Is this a possible disadvantage of working via the "Marvel Method?" Artist stretches out a sequence (or on the other hand, might give too little space to one) than the writer thought necessary?

Crimebuster, I'm enjoying your reviews. I like that the synopses are brief and the analyses detailed.

I haven't read these issues since they came out, so this is a nice walk in the past for me. I remember enjoying the Invaders primarily because I loved seeing the Timely Golden Age heroes and the World War Two action. Although Roy's overwriting was tedious at times, I don't think it was ever as bad as the nadir -- America vs. the JSA -- and I felt happy for him that he could indulge his continuity fetish.

The other attraction about seeing him let loose in the Timely Golden Age playground was that, unlike DC, the heroes beyond the Big Three were so little-known (and so weird, for the most part), that it was fun to see him not jsut resurrect them, but also make them somewhat less laughable than they would have been in the hands of a less caring writer.

Wait till you get to the Liberty Legion! The Thin Man! Jack Frost! Blue Diamond! Huzzah!

Marvel Premiere #29



Synopsis: Bucky barges in on The Patriot while he's doing a radio broadcast, and they send out a message to all of America's superheroes to come meet them. Whizzer, Miss America, Thin Man, Red Raven, and Blue Diamond are all fighting Nazi saboteurs when they get the message. After beating those Bundites, the heroes gather and are joined by Jack Frost. Bucky explains his plan - wander around aimlessly until the Invaders fight them - and they all go rushing off into the night! To Be Continued!

My Notes: Right away we see the benefits of working with lesser known characters. Even though a quarter of the issue is spent on quick recaps of each hero's origin story, Roy still gets to do more character work with the other heroes in one issue than he has been able to do with the Invaders in 6. The fact thatthe readers don't know these characters means he has to actually establish who they are, and do it quickly, in the context of action sequences. As a result. this issue feels much denser than the Invaders issues so far, because things are actually happening. Instead of a seven page fight sequence that tells us maybe one thing - the good guys are now bad guys! - we get a four page fight sequence that establishes the personalities and backstories of two different heroes while also advancing the main plot. This is a big step up.

Blue Diamond in particular gets a lot of work done, partially because he's alone in his segment where the others are sharing the spotlight, and partially, i think, because he's even more obscure than the other heroes. The one who gets the short shaft is Jack Frost, as he only appears on the next to last page. But otherwise, I'm much more interested in reading about these guys than the main heroes in Invaders, who are so thoroughly established that Roy hasn't seen the need to do any character bits with any of them at all yet, other than maybe one or two panels with Bucky.

Roy writes a whole page explaining the origin of the team, and as usual, overthinks everything about it, but it is interesting to see how and why he chose the heroes he did. Some of it is so specific it's almost funny - for instance, he didn't use Blazing Skull because in the original Golden Age comics, the Blazing Skull mostly worked overseas instead of in America, so he's a better fit for the Invaders than the Liberty Legion, which is coneived of as homefront heroes. Worrying about continuity details like that, which literally nobody else in the whole world even knows about, much less cares about, is so Roy Thomas. It's great, except the fact that he lets it limit his creative choices is unfortunate - but also very Roy Thomas.

Another Kirby cover, this time with most of his faces intact! Interior art is by Don Heck, so it's very solid, but in terms of a crossover, the art is starting to get all over the place here.

My Grade: B

Invaders #6



Synopsis: The Liberty Legion goes on a well-publicized rampage, shutting down Nazi saboteurs all along the East Coast. The Red Skull gets angry, and after some exposition about how he got some of brain Drain's equipment and used it to brainwash the heroes, he sends the Invaders out to take out the Liberty Legion. Well, sort of - for some reason, he splits the team up, so the LL has to split up as well. In each fight, the Liberty Legion wins because of that old trope that brainwashed heroes can't fight as well because their minds are resisting of whatever, but in each case the Invaders manage to get away anyhow. Except Toro, who is captured. Then, suddenly, the Human Torch shows up at the radio station where Thin Man and Bucky are coordinating the resistance. Oh nooooooo! To Be Continued!!

My Notes: This is a classic all-action issue, with a Gardner Fox style "split up into smaller teams" adventure. It's fine for what it is. I liked the part at the beginning where the Legion is establishing their cred. The Red Skull exposition section was boring as hell, and then the rest was just okay fighting stuff. Still, this storyline is a step up from the stories before it. At least, so far; if a magic tornado appears at the end of the next issue and defeats the Red Skull, I might change my mind.

Another action packed Kirby cover, though it loses something with the white background. The last couple issues have really popped, color-wise. The interior art is back to Frank Robbins, who I am still digging so far.

The lettercolumn is dedicated to four fans writing in to "correct" trivial "mistakes" in the book in the hopes of getting a No-Prize, but of course, one does not simply correct Roy Thomas. He explais in didactic detail why each is wrong before showing them the door. Fun?

My Grade: B-

So, I'm going to keep going with the Invaders reviews, even though the stories are a bit disappointing. They're fast, anyway, and the last arc was one small step in the right direction, plus the next arc is where I think things might start getting good.

However, it's easy to burn out in these review threads, so in order to keep things fresh I've decided I'll be running two or three different smaller runs simultaneously, swapping back and forth between them depending on what strikes my fancy.

Hopefully you'll be interested in the next addition to the reviews, as it's another title I've been curious about for a long time but have never actually read...

Hero for Hire #1



Synopsis: Anyone who has seen Luke Cage on Netflix has the basic origin story, which is taken from this issue, but if not, here it is. Some time ago, a man named Lucas was being held in Seagate prison. Turns out he was framed by his best friend Willis Stryker after they had a falling out over a woman named Reva, who later was killed by gang members aiming for Stryker. Now Lucas is trying to get out so he can get his revenge. A scientist offers him a chance to earn early parole by participating in an experiment, but a crooked guard sabotages the experiment in an attempt to kill Lucas. Instead, Lucas gains super powers. The guard is seriously injured in the process, though; worried he'll be held accountable, Lucas smashes down the wall and flees the prison. Now, he arrives in New York and after getting a reward for stopping a thief, he decides to make some money by hiring himself out as a superhero under the assumed name "Luke Cage." Meanwhile, he's searching for Stryker - who now controls the local criminal element under the name Diamondback. And Diamondback is looking for this "Luke Cage," never dreaming it's his old friend Lucas...

My Notes: boy, this is absolutely jam packed. Archie Goodwin is the writer, and he really crams this issue with stuff. The superhero sheen only comes in at the very end, almost as an afterthought, and frankly seems almost unnecessary. This is a classic revenge tale, and could have been done with no powers, costumes, or code names and still have been compelling. It's really a step above.

Now, we'll see how long that lasts. Marvel during this period had a track record in my book of putting together really excellent first issues and then dropping the ball with subsequent stories. This issue actually reminds me a lot in a weird way of The Cat #1, which came out around the same time. That was a great origin issue, absolutely crammed with details, character work, pathos, and action. And then the next three issues sucked and it was cancelled. Obviously, this series lasted 125 issues, so I'm guessing it didn't go downhill as far or as fast as The Cat. But can they deliver on the great promise of this issue?

I should note that I am not a big fan of the TV series, so while almost everything in this comic was also in the show, I found the comic to be much, much better.

Art is by George Tuska, with Billy Graham on inks. I'n not that familiar with Graham's work, but a quick google brings up some interesting stuff. He was African-American, and later penciled and co-plotted the series as well, co-writing some issues. He started at Warren, so I wonder if Goodwin brought him over. He eventually left the book to work on Black Panther with Don McGregor. Hmm!

My Grade: A

Personally, I found the Liberty Legion rather bland and disappointing. I kept missing their appearances, until I was in college, and found those issues. They did nothing for me, apart from Miss America, the Patriot and Whizzer. it's no surprise then, that they are the only ones Roy would really reuse (other than seeing the entire bunch as prisoners, in a future story). Patriot got reused, to good effect, in What If, as they detail how Captain America appears in post-war Timely comics, which then became actual continuity, rather than alternate history. I think Roy made better use of the Destroyer, down the road.

You are getting to the good stuff, though. The introduction of Union Jack, Baron Blood and Spitfire adds a lot to the series. Roy is slowly putting together his Nazi Justice league, with Master Man (Superman), U-Man (Aquaman), Baron Blood (Batman) and Warrior Woman (Wonder Woman). He would, then, also create analogs for the Avengers, with the Blue Bullet (Iron Man), Golem (Hulk), Thor (well, Thor, actually) and his homage to the Quality characters, who became the Freedom Fighters, at DC. He even engages in an unofficial crossover, as the Freedom Fighters appear as the Crusaders, in the Invaders book, and the Invaders characters appear in Freedom Fighters, as pawns of the Silver Ghost (who masquerades as the Americommando, the Cap analog). It gets further meta as the comic fans who are turned into the Invader analogs are named Arch, Lennie, Marvin and Roy. The Invaders analogs are also known as the Crusaders.

Like I said before, the draw for e was the WW2 setting, the integration of actual history (comics and real world), and the basic 60's action war movie style of the plots. The Invaders were superhero commandos and it made for exciting stuff; especially as we get to the end of that first year and into the second, with their run-in with master Man and Warrior Woman, and Adolf Hitler!

I do think the series did drop off in quality after that Berlin adventure, especially after Frank Robbins left. The visuals were less dynamic and Roy got a little preachy, with the subject of the internment camps and the introduction to Golden Girl (as well as the African-American Human Top), who joins Bucky and Toro, as the Kid Commandos. I think Roy had a better handle on that kind of thing in All-Star Squadron.

Sweet Christmas I love those early Luke Cage books. I read 1-47 last year (stopped just before the 3 part Iron Fist cross-over that lead to the book becoming PM/IF). It can get very uneven with changes in creative teams, but for the most part it is a really fun ride, a Bronze Age roller coaster of fun in the merry Marvel tradition. There's an occasional stinker, but those are usually isolated issues, not long stretches of the book.

At some point this year, I plan to dive in to the PM/IF era too.

-M