Avengers Invaders # 1 Review
Authors: Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
Artist: Steve Sadowski
Colors: inLight Studios
When I saw that Jim Krueger and Alex Ross were going to be working on a project for Marvel, I really got excited. I thought their Earth X books were some of the best written alternate-future Marvel stories I have ever read. I then found out the Invaders were going to be involved and I was reminded how wonderful Buziek’s Marvels was. Something happened to my excitement when I found out that someone other than Ross would be drawing the book and that the New Avengers would be involved….ohh yeah it went away.
The first part of the story is told through James “Bucky” Barnes’ journal and it re-introduces us to the Invaders (I still get confused with Toro and the Human Torch). As the Invaders take on some more Nazis during WWII they come across a green mist and walk through it, well everyone but Spitfire and a dying Union Jack. Meanwhile Spider-man is having a fight with the Thunderbolts about registering for the government (I can’t believe they are still ramming us this down our throats). Out of nowhere the Invaders appear and it’s Thunderbolts vs. Invaders with Spider-man caught in the middle. That’s pretty much about it, with the exception that Iron Man knows that Steve is somehow back.
It’s good to see a side by side comparison of classic heroes and the new anti-heroes that exist in the Marvel U. Everything that is good about a superhero and the shady heroes clashing together was a great analogy of today’s comics. I really like the young Bucky and Toro interaction; they really stole the spotlight….even from Spider-man, who was just trying too hard to get a joke in every panel. It really bothers me that not all the Invaders made it across the time rift. I really appreciate how much Ross loves the golden age characters, both here and in the DCU, but I wish he was just a little more involved than doing covers and co-plotting. The time travel mist wasn’t explained and to be honest I really don’t know if it will since that doesn’t seem to be the focus of the story.
Sadowski is a very talented artist and I love the colors just going over his pencils. He was able to do two different styles for two different time periods in the book and that takes some talent. He seems to put so much detail in each character and I think sometimes that backfires on him. Some of the lines he adds to the characters are completely unnecessary. Now, the one thing that I am definitely confused about is Cap’s shield. I thought at the time he was donning the classic 40’s shield . I could be wrong, but if anyone knows for sure, please correct me. It’s not a bad start, but the story really needs to get moving if the story is going to last only 12 issues. B-
By the time The Invaders were formed he had switched to his regular shield.
Gah. I hated Sadowski's work here. Get the man an inker! And some of his faces just turned me off. I will not be getting this book, waiting for the trade, not the HC. And even then I might just read it in Barnes & Nobles or Borders. Yuck.