Recently in Secret Invasion Category

Brian Bendis has really won me over with his work on the Avengers and the Illuminati mini-series.  I thought Secret Invasion was one of the best Avengers stories I’ve ever read.  It was supremely fun.  I loved how Marvel tricked us into believing that the Skrulls might actually win by holding back all the information about Dark Reign.  I was pretty thrilled with this last page of Secret Invasion #8…

Yeah, baby, that’s a great setup for the next year’s worth of stories.  OK, you can complain all you want that John Byrne kind of did this in Acts of Vengeance.  It has been done before, it will be done again.  Every generation needs a retelling of this type of story where the big bad guns team up to take on the heroes.  But this retelling has a new slant, which is that the villains have gone legit, and the heroes will be oppressed.  Norman Osborne’s rags to riches story in the Thunderbolts has been utilized very well both here and in Amazing Spider-Man.  Iron Man’s gone from being numero uno to most wanted.  I thought this was a brilliant ending and a way to flip the Marvel Universe on its side.  This drawing by Leinil Yu just kicked ass.

I was really looking forward to the Secret Invasion Dark Reign special.  But it’s really a jarring change to go from Yu, who has really mastered larger than life storytelling, to Alex Maleev, who I am more used to see drawing street crime stuff in Daredevil.  Look at this panel...

Victor Von Doom waiting in an office.  For Norman Osborne.  How humiliating!  Not only is he waiting in an office, it’s a pretty drabby looking office.  Compared to Yu’s dark and menacing meeting room with the red light, this doesn’t appear to a place where super-baddies meet.  It looks like a conference room where I work!

This is the one that really gets me.  That is supposed to be Namor?  He looks like a crystal meth addict dressing in the Sub Mariner costume.  So skinny he could not even lift those armbands.  Stubble everywhere.  He doesn’t even have hair, just stubble everywhere on his head.  No, no.  Maleev is a fine artist, but he was a poor choice to draw this special.

The story and setup is really good once you get past the way the characters are depicted.  Osborne’s got an interesting argument to make for Doom and the Hood to throw in with him.  Doom gets to return to Latveria, although I think it kind of weakens him to say he couldn’t bust out of America on his own.  The Hood has the greatest upside potential.  I kind of get the idea that some of the current Thunderbolts will become the Dark Avengers while the Hood’s gang will join the Thunderbolts.

I can’t see what Namor gets out of the deal, nor Loki.  Emma Frost seems to be in the group because she’s feeling guilty about Kitty Pryde.  I don’t see how a mortal like Osborne could help move Asgard back into the heavens, or how he could repopulate the mutants.  I’m willing to keep reading to find out.

I liked the last bit between Namor and Doom…

Yes, this is very good.  It harkens back to Super-Villain Team-Up and all the times these two monarchs have worked together.  It provides an explanation for why Doom sat in that insufferable conference room and waited.  He’s winding Osborne up and waiting for him to fall.  Great setup, let’s see how Marvel executes the rest of the story.  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.

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.

I think Leinil Yu has been kicking ass on Secret Invasion.  Here are the pencils to his variant edition cover to issue #1.  Look at the awesome details on the facial expressions, the lighting, the chain mail on Captain America.

Here is the inked cover in full color.  I like the colored cover, but I love the pencilled cover.  .  Nuff said.

Jim Cheung's artwork in New Avengers #40 blew me away.  I love this double page spread of Galactus destroying the Skrull homeworld.  It's on my Windows desktop now.  Click on the above image to download it from Flickr.

It doesn't hurt that fabulous Frankie Ray, Nova, is cruising through this shot.  I loved Nova, thought she was Galactus best choice for a herald.  According to Wikipedia, Nova was killed in Silver Surfer #75.  Since they are bringing back all kinds of dead characters, why not revive Nova?  Nuff said.