Secret Invasion Inhumans Issue #1

Hi Readers,

I will confess and say typically, I do not read comics that focus on the Inhumans. Not that I have anything personally against this particular part of the Marvel Universe, it's just that they never really appealed to me. After reading this issue, I may have to change that habit.
this spectacular issue starts with Karnak leading a history lesson for younger Inhumans, which reminded me of Professor X and the X-Men (maybe because Karnak is bald LOL). The art of Tom Raney fits the overall mood and feel of the Inhumans because just like them, his art is very familiar looking, while still seeming slightly off-center. His drawings are recognizably human, but their stances and the look of their brow make them seem very mysterious and unusual.

Raney also does a great just of exemplifying the diverse appearances of the Inhumans. Some of them seemed to be energy based creatures, some animal-like, and very few could pass for Homo Sapien. Speaking of appearances, I love Medusa's new regal look. The fact that she is now wearing a formal headdress and gown shows that she is queen of the Inhumans. She also is an example of humanity's prototype of a woman. She's tall, beautiful and long flowing hair, that seemingly moves in the wind. She looks like a modern day Rapunzel, waiting for her handsome prince to save the day.
Of the Inhumans, I will admit that Karnak is my favorite by far. He is an Inhuman who has an extremely helpful skill rather than flashy power. He can find the weakness in any enemy and object, regardless of their power and ability. How could he, of all the Inhumans, not be able to detect the invading Skrulls? This puzzles me! Hopefully, within the next three issues, they will explain how they are/were able to live among this peaceful race, undetected.

@~~~~~~}~~~~~~~~ Devin Peacock

P.S. Luna is probably the creepiest child super-being in all of the Marvel Universe!

CAN MARVEL KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM? (My review of Secret Invasion #5 of 8)

House of M. Civil War. World War Hulk. These are the past three major Marvel Comics events and they have all come roaring out of the gate and all have had horribly disappointing endings. Booming into view, here comes the biggest event to date, the Skrull Secret Invasion. Several storylines have been devoted to showing how the Skrulls took over and who they took over as the Marvel Universe has been turned on its head and no one knows exactly who to trust.

The mini-series that is pushing the storyline forward is, aptly titled, Secret Invasion, an eight part series. The plot started off rather slowly, but things really kicked up a notch in the last issue as the humans began to finally mount a comeback (very necessary since there are only 3 issues left after this). The super-humans that have not been replaced have at least been incapacitated, including Mr. Fantastic, Iron Man, and Black Bolt. Mr. Fantastic is trapped aboard a Skrull warship when he is released by the head of SWORD and he immediately begins working on a device to show the Skrull’s true forms.

He can do this because it is revealed that the reason why he and select others have been left alive was they were considered useful. Mr. Fantastic was left alive for his brain to be put to Skrull use, which also allowed him to see their secrets and, therefore, now allows him to build a device to counteract the Skrull cloaking technology. Black Bolt is alive because he would be used as a weapon to shatter any resistance against the Skrulls when the time is right. Iron Man was left alive because everyone hates him and the Skrulls could never produce that kind of negative propaganda no matter how hard they tried.

Two specific parts of the book were really outstanding and brought a smile to my face. The last page, where Clint Barton (a.k.a. Hawkeye, a.k.a. Ronin) finds out that the woman he thought was his deceased wife come back to him was just another Skrull. After disposing of her, he exclaims that it is his mission now to kill every last Skrull. That was powerful.

The other one was with Maria Hill aboard the downed SHIELD Helicarrier with a Skrull taskforce. Supposedly she is trapped with the taskforce, but then she reveals to the Skrull impersonating Jarvis, Iron Man’s butler, that Nick Fury told her to invest in LMDs (Life Model Decoys), very realistic looking robots that can be controlled from afar. Then as the taskforce is about to kill her, she says “Nick Fury was right” and you find out she was only a robot! She flies off in a jetpack from another part of the ship, blasting Skrulls with a laser cannon as she escapes! That was awesome because it shows that Nick Fury is still one of the most badass characters Marvel has and that it’s about time they are working him back into the fold.

There was so much revealed in this issue that you should really just go pick it up because it is the basis for the end of the Invasion. It laid the groundwork for the resolution to this crisis and it was done in a way that would please every Marvel fan. The only reason why I wrote about this is because it begs the question: Can Marvel actually finish something just as strong as they start it? Can we finally have a major event that we can put our hearts and minds into and not end up disappointed in the end? I said it with Civil War. I said it with World War Hulk. I am going to say it again though and hope I’m right this time. This is what we have been waiting for. The blockbuster event that will sweep us off our feet and truly change the Marvel Universe forever and in a way we will talk about for years to come. And if it isn’t, I might have to begin a Marvel boycott.

-Ray Carsillo

IT’S FATHER/SON DAY AT THE X-MANSION (My review of Cable #6)

It’s been a long time since I reviewed a comic. Not a movie or video game based on one, but a legit comic book. I take a look at Cable #6 because it follows one of the most intriguing X-Men characters ever. Cable is the son of Cyclops and Jean Grey who contracts an unheard of techno-organic virus and is sent to the future to save his life. He then comes back to save the world and spend some time with dear old Dad (especially since his Mom is dead for the time being).

The most recent re-launch of the Cable series deals with the newborn, would be mutant messiah being hunted by many different groups including the X-Man turned traitor, Bishop. In order to save the baby, Cable travels into the future (not his though) to get away from the warring factions after the baby. Bishop though is also from the future. And so begins a battle that literally spans time.

This issue had both good and bad points. It was good because it had two different artists working on it to depict the different times. Ariel Olivetti drew the future scenes with Cable and Michel Lacombe drew the present scenes with Cyclops, both looking fantastic, possibly more so because of the contrast between the two. The present part of the issue was about the changes Cyclops had undergone due to world events recently, how he was coping and changing as a leader, and how he still feels guilty for sending Cable away originally (although it was to save his life), and then sending him away again to save another baby (not his this time). The future parts were fewer and farther between since most of the series up to this point had followed Cable (it is his comic after all, the X-Men already have like six others) and only progressed the conflict with Bishop just enough to remind you that there was a conflict with Bishop.

Now for the bad parts. The Cyclops scenes were great and it was good to touch base with the present to see how Cable’s leaving was affecting the team, but this is his comic. His story did not get advanced at all and I am getting tired of this whole thing with Bishop still being carried on. If it does not get resolved soon, I might have to stop picking this comic up because there has to be more to a series than one good guy fighting a good guy turned bad over and over again. The other characters that Cable bumps into along the way are nice, but it still boils down to Cable vs. Bishop and there is not enough there to maintain a long running series.

In the end, pick this up for the great look into Cyclops’ psyche and to catch up some on the events surrounding the X-Men, but if things do not pick up soon, I would not make this comic a regular buy.

-Ray Carsillo

Marvel.com Gives You The Power to Make Your Own Superhero!

Hi Readers,

When I was surfing marvel.com, just looking for the new comics that were coming out this week, I was pleasantly surprised. I stumbled across a part of the website that allowed viewers to create their own superhero. I instantly said to myself "this is the coolest thing ever!" The pictures above are random heroes that I put together based on the likenesses of myself and some friends. Click on the link below and start making your own hero.
http://www.marvel.com/create_your_own_superhero

P.S. There is another really popular hero creator site out there called Hero Machine. Click the following link to check this site out as well: http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/heroMachine2/heromachine2.asp


@~~~~~~~~}~~~~~~~~ Devin Peacock

Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #1-3

Hi Readers,

Sorry, I have to be cliche right now and ask "who do you trust?" (Couldn't help myself)... I mean in this miniseries, Sue couldn't trust Read, Johnny couldn't trust Sue and Franklin couldn't trust that the Fantastic Four would be able to put the world back together. The Secret Invasion has made it impossible to truly trust anyone in the Marvel Universe right now. Hell, I might even be a Skrull and not know it... I know... I took it too far, but whatever.
One of the better parts of this miniseries, was when Invisible Woman was overwhelmed by the Skrull, posing as Mr. Fantastic. The fact that Sue knew from the very beginning that he was not her husband, was incredibly insightful and really proved that the marriage between Sue and Reed is one of the foundations of the Marvel Universe. If I could change anything about that prologue, I would have let Sue put up more of a fight for her life. Especially when she realized that this Skrull was not her husband, before he admitted to it.
Another aspect of this series that I enjoyed, was the reintroduction of Lyja. For a while, I thought to myself "whatever happened to Lyja" but I just assumed that she was written out of the Marvel Universe somehow, in some random comic book I didn't read. In this miniseries, they explain that she decided to attempt being human and leading a normal life. This explanation was a little weak to me, but I can go along with it for now. She explains that the reason that she attacked the Baxter Building, was because she wanted to be the one to trap Johnny and Ben in the Negative Zone. Later on she explained that she still cared for Johnny and I was extremely confused. Why would she sabotage the Fantastic Four and send them to the Negative Zone, with no way of getting home, if she still cared about them and humanity? Then it dawned on me! Lyja volunteered to take them and trap them in the Negative Zone, so they wouldn't be executed, but also to take them out of the fight. I assume that Lyja thought to herself "this is the best way to not let Johnny be killed but also make the Skrulls happy." I still don't understand why the Skrull Empire thought it would be best to TRUST Lyja of all Skrulls to handle the Skrulls most dangerous foes. After all, Lyja did consider the Fantastic Four allies not long ago.
Also, the Tinkerer was the icing on the cake for this miniseries. Even though his character was a villain, I felt the humanity in his position. He would not have helped the Fantastic Four if it were not for Valeria and Franklin pleading for his help. I think that when he interacted with these two children, he probably thought about his grandchildren at home and that was the deal-maker.
There are a thousand questions that spring to mind after reading these issues: Where are Sue and Reed? How will the Fantastic Four reunite? Will the Skrull Empire retaliate against Lyja? If they want to, how will they do so? Will the Tinkerer register in the Super Human Registration Act now? Is this crisis going to be a story that changes the Marvel Universe like Civil War? I hope not... kinda... I dunno...

@~~~~}~~~~~~~~~~Devin Peacock