GRAPHIC NOVEL and TRADE PAPERBACK (TPB) REVIEWS

Miscellaneous (Superheroes) - PAGE 5-A

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Identity Crisis
see my review here

The Infinity Gauntlet
see my review here

Inhumans 2001 (SC TPB)

Written by Paul Jenkins. Art by Jae Lee.
Colours: Dave Kemp. Letters: Richard Starkings, Wes Abbott. Editors: Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti.

Reprinting: the twelve issue mini-series (1998)

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Additional notes: intro by Alex Ross; covers; sketch pages

Published by Marvel Comics

The Inhumans were introduced in the 1960s by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in issues of the Fantastic Four. At the time, it was a bizarre concept -- a "lost" city in the Himalayas where everyone had mutant powers (allowing Kirby to unleash his limitless visual imagination). The royal family itself included everything from human looking characters with awesome powers to a scaly fishman. I say "at the time" it was bizarre because over the years the idea of a community of super beings has kind of been borrowed for others -- from Marvel's burgeoning mutant population, to "what if..." futures like DC's Kingdom Come.

Anyway, the Inhumans have flittered around as guest stars, but with limited success as headliners (a short lived 1970s series, the occasional one shot). Their city, the "great refuge", Attilan, has been physically moved, so they ended up on the moon for a while, etc. Along the way, their presence in Marvel's "reality" had ceased to be quite so "lost" and mysterious.

Which then brings us to Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee's maxi-series (and which, at 12 issues, is the same number of issues as the 1970s series managed to muster before cancelation).

The intent was clearly to try and do a textured, thinking man's epic, a brooding saga that would stand as a "classic" of sequential art, rather than just a throwaway little romp. And it both is and isn't.

The series begins with Attilan back on earth, settled off the coast of Portugal in the ruins of fabled Atlantis which had, apparently, risen to the surface some time before (a kind of bizarre backstory presumably detailed in other comics, but doesn't really require any familiarity with it on the reader's part). All the regulars are there: Attilan's leader, Black Bolt, whose voice issues sonic booms so he must forever remain mute; his wife Medusa of the long, prehensile hair, etc. Although it doesn't really require detailed knowledge of past Inhuman stories -- which is good -- it does probably benefit from a passing familiarity with the Inhumans themselves, as Jenkins doesn't necessarily articulate some of the finer points for the uninitiated (like the regular characters' powers).

A criticism I'd read of Inhuman stories was that they tend to recycle the same plot over and over again. And, yup, once again we have a story where Attilan is besieged -- this time by human mercenaries -- and once more, Black Bolt's mad brother, Maximus, is orchestrating the villainy.

It's deliberately-paced. And that's because Jenkins and Lee are going for mood and atmosphere, reflection and introspection. It takes a couple of issues (or chapters) before this plot really even begins, the first few issues introducing us to Attilan, its cast, and their culture. Part of what makes the story so effective and intriguing is that it is a strange, alien culture, with both virtues and flaws; people are not judged by their physical appearance (no matter how bizarre or grotesque) yet it is nonetheless a society given to, unofficial, classism, as some people have more useful abilities than others. Most Inhumans are not born with their powers, but undergo a coming of age ritual, and one early issue follows a group of teen Inhumans just about to undergo their metamorphoses, and treating it as analogous to an "end of summer" story (ala, "American Graffiti", only where the characters aren't going off to college, but about to mutate into unknown forms) is eerily effective, mixing the familiar and the truly strange.

When the attack on Attilan begins, Jenkins explores the Inhumans place in the world, as some countries express sympathy, even "support", for Attilan...but won't actually come to their aid. And part of the dilemma presented is Black Bolt's fear of how tenuous their place in the global community is. With their powers, the Inhumans could easily destroy the invaders...but would such a show of force then frighten other countries into attacking them in turn?

While Maximus plots from his prison, undermining the city from within.

A lot of the atmosphere is supplied by Jae Lee's shadow-drenched art. There are echoes of Ryan Sook, or even Mike Mignola in Lee's style (though more realistic than Mignola), with thick blackness and craggy line work...even as there can be an almost photo-realism to some of the faces. His backgrounds are often non-existent, like actors playing scenes against black curtains, or where effects are weirdly stylized. He draws flames almost as though prop cut-outs rather than living fire. He sticks to the general character designs of the familiar heroes -- with some alterations, liking dropping the super hero-like masks for most. And his Gorgon is poorly realized, looking like the unwashed guitarist from a second rate heavy metal band!

Jenkins script goes for the brooding as silent Black Bolt ruminates pensively, and others stand about, increasingly concerned about his leadership strategy, as he orders his troops to fight a purely defensive action, and Maximus cuts off the city's power from within. There are some clever plot twists, some nice realizations of machinations here and there (the end to chapter three is a nice "revelation"). But the plot, overall, is thin. This is partly so Jenkins can take his time, going off on little tangents that add less to the plot, and more to the milieu -- such as an issue focusing on the aquatic Inhuman, Triton, or a quirky issue told, in a sense, from the perspective of the dog, Lockjaw, that manages to be both amusing, brooding, and ultimately quite touching in the final scene.

And taken on that level, basking in the moody art, and the deliberately-paced, introspective storytelling, the series works. There is a deceptive brevity to the chapters, where they don't seem like 22 pages.

But it reiterates the same ideas and scenes, reflecting the modern school of comic book storytelling. It's a 12 issue epic that, in Lee & Kirby's day, could've been shoe horned into a fraction of those issues...and still had extra twists and turns in the story. It successfully held my interest for a long time...but toward the end of the saga, I was becoming more conscious of the lack of progress.

There's an aloofness to the characters, where the "kitchen sink" realism, the raw humanity of these comic book characters, can be muted in favour of a portentous artifice. We get characterization...more than we get characters. (Ironically, Jenkins does better with some supporting characters created for this story). And though Jenkins is not deliberately trying to break from what we know of the regulars (save, maybe, giving Triton an idiosyncratic speech pattern), reading this, you might not guess that Medusa is a formidable character/fighter who had gone toe-to-toe with a number of Marvel's heavy hitters over the years.

As we build toward the climax, we learn Black Bolt has more of a plan then he was letting on. On one hand, it more justifies his earlier inaction. But the problem with surprise -- and vague -- revelations that the hero had his own machinations in place, is that it can seem like too convenient a resolution. At what point did he formulate his plan? Why, other than to create dramatic tension, didn't he tell many of those closest to him?

And even Black Bolt's ultimate plan has echoes of earlier Inhuman tales!

The ultimate goal of the series seems partly to reset the bar. The problem with comics and their never ending continuity, and with past writers/artists coming up with plots just to meet next month's deadline, is you can have concepts that get pushed further and further away from what made them interesting to begin with. So, eventually, someone comes along and says: "Let's get it back to the basics." I can't entirely argue with that intent, even as it can make you ask, is that why the plot was thin...because the plot was never the point, but a means to an end?

So my review comes down to a head/heart struggle. I'm aware the story was thin, some of the logic tenuous, and there was a certain aloofness to (some of) the characters. BUT -- as a "graphic novel" -- it is moody, with a haunting atmosphere, a lyricism to some of the writing. With beautiful visuals (if weak on backgrounds). The Inhumans as a concept is certainly quirky and off beat (tip of the hat to Lee & Kirby as much as Jenkins & Lee). And though it did maybe drag a bit toward the end (before picking up again), overall, it kept me turning the pages, happily immersing myself in each moody chapter as I read it.

So...ultimately, a fairly engrossing read.

Cover price: $__ CDN,/ $24.95 USA.

Invaders Classic 2007 (SC TPB) 200 pages

Written by Roy Thomas. Pencils by Frank Robbins, and Rich Buckler, Dick Ayers, Don Heck. Inks by Vince Colletta, Frank Springer, with Jim Mooney.
Colours: various. Letters: John Costanza.

Reprinting: Giant-Size Invaders #1, Invaders 1-9 (1975-1976)

Rating: * * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

Published by Marvel Comics

The Invaders was Roy Thomas' retro series which told World War II-era adventures involving Marvel's key 1940s characters -- Captain America (and sidekick Bucky), The Sub-Mariner, and the original Human Torch (and his sidekick, Toro) -- Cap and the Sub-Mariner, of course, existed in contemporary adventures, as well (the former thanks to suspended animation, the latter, simply to natural longevity).

The premise of the Invaders was that they had formed a Nazi-busting team in the 1940s, whose primary mandate was to take the battle to the enemy -- hence their name: The Invaders (though they spent a lot of time on the homefront, too).

And at its best, it was an energetic, fun comic. Thomas has long been comicdoms chief nostalgist, not just for the comics themselves (a few years later, he created a similar comic using DC's 1940s heroes, The All-Star Squadron) but also for historical periods themselves, and that means the stories feel nicely rooted in their milieu as the characters engage in typical Thomas-esque snappy banter, dropping period pop references at the drop of a hat...but it's not all flippancy and badinage. There's just enough seriousness, angst, and character conflict to rest it all on a keel of seriousness, and to let the super characters emerge as people. But the emphasis here is definitely on the action and adventure. Thomas' later All-Star Squadron, though also good at times, leaned a bit more toward the soap opera-y which, though effective at times, also meant that series lacked some of the pure, raw, pulp energy of the Invaders.

Also aiding the series is Frank Robbins dynamic art, which, like Thomas' scripting, straddles the needs of a "modern", relatively sophisticated comic, with an old style retro feel of Caniff-esque high cheekbones and period cars and costumes. Robbins art is definitely a bit wild and raw, as he sometimes seems to fling his figures across the panels with limbs bending in bizarre directions, but it all serves to imbue the scenes with a kineticism, even in talky scenes. It's not polished, by any means...but that's kind of the appeal.

The characters were brought together in Giant-Size Invaders #1 (the only issue here I haven't read), then immediately launched into their own regular series. And despite the war-time milieu, there's a nice degree of variety in the foes, as well as occasional elements of mystery and suspense. The first two-parter involves and amnesiac girl, aliens, Norse gods...and, of course, Nazis.

If Thomas had a chief flaw, it was probably that he could be a bit too obsessive in his love of nostalgia and comic book continuity. His later All-Star Squadron could get a bit bogged down in characters as he just tried to employ too many heroes. The Invaders is a more manageable team, but early on he indulges in a story where the Invaders are brainwashed by the Red Skull, so Bucky must recruit a second team of rather more obscure 1940s heroes to help rein them in. It seems a bit odd, so early in a new series, to start using it as spring board for other characters -- the Liberty Legion -- and, though they landed a few subsequent appearances, they never took off the way Thomas presumably hoped they would. Still, the story, which crosses back and forth between Invaders #5 and 6 and Marvel Premiere #29, 30 remains eminently readable. One can't exactly say Thomas was doing wonders with varied characterization -- most characters talked in the same snappy, wisecracking way (even the Sub-Mariner who's "modern" 1970s adventures had him talking in a formal, imperious way, here is often given to colloquial slang) -- but as noted, the energy is high, and the personalities, if redundant, remained engaging.

This collections highlight, though, probably remains the three parter from 7-9 as the Invaders cross paths with a vampire -- Baron Blood -- working for the Nazis in London. Robbins art is nicely suited to the overtones of gothic horror the tale invokes, and while keeping the same snappy feel, there's also deeper and more affecting characterization, involving both the leads and supporting characters Lord Falsworth and his daughter, who would become mainstays of the title. And there's nice suspense generated by the fact that the reader knows Blood's identity and the Invaders don't. If there's a flaw it's that, after Blood is defeated, we are still left with a bit of a dangling thread as a supporting character is left injured and hovering near death -- and this is the final issue included in this collection. Still, that dangling thread aside, it's a great tale that caps off what holds up as a surprisingly enjoyable run of tales.

I have a certain fondness for "period" super hero tales, particularly when done well, and with a nice sense of time and place (which Thomas had more than most). After all, super heroes are "escapism" and historical stories -- even those set during a grim time as a world war -- are likewise escapism, removing the reader from their contemporary concerns. The two genres go well together.

These days, there are so many TPB collections, one can't help but wonder about the editorial decisions made at Marvel and DC. For a while Marvel's main format for older reprints was either its expensive hardcover Marvel Masterworks, or its delightfully economical, black and white massive Essential volumes. Recently, they've been going the "___ Classic" route, which though it has the advantage of reprinting older series in colour (unlike the Essential volumes) also offer a heftier prince tag and fewer pages.

Still, in this case, the price is worth it.

A second volume has since been released...reviewed below.

This is a review of the stories as they were serialized in the original comics.

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $24.99 USA.

Invaders Classic, vol. 2 2008 (SC TPB) 200 pages

Written by Roy Thomas. Pencils by Frank Robbins, with Jim Mooney, and Alex Schomburg, Don Rico, Lee Elias. Inks by Frank Springer.
Colours/letters: various

Reprinting: The Invaders #10-21, Annual #1 (1977)

Rating: * * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by Marvel Comics

The Invaders was the 1970s "retro" series by Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins telling the World War II adventures of Marvel's signature 1940s heroes -- Captain America (and sidekick Bucky), the Sub-Mariner, and the original Human Torch (and sidekick Toro). Although the characters had had occasional interaction in their 1940s comics, in the Invaders, Thomas assembled them into a proto-super hero team battling Nazi villainy together. The first collection (reviewed here) was pretty entertaining, delivering fast action (and even faster repartee) with just enough characterization and occasional reflections on the grimness of war to not seem too trivial. I'd like to say this second collection following on the heels of the first (reviewed above) is just as good. But I'm not sure I can.

'Cause it may actually be a bit better!

Any bugs that needed to be worked out for this, admittedly, kind of atypical series seem to have been done so, and Thomas seems even more fully in command of his material. Even such little things as how the Sub-Mariner should speak seems to have been settled upon (in his original 1940s adventures, the Sub-Mariner tended to speak in flippant colloquialisms, but by the 1970s, he was being written in a much more imperious way -- and in the early Invaders issues, Thomas seemed unsure whether he should write him true to his 1940s origins, or present him more in line with the version readers would encounter in his then on-going comic).

By this point the core team of "classic" heroes has been augmented with some original characters, namely the British Falsworth family, with Lord Falsworth, a retired former super hero himself, and his daughter, who becomes the super powered Spitfire in this collection. With more characters, and characters whose backstories haven't previously been explored, there's greater opportunity to indulge in character undercurrents and to tease along a few sub-plots.

In fact, although this collection is comprised of various independent adventures (raging from one and two-issue stories, to an epic raging across 6 issues!), the events in one adventure sets up elements that will direct the next adventure -- which can be fun when read together in a collection. Though the downside is that this collection ends with a dangling plot element, as the Invaders triumph over their foes, but one Invader is left grievously wounded (ironically, that's how the first collection ended as well!)

Of course, sometimes the plotting can be a bit lax, as Thomas shoots from one story idea to another. In the epic story arc, the Invaders head to Germany to rescue a captured man, which is accomplished mid-way through the story arc...then the guy disappears from the plot (what'd Cap do: drop him off on a street corner in Nazi Germany with cab fare to get home?) Or an initial character conflict, wherein the Human Torch is in love with Spitfire, but she has a crush on Captain America, quickly seems to get dropped.

Obviously, the biggest stumbling block with the series might be: is it in poor taste? Taking one of humanity's greatest follies (war) and turning it into a backdrop for gee whiz heroics by super heroes. But, of course, war has been trivialized in adventure novels and movies long before the Invaders came along. And every now and then, Thomas will throw in a darker reminder of the reality that helps mollify the sense of frivolity (or our guilt in enjoying the frivolity!), such as an anguished Captain America lamenting whether this war will allow any of them to emerge without blood on their hands. And in perhaps the most questionable sequence, when the Invaders go to the infamous Warsaw ghetto and indulge in their usual adventures and escaping outrageous death traps prepared by caricatured Nazi foes, Thomas nonetheless delivers a haunting final caption that acts as a sobering slap across the face -- and effectively says in one caption what some modern comics writers will take whole mini-series or super-sized graphic novels to say.

Actually, one could argue a series like this can act as sugar coated education. Because despite the blatant fantasy of the super heroes, Thomas has always been one keen to research his historical material (and Robbins' visuals are, likewise, referenced) so the fact of the matter is, you can learn about the period reading these issues.

There's an energy and dynamism to the storytelling that is almost lost today, where "decompression" is the new goal, and minor stories have to be stretched out to a half-dozen issues to justify the trade paperback collection down the line. The plots here have sufficient intriguing elements to keep you turning the pages, wondering where it's headed (though there is some repetition, as there are no less than two sequences where the Invaders are captured and, given their abilities, imprisoned using similar techniques!).

And though characterization isn't belaboured -- that's the point. Characterization shouldn't be belaboured, but should emerge naturally, even subtly, from the scenes. So we have Captain America trying to rescue his captured comrades, and constantly thinking how he has to save Bucky...and the others. With a subtle bit of phrasing, Thomas reminds us that, as Bucky is Cap's sidekick, he would feel especially responsible for his safety. In fact, Thomas' Cap is a particularly nicely realized take on the character, combining the unflappable professionalism of Marvel's iconic symbol...while lacking the smugness of some takes on the character, making the character human and vulnerable.

Another appeal of the series is Robbins' art -- raw, ugly, and sometimes seeming as though he's never heard of an eraser as the figures will be hurled across the panels with sometimes ludicrous contortions and mismatched limbs. But it works. There's an energy, and primal purity that emerges. As well, it suits the material, both because Robbins was an old time artist, who apprenticed with the likes of Milt Caniff, giving him a credibility when drawing this retro series, but as well the ugliness (emphasized by inker Frank Springer's coarse inking) maybe suits the temper of the times, evoking the feel of the dark days of a world war that a slicker art style might trivialize. Robbins' Nazi villains are ridiculously caricatured -- more like grotesque Dick Tracy foes -- but he's also capable of invoking subtle expression in the faces and reaction shots.

Ultimately, the Invaders is first and foremost an off beat adventure series, nothing more -- but it's a highly entertaining one, with just enough human drama, character moments, and brooding ruminations squeezed into the action, and an effective evocation of its historical milieu, to succeed as a drama, as well.

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $24.95 USA.

Invasion
  See my review here

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