AudioShocker

I guess I expected Secret Invasion #1 to be a bit more shocking. Not that it wasn’t good - Lenil Yu’s pencils look strong with Mark Morales on inks and Laura Martin on colors; Brian Michael Bendis delivers a strong script. But the overall story felt much like your typical issue of New Avengers. That’s a good thing, of course. But not necessarily an event comic thing.

I certainly wasn’t out and out taken aback by any Skrull development that happened. Surprised a bit? Maybe here and there. But no “knock me on my ass” moments like the first issue of Civil War. I remember finishing Civil War #1 with my mouth agape, shocked at the words of Iron Man. It had attitude like the Bad Boys movies and hyper-real visuals. Secret Invasion, on the other hand, has a decidedly slow burn pace that feels more like a political thriller than a big action movie.

And I’m sure that’s the point. I imagine that Bendis wants this story to read a bit more mature and subtle than the past two Marvel Comics spring / summer events (the aforementioned Civil War and World War Hulk). To that end, he is successful. However, I didn’t drop my jaw anywhere. I didn’t even scream anything out loud, often a sign that I’m lost in the fictional illusion of the story to my delight.

But like I said, the book is good. I’m not going to be spoilerish, that is unless talking about the fulfillment of expectations counts as spoilers (which, this reader believes, can have way more spoiler potential than learning about the plot). It is excellent to see Luke Cage as a pivotal player in the Marvel Universe, even if Lenil Yu doesn’t know which way his tiara should be facing (ooo, watch out for spoilers!!!).

My favorite part of the issue? Three words: Reed Richards spaghetti. Mr. Fantastic needs to score a licensing deal with Ragu now. Visually, this moment is a close second only to Clor getting his robotic brains bashed out by Hercules. It’s creepy and fascinating at the same time.