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A review by crookedtreehouse
Secret Invasion: Front Line by Brian Reed
3.0
One of two Secret Invasion books that focus on the point of view of non-superheroes, there is a lot to like in this collection. Ben Urich of one of Marvel's great background characters, particularly when he shows up in Daredevil. Here, he's doing an interview when the Skrull invasion hits and has to reckon with his mortality, his relationship with his wife, and his commitment to his job. We also see a police officer trying to do the right thing and a daughter trying to connect with her father during the crisis.
There are a few great emotional beats in this story. It does suffer from some of that good old accidental racism of early 2000s comics. Why do we need to have a gang pop up in the middle of this story? Why do they have to be black? What purpose does that story tell that couldn't have been more compelling if it were a group of skinheads or just a random assortment of people consumed by the chaos of the invasion? It took me out of the story for a few pages as I thought about why that particular storyline needed to be injected into this narrative.
That's not the main reason why this is a three star book and not a four or five star book. Basically, this is a decent story but the scattered narrative that sort of comes together in the end is a little jarring for most of the story, as we don't really know most of these characters or have reasons to care about them other than They Are New Yorkers In A Tragedy (c)Marvel.
If you enjoy stories with Ben Urich, or just want to explore the Marvel Universe from a regular person's point of view, this is a solid read.
There are a few great emotional beats in this story. It does suffer from some of that good old accidental racism of early 2000s comics. Why do we need to have a gang pop up in the middle of this story? Why do they have to be black? What purpose does that story tell that couldn't have been more compelling if it were a group of skinheads or just a random assortment of people consumed by the chaos of the invasion? It took me out of the story for a few pages as I thought about why that particular storyline needed to be injected into this narrative.
That's not the main reason why this is a three star book and not a four or five star book. Basically, this is a decent story but the scattered narrative that sort of comes together in the end is a little jarring for most of the story, as we don't really know most of these characters or have reasons to care about them other than They Are New Yorkers In A Tragedy (c)Marvel.
If you enjoy stories with Ben Urich, or just want to explore the Marvel Universe from a regular person's point of view, this is a solid read.