  Djurdjevic follows the original composition by Buscema very closely.  Note the position of the four figures (Black Panther, Giant-Man, Hawkeye, Wasp) are exactly the same as the original.

While I've come to really love Bendis' Avengers, I cannot forgive him for destroying the Vision back in Avengers #500.  I know he's still running around in Young Avengers, but without his memories or the Human Torch's body parts, it ain't the same.  I was really hoping the Vision who came out of the Skrull ship in Secret Invasion #1 would be the real deal.  Alas, as this cover indicates, Bendis robbed us again.  Nuff said.

The story for Mighty Avengers #14 is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how the Skrulls (Jarvis, Spider-Woman, Hank Pym, etc) are plotting against the Avengers.  Their biggest concern is the Sentry.  The Skrulls claims his power levels are off the charts and he is one of the few heroes who cannot be duplicated by the aliens.  This all comes together and ties back into Secret Invasion #2, where the 70s era Vision suddenly morphs into the Void as he confronts the Sentry.

I know a lot of people are tired of the Sentry's whining about the Void.  The Sentry actually cries in this issue when he sees the Void robbing a bank.  I am getting really tired of it, too.  I was hoping the Sentry would be Marvel's take on Superman, instead he's just a cry-baby.  I am actually rooting for Skrull-Jarvis.  Despite that, Bendis manages to pull a cool twist on the Sentry by the end of the issue. 

One other thing I hate: the Sentry's wife, Lindy.  She's a two-timing bitch and why is the Sentry so attached to her?  Just another reason why he's insane.  Nuff said.