All New Invaders #1, by Marc Fishman – Snarky Synopsis | @MDWorld

January 26, 2014 Marc Fishman 0 Comments

Written by James Robinson, Art by Steve Pugh and Guru-eFX

Are you ready for the All-New Marvel NOW!? Sure. Why not. I should note though that it’s hilarious to me how quickly Marvel and DC fall back to #1 nowadays. Big event? Back to one! Major character building moment? Uno! Snarky blogger using too many exclamation points? You guessed it… wrap it up and start again!!! Le sigh.

All New Invaders #1 marries James “Mr. Starman” Robinson to Steve “Wasn’t I just over on Animal Man?” Pugh. The result of said nuptials is a book drenched in old-timey pathos, but completed in a new-wave sheen. It’s certainly a decent start to something that could end up being wonderful or deceptively worthless. Allow me to explain.

Plot-wise, the 22 pages of content (well, really it’s 20, because a 2-page title splash is devoid of anything that moves us forward) sets the stage pretty simply. The Kree green-head-in-a-jar is looking for a McGuffin that apparently has been around since World War Two. The Invaders – Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Namor, and the original Human Torch – are the only links around today that can really help the Kree. Unlucky for them, they are kinda villainous and stuff. So, cue the battles and crazy-shared-dream-sequences!

Issue #1 focuses on Jim Hammond, aka the OG Torch. He’s a synthetic human. Or an android. Or something. Suffice to say: he knows he is not a flesh-and-blood dude, but he seemingly still has feelings and what-not. After whatever business he completed with the whole Ultron-taking-over-the-Earth crap, Hammond takes to small-town America to unwind. A nice job fixing cars, a bite of pie at the local diner, and some old-timey joking with the locals… and he’s tits. Of course this all comes crumbling down to a fiery smattering of plot-related death spasms when the Kree Pursuer comes… well… pursuing. Amidst their confrontation, she shoots Hammond with a memory raygun and we queue to the act two flashback. But, I need not bore you with all the details.

Basically, Robinson is laying the groundwork for the series here, and it’s a nice smattering of predictability done with enough nuance and style to make you care. The capturing of Blaketon, Illinois reads as a bit behind-the-times, but fits perfectly with the tone we’re expecting given the pedigree of the title itself. It’s clear enough that this title is set to mix the retro with the hip. James Robinson’s tenure on Starman clearly makes him a perfect fit. The Invaders were the proto-Avengers. With a team of four fish-out-of-water heroes, save perhaps for Namor (‘natch), the book is going to read with an old-school feeling. Robinson is smart then, to litter the book with boisterous aliens, and big action set pieces. When it comes to dialogue? It’s as you’d expect. I left the book without any memorable balloons stuck in my craw, but still satisfied with the amount of advancing plot that came across by issues’ end.

Artist Steve Pugh deserves plenty of credit for his contribution to the success of the book. His thin and clean linework, expressive faces, and panel pacing all deliver a polished modern looking book… comfortable dealing with yesteryear subject matter. That being said, I think even more credit may be delivered to Guru-eFX. Taking pencils, and presenting the final product here is a major undertaking. Balancing a newer and bold present-day palate with the dream-sequence sepias is not an easy feat. Combine this with an alien using alien technology against a flaming opponent? You get a visually complicated page on nearly every page. Guru rolls with the punches, and really makes things a pleasure to flip through. That being said, there were a few Photoshop fails to be had… clear places where Pugh’s pencils left gaping holes for them to over-design a solution. They stick out like a sore thumb, but are few and far between.

Ultimately All New Invaders seems like a great idea. The whole retro-modern tale, combining old allies with tons to talk about (“Hey man… Civil War? Whodathunk?!), paired with Pugh’s petit pencils? It’s a great pairing delivering something we’re not getting elsewhere on the racks. With that being said: there is a significant chance this blows up on the launch pad. As I noted, things are starting off with the need for a McGuffin. We know the team themselves will soon join forces. The key will be how they play off one-another, and how Robinson chooses to advance the plot. So long as the Kree’s plans have weight beyond the typical megalomania, and the beats we hit on include something we won’t call out weeks in advance… this is a book you should certainly consider following. Tread lightly, and you may find a sleeper hit. Worst case scenario? The book nosedives, and we pick up with Cap after a re-thaw. God bless all-new retcons.