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A review by crookedtreehouse
The New Avengers, Volume 8: Secret Invasion, Book 1 by Brian Michael Bendis
3.0
A messy introduction to the Secret Invasion storyline.
The volume begins with two stellar issues. The first, revolving around Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Bendis started their relationship during his founding run on Alias (AKA Jessica Jones) which inspired much of the Netflix Marvel Tv Universe., and he takes it to a spectacularly dramatic height here, as Jessica tries to convince Luke to abandon the New Avengers for the proper Mighty Avengers, using their baby as a bargaining chip. It's really well done. 5/5*
The second issue focuses on Wolverine and Maya Lopez as we discover yet another superhero (not either of them) is a Skrull, and, yes, they've been amanipulating things since before Civil War. This is Bendis at his best level of intrigue. 5/5*
Issue #40 is where it starts to get dicey. We see the lead up to the conflict through the eyes of the Skrulls. It's science vs prophecy as a segment of the Skrull population believes their home planet is destined to be destroyed, and that Earth is their next home planet. And, lo, their homeworld is destroyed, so ..... 3/5*. The best part of this book is the last page reveal of another skrull's identity.
Issue #41 is a mess. Now we're in the Savage Land. But it's before some things, and after others. And there are Skrulls there, and Avengers, and Captain Am...isn't he dead?..This is a terribly mangled issue of the series. Even long-time comic fans will find it difficult to follow. 2/5*
#42 doesn't get much better as we see the lead up to The Secret Invasion through the character revealed to be a Skrull at the end of issue #40. It's bumpy. It does tell an interesting story, but it's neither paced well nor clear what happens at the end. I *think* it infers the Skrulls were really the ones behind M-Day, and not The Scarlet Witch? If so, that definitely got retconned. 3.5*
It's also worth mentioning that the art in this entire volume is superb. From Gaydos revisiting his work on Alias, Mack revisiting his work on Daredevil, and Cheung and Tan just killing it because they can. The art is 4-5* all the way through.
Definitely worth reading before the TV version airs, even if it's a bit choppy.
The volume begins with two stellar issues. The first, revolving around Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Bendis started their relationship during his founding run on Alias (AKA Jessica Jones) which inspired much of the Netflix Marvel Tv Universe., and he takes it to a spectacularly dramatic height here, as Jessica tries to convince Luke to abandon the New Avengers for the proper Mighty Avengers, using their baby as a bargaining chip. It's really well done. 5/5*
The second issue focuses on Wolverine and Maya Lopez as we discover yet another superhero (not either of them) is a Skrull, and, yes, they've been amanipulating things since before Civil War. This is Bendis at his best level of intrigue. 5/5*
Issue #40 is where it starts to get dicey. We see the lead up to the conflict through the eyes of the Skrulls. It's science vs prophecy as a segment of the Skrull population believes their home planet is destined to be destroyed, and that Earth is their next home planet. And, lo, their homeworld is destroyed, so ..... 3/5*. The best part of this book is the last page reveal of another skrull's identity.
Issue #41 is a mess. Now we're in the Savage Land. But it's before some things, and after others. And there are Skrulls there, and Avengers, and Captain Am...isn't he dead?..This is a terribly mangled issue of the series. Even long-time comic fans will find it difficult to follow. 2/5*
#42 doesn't get much better as we see the lead up to The Secret Invasion through the character revealed to be a Skrull at the end of issue #40. It's bumpy. It does tell an interesting story, but it's neither paced well nor clear what happens at the end. I *think* it infers the Skrulls were really the ones behind M-Day, and not The Scarlet Witch? If so, that definitely got retconned. 3.5*
It's also worth mentioning that the art in this entire volume is superb. From Gaydos revisiting his work on Alias, Mack revisiting his work on Daredevil, and Cheung and Tan just killing it because they can. The art is 4-5* all the way through.
Definitely worth reading before the TV version airs, even if it's a bit choppy.