Over the holidays, Invaders Classic Volume 1 featured in my holiday reading. Last year, you may remember, I read volumes 2 and 3, because they contained more unfamiliar material. So, finally, last month I took the plunge and bought the introductory book.
It reprints the first half of my favourite period of this comic. Roy Thomas obviously has tremendous fun recreating the dynamic Nazi-busting antics of the Golden Age and viewing them through a more sophisticated, rather jaded 70s sensibility. Captain America is a patriotic model of rectitude, counterbalanced by two less-yet-somehow-more-than -human elementals and a pair of boisterous teen sidekicks. And then they're joined by the scions of Union Jack, an English toff with a heritage that dates back to the trenches!
I realise the acrobatic, cartoony heroes of Frank Robbins are an acquired taste but I maintain that, like Jerry Ordway on All-Star Squadron in the 80s, Robbins' style is perfect for these Golden Age heroes. They are more primitive (in the artistic sense) than their JSA counterparts- flames, the oceans and the living Stars and Stripes pitted against a gallery of Universal Films monsters in SS uniforms.
Thomas recreates the two-fisted, self-congratulatory tone of the war movie and liberally sprinkles pop culture references throughout - like the Poe-inspired spaceship designated " Tekeli-Li" or the shouts out to Marvel's Dracula and Skull the Slayer. He crafts a sci-fi paean to Wagner's Ring; creates a Marvel version of the JSA in the form of the colourful if obscure Liberty Legion and, as a throwaway, parodies the Batmen of All Nations with WWI's Freedom's Five. Slight misfires like U-Man, the Nazi from Atlantis, are redeemed by the moody melodrama of Baron Blood, one of my all-time favourite Bronze Age sagas.
I first discovered The Invaders as a schoolboy in 1976 with issue 5 ( pencilled by Rich Buckler and Dick Ayers in a John Buscema-lite vein) which led into the Liberty Legion storyline. As a result, Don Heck's Wonderful Wasp version of Miss America makes her one of my favourite retroactive heroines- although Spitfire is the clear (all-) winner.
Another great artist of the Golden, Silver and Bronze Age remains a stalwart of the New 52 in the gorgeous Joe Kubert Presents miniseries. This is the kind of high-quality anthology I've been waiting for since Wednesday Comics. Issue 1 began with an ecological tale starring Hawkman and Hawkgirl -well, the Golden Age Carter Hall in the Silver Age version's milieu. Anyway, it was amazing.
Alongside the grim whaling adventures of Spit the orphan, The Redeemer, Kubert's 80s series on the theme of reincarnation, runs in issues 2 and 3. It's a slightly corny space opera but it still looks beautiful. The comic is rounded out by Brian Buniak's satirical revival of Angel and the Ape, which takes an affectionate swipe at Schaffenberger's Lois Lane. The final feature is Sam Glanzman's USS Stevens. I vaguely remember that these vignettes used to appear in DC's Our Army at War but since I never read very many "true life" war comics, I wasn't aware of the black humour and pathos of these autobiographical strips. They underscore the suffering and heroism of the war depicted in super-hero books like The Invaders.
Finally on the theme of battle, a quick word about War of the Worlds: The New Generation. My first copy of the original was a double cassette for Christmas, 1978. By the late 80s/early 90s, I considered myself far too cool for prog-rock histrionics but at an after-show party ten years ago, I heard the whole album and fell in love with it all over again.
Now, we have a re-cast version for the digital age. I have to admit that Liam Neeson is a fair replacement for the sonorous Richard Burton. But Ireland's Maverick Sabre and especially Ricky Wilson are very pale imitations of the pathos and messianic charm of Phil Lynott and David Essex. An unsubtle new line of dialogue also threatens to stifle the impact of the creepy, thrilling coda.
Still to come in January: 1001 Nights of Doctor Who; Hickman's Avengers; and the Shadow of Victor Jory.
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I remember buying the odd issue of The Invaders, but I think I read more of their stories in The Complete Fantastic Four back in the late '70s.
ReplyDeleteYour take on Frank Robbins work pretty much mirrors my own. I thought his quirky, Caniff inspired style was just right for The Invaders, one of my favorite 1970s titles.
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