The Hunger and the Dusk #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Orcs can vary wildly from story to story depending on the kind of person writing it and the tale that they’re trying to tell. Tolkien’s orcs were twisted monstrosities lost forever to the forces of evil; the worlds of Warhammer depict them as roving warriors who love to fight; The Elder Scrolls games often portray them as skilled blacksmiths and crafters; and Dungeons and Dragons have gone from having them be brutish barbarians to pretty much anything that a player could want them to be. Whenever you pick up a book that has orcs in it you’re almost doing a lucky dip, having to hope that what comes out is a depiction that you like.

The opening pages of The Hunder and the Dusk makes it seem like perhaps this new fantasy comic series from IDW will be going for the type of orcs who travel the land, pillaging and killing in order to survive, caring nothing for the weak and pathetic humans that stand before them. We see them through the eyes of human children, who see a trio of orc warriors watching from the top of a hill, sizing up their small settlement. As such, the orcs instantly become a source of fear and hate, and it does seem like this group of raiders are prepared to cause havoc. However, a darker threat emerges from the setting sun, coming at dusk; something that slaughters the orcs and humans alike.

From here things change, and we see the orcs in a new light as we jump forward in time several months where this new threat, the ancient race the vangol, has begun to bring humans and orcs together. Knowing that neither race can defeat this new threat alone, a meeting is made to formalise the alliance. It’s here that we get to meet some of the lead characters of the series: Callum Battleborn, a human warrior and member of the mercenary band The Last Men Standing, who’s been selected to be the human representative by one of the orc leaders, Troth Icemane. Troth is bringing his cousin, Tara, to act as ambassador to the humans, to travel with Callum in their fight against the vangol.

The first issue of The Hunger and the Dusk is pure set-up, but it’s masterfully done. The opening scene plays with your expectations a number of times, setting the orcs up to be villains, before showing a more nuanced side to them. They’re then killed off by what you think might be the heroes of the piece, before you learn that their assailants are true monsters. It’s a tense sequence, and one that builds to a point where you’re almost holding your breath as the unseen forces come to the human village, waiting to see if they act as saviours or destroyers.

Despite not previously knowing anything about this world that writer G. Willow Wilson has created, she’s able to use this opening scene to lay the groundwork for the warring nature of human and orc interactions. This means that as we move on to the meeting between the two delegations and get to see them talking about how important this alliance is, how each race’s very survival hangs upon it, it is completely believable. And whilst we only really get to know a couple of the characters in this first issue what we do learn about them makes them interesting. Troth seems like a man for whom honour means everything, Callum is a capable guy but definitely feels like he’s in over his head, and Tara is a character who doesn’t really seem to know who she wants to be yet, but who holds a ton of promise. Plus, there’s definitely some cute romance vibes between her and Callum.

The art, by Christian Wildgoose, with Msassyk on colours, looks absolutely gorgeous. The environments are beautiful, with gorgeous rolling countryside and cosy-looking farm homes in the opening scene, and more mysterious and foreboding settings for the latter half of the book as the two races come to meet. And speaking of the races, the orcs in this book are fantastic to look at. They have wonderfully interesting features, with parts of them that feel very classically goblin-like with their large ears and bright eyes, but there are times where they also look a bit feline too, with a beauty and grace to them. Each of them looks unique in their colours and their features, and it makes them instantly stand out from each other; and Tara is made to look very beautiful without losing her orcness.

The vangol, when we do finally see them, are an interesting creation; one that looks similar enough to both the orcs and the humans that they’re clearly from the same kind of world and don’t look completely alien. However, they manage to look twisted and monstrous to the point where you can see why the two races fear them and are willing to come together to fight them. It feels like there’s going to be a lot of visually creative and creepy moments to come in the series featuring them, and I can’t wait to see what those are.

The Hunger and the Dusk seems like an exciting new fantasy series, and one that will appeal to fans of the genre. Despite being a first issue that has to try and set up both the world and the characters we’re going to be following, you come away from it feeling like you’ve got a good grasp on things, and that this is a deeper, richer world that we’ve only just started to scrape the surface of. With the promise of frightening enemies to fight, epic battles for survival, the chance to get to know a really interesting version of orc culture, and romance blooming, this is a series that folks are going to want to keep an eye on.

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The Comic Cave – Batman Universe

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The Comic Cave is a regular feature where we spin the Wheel of Comics and see what graphic novel story it brings up for us to deep dive into! This week we take a look at Batman Universe, one of the most enjoyable Batman books in years.

'Bendis is coming!' – three words that DC were pushing in 2018 that were either a promise of good things to come, or a warning. In a previous instalment of The Comic Cave we spoke about one of Bendis’ big events at Marvel, and I wasn’t too kind about said event. But I don’t want that to seem like I dislike Bendis as a writer. Having read all of his time on Ultimate Spider-Man I can say that I loved that series, but it’s the big universe-changing cross-over books that he tends to lose me on. So, with the news in 2018 that he was coming to DC to write Superman, I was quite intrigued. Bendis is great at the street level heroes, so having expected him to go onto Batman, the choice of Superman was an interesting one for sure.

I didn’t like some of what Bendis did to Superman, especially ageing up Jon Kent. And his run on Justice League of America felt like a poor man’s Joss Whedon at times, and felt especially egregious when he used it as a vehicle to further push his own character, Naomi. Having hoped for the best from Bendis at DC I ended up feeling like the books he ended up working on took big dips in quality. But when I read Batman Universe it made me think that perhaps it might just have been because he was working with the wrong characters, as this book is one of the most enjoyable and light-hearted Batman books DC has made in years.

There’s a fantastic quote from Frank Miller (a writer a lot of people will argue is one of the best Batman writers there’s ever been) that Batman is one of the most adaptable heroes around. You can put him in any situation and people will still see Batman. Batman in the old west. Batman in space. Batman in a super serious horror story. Batman being ultra campy and telling jokes. It works every time because Batman can be anything and people will still say that it’s Batman, even if it’s not quite to their tastes. After all, no one tries to argue that Adam West wasn’t really Batman because he wasn’t dark and gritty. And it seems like Bendis took that statement to heart when he wrote Batman Universe, as this story takes Batman and puts him into as many different situations and settings as possible.

Batman Universe was originally published in Batman Giant, a 100 page magazine that would feature a new story each month, along with reprints of older stories such as Batman: Hush, and Harley Quinn: Hot in the City. Designed as a way of attracting new readers and giving them a taste of Batman and his supporting characters, the book became the first place that Bendis wrote a Batman centric story, and it quickly brought the book a lot of attention from existing comic fans. With the story seeming to be a hit, DC reprinted it and released it as regular comics, and eventually as both a hardcover and softcover collection. But what about this story made it such a success? It’s just so wildly unpredictably and fun not to be.

Batman Universe begins with Batman in the Batmobile, on his way to a Riddler heist. Nothing that we’ve not seen before; but what makes these opening pages immediately stand out as something a bit different and special is that the reader IS Batman. Drawn from the point of view as the dark knight, the panels show him speeding through the streets of Gotham before ejecting from the vehicle, grappling up the side of a building, where he runs into a woman sitting on her fire escape reading her book; saying ‘hi’ as he passes by. Swinging from his rope we cut to a full page splash of Batman soaring through the air on his way to take down the bad guys in a page that showcases just how fantastic Nick Derrington’s art is (more on that later).

Bendis revealed in an interview that this scene was in part inspired by the Arkham VR game, in which players see the world through Batman’s eyes. And this scene really does do a wonderful job of putting you into this Batman’s shoes. This is helped by the dialogue in the scene, as Batman communicates with Alfred over the radio.  It’s a fun little conversation in which they discuss The Riddler’s latest clue ‘When is The Riddler not The Ridder’, at which Alfred bemoans the lack of effort put into this one, and how he usually likes The Riddler’s work ethic and how much thought he puts into his schemes. This is the first hint at the kind of tone that the book is going to be taking; how it’s set in a serious world but the characters don’t have to be dour and dull in that setting.

Arriving at the crime scene, Batman finds dozens of men dressed as various incarnations of The Riddler, giving a wonderful opportunity to showcase the various costumes he’s worn over the years. As Batman fights his way through the crowd (revealed to be hired stunt men), he homes in on the actual Riddler, who’s making off with a Fabergé egg worth $15 million. Batman is able to catch up with The Riddler, but is knocked unconscious by an electrical blast from a third party. Once awake, Batman finds The Riddler gone, and starts investigating the trail. This gives us a fun page where a bunch of the stunt men are being interviewed by the police, having thought they’d just been hired to be part of a flash mob. Some of them even get a bit of a thrill out of the fact that the actual Batman punched them in the face.

Batman decides to look into the Egg itself, which takes him to a small town where he meets its owner, the descendant of legendary bounty hunter Jonah Hex. And thus begins a globe-hopping adventure that sees Batman going to Amsterdam after The Riddler, which leads to him and Green Arrow having to fight Deathstroke. He also travels to Gorilla City, before being transported across space to the planet Thanagar by an alien force, where he gets s snazzy Hawkman style bat-armour and wings. He gets to go to Dinosaur Island with Green Lantern (something he loves because he loves dinosaurs), which sees the two of them getting sent back to the old west. He teams up with Nightwing to infiltrate a submarine filled with ninja assassins. And we even get an alternate world where Batman doesn’t exist. Like I said, Bendis took the ‘Batman works anywhere’ quote and ran with it. And boy is it a glorious run.

There are a lot of different locations in this book, ranging from dinosaur-filled islands to alien planets and other times, and whilst they all work within the story it also feels like Bendis was working his way through a list of things he thought it’d be cool to see Batman do; and he’s right, these are cool. And much like that first scene with him and Alfred, these scenes are made even better by the way he interacts with other characters.

Having seen versions of the characters where they’re presented as antagonistic to each other it’s a genuine delight to see Green Arrow and Batman working together and having some fun banter with each other. The two of them telling The Riddler how crap his riddle is, ending with Batman telling him ‘You’re embarrassing yourself in front of Green Arrow’ was genuinely funny as hell, and is the kind of writing that seems to have been missing since Bendis came to DC (and for a while before if we’re honest).

Speaking of the colour green, Batman gets to have some great interaction with Green Lantern in this book too (Hal Jordan), with the two of them discussing their love of dinosaurs, talking about why they always hang out at Bruce’s house instead of Hal’s, and having some fun together in the old west. Batman Universe seems to remember that these people aren’t folks who hate each other, nor are they just colleagues – they’re friends. They’re going to chat shit with each other, they’re going to have a bit of fun doing what they’re doing.

Perhaps the biggest example of how this book shows Batman as a real human being with actual friends is when he returns from the past, having been separated from Green Lantern. Hal leaves a message at the Batcave, a “hope you got back too, let me know how things are” kind of message. Most other writers would have Bruce listen to the message and just go back to the case, but Bendis has him reply. Bruce tells Hal he’s back safe, “Just wanted you to know I’m okay”. This one panel humanises him more than some writers do on multi issue runs that last for years. It makes Batman a regular person and I love it.

Earlier I mentioned Nick Derington, who provides the art on the book (alongside Dave Stewart on colours). This is my first time reading a book that Derington has worked on, and he’s now an artist whose work I need to read more of. There’s something about this book that appeals to me in a way not many artists do, in the way that I’m going to pick up and read any book that has his name attached to it.

I love the tiny details that Derington adds to the book, the way his lines show where the seams are on Batman’s gloves, or how he makes the cowl expressive without it feeling comical and unrealistic. The covers and the splash pages are fantastic, with the opening shot of Batman gliding through the air being one of my new favourite Batman images, and the cover with Green Lantern, Batman, and Jonah Hex lined up ready to fight is something that I want to hang on my wall.

Whilst the art on the book is fantastic throughout, it’s the places where Derington gets to play around with expectations that are the parts of the book where you just want to pass it to someone else and go ‘look how amazing!’. The opening scenes where you are Batman, his infiltration of Gorilla City where he’s sneaking around and climbing over rooftops, and the way they represent the white void Batman gets trapped in at one point are all moments that make you stop reading and just soak up the art.

But my favourite is Batman and Dick Grayson infiltrating a sub together. The page presents it as a cross-section of the sub, showing the two heroes moving through the ship towards their target. You’ve got Batman moving through the halls fighting ninjas as Nightwing slips into vents to pop up behind the enemy to pull of cool moves with Batman. It’s a fantastic piece of storytelling that showcases how different both characters are, yet how wonderfully they work together. Plus, it’s great to have Dick there at a time when DC tried to wreck Dick Grayson by giving him amnesia and turned him into Rick Grayson because one of the top people at DC hated all of the Dick jokes; so seeing those two together when there was no Nightwing was a great moment for the fans.

Batman Universe was published during the Tom King Batman run, a time that leads to some split opinions amongst fans (I’ll never forgive that run for killing Alfred Pennyworth). Bendis’ Batman came in like a breath of fresh air, giving readers something completely different to what the main title was doing. It wasn’t dark, it wasn’t moody, it wasn’t killing beloved characters for shock value. It felt like a celebration of Batman, a showcase of how you can tell a fun and engaging Batman story and still allow the character to have some fun. Because this Batman has banter, tells jokes, goes on some wild adventures, and teams up with a variety of different heroes this book feels a lot like the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and has that same sense of simple, enjoyable glee to it.

I’m still not completely on board with everything that Bendis has done; I think that his events can get messy and too bloated, and he pushes his own characters a lot and it can sometimes feel forced, and there are some characters that he just doesn’t seem to get. But Ultimate Spider-Man might be my favourite Spider-Man book, and Batman Universe is firmly in my top five Batman runs. When he’s on the right thing Bendis can produce books that are a genuine delight to read, and this is one of them. If you’re looking for a fun Batman book to read, if you’re trying to introduce someone to the character, or if you have a younger reader wanting to read Batman but don’t want them to read something too dark, then Batman Universe is the perfect book for you.

Batman Universe was first published from September 2018 – October 2019 in Batman Giant by DC Comics.

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Midnight Western Theatre: Witch Trial #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Midnight Western Theatre makes a return this year, with the western anthology series seeming to take a change of direction as it goes a little further back in time, and tells a more traditionally structured story about the origins of previous volume’s occasional protagonist, Ortensia Thomas.

This first issue begins in the year 1848, where a young Ortensia has been murdered as part of a sacrifice to The Fireman, a demonic entity capable of making deals. But, as with such things, you have to be careful for what you wish for and how you wish for it, as the evil men’s pleas for eternal life are twisted into a trick by the demon, a trick that sees Ortensia returned to life. The rest of the issue picks up several years later where we catch up with her in 1857, where Ortensia works alongside a witch named Sarah, her surrogate mother figure, to rid the west of the taint of evil and the demonic.

Midnight Western Theatre: Witch Trial is a new series that doesn’t seem to be relying on the reader having read what came before (or comes after if you’re thinking in universe), and stands well on its own. Whilst we don’t get a huge amount of depth in this first issue for Ortensia, the issue does a decent job at telling you the important information in regards to how she gets her abilities, the people who are important in her life, and the reason why she’d dedicate herself to fighting the forces of evil. Much of it is left implied for the reader to pick up as they go, but it’s clear enough that most readers are probably going to be able to understand what’s going on.

That being said, this is a first issue, and it needs to be laying the groundwork for something, and as such, there is an element of mystery as a figure from Sarah’s past returns to get revenge against her. We get a name, and the fact that Sarah has a history with them, but thanks to how she reacts we also find out that he’s a powerful, dangerous being who she fears, and given what we’ve already seen her do this issue that fear sells him as being an antagonist worth being worried about.

The art on the book is provided by Butch Mapa, and Sean Peacock on colours. Mapa’s art is really nice, and the opening scene in which a young Ortensia is being sacrificed in a dark graveyard sets the tone for the book wonderfully. It looks suitably creepy, and has a feel to it that could easily slip into something like the Hellboy universe. Having seen Mapa’s work before on titles such as Star Wars Adventures and Marvel Action: Avengers it’s cool to see him taking what felt like in those books a more simplified art style designed to appeal to kids and bring it to a much more mature kind of story. The book is wonderfully stylised, yet still feels suitably enough horror in feel. I’m looking forward to seeing what else he’s going to be able to produce on the series.

Midnight Western Theatre: Witch Trial looks set to be an interesting new comic series that could appeal to horror fans, with some great looking art and the promise of an ongoing story with some elements of mystery, this could be a lot of fun.

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The Breach (2022) – Film Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Author Nick Cutter (pen name for Craig Davidson) is known for pretty gross horror in the book community. Having read his novel The Troop, and classing it as one of the most disturbing and disgusting books that I’ve ever read, I knew that The Breach, the film adaptation of his audio drama of the same name, was going to be a film that incorporated body horror and moments designed to amaze the audience. And whilst there are some visually spectacular moments throughout The Breach, the rest of the film seems to struggle to keep the viewer’s attention.

The Breach begins with a family picnic by the river coming to a horrific end as a small canoe floats up to the shore, containing a horror within. John Hawkins (Allan Hawco), the chief of police for the Lone Crow reservation, is called in to investigate the event, interrupting his plans to pack up and move on from the community. Hawkins and his team examine the gruesome remains within the boat and come to the conclusion that it belongs to a physicist who’s been working out of a remote cabin further up the river. Hawkins recruits his ex, and local boat charter guide Meg (Emily Alatalo), and coroner Jacob (Wesley French) to travel with him up the river to find the cabin, and see if they can get answers to the gruesome mystery.

From the first moment the camera gives us a glimpse at what’s inside the small boat that made its way down the river it’s clear that The Breach is going to be a film that relies on disturbing imagery to get under the viewer’s skin. There are moments in this film that, much like with Cutter’s previous work, feel gross, disturbing, and otherworldly, and play on very visceral and primal fears about injury, personal safety, and infection (themes that seem to be pretty consistent in his work). And it seems like a great deal of time and effort has been given over to these moments, with some truly superb special effects and practical make-up work that is some of the best a smaller budget horror film has managed to achieve. There are moments when you’ll want to stop looking at the screen thanks to how disgusting events are, yet your eyes are glued to it in awe as you try to figure out how certain things are done.

Sadly, the film can’t rely on special effects and shock moments to keep the audience entertained, and the rest of the time is filled with the central mystery and interpersonal drama. The team that Hawkins has put together to go looking into this strange death might be the most practical one on paper, but reality says otherwise as he has to deal with his ex, and her jealous ex. Thanks to Jacob having dated Meg before Hawkins did, and still harbouring feelings for her, there’s some tension between the two men; added into this, it’s clear that there’s still something between Meg and Hawkins too.

Unfortunately, the moments in which the film tries to address this complex cauldron of love and resentment end up becoming the worst parts. The dialogue is incredibly clunky in places, with the characters saying things that might sound cool on paper during the first pass, but just don’t work in the moment as the actors say them, coming out as very canned and corny. It doesn’t help that the delivery in these scenes just doesn’t seem to try hard to sell these moments either, and it feels like the actors themselves knew these parts of the film are the boring bits and just phoned it in.

The film’s central mystery has its interesting moments, but also fails to really do much. We get answers, the film provides explanations, but it also feels like a lot is left unanswered, and that the viewer is expected to go along with the leaps in logic and the odd series of events because they have to in order for a story to happen. Having only just watched the film I think that I’d struggle to explain it to someone, and that lack of ability to fully grasp both the motivations and the methods of the characters responsible for the events of the film leaves it feeling rather hollow.

Another issue that I encountered was the score, created by one of the film’s producers, the musician Slash. There are times where the music just doesn’t match the tone of the scene, and where the things you’re seeing and the music you’re hearing feel like they’re from movies with a very different tone. The romantic scene, for example, loses much of the charm it could have had thanks to guitar riffs that litter the moment.

The Breach feels like a film that’s trying to be bigger than it is, spending a lot of money on the special effects but falling short on actually succeeding. It looks good, but a series of lacklustre performances and music that often pushes you out of the moment end up creating a movie that is quickly forgettable.

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They Lurk by Ronald Malfi - Book Review

 

'Five collected novellas from the master of terror and bestselling author of Come with Me. SKULLBELLY - Private detective John Jeffers is hired after three teenagers disappear in a forest and in the process learns of a terrible local secret. THE SEPARATION - Is Marcus's old friend Charlie suffering from a nervous breakdown, or are otherworldly forces at work? THE STRANGER - David finds a stranger sitting behind the wheel of his car. The doors are locked and there's a gun on the dashboard. And then the insanity started... AFTER THE FADE - A girl waked into a small Annapolis tavern, collapsed and died. Something had latched itself to the base of her skull. And it didn't arrive alone. FIERCE - After a car accident in a nightmarish snowstorm, a teenage girl and her mother encounter gruesome madness.'

My previous experience reading Ronald Malfi ended with him becoming an author that I wanted to keep an eye on. In my review for Black Mouth I likened his work to Stephen King's IT, though much preferred it to that work. In an admission that might get my book lover card revoked, I don't really think too highly about King's work, and don't think it's all that special. And in that book Malfi showed me that not only could he take a similar idea and structure, but he could make it so much better. It was like he'd learned from those who'd came before and made it much more elegant and entertaining. As such, when I was offered the chance to read his latest collection of novellas I was absolutely certain that I needed to see what They Lurk had on offer.

The first story in the collection is actually my favourite, and it did that wonderful and awful thing that shorter stories do in that when it ended I was at a point in the narrative where I was desperate for more but there was none. That wonderful mix of 'oh my god that was great' and 'how dare the story end now!?', a feeling that gives a sadistic bit of fun when it happens. 'Skullbelly' tells the story of John Jeffers, a former cop turned private detective who's been hired by the families of four teens. Months before the group of friends headed out on a trip together, travelling to a small town named Coastal Green. Having gone out into the woods on a camping trip, one of the teens returned days later, covered in blood and in a dazed condition.

With the local police seemingly unable to find the three missing teens, and no answers coming from the survivor, Jeffers heads to Coastal Green himself to try to find out what happened three months ago. However, he finds a small, sleepy town where the cops are barely there, the locals don't really seem to know much, and life runs a lot slower than in the big city. The main bulk of 'Skullbelly' is a mystery story, as we follow Jeffers on his job to find answers, questioning the locals, trying to check into the story in the reports. And it makes for an interesting narrative. The setting of Coastal Green feels like one that's familiar to those who've watched things like The X-Files, especially episodes where something strange happens in a small town. It also gave me slight Alan Wake vibes for some reason.

The story gives small hints at what might have happened to the teens, and slowly builds a creepy atmosphere that doesn't try too hard to be scary. Malfi doesn't push fantastical elements or frightening scenarios in order to get under your skin, and instead keeps the promise of answers just out of reach in order to do so. That being said, the story does seem to end in a way that makes it very clear in regards to an explanation for the reader; and does so in a way that felt incredibly satisfying. That being said, I wanted much more of this story, I wanted a longer narrative, I wanted to see Jeffers pursing the case more, and I wanted to see the perpetrator. It was a fantastic ending because it's one of those stories that is going to stick in my head, that I'll think of years from now and go 'damn it was good, I want more!' in the same way the best mysteries or cancelled TV shows leave you feeling.

The second story, 'The Separation', goes for a completely different tone, and I think that it's my least favourite of the book. It tells the story of Marcus, a professional psychologist who travels to Germany to help his friend, Charlie. Charlie is a professional boxer whose wife has recently left him. The separation has left him shaken and depressed, and he's slipping into a worse and worse condition as time goes by; which is why his promoter and friends have reached out to Marcus for help. Marcus arrives to find Charlie sleep deprived, depressed, and a shell of the man he was. As he tries to help him out Charlie starts to complain about everything feeling off, like things have shifted ever so slightly. Marcus is unsure how to help his friend, but is determined to get him back on the right path.

In all honesty, I found 'The Separation' very slow, and it was the story in which I had the most trouble getting through because I just kept putting the book down to do other things instead. Not a huge amount happens across most of the story, and it's just more and more incidents of Charlie being tired, of not remembering going out around the estate at night, and Marcus either being determined to help him or pissed off at him. Yes, the ending was something of a surprise and made me go 'oh what?!' out loud, but the journey to get to that point wasn't fun enough for me to get much out of it. Also, the story features a scene of violence against an animal. The book doesn't contain any kind of trigger warning for this, which is a huge shame, and this story might be best skipped for those who would find the slow killing of an animal upsetting.

In comparison to this, 'The Stranger' was a story that I absolutely couldn't put down, and had to read in one sitting. David and his girlfriend are driving across America, on a journey that is starting to make David realise that perhaps he doesn't actually want to be with his girlfriend, with the excessive time together making him see all of her 'imperfections'. Trying to get away from her for a bit as they check into a small motel in Florida, he heads to the bar for a break and a drink. However, on the way back to the room he notices a weird man he met earlier in the night sitting inside his car. David attempts to get the man out, but he keeps stopping them. Eventually the police arrive and try to get him out, but the stranger just stares out the window, not responding. When the stranger produces a weapon the crowd of onlookers watch as something straight out of their nightmares begins.

I can't say much about 'The Stranger', as the things that happen in the story are shocking and twisted, and any real description of them would take away from the 'what the hell!?' moments; of which there are a few. This is the story that feels most like a nightmare, like something awful conjured up from the depths of your mind, the kind of thing that you'd experience during a night terror, and it made my skin crawl more than once reading it.

'After The Fade' is an interesting story. Starting off as the tale of a man looking to break up with his girlfriend, he arranges to meet her at one of the local bars in town, an old haunt of his where he used to play the piano. Shortly after the two of them arrive at the bar a woman comes stumbling inside, her expression slack, her movements groggy, and blood coming out of her nose. She collapses to the ground, dead. Its then that everyone in the bar notices the thing in the back of her head, the large insect that bore a hole into her skull; sharp and dangerous looking. The group manages to kill the insect before it can hurt anyone else, but it's then that they notice that it didn't come alone.

The building is swarmed by more of the bugs, and the people are forced to lock themselves inside. With the television down, no one answering their phones, and no sign of anyone else, the group have to begin to grapple with the idea that the insects are everywhere, and that they might not survive the night. 'After The Fade' is a classic base under siege story with a cool horror twist. The insect creatures make for a fun monster for the people in the bar to have to contend with, and Malfi uses them inventively, with some super creepy moments scattered in there. 

But the story isn't just about the monster bugs and the nightmare situations they bring with them, it's a very human story, with a big focus on the people. Everyone in the building is given a moment or two to do something, something that sets them apart and different, and there are a few times where personalities clash and the biggest danger starts to become each other. And, like some of the other stories here, it has a little something at the end that will absolutely surprise. 

The final story, 'Fierce', centres on teenagre Connie and her mother Elaine. Driving home in a snowstorm, the back of their car loaded up with presents for christmas, their conversation is tense as Connie is mad at her mother for not letting her take a gap year from study to travel the world. When a truck seems to come out of nowhere and the two vehicles crash their day goes from bad to worse. Elaine heads over to the truck driver to echange insurance details, and Connie watched as her mother is savagely beaten with a crowbar. As the attacker comes after her Connie is forced to flee into the snow covered forest in order to survive. But it's only the beginning of her nightmare.

'Fierce' feels a lot like your classic 'hillbilly horror', as Connie has to deal with a frightening murderous figure that lives out in the middle of nowhere with a house of horrors who wants to do awful things to her and her mother. Think The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wrong Turn and The Hills Have Eyes and you're not far off the tone of this story. Whilst this might be a genre that people will be familiar with, and one that seems to be one of the least innovative in terms of creativity, 'Fierce' still manages to be a really entertaining and engaging story with some very tense and creepy moments in it.

They Lurk is an interesting mix of stories, most of which I really enjoyed. There are a couple in here that work perfectly for short stories, and a few that feel like the opening chapters to much bigger tales. Each story seems to try something a bit different, and focuses on different types of horror. But even with the variety they have, each story remains well written, with interesting and engaging characters; something that seems to be a hallmark for Malfi's work.

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The Comic Cave - Batman: Prey

 

The Comic Cave is a regular feature where we spin the Wheel of Comics and see what graphic novel story it brings up for us to deep dive into! This week we take a look at Batman: Prey, a story set in the early days of Batman's career that reintroduced Hugo Strange following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths.

It's not bold or innovative of me to say that Batman: Year One changed Batman forever (I'd be a hack and a liar if I tried to claim I'm the first to say that). When the Frank Miller penned origin story was released it reinvented the character in a big way. Miller had already shocked readers with The Dark Knight Returns the year before, and it had given a new darker, grittier take on Batman, but Batman: Year One firmly cemented that type of Batman story into the main DC timeline. 

People loved this take on the character, and wanted more stories like that. But, DC wasn't prepared to regress Batman back in time, erasing characters like Nightwing and Robin, and removing his relationships with other heroes. Instead, they launched Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, a series that would explore Batman's early career, stripping him down to basics and showing new origin stories for some of his rogues. The series, with its rotating writers and artists, would become a showcase for talent, and would become so popular that it would run for more than two hundred issues. 

The third story to be released was Batman: Prey, and was the best of the series at that point. Batman: Shaman had kicked things off, and was an interesting if flawed dive into a story set in part around the same time as Batman: Year One, and Batman: Gothic would see Batman going up against an undying man hundreds of years old who made a deal with the devil in a book that's very Grant Morrison. And whilst these stories were very good, and would go on to become cult favourites, Batman: Prey felt like something very different, a story that wasn't trying to cash in on Batman: Year One, and wasn't incorporating the fantastical. Instead, it was a straight forward Batman story.

As the story begins several members of the GCPD are in the middle of a drugs bust when their target tries to run. Unfortunately for him, Batman is also on the scene, and the masked vigilante grabs him, takes him onto a nearby cinema marquee, and interrogates him before throwing him back to the police. This scene makes it clear to readers that this is a Batman who does not get on with the cops. The officers are pissed that he's questioning a suspect, seem as intent to arrest him as the other guy, and Batman even tosses the criminal to them with a dismissive 'Here, I'm done with him.'. This is very much a city that still distrusts the idea of a Batman, where a lot of people aren't even sure if he's real or not, and his only real ally is Captain James Gordon.

Batman witnesses this mistrust play out in the court of public opinion as the mayor, Gordon, and famed psychologist Hugo Strange appear on a late night talk show where they're asked to talk about the Batman. It's here that we meet Hugo Strange for the first time since Crisis on Infinite Earths and get to see what the character is like in this new timeline. Strange first appeared in 1940, in Detective Comics issue 36, where he was a criminal scientist who used his knowledge to help his gang perform robberies. After that, he appeared in the very first issue of Batman, later that same year, where he escapes prison and turns his henchmen into hulking monsters to take on Batman. He would appear several times over the years, and would go through some changes in the 70's, but would always be presented as a mad scientist who uses his knowledge to change and mutate people into creatures.

Batman: Prey ignores everything that came before, and reinvents Strange for a then modern reader. The mad scientist working in his lab was replaced with a doctor of the mind. Strange begins the story as a media personality, coming onto TV to give an armchair diagnosis of Gotham's vigilante; an analysis that is a bit hit and miss, but does nail a few things. He deduces that Batman is obsessive, that he has a mistrust of other people, is obsessed with darkness, the night, and vengeance. He even figures out that he's been driven by the loss of a loved one in a violent crime in the dark. Of course, all of this gets to Bruce, who ends up crushing the glass he's holding as he watches the show. 

These theories lead to Strange being recruited as an adviser for a new police task force with the express mission of taking Batman into custody; a task force that Gordon is placed in charge of live on TV. This puts Gordon into a difficult position, as he genuinely believes that Batman is doing good in the city, is helping the people of Gotham; his feelings are further muddied by the fact that Batman saved his son during the events of Batman: Year One. To this end Gordon tries to fill the task force with officers that he thinks won't be good enough to actually bring Batman down, and his first pick is Sergeant Cort. Cort hates Batman, but is a by the book officer who won't go against the law; someone that Gordon thinks he can control.

As the story progresses, however, Cort begins to become more and more enraged with the hunt for Batman, and his rage leads him to Hugo Strange, who sees the burning passion within Cort and realises that he can use it to his own ends. Strange has become determined to bring Batman in so that he can study him and eventually publish a book on the man; a book that Strange believes will make him famous. He's become so obsessed by the idea that he's made his own Batman costume, one with a cowl that looks like a modified bondage mask. He parades around his apartment in the costume, talking about how he's going to bring Batman down, bragging to his sex doll that he's got sitting in his living room like a real person. Yep, turns out this new Hugo Strange is a bit unhinged. 

One thing that I'll give the book a lot of credit for, it doesn't have Strange try to fight Batman whilst wearing the suit. They'll eventually have a confrontation whilst he's wearing it, but it isn't a physical one. Doug Moench knows that Strange needs to be a character that uses his mind, not his physicality, and the story works all the better for that. And he does use his mind against Batman. He uses his theories to investigate into previous crimes in Gotham, and with a drug induced clue from Batman, manages to figure out that he's actually Bruce Wayne. He then breaks into Wayne Manor and sets up a series of dummies dressed like Thomas and Martha that play recorded messages when Bruce comes home, messages where they tell him that it's his fault they're dead, and that they're ashamed of him.

This tactic actually shakes Batman quite badly, and in his mania he even ends up hitting Alfred. It's perhaps one of the first times in Batman's career that he's been hurt like this by one of his enemies, and it's an event that is sure to change Batman going forward, making him even more closed off against such things. Unfortunately for him, it's not just his mind that's under attack, as Strange is using Cort to break Batman down in other ways. Having used hypnosis on him, Cort is convinced to become Night-Scourge, a masked vigilante hunting and killing criminals. The media uses these incidents to turn Gotham against Batman, blaming him for the violence, and for inspiring other vigilantes. Strange uses Cort to break support for Batman and to damage his already shaky reputation. Plus, Cort gets to become a physical challenge for Batman to have to overcome.

This dual attack on Batman's mind and his body would be a trope that readers will see many times over the coming decades, and has become a firmly established trope for the character; and whilst Batman: Prey wasn't the first to do this it might be the first one to do it this well. The story established this firmly in readers minds, and the way that these attacks come very close to breaking Batman means that it has become one of the go-to plots for villains.

But this isn't the only thing that Batman: Prey establishes for the new universe. This story also introduces two very important elements for the character, the Batsignal and the Batmobile. As Gotham is turning against Batman he's left with one person he can go to, one man who might be able to help him, Captain Gordon. With Gordon willing to help Batman he needs a way of contacting him, at which Batman suggests a signal. Later in the book Gordon heads up to the roof of the GCPD, where he drapes a fabric bat on one of the spotlights, creating a proto-Batsignal. I really enjoyed the idea of Gordon creating a signal that he can quickly remove and hide whilst he's still a captain and can't give the go-ahead for a permanent signal. During the book Bruce spends time in the cave working on 'the car', and we see this engine inside a rough frame sitting in the background. Throughout the book he keeps mentioning how he needs better ways of getting around rather than using gliders, or just running home, but it's not until after his breakdown at the Manor that the finish vehicle is revealed in all it's glory; Bruce having finished it during his self imposed lock down in the cave. It's a cool moment, and one that makes for a decent origin for the Batmobile.

The book's art, by Paul Gulacy, Terry Austin, and Steve Oliff (who provided the pencils, inks, and colours respectively) is very much art of the era. If you've read late 80's Batman you've seen this kind of art before. But, it's also a really great example of this kind of style. It's perhaps the best that Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight has offered up to this point, and is packed with some fantastic moments. The art team do a wonderful job with the expressions and emotions of the characters, and the times when Strange begins to go mad during a rant, Cort turns into a violent thug, and Batman begins to spiral into madness when he returns home to find Strange's present are all very well done. The book has some great action moments too, and some of these scenes really stand out as being very well put together. One of the more inventive is one where Batman fights a criminal in his home bar, which sees the two of them smashing chairs into each other, using broken bottles as weapons, and a shotgun being brought out. There's not really a single moment in the book that looks bad, and that's very impressive.

Batman: Prey is a brilliant example of an early Batman story, a book that strips Batman back to the most basic, and challenges him in interesting ways. It brings back a classic villain and reinvents him in such a way that this is how people think of Hugo Strange now (he even keeps putting the Batman costume on because of this story). I'd also believe that this story is in part responsible for the early success of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, and helped to show people that it was a series worth reading. If you're a fan of Batman but don't always enjoy masses of continuity, or an extended Bat Family, Batman: Prey is something that you should definitely pick up.

Batman: Prey was originally published in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight from September 1990 - February 1991.

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The Flash: The Official Movie Companion - Book Review

'Take an action-packed journey into the cinematic world of The Flash with this comprehensive collection of stunning images, behind-the-scenes stories, and interviews from the upcoming, highly anticipated film and its comic origins.

'Keep pace with the Fastest Man Alive with this compendium of facts and incredible images from the Super Hero's landmark film debut! The Flash Visual Companion satisfies your need for cinematic speed on every page, with making-of details and behind-the-scenes profiles of the characters, locations, and artefacts seen on screen, as well as an exploration of the Scarlet Speedster in comics, television, and beyond.

'Interviews with key cast and crew members, including Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Ezra Miller, and more offer a one-of-a-kind look at the creation of the new film as well as the character's history on the page. The perfect gift for every fan who's been waiting for DC's iconic Scarlet Speedster to take the lead in a film of his own.'

I'm a fan of DC comics, and both Wally West and Barry Allen are in my top ten read comic book characters, 5th and 6th place respectively. Having read close to eight hundred comics with them in (and more than 1,300 if you include other speedsters like Jay Garrick and Bart Allen) I've been a fan of The Flash for a while, and was excited to see the character up on the big screen. I'm sure it's going to upset some 'passionate' fans to say this, but I was somewhat disappointed by what we got in both versions of The Justice League, and my excitement for the solo Flash movie fell; something that would only worsen when we started to see and hear more about the film before its release. But, as a fan of the characters in all of their other incarnations I was still willing to give The Flash: The Official Movie Companion a fair shot.

Having read through various movie companion books in the past I was excited to see some behind the scenes details, to read about how the story was plotted out, to look at all of the design sketches, behind the scenes construction photos, and post production work that went into the movie. Virtually none of this is in this book. Nor is it really about the movie, despite the title saying that. 

The front cover gives this away somewhat, as even though Miller is front and centre in the image there are several other versions of the Flash behind them, including the Injustice game version, the comic counterpart, and the CW television series Flash. The CW Flash, played by Grant Gustin, will appear in this book a lot; as does the series. The back cover of the book, the contents page, and the introduction all show off images of the Flash speeding through Central City, taken from the series. The CW show is featured a fair bit in the first sections of the book, alongside the comics in order to fill out the background for the character and his world.

Topics like Barry getting his powers, the death of his mother, his relationship with Iris, Central City,his allies, and his Rogues all heavily pull from the comics. These sections of the book give those who might be unfamiliar with the character beyond the screen a chance to see what the source material is like; how else are they going to learn about characters like Abra Kadabra and The Turtle? However, this does lead to a pretty big revelation, that the film itself barely covers these things, and that the book needs to draw from other sources in order to fill in and flesh out the world of The Flash, because the movie doesn't.

These sections also end up being quite light on details, with perhaps a paragraph or two on each topic, such as the first Flash, the multiverse, the Flash Museum, and enemies like Grodd getting two of three sentences. Several of his most iconic villains like Captain Cold, Heatwave, Mirror Master, and Captain Boomerang are all thrown into one paragraph and barely get more than a name drop. The books promise of being filled with amazing facts proves to be an empty one for the early stages.

The second and third chapters, titles 'Super-Speed' and 'Flashback!' do at least begin to incorporate more of the film, and start showing some behind-the-scenes stuff. There's a paragraph about how the running scenes were filmed, accompanied by a page of images from the film, three paragraphs about the 'baby shower' scene that comes with some concept art (some of the first in the book), and largest section, with half a page of text, goes to how the Batcycle was made. The third chapter takes more time to talk about the film, chiefly discussing how Barry ends up in the Flashpoint-style timeline, and how they made certain choices for how the two Barry's will interact. Whilst this section puts more emphasis on the film it's information that's very light on real details, and pretty much just tells the reader stuff they saw on the big screen.

The final chapter 'Heroes and Villains' has the most time given over to the movie, but also demonstrates some of the worst aspects of the film; chiefly the reliance on Michael Keaton's Batman for nostalgia purposes and attention. The title page for this chapter is a full page image of Batman, and from here it becomes about Batman, Wayne Manor, the Batcave,the suit and gadgets, the vehicles. It's the most the book seems to have given over to actual behind-the-scenes stuff like concept art and set photos, and it's not even of the Flash. The rest of this chapter is rounded out with Supergirl and the Kryptonians.  

The back of the book boasts interviews, including key cast members such as Keaton, Aflex, and Miller. What are these like? Almost non-existent. There are no segments of the book where you get to read an actual interview, there's no page given over to Miller talking about playing the Flash. Instead, the text incorporates a few word quotes from some of the cast and crew at times. These quotes are spread throughout the book, used to emphasise a point the writer was making, and barely add much. I honestly can't really remember the huge majority of them, and flicking through the book whilst writing this I can't even find any from Miller, or the two Batman actors (though I just might be missing them).

Is The Flash: The Official Movie Companion a good in depth dive into the movie? No. Not at all. Much of the book's contents cover things that aren't even a part of the film, and the bits that do feel more like half page snippets taken from promotional magazine articles. Even as a Flash fan I was struggling to find anything interesting or insightful in the book. The book served to highlight a lot of the issues the film had, whilst providing nothing new or interesting. And with a cover price of £29.99 it feels like a ridiculous price for what it is. I hate to talk badly about books, but this is a book that I'd honestly struggle to recommend to anyone. You can get more info from movie websites and social media, or by going to The Flash on Wikipedia. If you're absolutely desperate to read the book I'd suggest looking for a library copy over the cost of an actual purchase.

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Savage Squad 6 #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Savage Squad 6 is the latest comic release from Dark Horse that takes readers to a dark future following a new world war. Set in the year 2037, the world is recovering from World War Three, which has ground society to a halt. A brutal army known as The Scourge rules what’s left of the world, and hunts down the small pockets of civilisation left behind. Every man of fighting age found by The Scourge has been killed, leaving what remains as little threat – or so The Scourge believes.

The Savage Squad are a group of six young women trained to be soldiers sent out to extremely dangerous locations to try to help bring down The Scourge in any way possible. Their latest mission takes them deep into the irradiated countryside around Pripyat, the location of the Chernobyl reactor meltdown some fifty years before. Tasked with finding a special weapon that could help turn the tide against The Scourge, the Savage Squad are ready for anything. Or so they think. Something sinister awaits them in the darkness of Pripyat, something that will push the team to their limits.

The first issue of Savage Squad 6 opens with a group of soldiers in Pripyat being picked off by unseen foes, ripped apart and torn to pieces by something lurking in the shadows. From here we join our central group of characters, six young soldiers unaware that they’re heading into the nightmare that us the reader has just been shown. It’s hard to gauge the age of the group, and the book’s cover makes them look to be in their early twenties, but the interior art has them much more in the mid teens range. With the book’s introduction informing the reader that all men of fighting age have been killed it does raise the question of if the Savage Squad are supposed to be teen soldiers, or if it’s just the artist’s style that makes them look younger.

Speaking of the Squad, we spend much of this first issue getting to know them and seeing bits of their personalities. Nat is the team’s new medic, and is our stand in. She doesn’t know the team, she doesn’t have a handle on their personalities yet, and we get to learn this alongside her as she goes. Cap is the leader of the group, and seems to be the most level headed and reasonable one of them. She seems to have a hard job of keeping some of the extreme personalities in the team working together, but seems to know how to keep things running as smooth as possible.

Shells is the team’s sniper and the one most openly kind towards Nat. She takes the time to bond with her, teaches her a few things about the team, and seems to be one of the first to try to get the others to go easier on Nat. Rosie is the demolitions expert, and fits into the big, muscly, and a bit dumb stereotype that comes with the tank character. She loves to blow things up, and brings it up as much as she can. Hauser is the dick of the team. She’s confrontational towards Nat, acts like a bit of a jerk, but is also one of the toughest of the group being the first to leap into action. Mags seems to be the techy of the team, equipped with some fancy holographic gear, but seems to be the least defined when it comes to personality.

Much of this first issue feels like groundwork, setting up the world and the characters. Because of that, and because the book is trying to set up six main characters, there are some parts that feel light on solid details, and left to fill in the blanks on your own. This isn’t a terrible idea. The is clearly a world with a history, and one that’s directly informing the events of this story. But rather than giving huge infodumps to lay out every single detail and piece of lore, the writers, Robert Venditti, and Brockton McKinney, give you the bullet points and allow you to imagine the rest. It means that the story can still progress at a decent rate, and the reader is somewhat included in the process, with their own imagination doing things like picturing what The Scourge is like.

The art, by newcomer Dalts Dalton, is pretty solid, and has a rough quality to it that works well for the setting. Things have a tough, almost jagged edge to them that fits the scourged planet and the rough and ready soldier women. Each of the women has their own distinct look and design that makes them stand out on the page straight away, which certainly helps the reader to remember who’s who and what their jobs are. Dalton also gets to expand beyond the expected towards the end of the issue when some unusual stuff happens, and the small hints that we see here make you excited to see what kind of art Dalton is going to treat us to in future issues.

Savage Squad 6 has been billed as wanting to bring ‘all the fun and abandon of ’80s-’90s action films to comics’, and this first issue seems to be on its way to doing so. It has a group of rough and tough soldiers for us to follow, and something sinister for them to fight in a remote and hostile environment. With the creator’s quote in mind it’s easy to begin to see where they might have drawn some inspiration from and what they’re giving little winks to, but time will tell if it’s able to fully capture that feeling.

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The Comic Cave – Secret Invasion

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The Comic Cave is a bi-weekly feature where we spin the Wheel of Comics and see what graphic novel story it brings up for us to deep dive into! This week we take a look at the Marvel Comics cross-over event Secret Invasion, a story that ushered in The Dark Reign.

There was a time when Marvel Comics used to be light on company wide cross-over events. There was Secret Wars in the mid 80s, along with its sequel, the Infinity Trilogy in the early 90s, and that was about it for the earlier decades of Marvel’s time. However, the early 2000s saw a gradual shift in direction. It began with House of M in 2005, then we had Civil War and World War Hulk a year later (they liked wars that year), and Secret Invasion in 2008.

We then had a years gap as Marvel built up towards Siege, but from there things come thick and fast in the 2010s as we get an event each year with Fear Itself, Avengers vs X-Men, Infinity, AXIS, Secret Wars, Civil War II, Inhumans vs X-Men, Secret Empire, War of the Realms, Empyre, King in Black, Devils Reign, and so on. It’s fair to say that Marvel got event fever, and whilst they’d saturate their universe with such events (the ones named are just the big ones and there are more that happened) one that’s fondly remembered by readers is Secret Invasion by Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Yu, Laura Martin, Emily Warren, and Christina Strain.

Compared to a lot of the big named events, which tend to get a month or two of build-up before hitting shelves, Secret Invasion is a book that seems to have been laying the groundwork for a long while before. In 2005 Bendis launched an Avengers book called The New Avengers that brought together  new team of heroes including Avengers mainstays like Captain America, Iron-Man, and Spider-Woman, but also introduced characters that have never served on an Avengers team, such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Luke Cage. During the early issues of the series there are hints that there’s something weird going on in the background of the Marvel universe, that there’s some kind of conspiracy afoot, and it looks like Spider-Woman is a part of it.

Over time these early hints would shift and change, and when going back to re-read these parts after the events of Secret Invasion it doesn’t completely add up or make sense. For example. Spider-Woman is the Skrull Queen, but during the first story arc of The New Avengers is taking orders from Madame Viper, who is a Skrull, Now, we don’t know that about Spider-Woman at this point, and it’s possible that they’re sticking to their cover stories about her being a Hydra agent working for Viper, but it’s pretty clear that the shifty stuff going on here is in reference to Skrulls, and they’re not playing pretend for an audience (except if they know we’re there), so it’s more likely that Bendis hadn’t yet finalised his ideas and figured out at this point that Jessica Drew is the most important Skrull around.

Despite some jankiness like this in the early parts of Bendis’ plans, you can see that he’s moving pieces around the board, and is getting things in place for his big plan. Sadly, it does seem like some of his plans were disrupted by Civil War which forced the creation of two different Avengers teams, as well as removing Steve Rogers from the board fully. But comics are nothing if not an ever evolving medium, and so with a few tweaks Bendis was able to continue with his plans, and was even better able to justify certain things in the build-up to Secret Invasion.

As with the Disney+ television series of the same name, Secret Invasion deals with the alien shape-shifting race the Skrulls, who have been secretly planting their people in key positions around the world in order to facilitate a take over of the planet. Other than that, however, the two couldn’t seem to be more different if they tried (only one episode has aired at this point, but it’s already a thousand miles apart from the book). Whilst the show is treating the story as an espionage tale, where you can never be sure who to trust, the comic forgoes almost every aspect of that very quickly.

The main title, the eight issue series, follows the two Avengers teams, the wanted criminals of the New Avengers, and the government sanctioned Mighty Avengers, as they receive word that a Skrull transport ship is headed towards the Savage Land. Having already learned that the Skrulls have found new ways to mimic humanity, having discovered that the ninja assassin Elektra was replaced, the two teams are convinced that there are more Skrulls out there in hiding, and head to the crashing ship to learn more. At this point we’re not too far out from the events of Civil War, and the two teams absolutely hate each other because of this.

The New Avengers, consisting of Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Ronin, and Echo are convinced that the government team has been infiltrated by Skrulls, and don’t trust Tony Stark, whilst the Mighty Avengers, Iron-Man, Ms Marvel, The Sentry, Ares, Black Widow, Power Man, and Spider-Woman, hate their former friends for being criminal heroes who won’t register with the government and seem determined to send them to prison.

The events of the Civil War comic were not like the film, and there is a very clear line in the book between right and wrong, and Stark not only crossed it but danced on that line as he performed awful crimes such as building gulags for his enemies. As such, it’s easy to see why tensions are super high at the start of Secret Invasion, but the unfortunate result is a group of people who are supposed to be heroes acting like they want to kill each other constantly, and it starts the book on a really crappy tone.

Upon finding the crashed ship, the Skrull attack begins. Iron-Man and his systems are incapacitated with a virus, which leads to S.H.I.E.L.D. falling apart and the crash of the helicarrier (it wouldn’t be a Bendis event without that thing crashing), The Fantastic Four’s building is destroyed and half the team lost in the Negative Zone, supervillain prisons are broken open, S.W.O.R.D.’s space station is blown apart, and the Thunderbolts facility comes under attack. And then the Skrull ship opens and a bunch of heroes from the 70s come out, including the previous style of Beast, first appearance Wolverine, under-arm webbing Spider-Man, and Steve Rogers’ Captain America.

The reveal of who’s inside the Skrull ship is a great ending to the first issue, as it implies that not only have more people that we suspect may have been replaced, but that it may have happened a lot longer ago than we think. It also raises the possibility for Marvel to do some ret-cons. Don’t like cat Beast? Fine, the real one is back and the cat guy was a Skrull the whole time. Wish that Jean Grey or Steve Rogers was back from the dead? We can do that. Think that Tony Stark has been a massive dick the last few years? No problem, he was a Skrull the whole time. It also offers the chance to add some ‘which is the real one?’ mystery as the two groups come face to face and there are some doubles in each. However, not only does this not happen, but there’s not even an attempt to create tension or mystery.

Once the two groups in the Savage Land start fighting it almost doesn’t stop for the next seven issues. Whilst the Avengers teams are dealing with the fake heroes in the Savage Land until the end of issue five, New York City comes under attack from a Skrull armada that releases hundreds of Super Skrulls that exist to make combos of existing heroes. There are Skrulls that combine Black Bolt and Doctor Strange, one that’s Wolverine, Collosus, and Cyclops in one, and another that’s giant. Every hero or villain that you can come up with is incorporated into these Super Skrulls in some way, and we then spend several issues seeing heroes like the Young Avengers trying to beat them. Eventually there’s a small lull in the constant fighting at issue six that allows the heroes to regroup and launch a final assault against the Skrull army in Central Park.

And then you get the conclusion to the book, a huge fight featuring as many heroes as possible that results in a founding Avenger dead with little fanfare, Norman Osborne getting put in charge of the world’s heroes because he got the kill shot on the Skrull Queen, and the hero community even more fractured than ever before.

Now if you’ve read through that and thought ‘you forgot to mention where in the book everything is explained’, I didn’t, because Secret Invasion doesn’t really bother doing that. The book is essentially an issue of build up, seven issues of crowded, boring fight scenes, and an issue of wrap-up, all of which fail to address how the Skrulls have been doing what they’re doing and why. If you want to know any of that you need to read the tie-ins.

And that’s perhaps the biggest problem that I have with Secret Invasion: the book itself is boring. The story is incredibly thin on the ground, and at times feels like a five issue series stretched out to eight. The pages where the heroes aren’t being dicks to each other are so jam packed with stuff going on that it’s hard to follow at times; there’s no moment that feels like a stand-out action beat because so many panels are so crammed that it puts you off wanting to give them much attention. The really interesting parts of the story happen in other books. So if you’ve heard what the plot is and thought ‘that sounds interesting, I’ll check it out’ you won’t actually get much from the main title. And, something that might not bother everyone but felt pretty bad to me, the heroes kill. Heroes who normally have a no kill rule brutally murder Skrulls because I guess murder doesn’t count when those sentient beings are green. Good job you’re only half Skrull Hulking, otherwise Iron-Man would blow your head to pieces too.

To learn why the Skrulls are doing what they’re doing, and how they’ve managed to better replicate humans you need to read the tie in books for both The Mighty Avengers and The New Avengers, each title having two tie-in books (so four volumes in total). But these aren’t the only tie-ins. There are mini-series for titles such as Inhumans, X-Men, and Spider-Man, though these vary wildly in quality, and tend to tie in to the main event very lightly. Even most of the ongoing books at the time that had to give over several issues to connect to Secret Invasion in some way seem to do so grudgingly. In total there are twenty nine separate graphic novels that cover the entirety of Secret Invasion, yet none of them rank any more than just ‘fine’.

Whilst the writing on Secret Invasion is somewhat ‘questionable’, the art is absolutely a big selling point for the series. The book looks gorgeous. Leinil Yu does a superb job on the art, whilst Laura Martin, Emily Warren, and Christina Strain’s colours make the book dynamic and engaging. Whilst I complained earlier about how messy some of the action scenes are in execution, that is in no way down to the art. Every single panel in the book looks good, and those action scenes are full of characters who are all doing something; the problem arises when there is so much that you have no idea where to look.

Yu seems to be doing the best that he’s able with the script that he’s given, and when you’re told that the big splash page needs to have fifty characters in it you can’t do a whole lot to not make it look messy; as such, it’s the smaller moments in the book that tend to stand out, such as the scene where Spider-Woman is trying to mess with Tony Stark’s head whilst he’s attempting to fix his armour, or the moment when the Baxter building is sucked into the Negative Zone and we get to see it from a distance.

There has been some discourse on social media since the airing of the first episode of Secret Invasion, where it was revealed that the cast and crew were discouraged from reading the book. People asked why you wouldn’t choose to read the story you’re adapting and taking inspiration from. But everything that the show is trying to push to the forefront – the mystery of who could be a Skrull, of the tension of never being sure who you can trust or if you’re actually in danger of betrayal – just isn’t in the book. The original book was built upon the concept of ‘anyone could be a Skrull’, and just did nothing with it, and instead chose to make a story that if it was adapted faithfully would take the final fight from Avengers: End Game and make that last for five of the six hour run time.

Secret Invasion has a cool concept, but fails to execute it. It also feels like the final nail in the coffin for the build-up to big, bombastic Marvel events that have little substance to them and come along almost every year. Whilst there is some interesting stuff to be found here, it’s hard to pick out in the thirty books that make up this complete story. But, if you love big super hero fights and get bored by the character drama and story this book might just appeal, so go give it a try.

Secret Invasion was published April – December 2008 by Marvel Comics.

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