Sep 14 2008
Secret Invasion #6
Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Today is Sunday, September 14th, 2008.
Today’s Issue:
Secret Invasion #6 - the latest in Marvel’s major summer crossover written by Brian Michael Bendis (Powers, Mighty Avengers) with art by Leinil Francis Yu (New Avengers, Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk).
Premise:
Just in case you haven’t been into a comic book store in the past 6 months - Skrulls have invaded the Marvel Universe. This is the 6th issue in an 8 issue mini-series that tells the core story to this giant crossover which is having affects in almost every Marvel title this summer. In this particular issue, the armies gather together and prepare for the largest scale battle the Marvel Universe has ever seen.
The Awesome Parts:
I think everyone loves a giant battle. Not just giant - huge. Epic in proportions. Villains and heroes alike have all gathered together for a no-holds-barred final battle with the Skrull army. I’m anxiously awaiting next issue so that I can see this brawl. Seriously - almost every Marvel character (that’s still alive) is in the middle of this battle by the end of Secret War #6. Also - with special thanks to the “Previously In Secret Invasion” page - you don’t need to have been reading any of the other Secret Invasion titles to follow this story. In fact, you probably don’t even need to read the first 5 issues of the core mini in order to follow this story.
The Less-Than-Awesome-Parts:
The whole issue is a giant set-up. There’s a small little skirmish with Nick Fury, but other than that there’s not a lot of action going on. You get a brief glimpse at what each of the heroes are up to, and then all the ones left standing gather together for a fight that does not occur in this issue. While I respect the need for set-up and building the rising action and tension into a climax… maybe I’m just being impatient. This series will probably read better in a trade. Also, the sight of all of these characters (heroes and villains alike) standing side by side preparing for battle is probably less exciting if you have no idea who they are.
My Recommendation:
If you read any of my Secret Invasion week you can probably guess that I’m going to recommend not just this issue but the entire Secret Invasion mini-series. Yes - I still love what Bendis is doing with the Secret Invasion. I recommend the entire series (if you haven’t picked it up by now, it might be worth waiting for the trade - but don’t tell anyone I said that - I’m a staunch advocate of buying the actual issues.) Anyone who enjoys a good super hero comic will probably enjoy Secret Invasion #6. Probably more so if you’re familiar with the Marvel universe - simply because of the massive number of characters that are gathered - it’s a much cooler spectacle if you know who these characters are. But even if you don’t, now’s as good a time as any to get to know them.
That’s it for today. Sorry for the sparcity today - I’m on a time crunch. Off I go to a comic book critiquing meeting! As always - thanks for reading - see you next time. Coming soon: Dardevil - SAGA and (as per your request) a really bad Gumbi comic.
-Searnold
