AVENGERS/INVADERS
Plot: Alex Ross & Jim Krueger
Script: Jim Krueger
Pencils: Steve Sadowski, Patrick Berkenkotter, Alex Ross & Jack Herbert
Colors: inLight Studios & Thomas Mason
Letters: Todd Klein
Covers: Alex Ross
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Assistant Editor: Tom Brennan
Full disclosure: I was initially apprehensive about reading this latest collaborative effort brought to us by the team of Alex Ross and Jim Krueger, and with good reason. Like many comic book readers who experienced their formative years in the 90's, I used to be a die-hard Ross fan. Marvels and Kingdom Come are two of the most ambitious and brilliant mainstream comics to come out of the decade and that is thanks to, in no small part, Ross' photo-realistic art.
But it's a lot easier to come across as an artistic genius when Kurt Busiek and Mark Waid are writing your books. Ross began co-plotting with Krueger on Earth X, a massively over-blown and over-hyped 12-issue limited series that was followed by two sequels (Universe X and Paradise X), each one worse than the last, and the two have collaborated on many projects since. So when I picked up Avengers/Invaders, my first thought was, "Fuck. Another one?"
The story begins when the Invaders (Captain America, Bucky, The Human Torch, Toro & Namor) find themselves suddenly transported from the battlefields of 1943 Germany to the streets of Manhattan, circa 2008. Civil War has come and gone, Tony Stark is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., and most importantly, Captain America has been assassinated. They are immediately thrust into a battle between the government-sanctioned Thunderbolts and an unregistered Spider-Man. The Swordsman has a German accent, so naturally the team assumes the T-Bolts are Nazis and chaos ensues. Word gets back to Iron Man, and fearing that the Invaders' presence in the future will corrupt the timestream, he sends his team of Avengers (Black Widow, Wasp, Wonder Man, Ares, Sentry, and Ms. Marvel) to bring them in for their own good. In true comic book cliche form, this turns into a ridiculously unnecessary brawl which ends with everyone being taken into custody except for Namor, who then proceeds to go fight himself (naturally).
Eventually, the Invaders (minus Cap) escape with the help of the underground Avengers team of Bucky Cap, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Echo, Ronin aka Hawkeye, and Doctor Strange. Doc knows about the damage being done to the timestream and plans to fix things by sending everyone back to their original time. However, unbeknownst to the Invaders, an American soldier accompanied them on their trip to the future (present?) and unless they find him and send him back as well, the timestream will remain screwed. Also, at some point the Sentry has a meltdown in the middle of a battle and flies off to continue being the most powerful member of the team while simultaneously being the most ineffectual.
D'Spayre shows up for a few pages (because everyone LOVES that character) then the Vision (not the one you think). But no Avengers/WWII Captain America story would be complete without a certain mankind-hating robot and skin-deficient Nazi. Toss in the McGuffin that is the Cosmic Cube and you start to get a sense of how all over the place this comic is. The characters just seem to meander from one pointless battle to another. Ross and Krueger have a history of coming up with grand ideas but never quite delivering. Their stories never seem to have any real focus and the same holds true for this one. There is a nice little sub-plot dealing with the synthetic Human Torch becoming an almost Malcolm X-like character after meeting S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 'oppressed' LMDs (Life Model Decoys) but it's over and forgotten in a matter of pages. The characterization is a bit off for many of the characters as well. For example, Spider-Man comes across as more annoying, prepubescent jackass than loveable, wise-cracking smartass.
And the art only adds to the lack of focus. Sometimes having multiple artists on a book can enhance the story. In this case it has the opposite effect, which surprised me because I usually enjoy these guys' stuff. (For better examples of the work of Sadowski, Berkenkotter and Herbert, check out their runs on JSA, Torch and Battlestar Galactica respectively.) The colors come across as very muted and flat, and the inks are a little too heavy which makes everything look clunky. On the whole, the entire project feels a bit rushed so I give Avengers/Invaders 1 out of 5 tugs. You can definitely pass on this one.
A.L.
But it's a lot easier to come across as an artistic genius when Kurt Busiek and Mark Waid are writing your books. Ross began co-plotting with Krueger on Earth X, a massively over-blown and over-hyped 12-issue limited series that was followed by two sequels (Universe X and Paradise X), each one worse than the last, and the two have collaborated on many projects since. So when I picked up Avengers/Invaders, my first thought was, "Fuck. Another one?"
The story begins when the Invaders (Captain America, Bucky, The Human Torch, Toro & Namor) find themselves suddenly transported from the battlefields of 1943 Germany to the streets of Manhattan, circa 2008. Civil War has come and gone, Tony Stark is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., and most importantly, Captain America has been assassinated. They are immediately thrust into a battle between the government-sanctioned Thunderbolts and an unregistered Spider-Man. The Swordsman has a German accent, so naturally the team assumes the T-Bolts are Nazis and chaos ensues. Word gets back to Iron Man, and fearing that the Invaders' presence in the future will corrupt the timestream, he sends his team of Avengers (Black Widow, Wasp, Wonder Man, Ares, Sentry, and Ms. Marvel) to bring them in for their own good. In true comic book cliche form, this turns into a ridiculously unnecessary brawl which ends with everyone being taken into custody except for Namor, who then proceeds to go fight himself (naturally).
Eventually, the Invaders (minus Cap) escape with the help of the underground Avengers team of Bucky Cap, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Echo, Ronin aka Hawkeye, and Doctor Strange. Doc knows about the damage being done to the timestream and plans to fix things by sending everyone back to their original time. However, unbeknownst to the Invaders, an American soldier accompanied them on their trip to the future (present?) and unless they find him and send him back as well, the timestream will remain screwed. Also, at some point the Sentry has a meltdown in the middle of a battle and flies off to continue being the most powerful member of the team while simultaneously being the most ineffectual.
A.L.
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