For something a bit different this Bank Holiday Monday, we thought we’d take a look at some of the books put out by Marvel and DC for this year’s Free Comic Book Day…

Blackest Night #0
Hey, you know what? This is actually pretty good. “Blackest Night” hasn’t actually started yet, but I’m already deathly sick of it due to the roughly six months-worth of “Prelude” we’ve had to put up with in the Green Lantern books, which have only served to overwhelm and confuse with sheer volume of concepts and characters, rather than inspiring excitement for the event. But this #0 issue, designed as a primer for readers not following recent DC history, actually lays out far better the basics behind the storyline, and in having Hal Jordan and Barry Allen discuss death and rebirth at Bruce Wayne’s graveside, provides a nice meditation on the way the subject tends to get covered in comics. After all, given that the resurrection of dead (or thought-dead) heroes has been a tradition of the genre all the way back to Captain America, it actually kind of makes sense to build an entire event around the concept. There are decent moments as Johns shows yet again that his knowledge of DC characters and history is second to none (even if his ability to come up with decent new ideas for ‘em is sometimes lacking), and Ivan Reis’ art is no rush job, particularly when covering various flashbacks. Profile pages that explain the nature of each of the different Corps in the Lantern spectrum do little to convince that the concept isn’t inherently ludicrous, but at least negate the need to have read the last year’s worth of Lantern books. If you’re interested in reading the upcoming event (or, indeed, still considering whether or not to), then this is a heartily-recommended primer. [SP]

FCBD: Avengers #1
Marvel’s FCBD books of the last two years have been pretty agenda-setting, both in the case of their Spider-Man issue (which was the first “Brand New Day” book some 8 months before that continuity officially arrived) and their Uncanny X-Men freebie, which was set after Messiah Complex despite being when the crossover hadn’t even been solicited. By contrast, this Avengers book is fairly current – though perhaps the fact that the title is simply “Avengers” will bear fruit in the future? There’s a certain perverse joy in having the Dark and New Avengers team up before they’ve actually even fought one another, while Spider-Man’s narration gives readers a clear “in” to the story (even if the Dark Avengers’ introduction is ridiculously wordy.) It’s a fun issue, suffers slightly from having a lot of characters to cram into one issue, but Bendis is at his quippy best, which Cheung’s art is as stunning as ever. Definitely worth buying when the inevitable “Director’s Cut” gets released. [JHu]

FCBD: Wolverine #1
In stark contrast to the character-packed and complex FCBD Avengers, Marvel is also offering this all-ages Wolverine solo title by Fred Van Lente. Set literally minutes before Wolverine was sent to fight the Hulk in his first appearance (because god knows that particular moment in continuity hasn’t been repeatedly mined before…) this is essentially an issue of Wolverine: First Class, and is clearly aimed at younger readers. While one must applaud Marvel’s attempt to reach younger readers, one can’t help but wonder if it’s not a little misguided. In comics, “all ages” is practically synonymous with “patronisingly simplistic” and such comics rarely seem to be the entry point for new readers anyway. Even worse, with a Wolverine movie on screens, the comic seems more likely to end up in the hands of freebie-seeking Wolverine fans far older than the comic’s true audience, and in that case, it isn’t going to help dispell any of the popular myths about comics being for kids. Well-intentioned, soundly-crafted, but ultimately it’s a case of “wrong place, wrong time.” [JHu]

Capsule reviews from the Comics Daily team, including Doktor Sleepless #10, Mighty Avengers #20, Spider-Man: Noir #1, Thunderbolts #127 and Uncanny X-Men #505. (continue reading…)

A blockbuster epic approached as a short story collection might sound a contradiction in terms, but is a concept very suited to Brian Bendis’s slow-burn writing style. With the casts of both Avengers titles still tied up in the Savage Land, the Secret Invasion’s mastermind continues his trip through the Marvel Universe’s recent past, showing how Hank Pym was seduced by his Skrull replacement. In seeking refuge from the failure of his marriage with an impressionable student, Giant Man’s conduct may be somewhat reprehensible, but the issue doesn’t feel like a straightforward morality tale. A montage sequence makes clear that the relationship is more than just a one-night stand, and early anxiety from Pym that his new girlfriend will sell her story makes it clear that he’s taken a leap of faith. Given the limited number of pages available, the writer sensibly doesn’t attempt to establish much of a cover story for the alien student. Even without the Invasion logo on the cover, her nature would obvious, and it’s a sign of the author’s experience he doesn’t seek to waste the reader’s time by attempting to inject suspense.

The focus on Pym is an understandable decision. His absence from the regular cast of either Avengers title means that he benefits from a certain amount of re-establishment, so that the secrets his impostor can give her fellow Skrulls are obvious. However, this almost first-person approach creates problems during the second half of the story. Given how closely we’ve identified with Pym, the switch in perspective to that of his Skrull suitor is jarring. Bendis clearly isn’t ready to spill the beans on the fates of those replaced during the invasion, but the face that the Skrull doesn’t even check whether her target is still alive feels rather forced. The un-named agent’s voluntary sex change also seems artificial, given how every impostor revealed to date has been of the same gender as his or her victim, but it’s an understandable way of simplifying the story.

Although a nice enough character piece, the issue is constrained by having to fit with the Secret Invasion formula without imparting much new information. We’ve seen the skrulls’ body snatching techniques before in the pages of The New Avengers, and the way the aliens managed to disable Starktech’s systems is hardly the most pressing issue in the crossover. At times, it’s a charming little story, but the moments when the issue’s cynical conception shows through make it difficult to wholeheartedly enjoy.

Every Wednesday we take turns to delve into our trusty longboxes, pluck out a dusty back issue at random, and give you our thoughts. We’ll also try and place it in the context of the time it was originally published.

Secret Invasion has finally kicked off, and if we’re to believe the hype, Bendis has had it in the works as far back as Secret War and Avengers Disassembled. Not too shabby, and if true, represents long-term planning that would impress even the writers of Lost.

With this in mind, I thought it’d be a good idea to use this week’s Dusting Off to go back and have a look at the place where Bendis claims he explicitly started identifying Skrull infiltrators to Tom Brevoort – the first arc of New Avengers, and give ourselves a refresher course. After all, the cover to Secret Invasion #1 is a homage to the cover of New Avengers #1. There’s got to be some link, right?

In the first issue, someone hires Electro to break out a bunch of prisoners from the Raft, and a group of heroes who are visiting the Sentry get caught in the midst. During the battle, over 40 villains escape, but a similar number are held back by the assembled heroes. As a result, they accidentally form what Captain America calls the “new” Avengers – Iron Man, Cap, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Luke Cage and later, the Sentry, with Wolverine joining a few issues later.

As an opening issue, it’s a fairly simple, iconic story of heroes overcoming the odds, and that’s what makes Captain America decide to re-form the Avengers team. However, we now know that the issue, and the rest of the arc, have Skrulls in it, pulling the strings. All will certainly be revealed in time, but for those of us who can’t wait, let’s see what we can figure out…

The most obvious wildcard in this story is the shadowy man in a trenchcoat that hires Electro to break into the Raft. To this day, we don’t know who it was. However, in that opening scene, Electro has some very deep, obvious green eyes. That’s been shorthand for “this person is a skrull” for some time. Is Electro one of the earliest confirmed skrulls? He’s done little of prominence recently, but that does suggest that the people freeing Lykos are Skrulls, and therefore you could assume the shadowy figure is too.

Thing is… that shadowy figure does look a lot like Nick Fury, from what we see of him. It’d also explain why we haven’t seen who it is even 3 years down the line – Fury’s still in hiding. There’s more going on it that it seems, of course. If it is Fury who hired Electro, he did so to break out Sauron, which pointed the New Avengers in the direction of SHIELD’s questionable activities in the Savage Land – something Fury would want to do now that he’s on the outs with the organisation. Maria Hill destroyed the SHIELD unit mining Savage Land Vibranium when the Avengers found out. If that shadowy figure is Fury, then all this also points to Maria Hill being a skrull – not an unpopular or particularly original theory, but one that, on re-reading New Avengers’ opening arc, could have some weight behind it.

Yikes. Two possible contradictory theories and we’re only one issue in. The clues allegedly start New Avengers #1, so why not have a read and see what you can find out?

Just as Gaydos returned for his stint on Alias’ Jessica Jones last week, so this issue of New Avengers sees David Mack returning to the character he had a hand in creating – Maya Lopez, the deaf hitwoman-turned-heroine known as Echo.

Little is made of Echo’s powers in this issue. From her appearances in Dardevil, we know she has a taskmaster-style ability to copy any movement she sees exactly, but it’s largely underplayed in this issue in favour of simply showing her as a formidable fighter.

The plot gives us a rare look into the actual workings of Secret Invasion, as we see a skrull attempting to replace Maya. The skrulls, it appears, are going to have a ridiculous array of powers to call upon, which is going to make them incredibly difficult enemies to fight, though as this issue demonstrates, they also lack the experience to properly use their powers to maximum effectiveness. Despite employing the powers of several heroes, the skrull is still beaten by Maya and Logan, though it does manage to escape. Afterwards, Maya retires to the Avengers… er, apartment, I guess, before sleeping with Hawkeye. That guy really puts it around.

It’s a fairly straightforward story, but nicely plays off Maya and Logan’s history together (as explained in the pages of Daredevil some years ago) by pairing them up. Bendis is remarkably restrained with his dialogue, allowing Mack’s amazing pencils to speak for themselves. I’ve never seen Mack’s work like this – I’m only used to his painted pages, and I had to check the cover to make sure it was actually him. Let’s get this straight: Mack is nothing short of an amazing penciller. If I worked at Marvel I’d give him whatever it took to have him pencilling something on even a semi-regular basis. As it is, he only seems to put out the odd issue of Kabuki through Icon – a move that seems purely designed to keep him at Marvel ready for this kind of project. Either way, keep doing it.

Oh, and apparently: next issue – Skrulls! For a change? Someone should speak to the Brand New Day guys about writing those next-issue teasers.

Once upon a time there was a book called Alias and it was, by a considerable distance, the best female-fronted superhero comic that has ever been published. It was written by Bendis, drawn by Gaydos, and for its entire run of 28 issues you could barely hope to encounter a finer title on the shelves.

Then, one day, the series accidentally ended. According to Bendis’ take on things, he finished issue 28, then realised he’d just written the last issue of the series. And by god, it’s only been a few years but it feels like decades have passed since then. After her brief stint in 2004’s aborted “The Pulse” series, which never really found its feet, Bendis took Jessica Jones and folded her into the New Avengers cast. In 2006’s New Avengers Annual #1, we witnessed Jessica and Cage marry, and in 2008, we’re watching them break up over that most common motivator of divorce – ideological difficulties.

It’s fitting that Gaydos should be brought back to collaborate with Bendis on this issue of New Avengers, because one thing that’s been made abundantly clear is that Jessica Jones only really looks like Jessica Jones when Gaydos is the man doing the drawing. It would be criminal to let anyone else draw such an important chapter in Jessica’s life. It’s almost like having Alias back. Almost.

Gaydos’ artwork in New Avengers is considerably brighter than it was last time we saw it, and he manages to meld the vastly different tones of Alias and New Avengers into something believably between the two. The story is pretty much talking heads the entire issue, as Cage and Jones fight over her defection, but Gaydos brings such a range of expression to every face in every panel that it’s hard to imagine caring that the height of action in the issue is a telephone being crushed.

Elsewhere, now unable to use Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, the New Avengers are set up by Danny “Iron Fist” Rand in a nice apartment where they plan continue their unregistered superheroics. The issue ends with a pointed shot of the cause of all their fighting – Cage and Jones’ baby. Is that another hint of green in her eyes?