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nmcannon's review
5.0
I picked up INVADERS CLASSIC, VOLUME 3 to continue my education in Brian Falsworth canon, as described in my last review. Collection INVADERS #22-23 and #25-34 (is #24 cursed?), this collections' stories build upon the good intersectional feminist rapport from volume 2 into something truly awe-inspiring.
Picking up the plot from last issue, Toro is injured and won't wake up. A distraught Jim relates Toro's interesting origin story, but afterwards the group splits. The adult Invaders must rush to Egypt to defend the Allied troops while Bucky volunteers to fly Toro to the United States, where only a one Dr. Sabuki has the skills to dislodge the bullet close to his heart.
After this moment in the comic, I made a lot of "omg they went there" facial expressions. In American re-tellings of WWII, most (usually white) tellers focus in on how we bolstered the war-weary Allied front, freed the Holocaust survivors, and took over the Pacific Theater. It's a very heroic, positive tale, with maybe a sobering And Then We Made The Difficult Choice To Drop The Bomb. Media typically skips over the moral conundrum of why we waited so long to join the fighting; how we imprisoned our own citizens in internment camps; and how those soldiers who liberated the marginalized from European camps went right back home to discriminate, incarcerate, demonize, and sometimes kill the same marginalized.
But not Roy Thomas or his Invaders. When Captain America, Spitfire, Namor, and Human Torch land in Egypt, they don't just fight the Scarlet Scarab and fascists: they also fight colonialism and racism. When Bucky finds Dr. Sabuki and his daughter Gwenny Lou in an internment camp, he is shocked and disgusted that while he's been fighting the Axis in Europe, its evil has been growing at home. With Gwenny Lou (Golden Girl) and newcomer Davy Mitchell (Human Top), Bucky & Toro decide to leave the Invaders and create a new team, the Kid Commandos, to fight the internment ruling and racism.
The collection doesn't end there, and the rest continues to pull its idealogical weight. And it's not all doom and gloom! Punching Teutonic Knight, Thor, and Nazi Frankenstein's Monster reveal how fascism intersects and corrupts religion and science! The anti-war messaging is constant and appreciated! Brian has his second brush with death, but now he is officially super sparky! There's bright colors and accidentally(?) homoerotic artwork. The Destroyer costume gets stolen, and the team immediately knows Roger is in trouble instead of thinking Roger betrayed them! It's great!
In summary, everyone should read INVADERS, and I love them, even Namor. It's the perfect read for this and any day. My only worry is Brian might semi-permanently die soon, but that's a constant worry for Falsworth fans. Follow @MrUnionJack on twitter, vote in all elections, and punch a Nazi.
Picking up the plot from last issue, Toro is injured and won't wake up. A distraught Jim relates Toro's interesting origin story, but afterwards the group splits. The adult Invaders must rush to Egypt to defend the Allied troops while Bucky volunteers to fly Toro to the United States, where only a one Dr. Sabuki has the skills to dislodge the bullet close to his heart.
After this moment in the comic, I made a lot of "omg they went there" facial expressions. In American re-tellings of WWII, most (usually white) tellers focus in on how we bolstered the war-weary Allied front, freed the Holocaust survivors, and took over the Pacific Theater. It's a very heroic, positive tale, with maybe a sobering And Then We Made The Difficult Choice To Drop The Bomb. Media typically skips over the moral conundrum of why we waited so long to join the fighting; how we imprisoned our own citizens in internment camps; and how those soldiers who liberated the marginalized from European camps went right back home to discriminate, incarcerate, demonize, and sometimes kill the same marginalized.
But not Roy Thomas or his Invaders. When Captain America, Spitfire, Namor, and Human Torch land in Egypt, they don't just fight the Scarlet Scarab and fascists: they also fight colonialism and racism. When Bucky finds Dr. Sabuki and his daughter Gwenny Lou in an internment camp, he is shocked and disgusted that while he's been fighting the Axis in Europe, its evil has been growing at home. With Gwenny Lou (Golden Girl) and newcomer Davy Mitchell (Human Top), Bucky & Toro decide to leave the Invaders and create a new team, the Kid Commandos, to fight the internment ruling and racism.
The collection doesn't end there, and the rest continues to pull its idealogical weight. And it's not all doom and gloom! Punching Teutonic Knight, Thor, and Nazi Frankenstein's Monster reveal how fascism intersects and corrupts religion and science! The anti-war messaging is constant and appreciated! Brian has his second brush with death, but now he is officially super sparky! There's bright colors and accidentally(?) homoerotic artwork. The Destroyer costume gets stolen, and the team immediately knows Roger is in trouble instead of thinking Roger betrayed them! It's great!
In summary, everyone should read INVADERS, and I love them, even Namor. It's the perfect read for this and any day. My only worry is Brian might semi-permanently die soon, but that's a constant worry for Falsworth fans. Follow @MrUnionJack on twitter, vote in all elections, and punch a Nazi.
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