Secret Invasion Update is a weekly feature that among other things takes a gander at all things Skrully. More directly, we will be talking about the many issues of comics that tie into Marvel’s big summer blockbuster Secret Invasion. Is the series good? Which issues rock the house? Which ones bite the big one? Do you have to read everything that comes out to get the whole picture of the Invasion, or can you just read the main series and be fine? Those are the types of questions that we’ll be tackling with the gusto that you’ve come to expect from the Panteon.

This week we will be covering Captain Britain and MI13 #1, and Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1 of 3.

Captain Britain and MI13 #1
Writer: Paul Cornell
Artist: Leonard Kirk
Company: Marvel Comics

Nick: Okay, while I don’t think it’s crucial to the Secret Invasion storyline that you rush out to read Captain Britain and MI13, I do think that if you do, what you will find is the start to what promises to be a very action packed start to this brand new series. I’m not super familiar with Paul Cornell’s work, other than the Wisdom series that he did, which I couldn’t quite get into. Here though, I found the slight humor and irreverent ideas that he mingles with the in your face action worked. In a lot of ways, the approach for this mini has a lot in common with the Union Jack series that Christos Gage did a year or so ago. They both take relatively minor, B or C-list characters, and pit them against impossible odds, but don’t play them for laughs or gags like they normally are. Seeing Black Knight, Spitfire, and a whole host of other British heroes (characters that I’ve got an innate fondness for, for some reason) go toe to toe with Skrulls touting Morbius and Hyperion powers was just cool. Plus…Skrull John Lennon? Okay, that’s just awesome.

D3 (David Martindale): Granted, a Skrull John Lennon is cool, and it was absolutely great seeing the Black Knight again, but I really felt that Paul Cornell took what should have been an exciting action romp and left things flat unlike Gage’s fun Union Jack. It’s the same problem his Wisdom mini had; Cornell’s pacing feels constant rather than full of ups and downs. What ought to be exciting moments pass by at the same monotonous pace as everything else. On the other hand, Kirk’s pencils are very solid. He doesn’t have the flashy style that might get one the spotlight at Marvel, but he seems to do his job well and do it timely which are two qualities the comics industry could use more of. Overall, I’d say this is an adequate to average offering that is more for Brit-hero fans than for those who are following Secret Invasion.

Nick: I can see what you’re saying about the pacing of the issue, D3. A lot does happen in this first issue, and it happens fast. Maybe too fast, sure, as more time could have been spent on a number of the things that take place, but none of it felt flat to me. Actually, I attributed the pacing more to the notion that the Skrull army had hit Britain first, and they were dazed and back on their heels, but still fighting. It felt very much like a “life in wartime” issue, and I dug it. As for Leonard Kirk’s art, he should be on more projects. Period. He may not be flashy in some respects but in everything he’s done, from Agents of Atlas to the Scorpion mini to his work on Marvel Adventures Avengers, he conveys action and adventure perfectly. His splash pages here, especially the Black Knight and the Spitfire ones are killer. I will say that some of his talking heads moments are a little less than stellar, but then he goes and imbues two Super Skrulls with the entire power sets of the original Avengers and Defenders, and I have to forgive him.

D3 (David Martindale): Kirk’s pencils are quite solid and even border on great from time to time. They just aren’t flashy enough to ever rocket him to superstardom, and it’s a shame because he’s one the best and most punctual in the biz. To be more specific in my complaint about the pacing… I’d say that despite tons of stuff happening, it never feels like anything is happening due to the constant pace that everything is played at, from fight scenes to dialogue moments. Not a bad book at all, but not a stand-out either and not essential Secret Invasion reading.

Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1 of 3
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artist: Barry Kitson
Company: Marvel Comics

D3 (David Martindale): If this had been the opener for a five or six issue miniseries, I would have been a lot more excited. I’d love to read about Ben and Johnny’s adventures while separated from the team in a certain undisclosed location, but it took a full third of the series just to get there, and there’s still the other half of the team’s story to tell. The pacing issues seem even more mind boggling when scenes that already took place in the core Secret Invasion miniseries are a large part of what keeps this story from getting started properly. Kitson turns in above average work that gets the job done, but it falls short of his spectacular work on The Order. The book seems to be closing in on adequate, and I’m not entirely convinced it will even get there.

Nick: You know, while I’m not completely sure or anything, I think this three issue series is more about a Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm spotlight than actually covering the entire FF team. If I were to guess, the fates of Susan and Reed Richards will probably be seen in Secret Invasion proper. As this goes though, the first time I read it, I really enjoyed it. The second time around, I saw more of its flaws. I think they had to throw in some of the scenes we’d already seen just to set things up, but you’re right, too much time was spent on them, and some of the bickering, “Who are You?,” back and forth with Johnny and the Skrull was a little overdone. I still enjoyed the payoff of the issue, the shocker of an ending. The reveal makes a certain sense and promises a fun story overall. I will also agree that Kitson’s work on the Order WAS better, but his rendering of Human Torch is still one of my favorites and his Negative Zone bugs have the essential, sci-fi creepiness to them.

D3 (David Martindale): Word to ya Skrull Motha