CBI Archive
Brad’s Reaction To Abhay’s Reaction To Secret Invasion #6’s Reaction To
- by Brad Curran
- in General
Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 4:18 PM EST
Updated: Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 7:52 PM EST
what? Battlestar Galactica? The War on Terror? Bendis’s need for a gazebo?
I liked Secret Invasion #6 (here is the Abhay review in question) well enough. I really did. I’ve generally enjoyed this series.
I can’t entirely tell you why, mind you. It hasn’t done a ton of things with the Invasion of the Body Snatchers style paranoia the premise suggests, which was one of the draws of the series for me. I get the feeling that some of the roughly 1,500 tie-ins may be, but I refuse to buy those.
The pacing is glacial, which is something you can always throw at Bendis when you’re so inclined. I mean, things are happening, in the sense that there is screaming and explosions and tears that look suspiciously like another bodily fluid if you really want to go there; it’s not just entirely set up and verbose conversations, and whatever else Bendis did in five of the six issues of his storylines when I was regularly reading his work that I can’t hazily remember.
But the plot in the mini proper has barely advanced at all, and there’s the whole “there is no scope to how this is affecting the rest of the world beyond the Savage Land and New F’n York”. Bendis has achieved this weird feet, at least for me, of making this series seem like its going somewhere very quickly while not really doing that all. Like he’s gesturing wildly to mimic great strenuous activity while just really running in place.
But really, pacing schamcing; I don’t read these comics to see craftsmanship on display. I don’t really read anything for that. When I do get that out of something, I am of course pleasantly surprised and appreciative and willing to donate any theoretical children to whatever edlritch purposes the writer might need them for at a later date; I’m not a total ingrate. So, right now, I owe kids to Charles Burns, Alan Moore, Dan Clowes, Chris Ware, Both Hernandezes, and Kevin Nash.
But I specifically just read superhero comics for the entertainment value; the excitement, the spectacle (empty as it may be), the melodrama, even it is basically action figures hurtling at each other, as I am sure blog gadfly Dan Coyle once said about crossovers. Anything else is gravy.
So, what is the gravy here? There’s a lot of space devoted to what was at best a pretty stupid diversion mocking dumb protesters/Independence Day lift (and at worse a sign that Bendis is a right wing fascist, I guess? I can’t really follow what that one commenter was saying at SC to that end; I zoned out after he (?)called Bendis and Millar meatwastes and hell I think it’s JesseBaker’s ghost saying all that). Seemingly important things happen off panel, but we get a lot of double page spreads of New York.
A thing on the whole “there’s too much focus on New York” that Abhay and roughly one million other people have criticized this and roughly every other Marvel Comic published in the last two centuries about; well, yes, but Marvel has always been New York centric. That was part of the initial appeal of what we now call the Marvel Universe for branding reasons; it was centered in a real place, as opposed to amalgamations like Gotham or Metropolis. That and all of the damn superheroes live there. Sure, this is probably a profound bit of painful obviousness, but if I did not cause physical pain with my attempts at insight at least once in one a post, what kind of blogger would I be?
Overall (and without really getting in to any of them), all of the criticisms Abhay had of this ring true, just like they did in his famous (infamous? Those are interchangeable now for some reason, aren’t they?) takedown of Countdown to A Whole Lot of Crises. It is not very good when viewed in the light of actually thinking about it or have any expectations of it at all.
That said, I liked parts of it. I really thought the whole “Avengers Assemble!” moment this issue pretty much hinged on, with all of the assembled heroes and villains pulling together in an us vs. them moment, was pretty cool, any possible political/social/psychosexual subtext aside. It wasn’t quite a F*@% Yeah! or mark out (and holy crap, I may have just discovered my new favorite blog ever there) moment, but it was close.
That, and as totally anti-climatic as it was, New Cap meeting New-ish Thor for one panel was something I enjoyed, even if it was totally anti-climatic. I mean, we’ll probably never see that scene in Ed Brubaker’s Cap, you know? That’s something that crossovers are for. And hey, from there, with the way my mind works, it was a quick hop, skip, jump, and Family Circus recurring gag to imagining what a Brubaker written, noir drenched Thor would be like, and that is greatly amusing. I take it where I get it.
I always feel weird when I don’t hate things people hate on the internet. I don’t hate many things, no matter what any 60 deep list I wrote whilst bored might tell you otherwise. I don’t love many things either. I have this weird wiring where I am indifferent, or at least neutral, on vast swaths of things. SI is like that for me, except the moments where I do feel less of the icy grip of foul neutrality clenching my heart, I usually enjoy it.
And I really don’t know why that is. Objectively, I know it is not terribly good. It’s at least really flawed, and I could probably (absolutely) be spending that $3.99 a month better. I know part of the draw of the book lately has been following along with Abhay’s reviews, which are more fun than that and pretty much everything else in existence, really.
But really, is buying this just to laugh at someone else mock it any better than people buy/torrent things they hate? And beyond that, is there any value to this at all beyond internet rubbernecking from mad blog geniuses? Why do I not hate, and even sort of enjoy, this thing?
Are my standards really that low? Did the premise and characters that appeal to me blind me to its deficiencies? Once you buy one of these things because the Hulk totally flattens Reed Richards in one issue, do they have their claws in you for life? Even when confronted with its failures, why do I not care about them that much? Most importantly, why can’t I find love? I mean, other than the fact that I never leave my house except to procure comics, video games, and food, and women never seem to be in any of the places I go for those. This damned comic is really pretty deep once you start projecting your own neuroses on to it.
Oh, crap, I forgot to mention the art of this comic at all here. It was okay. I has been the whole way through. Not great, not bad, pretty unexceptional. I used to really like Leinil Yu’s style, and it is idiosyncratic enough that it at least brings a weird charm to this kind of thing that a more classical, neat and potatoes adventure comics kind of penciller wouldn’t. That said, he’s not a kinetic enough penciller to elevate this kind of thing the way John Romita or Frank Miller can, so I’m not sure how excited I am for issue #7. But I really like the end of issue #6, and Yu had something to do with that, certainly. I’m not entirely sure what the division of labor is there, considering he has an inker (Mark Morales), but he deserves some credit for my moderate enjoyment of this objectively terrible comic!
I always find the clash of the objective and subjective fascinating, especially when it’s two voices in my brain doing the clashing. So, if I avoid institutionalization between now and then, anticipate more on this topic. Like you anticipate a swarm of locusts, sure, but I still think that’s the right word for it.
11 Comments
aaron
September 14, 2008 at 6:44 pm
My wife and I were talking about this on our podcast today (shameless plug) and we both realized that Secret Invasion would be a hell of a lot better without any of the Bendis books.
They could have done the Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova stuff first to tie it into Annihilation, then came to NY and SF in Ms Marvel, YA/Runaways and X-Men, and the Hercules story should have come last, and finished it off when he took care of the “He” in “He Loves You.” It would be like one of those fun 90’s Marvel summer events - Atlantis Attacks or Acts of Vengeance, etc.
Instead, with the Bendis books, all we get is Bendis seemingly expecting us to be so impressed with all the groundwork he laid, we won’t pay any attention to the fact that there’s really nothing even remotely intriguing about the forward-moving part of the plot. It’s like we’re visiting his house, and he won’t stop showing off his cool basement.
“But Bendis, we want to see the rest of the house.”
“Check it out. Over here? Reinforced steel! Put in with my bare hands!”
“I have to use the bathroom, Bendis.”
“And BEHIND that reinforced steel? I poured 24 inches of solid concrete, baby!”
If you were to read just the NON-Bendis tie-ins to this series, it would be a lot more fun and a lot less painful.
Eric
September 14, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Heh. Weird feet.
ZZZ
September 14, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I realize this will out me as hopelessy uncool and out-of-touch, but…
Could we get a link to the review you’re discussing, for those of us who haven’t already read it (or heard of Abhay before today)? Or at least a point in the direction of where to look for it? It sounds amusing.
I tried Googling, but only got other people’s commentary on his earlier reviews. I apologize if there’s already a link in there (other than the Countdown to Final Crisis review and the various related tangents) that I missed.
George Salire
September 14, 2008 at 7:58 pm
That abhay review sounds totally cool…probably the most popular blog ever…if only I’ve heard of him….
Or am I not supposed to?
Regardless, nice review. I read my comics in much the same way as this…trying to see both the craftsmanship and the pure vanilla awesomeness of a cool story. It gets confusing for a while, and sometimes I just cave in and just see comics as they are: stories you’re meant to enjoy on its own.
However, I don’t agree with your comparison (or something) of Yu’s art to the ‘kinetic’ style of Miller or Romita. Both artists are great on their own, but they’re too scratchy and sketchy and cartoony for my taste. Yu’s tangible and realistic take on comics, however, is. Of course, that’s just my opinion. Maybe you meant how they draw action scenes? In which case I totally agree on Miller and Romita.
But yeah…weird feet?
Brian Cronin
September 14, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Abhay reviews for Savage Critic.
I added a link to the review - he’s really a very fun guy to read, review-wise.
ZZZ
September 14, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Thanks for the link! Always good to find a new (to me) reviewer worth reading.
Lawrence
September 15, 2008 at 6:36 am
So basically you’re saying the issue was “meh.”
I’m kind of in the same boat as you; I like Secret Invasion just fine despite not being very impressed with it. My only criticism is that Bendis manages to write a comic where technically a lot happens, yet it still feels like nothing is happening.
the Phantom-Longbox
September 15, 2008 at 9:33 am
Abhay’s review was “teh awesome”.
I actually enjoyed IT far more than the actual issue it reviewed.
(Which, in addition to all the things that he’s stating being FACTS, helps make it an excellent review.)
I went into S.I. with both eyes wide open, eager for some “non-continuity-erase-magic-button, continuity fixing” (think about it, Pym wouldn’t be a wife-beater, Cat-Beast would NOT be the “real McCoy”, dumb character flaws could be FIXED, SOME Wolverine crap could be nullified, decades of bad 2nd tier character crap could be undone, etc…), only to find that it’s (for the most part) a select few heroes who were replaced, maybe a YEAR ago.
I expected a TON of intrigue and suspense and clandestine cloak and dagger (not the characters) noir-type actual MYSTERY! I expected to have the rug pulled from under my feet by AMAZING REVEALS that showed a Marvel who were still the mavericks of the comic publishing world, and who would, unflinchingly reveal that a few fan-favorites were SKRULLS for a decade or so!
Deep-sleeper-cell Skrulls, who may not have even KNOWN that they were, in fact, Skrulls (and as such, keep at least a veneer of “heroism” to someone’s favorite charater (lest they jump off a bridge, or take a rifle to the town clocktower because their fave character had been a skrull for years and their collection is now “all a lie”)…
***THERE ARE GOING TO BE SOME SPOILERS HERE, so if you’re “WAITING FOR THE TRADES”, best to move on to the NEXT comment***
That Captain Marvel mini points to it all pretty well.
I bought and read and enjoyed it THINKING that it was a time-tossed Mar-Vell, only for it to be a Skrull who truly believed that he WAS the hero and as such, rebelled AGAINST his own kind because THAT is just what Mar-Vell WOULD do…
I enjoyed that to no end.
It was ballsy. It was bold. It was pretty GOOD.
Unfortunately, AFTER that mini, the treatment of that character spiraled the drain (and now he’s gone), but it was EXACTLY the kind of thing that I went INTO Secret Invasion EXPECTING!
So… 6 issues in, we have a lapsed time of, what… a few HOURS?
An over-night perhaps?
Damn.
No hero (except Pym) has REALLY been all that affected (OK. Spider-Woman. But considering that she was a character in limbo ANYWAY, who was last seen years ago with NO POWERS and NO LONGER a tie to the name of Spider-Woman, it was all a good lie).
NONE of the damn “70’s” heroes from the ship have panned out as being replacements.
THAT is a big steaming pile of shit for the overall sense of “OMG!” that we were PROMISED going into this.
To this point, I have no doubt that, SURE there will be repercussions, ramifications and ret-cons after this is all over, but no where NEAR what it really SHOULD have been.
I actually used to DEFEND JoeQ’s tenure because he was trying to bring back a M.U. that was edgy.
A world where “Hero A” and “Hero X” might NOT be so instantly chummy-chummy “let’s team up” because they no longer really KNOW who the other guy is or where he stands on costumed adventuring (ala Civil War).
I applauded the entire exercise of “break it all down - then rebuild”.
Far better than the “seen it all for the last 30 years, it’s stale now” meal that comics have been serving up most of my comic-reading life.
But, thus far…?
S.I. is a let down.
In nearly all manners.
There HAVE been a few great spots (most, if not all, in some of the ancillary books), but the main mini’s actual performance and execution is poor.
I don’t doubt that Bendis and co. HAD some GREAT stuff in their heads.
I do NOT doubt that AWESOME ideas were tossed around and hastily scrawled into notebooks for later execution.
BUT, the product doesn’t REFLECT that.
I’ve worked in similar fields enough to know that sometimes, there just isn’t enough room to fit it all, and some stuff gets cut.
Sometimes, there’s only so much room for word-balloons on a page, and some stuff gets lost in the rush.
But, that’s NOT the case.
We have PLENTY of room.
Just jettison some of the flotsom and refuse that is bogging down this story.
Multiple double-page spreads of nothing.
Multiple giant panels of wide-eyed red-herring close-ups (so, one comic has Spider-Woman with GREEN eyes and everyone was pointing to that as a clue, and NOW she suddenly has BLUE eyes in this issue - even though the whole magilla of the body-snatching means that they have to BE that person down to the last genome and NO CHANGES can occur, lest they be found out).
I had a thought, this issue, when they mention that “WASP” might be a last-ditch ace-in-the-hole for the Skrulls… and it was a BAD thought.
So, Marvel, realizing that they COULD have made Pym a hero again and NOT have been the guy who slapped Janet around that one time, but they missed the opportunity to do so, realize that “HEY, we’ll just say that the WASP has been a Skrull forever. THEN, Hank would only have bitch-clapped a Skrull invader!”
But THAT STILL means that Hank would be a wife-beater, because he DIDN’T KNOW that she was a Skrull at the time. Which is just as bad.
So, I’m truly hoping that they DON’T try this trick, and IF she’s a sleeper agent, has only been one for a short time.
Probably has to do with the “growth serum” that “Hank” gave her a little while ago.
Maybe it makes her explode (like the mouse in that old movie “The Mouse that Roared”) and will take out the heroes in cosmic fire or something.
OK. I’ve long ago entered into “Rambling Rant County - Population : Me”.
Just thought I’d share my own disappointment (not frustration, because I really don’t “care” all that mush about it, but as a fellow creator, I see SO MUCH LOST POTENTIAL) in this “event”.
Can they pull it out of the fire in 2 more issues?
I don’t think so, since they’re ALREADY announcing some kind of follow-up story called “DARK REIGN”.
We’ll see.
X_the_Phantom-Longbox__
Dalarsco
September 15, 2008 at 12:25 pm
It’s not Bendis’ best work, or even best crossover, but it’s readable. The story is a tad thin, but it’s story to ad for tie-ins ratio is MUCH better than Civil War. For me the highlight is Yu’s art. He’s working at the level of Ivan Ries and George Perez on these crazy splash pages full of heroes and kooky Super-Skrulls.
Scavenger
September 15, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Yu…feh.
I’m sorry…if you’re seeing a big 2 page spread of a devastated New York…maybe it should look…I don’t know…devastated? If you don’t know what that looks like, check out any of countless recent disaster movies or the WWHulk series you published last week!
If the Skrulls can whip out superskulls by the millions with ultimate powers (a Galactus Skrull…really?) and no weaknesses (hey Bendis, it’s called balance…make ‘em blow up after 5 minutes or something). Why didn’t they use these guys to stop the Annihilation Wave that destroyed the Skrull Empire. Hey..maybe a reference to said destruction…that’d be all old school Marvel..you’re supposed to be into that kind of thing.
Stefan
September 16, 2008 at 6:19 am
I wasn’t that pissed off by SI 6, ’cause I didn’t pay for it. I just read it in the store.
But Ahbay’s review sure was a hell of a lot more exciting to read than SI 6, and that’s pretty damning, ’cause nobody had to spend money on that review and it probably didn’t take nearly as long to write. I really liked a lot of the build-up to in New Avengers and Might Avengers, and some of the tie-ins (especially Captain Britain and Hercules) have been wonderful but yeah, Bendis just isn’t an event writer, is he? We’ve had some good moments, but just not enough to make so much hooplah over.
I’m curious to see what Dark Reign is all about but I’m not that optimistic either.