Avengers / Invaders #1 – John Romita Sr. Sketch

You don’t see too many sketches from John Romita Sr. these days. I was lucky enough to get one of these last week. Many thanks to Dynamic Forces for offering up these limited edition sketches. Romita is just the man. I can’t wait to get one of his Spider-Man sketches. Anyone else get one?

Click to enlarge!

Avengers / Invaders #1 – Review

By Alex Ross (plot), Jim Krueger (plot, story), Steve Sadowski (pencils), inLight Studios (colors)

Other than knowing that it takes place sometime after Captain America’s death, I’m not sure where this series falls in Marvel continuity. Is it post-Brand New Day or pre-Brand New Day? Is it before Secret Invasion or during? There’s so many questions, and because Marvel’s not really cared about keeping continuity tight, this issue feels like a mess. But the mess doesn’t go to writer Jim Krueger, but Marvel editorial. Let me explain…

The Invaders amidst their campaign in Europe during World War II are in search of a time altering artifact that Hitler has his eyes on. As they close in on the Nazis (along with their group of Allied soldiers), they run into a mist that transports them all to modern day New York City. Now why this time traveling device would take them from Europe to New York City is beyond me. And why only The Invaders were transported and not the soldiers that came along with them is another inconsistency. But whatever, I can live with that. The problem I have is Spider-Man fighting The Thunderbolts. From what we’ve been told about Spider-Man’s “Brand New Day” is that he will not be tackling the Thunderbolts for months down the road. Yet, in this issue, he’s fighting against the whole team.

Eventually, word gets back to Iron Man that the Invaders are in the present and the ghost of Captain America begins to loom over Tony once more. If this is a pre-Secret Invasion book, why hasn’t this been addressed in any of the core books? It all just seems out of whack.

Now, all that aside, if I were to take the book at face value, I’d find it to be an average opening issue. We get your run of the mill introductions to the characters, the plot devices, and questions on how this team that’s “out of time” will interact with the modern world. The Twelve, this book is not, so don’t expect anything mind blowing. What you’re in for is lots of fighting as The Invaders make very short work of the Thunderbolts (which I honestly found to be too easy). Bucky acts as the narrator, giving us the profiles on Golden Age heroes as well as a humanistic point of view. Spider-Man tries to ham it up, but ends up being a bit overwritten. His reactions to Captain America, however, feel genuine. But the heart of the story is saved for the end: How will Tony Stark react to having one of his best friends return.

Steve Sadowski’s art hasn’t lost a beat. Like his work in Project Superpowers #0, his storytelling is top notch and his characters beautiful. He, along with Alex Ross’ covers are definitely the selling points of this series (thus far). So, if you’re like me and frustrated by Marvel’s muddled continuity, this book will do nothing but further that frustration. If you can look past the editorial problems, you’re in for an average opening story. (Grade: C+)

– J. Montes

A Second Opinion

I am going to have to echo Jason a lot with this second opinion. There is no doubt that this book needs to have some clarity as to when, exactly, it is taking place. There are a few hints, but not enough to get a solid handle on where everyone stands as the Captain America lead Invaders are transported into modern times.

As you already know the basics of the story, let me just take the time to talk about what works and what doesn’t with this premier issue.

The art is incredibly dynamic and the characters look fantastic, especially, in my opinion, Venom and Captain America. The World War II scenes do a good job putting the brutality of battle on the page and the running narration by Bucky keeps things moving at a solid pace. I really enjoyed the first half of the story, but found the second half to be incredibly rocky for a couple of reasons.

Letting Spiderman take over storytelling duties was an odd choice in my opinion. He is, as Jason said, overwritten, and it made me wish Bucky was our point of view for the entire story. I understand why they would break from Bucky, but the whole story would have improved had Spidey been toned down a bit. Another issue I have is how easily the Thunderbolts are disposed of, especially considering what we have seen them capable of since Warren Ellis took over. The final problem is the lack of subtlety once the time travel aspect kicks in. This was meant to be a blockbuster event, I get it, but The Twelve has shown that great things can be done with this type of story beyond slam bang action.

The Twelve is doing great things with the “heroes in the wrong time period” story by putting a premium on personality, emotion, and subtlety. Avengers/Invaders, on the other hand, seems to be much more concerned with the chaos of the event as a whole. It will be interesting to see where the creative team goes from here, but I am honestly disappointed how things went off the rails after such a solid start to the story. (Grade: C)

-Kyle Posluszny