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WORDS ON PICTURES #006 – ALL-NEW INVADERS #1

All-New Invaders #1 Torch
By James D. Robinson and Steve Pugh

Confession time, I’m a long-time Invaders fan. I mean I started with Giant-Size Invaders #1 back in the seventies and went from there. I even tried many of the more recent relaunches, despite the disappointment.

The first thing to remember about All-New Invaders is that it isn’t an Invaders book. These characters aren’t the Invaders, and James Robinson is not trying to revive a nearly forty-year-old franchise. This is not that book, if you want that book I suggest hunting out the back issues. Instead, this is a sequel to that series, picking up the characters where they are now.

All-New Invaders #1 Memory
Steve Pugh does the art, and if you’re expecting the same look he had in Animal Man, you will be disappointed. This is a very different book, with a very different look. I think it’s a deliberate choice, but the figure work definitely varies: the main antagonist is drawn in a very Kirby-like style, which looks great, but I’m not as happy with some of the renditions of human faces, primarily because of the technique he uses for facial shadows. There’s one panel in particular where the shadow technique makes a waitress look like she’s got five-o’clock shadow under her chin. Still, the storytelling is clear throughout and there are some beautiful splash pages.

As for the writing, it does a good job of setting up the Torch’s situation, but the reader will really benefit from having read the most recent Point One issue, as that sets up the motivation for the main antagonist. James Robinson switches effortlessly between dense exposition and widescreen storytelling that never quite descends into decompression. It’s a good first issue in that it sets up questions, but it definitely suffers a bit from the absence of the antagonist’s motivation. One thing I should mention is that James Robinson’s writing is an acquired taste, particularly the dialogue, so do be aware of that.

All-New Invaders #1 Died
Overall, it’s a good start, but doesn’t quite read like a first issue. I want to see where it goes next, and that’s the most important thing any comic can do.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Reviewed by Dave Robinson
www.daverobinsonwrites.com
@dcrwrites on Twitter

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Posted on January 27th, 2014
Category: REVIEWS, WORDS ON PICTURES
Tags: All-New Invaders #1 Review, Bucky, captain america, Comic Blog, Comic Reviews, Dave Robinson, Human Torch, James Robinson, marvel comics, Namor, Steve Pugh

DEVIL IN THE DETAIL #002 – “IS CAPTAIN AMERICA STILL RELEVANT?”

By Kulbir Mann

Steve Rogers awakes sweating with distress pouring from his face. He has had a nightmare of days gone by, on a battlefield he understood and belonged to. He dreamt of fighting once again with Bucky by his side, but this dream ends differently, once the Nazi’s are all taken down, Bucky lies injured and in pain. He bids Steve farewell and slowly passes to a permanent sleep while Cap screams his name in the smoke and blood of the battleground. This is the beginning of Ed Brubaker’s second Captain America issue and is a great summary of the themes that made it so incredibly well received.

Steve Rogers awakes sweating with distress pouring from his face. He has had a nightmare of days gone by, on a battlefield he understood and belonged to.

Many people often ask me, as a Briton, how I could possible love a hero called Captain America? How could I take the patriotism and the ridiculously garish red white and blue costume seriously? For the outsider the concept of Cap is pretty alien and his personality may seem a little bland. I explain quite easily that though he is the flag bearer of the United States, he stands alone as a man out of time and he fights for all. His powers never made him a hero but Steve Rogers made him a hero. The recent movie focused on this aspect somewhat superficially, but it is the man that he is that makes him great. Many heroes become heroic once they develop or attain their powers, but Steve was a hero way before then.

His powers never made him a hero but Steve Rogers made him a hero.

Ed Brubaker did not just improve Steve’s character but he brought back someone he was not supposed to, James Barnes Buchanan. He created two phenomenal characters in this run taking him through seven years of consistently solid work. Steve Rogers is a forlorn character haunted by images of the war. He is in a world that is not his own, and struggles to fit in with the latest trends and technology. He died remembering a battle lost and the memory of a friend falling from a plane in the sky. He was once the poster boy for the United States army and led them into unwinnable battles. Bucky was his trusty ward, an expertly trained killer but now long gone. Times have changed and wars are fought less on the battleground and more through the electric wires and airwaves. Steve is a relic of a past who misses his best friend, standing in a permanent state of melancholy. He has no interest in fitting in, he was built for war, he cannot fight anymore and he wants to take his rightful place with the honourable soldiers and best friend that died beside him.

Steve is a relic of a past who misses his best friend, standing in a permanent state of melancholy.

The winter soldier storyline was the return of Bucky and it was a wonderfully laid out story and plot. Steve has the ultimate in survivors guilt because he should have died with his countrymen, but ironically he was a super soldier and more likely to survive than anyone. His skills are less relevant in the modern age and he knows it. The book is full of flashback sequences of battles with Bucky and they are incredibly well drawn with dark deep colouring highlighting the murkiness of the Second World War. Contrast this to the brighter modern day and you can see why Steve wishes he were still there. When the subtle clues appeared that brought Bucky’s involvement into the story, Cap finds hope. He wants reconciliation via a link to his past; a chance to lift a small amount of guilt from his shoulders, with the return of his best friend.

When the subtle clues appeared that brought Bucky’s involvement into the story, Cap finds hope.

The return of James to Cap’s side was short lived, as the Civil War storyline took over the book but with one large twist; the death of Steve Rogers. It rocked the Marvel universe as it did the readers, as very few people could believe Captain America was to be no more. It heralded some of the best stories of the last few years. The reaction to his death was captured by many writers and covered all aspects of Steve’s character and relationships. Brian Bendis wrote a single issue comic called Confessions, where Tony Stark sat talking to a dead Captain America. It was an incredibly tragic monologue and one of Bendis’ best works. This event paved the way for a comic based on Bucky and the unique situation of a book titled Captain America that had no Cap to be found in it’s pages.

It rocked the Marvel universe as it did the readers, as very few people could believe Captain America was to be no more.

The first two years of the book featured Steve reminiscing and discovering Bucky. The next three years saw Bucky at its helm and a whole new set of deep personal issues came to contrast those of his former mentor. James came out of the shadows when Rogers died and worked hard on vengeance, finding his killer. Anger fuelled him and recompense was his target. He had a lot of sins to make up for, not just for the death of Captain America but for the acts he committed while brainwashed as the Winter Soldier. This is where the book became really interesting because we now have the character, Brubaker spent twenty-five issues describing from Steve’s point of view, dealing with his failures and regrets, moving on to take the mantle of his former partner. If you consider Bucky was very much a sidekick and performed the more heinous acts a big hero was not allowed to be seen doing, then fitting into those big red boots was not going to be easy.

A regretful Bucky on a violent rampage finally calms and realises that Cap’s shield should be with him, and only he can rightfully take on the name of Captain America. It was with Steve’s permission and there was much redemption to be had in a new uniform. Bucky had many doubts, though he had some upgrades from the Russians, he was not a super soldier and not as powerful. As he battles villains he was conscious of how Steve would have handled the fight and how Bucky would need to adapt himself. The hardest lesson was learning how to talk to a large group of people, let alone motivate the masses. Flashback sequences were once again used to highlight the differences between himself and Steve but this time from another perspective. The greatest validation came from Namor who gives out little praise but knew Bucky was the one.

It was with Steve’s permission and there was much redemption to be had in a new uniform.

Over the next three years the arcs involved the Red Skull, Crossbones, Sin and Dr. Faustus and the manipulation of the Captain America legacy. There was great attention paid to the replacement Caps and Buckys of years gone by tying up the legacy angle very sweetly with James in charge. The circle became complete and the book had taken on new territory and succeeded, Brubaker had excelled in creating a new Bucky from an old melancholic Steve. This was a new Captain America who moved forward and forgot his past. He joined the Avengers and was here to stay, or so it seemed.

Steve Rogers was always coming back and it was just a matter of time when. His rebirth storyline was well played and executed and it was amazing to see Rogers back, but it was more amazing to see that he left Bucky his legacy. The highly moral and altruistic man comes back from the dead and decides to let his former ward carry on in his place. There are few examples of such exemplary men in the Marvel universe and this is why Steve Rogers is so highly respected by all other heroes. He stands by a code few others can reach, and he can finally lay his past to rest with the glorious return of Bucky. It brings the absolution of the sins that were not even his own. The title of the book is Captain America but that is just the header, the real essence of the book is Steve Rogers and James Buchanan. Ed Brubaker created a story intertwined in the past and full of deep despair, guilt, abandonment and friendship with resolution to all of these themes. It is rare to create such depth in characters and develop such affection and love for two characters. It is Ed Brubaker’s legacy to us and I am glad to have a little piece of it.

Steve Rogers was always coming back and it was just a matter of time when.

Of course this is not where the book ends and the adventures continue into other spin off series’. Bucky almost dies in the Fear Itself crossover but survives but not to the knowledge of the Avengers outside of Steve Rogers, Widow and Fury. He hunted out Russian sleeper soldiers with Natasha and continued in his own book called Winter Soldier. Steve Rogers returned to Captain America but did so with the impending knowledge that Ed Brubaker was about to hand his story over to another writer. Ed Brubaker spent almost eight years with this book and has now left Steve Rogers with another. Every author needs impact with the character to make the book his or her own but there are several characteristics that have been long etched in stone that need to be overcome.

Steve has long been troubled and I think it is time for him to move on and get on with his life. He has an amazing partner in Sharon Carter and his best friend is working independently and successfully. The old times can be laid to rest and there is no excuse not to fit in. Where does Captain America lie in modern day superherology? His origin story has been told and retold in many manifestations of his legacy stories and those were the reasons why a patriotic hero was needed. This current age spends less time with country based villains and heroes, and deals with bad guys from every race, colour and creed. There is no Germany versus America dichotomy from which Cap and Skull were born. His past has become obsolete in the fact that every story possible has been told and very few people could do better in the modern day than Ed Brubaker. What are we left with? He is not the most powerful, he is not the fastest, he cannot fly, he has no special weapons outside of a shield and he is not the cleverest. Steve Rogers is a tactician, a leader, a motivational speaker and will always do the right thing. A post modern version of Captain America is possible but it needs a good writer and an incredibly good story. It appears that the fantasy realm awaits him as the ending to Brubaker’s run approached that and Remender certainly favours that approach. There is so much to Steve Rogers that is more than his legacy and his heroism and I hope we get a chance to see it; after all, the man did punch Hitler in the face.