I did the rare thing and picked up an actual comic book this week at my local shop. The reason was quite simple -- two of my favorite talents hooked up to knock off another classic yarn of one of my favorite super teams -- The Invaders. Those talents are Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway and the two of them have given us vintage fans a blast from the past. I just wish I liked it more.
Roy Thomas is near the top of my favorite writers list, but his tendency, in fact seeming compulsion to delve deep into the histories of the Golden Age heroes can get wearisome. Roy is so exceedingly concerned with continuity that he will forgo the full potential of a single story. This a perfect example. But I shouldn't be surprised.
The Invaders began in the pages of The Avengers and the obvious notion of teaming up Marvel's Golden Age icons into a single fighting force was eventually formalized. But along the way Roy's passion for history and weaving the comics into that at once gave the stories a heft and glory, but often made them feel less exciting than they might have. That happens here.
The problem is that The Invaders are not a team here. This is yet another story of a battle in which the icons contributed to the result but stayed ignorant of one another's contribution. Even the spectacle of Cap getting to take on Baron Zemo doesn't help really as these are heroes passing in the night. I ache for some lush "Haneyverse" logic to save the day, but that's not to be.
But it looks great due to Ordway's always outstanding work. I can only recommend this one-shot to Invaders buffs as it will add one more mote to the saga. But the small-mindedness doesn't allow this one fulfill its potential.
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