New Avengers - Volume 8: Secret Invasion - Book 1 [ペーパーバック]

This book collects New Avengers #38-43. These issues are a part of a larger Marvel comics story line which involve the seruptitious invasion of the planet by a shape shifting alien race called the Skrulls. The Skrulls have kidnapped and taken over the identities of various costumed heroes and are now using the identities of these heroes as part of their take over of the planet.

The invasion of the earth by the Skrulls has been going on for years and years. However their infilatration and how they managed to achieve it is only revealed in NA #38-43.

I had ceased reading New Avengers around issue #30. But I was persuaded to pick up the Skrull Invasion issues, due to the fact that I had become captivated by the Skrull Queen Veranke. Veranke, as it is shown is the consumate leader and strategist.

She is a true leader who while in charge is very respctful towards her subjects. She loves them with a combination of love and respect. She also very shrewd and flexible enough to change plans as needed.

Marvel comics is replete with many, many strong, highly intelligent and very powerful women. But I think that Veranke is the best offering yet which has come out of that company. I am a huge Emma Frost fan, but I find Veranke more interesting. Because unlike Emma she is respctful towards her subjects and is not arrogant.T he fact that Veranke is a villainess makes her even more interesting!

The only thing is, this book can not be read in a vacume. Familiarity with the previous Avengers stories are needed to understand this one.

Warning: if you haven't read any of Secret Invasion, be prepared for spoilers.

During the run of Marvel's Secret Invasion mega event, Brian Michael Bendis's runs on New Avengers and Mighty Avengers have basically become what you could consider an insider's look behind the big events going on. The eighth collected volume of New Avengers collects the first five Secret Invasion tie-in issues, beginning with the breakup of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, who sought sanctuary from Tony "Iron Man" Stark when things took a real turn for the worse. Next up, Echo finds herself the subject of the latest Skrull replacement, followed by developments spun directly out of the beginning of Bendis' New Avengers: Illuminati mini-series, as we learn just how using Spider-Woman plays into the Skrulls' plan, going all the way back to the beginning of New Avengers and the massive prison breakout that first brought them all together. There's also a direct tie-in to Secret Invasion involving the New Avengers trapped in the Savage Land with Ka-Zar, which will definitely leave you hanging if you haven't read any of Secret Invasion yet. The inconsistency is what's definitely this volume's biggest flaw, but only for those who haven't been keeping up with Secret Invasion, who may find things a bit confusing here. Still, there are plenty of questions that get answered with these side issues to the main event, and there's solid artwork throughout from Michael Gaydos, David Mack, Jim Cheung, and Billy Tan. All in all, with Secret Invasion in full swing, these New Avengers issues are essential reads to help bring everything full circle.

Three and a half stars for this.

THE NEW AVENGERS Vol. 8: SECRET INVASION does the skimpy by only reprinting issues #38-42, and this bunch of stories only constitutes Book 1 of the New Avengers' tie-in with the Secret Invasion crossover event. And echoing the New Avengers TPB which tied into Civil War, this trade basically puts the New Avengers title on lockdown. Instead, for the most part, this becomes a showcase for flashback stories and supplementary Secret Invasion stuff. The first two issues do spotlight a few members of the New Avengers, in their own individual stories, as they cope with the the notion of Skrulls secretly amongst them. Not too shockingly, trust issues and extraterrestrial skullduggery dominate these pages.

Naturally, how invested you are in these issues will depend on whether you're tracking the Secret Invasion Skrullapalooza. If you are, then there are some worthwhile reveals here for you. On the other hand, if you're sick and tired of huge crossover shenanigans which force you to grab other comic books just so you can keep up with current events, then this trade will exasperate the shiznit out of you. I'll say this, the New Avengers do play a huuuuge role in Secret Invasion and this set of stories is better executed than those issues which tied into Civil War.

The first issue here kicks off with one of the best realized relationships in Marveldom. Luke Cage and his wife Jessica Jones have always shared a tumultuous relationship, and it doesn't ease up in issue #38. Jessica has had enough of living outside the law and of her and Luke's baby being placed in constant jeopardy. After the Hood's attack on Dr. Strange's sanctum sanctorum (see New Avengers, Vol. 7: The Trust (v. 7)), unbeknownst to Luke, Jessica steals away with the baby and seeks asylum with the Mighty Avengers. She also registers with the Superhuman Registration Act. So, if you know Luke and what he stands for, you can imagine the unholy row that's about to go down. It's tense, buddy, it's tense.

Next, we have Echo sort of getting her flirt on with Logan. Secret Invasion stuff happens when a Skrull displaying all kinds of X-men powers decides to pick on Echo. This little tale comes full circle in the end, with our deaf martial artist now getting all flirty with Hawkeye. Basically, it's just nice to see Echo featured. She's one of the lesser known New Avengers.

On to issue #41 (skipping #40 for now). Bear in mind that, previously (in SECRET INVASION #1), both the Mighty and New Avengers investigated a mysterious ship in the Savage Land, only to have Marvel heroes pour out of the ship. Of course, they all had to tussle. During all that mess, a dinosaur flings Spidey off and he lands some distance away, at the feet of Ka-zar and Shanna the She-Devil. After the expected Abbott & Costello "Is you a Skrull?" - "No, but is you a Skrull?" routine, Mr. and Mrs. Plunder recount the time when, months ago, they stumbled upon a S.H.I.E.L.D. encampment and learned disquieting stuff, only to then catch the New Avengers' bracing of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (this was back in New Avengers 1: Breakout). The story then plonks us back to the present and ends with a splash page, featuring the "return" of a dead hero, but, really, at this stage, how dumb does Marvel think its readers are?

Meanwhile, issues #40 and 42 are the even more direct tie-ins to Secret Invasion, and are invaluable in giving us juicy glimpses of how the Secret Invasion links with several key past Marvel events. We get a peek at the Skrully side of things and witness the rise of Veranke the Queen Skrull and the early planning stages of the Secret Invasion. So, in these two issues, not only do we get a whiff of how the Skrull's master plan played a part in House of M, but we find out how the Skrulls were accidentally instrumental in re-forming the Avengers (again, see NEW AVENGERS Vol. 1: BREAKOUT). And, with Vernake having decided to take a more pro-active role in field operations, we also get clued into what character she impersonates. So, plenty of enlightening moments here where you just may go, "Oh, snap, that's how it went down, huh?!"

Wordsmith Brian Michael Bendis is working hard and, for what these issues are, I think he manages to keep confusion down to a minimum. That is, if you've been keeping up with enough of the Marvel titles. Mind you, though, I'm still not down with the New Avengers title turning into a Secret Invasion platform. The one consistent saving grace running thru all these issues is the artwork, done up by different artists but all demonstrating very good skill. If you've read ALIAS and THE PULSE, then you know that Michael Gaydos draws the definitive Jessica Jones, and he's here to provide visuals for the monster squabble between her and Luke Cage. The rest of the artists also turn in exemplary stuff. David Mack draws the Echo story, Billy Tan covers the Savage Land arc, and Jim Cheung provides stunning visuals for issues #40 and 42.

Secret Invasion and NEW AVENGERS are two of Brian Michael Bendis's babies, so I guess I shouldn't begrudge him letting one title carry so closely into the other. As informative as these issues are, I'm not keen on the New Avengers title being slaved to whatever Big, All-Important Mini-series is currently going. I'm also not into solo stories in a team book. I miss the New Avengers being together. Anyway, prep yourself for the next NEW AVENGERS trade, which will also feature more Secret Invasion tie-ins and, by #48, will introduce some changes in the lineup. But, by the power of Greyskull, I can't wait for things to settle down, and for the New Avengers title to get back to actually being about the New Avengers.