Publisher: Panini Comics
Release Date: Feb 4th, 2009
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Note to self for future: don’t try and read a Marvel comic such as Secret Wars #1, then read a Marvel cross-over event graphic novel such as Secret Invasion, then pick up something like Secret Wars #2. You will end up a little confused.
So! Secret Invasion! Is not the story about Marvel universes literally colliding, but is instead the huge event released in 2009, with more Marvel heroes than I could keep track of, especially when the doubles were introduced and yes, I got confused a little here and there which probably would have happened without Secret Wars being read at the same(sort of) time.
This was a good graphic novel, but I think something I’m finding with a lot of these huge event ones is that it is hard to keep track of who is who and who is where and what exactly is going on. There’s so many different characters who come into play and at different places, I expect the only people who could honestly, truly follow all of them are those who have read every single Marvel comic proceeding this. Reading House of M was easier, but here you have characters in their 2009 iterations, when the book was released, then you get a load of the same characters thrown in as previous versions. A lot of the time it became difficult to follow who, exactly, was a Skrull and who wasn’t (when that was revealed, anyway).
I still really enjoyed this, and I like the storyline, but I guess I wanted more kind of…distrust, questioning, and characterisation coming into play, which there wasn’t really room for. Still, this is one of those storylines I hope the MCU adapt at some point, because it could be really effective with a smaller cast of characters.
There was a huge chunk at the end of the Skrull’s dossiers, too, detailing various Skrull characters and their escapades in previous Marvel comics. Interesting, to a point, but there was so much there and very little seemed to have a direct impact on Secret Invasion.
Art wise, yeah, excellent work on that level, but it’s Marvel so there usually is. Overall I think this is a good story and although I enjoyed it, it’s probably one more for the diehard fans than the casual.
Unwrapping Words 