Invaders Classic: The Complete Collection Volume 2 by Roy Thomas Don Glut

Invaders Classic: The Complete Collection #2

by Roy Thomas

Published in the 1970s, set in the 1940s, the Invaders was Marvel's best and brightest retro revival of the Golden Age heroes of World War II...and now, the series is collected across two massive volumes! Captain America, the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner, plus scrappy sidekicks Bucky and Toro first banded together when the United States entered WWII! Now, relive the heroes' untold tales as they face the evil Axis powers, and battle Scarlet Scarab, Master Man, Teutonic Knight, Iron Cross, Super-Axis and more! Invaders (1975) 23-41, Invaders (1993) 1-4, Giant-Size Invaders 2, What If? (1977) 4

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Marvel, Comic Book, World War II, Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published July 16, 2008

About the author

Roy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.

Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.

Reviews

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in WWII.

It was ok. I don't get all the guest appearances like they needed to do that. Pointless and with no reason at all, but I guess those names were hot back then; or something like that. The story still has nazis in it, the was is still at large and lots of others things happening along with that once again, I find the golden age Namor much more enjoyable to read than Cap.

[Sean O · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume of the Classic Invaders run includes a 1993 mini-series I never read before, as well as one of my favorite issues of "What If."

The only bad point about the collection is it doesn't have as much Frank Robbins art. Robbins is not your typical comic artist, but I thought he was perfect for those WW2 stories.

[Neerwon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This starts off strong but honestly once Frank Robbins leaves this book looses all of its charm. The stories after are okay at best and headache inducing at worst (Nazi Thor). Under Franks frantic pencil some of these stories might’ve landed better but everything just feels flat. The formation of the Kid Commandos, the inclusion of the 90’s Invaders series and the Robbins pencilled What If? Issue at the end were the highlights of this collection for me.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great fun but quality is down from the beginning of the run. Kudos for completeness including the "What If". Makes me want to read the spun off "Liberty Legion" series though I know it didn't end well.

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relive those thrilling World War II episodes of the Invaders plus a whole plethora of guess stars! This one you have to read!

[Natalie Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first heard of the Invaders through one of their lesser known members: Brian Falsworth aka Union Jack. My partner and I were minding our own business in the Avengers Academy mobile game when Brian showed up, kidnapped by the Black Knight in definitely-not-sparkly-BDSM-rope-that-Dane-got-on-discount-somewhere. The positive queer coding surrounding his character perked our interest, and we nearly dropped our phones when it was confirmed in-game that Brian identifies as gay. In fact, he and his partner Roger are Marvel's first gay characters, according to publication chronology. (For those keeping track, Brian was Avengers Academy's third confirmed LGBT character, after Loki and Janet Van Dyne).

Anyway, I was so excited that I combed through wikis, read/wrote fanfiction, followed the glib and meme-tastic @MrUnionJack on twitter: basically did everything BUT read Brian's comics. Until now. At a certain point, I was nervous that the canon in comic wouldn't live up to my personal hype.

But, readers, it f*cking did.

Collecting INVADERS #10 to #21 and their Annual #1, INVADERS CLASSIC, VOLUME 2 blew my socks off. Easy to pick up in media res, the collection has several arcs, including Steve & Bucky's battle with Reaper's fascist rhetoric; Brian and Roger's introduction & reunion, Jacqueline getting her speedster powers & becoming Spitfire; the destruction of a Warsaw ghetto; an inter-dimensional high-five to the Avengers; Warrior Woman & Master Man's deeply frightening "upgrade." To say this comic was action-packed would be underselling it.

INVADERS first and foremost is a comic book. I found what I expected: our heroes spend a lot of time flying around battlefields and shouting lines mid-kick. The art is stylized, most of the men have the same haircut and jawline, and the more eccentric coloring can be dismissed, if you want to be a coward and not let Bucky have a bright magenta bucket hat. I liked all of this, but what I liked more was what else Thomas used the frame, tropes, and platform of comic book storytelling to do.

Because while INVADERS is a collection of war stories, they are also anti-war, feminist, anti-fascist, and marginalized identity-supportive stories. Thomas takes pains to acknowledge the varied identities of this group, with its Americans, Atlantean, British aristocrats, and Android. The Jews who inhabit the ghetto are heart-wrenching in their plight and inspiring in their bravery. Anyone who underestimates Spitfire because she's a woman receives a trouncing. There are multiple discussions of how moderate people are made into fascist monsters (sometimes literally) and how appeasement doesn't work. The hot garbage mix of toxic masculinity & misogyny in the concept of Master Man/Woman/Race are not played off for laughs, but addressed. In fact, Warrior Woman is almost a tragic figure: she wants to be the ultimate, idealized "master woman of the master race," but even at her all powerful, she is reduced to a walking baby factory.

Honestly, considering a loud yam is president of the USA right now, this year is the perfect year to read the INVADERS, and I recommend it to everyone. If you like G. Willow Wilson's MS. MARVEL and/or Ta-Nehisi Coates' BLACK PANTHER series, you will definitely love Thomas' INVADERS. Read it, love it, and live it. My humble suggestion for living it is to vote in all elections and punch your local Nazis.

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second volume collects Invaders stories from Invaders #10-#21 and Annual #1.

Issue 10 has a brief recap of the battle with Baron Blood that ended the previous book and left the elderly Union Jack unable to continue. However, that's only a framing story for a reprint of a golden age Captain America story from Captain America #24 which was pretty entertaining but also not what the book was about. As Roy Thomas explained, the staff was struggling with the demands of going to monthly publication with everything else already on their plate. This would be a theme throughout the rest of the book particularly towards the end.

Issue 11 has actual dealing with the consequences of the battle with Union Jack done for and his daughater Jacqueline struggling in the balance until the android Human Torch provides her a transfusion which gives her superpoweers. However, the Invaders are then attacked by a Jewish scientist who has been forced to serve the Nazis to keep his brother safe.

Issues 12 and 13 features the Invders going to Warsaw with a decent story that has a bit of a deus ex machena in it.

Issues 14 and 15 finds the Invaders encountering a new group of British heroes who displace the Invaders as their honor guard. The story was meant to be a commentary on patriotism and the danger of going overboard, but it's an okay though not great story.

The Annual is what makes the difference between this book being three and four stars. The Invaders were based on a concept introduced by Thomas in Avengers #71 where the World War 2 heroes battle modern Avengers. The Avengers issue told the tale from the Avengers perspective, but this version explained things from the Invaders perspective and it began with a golden age split up where the Big three (minus Toro and Bucky) split up to take on foes individually until they are whisked away to face the Avengers. Thomas also uses this story to explain some incongruities such as why the Avengers were in 1942 and Cap was using a 1941 shield. This is the type of fun fan bonanza that Thomas wrote so well.

Issues 16-21 are consumed with a story that begins with the kidnapping of a comic book artist who fictionalized Captain America's origin story, the birth of two Nazi Super Soldiers, and the reintoduction of the Destroyer (although it appears this Destroyer was different from the one in golden age comics), and Hitler guest-starring in several comics. This was a good story, but not great. The Invaders spend great parts of the first four issues chained up and are continually recaptured and Cap shows some uncharacteristic bad judgment as a plot contrivance. Still, this was a solid story with some good scenes

In the end, this collection of Invaders stories had its moments but the book suffered from Marvel demands on other books and a lack of focus as to where this story should be going. Still, it's an enjoyable romp through Marvel's Bronze Age Golden Age comic.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reprints Invaders #10-21 and Annual #1 (November 1976-October 1977). The Invaders battle with Baron Blood is over and as a result Spitfire is born and the Invaders lose Union Jack. The Invaders face off against another superhero team called the Crusaders which reveals a secret of the Falsworths. Traveling deep into Nazi territory, the Invaders face Hitler himself and find themselves in their most perilous situation as a new Union Jack is born.

Written by Roy Thomas with Stan Lee and Ed Summer also contributing, The Invaders Classic Volume 2 contains a number of shortened issues (due to reprints contained within the issues) and an issue that incorporates part of an original Captain America tale.

The Invaders is still a fun comic. Tapping into the Golden Age of comics this collection feels like even more of a throwback with an out-and-out reprint in Invaders #10 (November 1976) which recounts Captain America and Bucky's battle with the Reaper and Invaders Annual #1 (January 1977) (falling between issues #15 and #16) which tells Captain America, Human Torch, and Sub-Mariner's battle with classic villains the Hyena, the Shark, and Agent Axis. Unfortunately the collection doesn't contain the reprints of Invaders #20 and Invaders #21 which reprinted Namor's first appearance in Marvel Comics #1 and his adventure from Marvel Mystery #10.

Like The Invaders Classic Volume 1, The Invader Classics also introduces a "new" team of World War II heroes. In Volume 1, the Liberty Legion was introduced (and promptly fizzled), here you get the Crusaders (which were based on DC's Freedom Fighters), but they made even fewer waves and are rarely seen again (except Dyna-Mite who becomes a regular character in Invaders).

I have a soft spot for the Falsworths and Union Jack so I'm glad to see Union Jack "reborn" in a younger, more proactive version. The original Union Jack was a necessary evil in the story just to give the character history, but with Brian Falsworth taking the reins in Invaders #19 (August 1977). Brian continues as a regular player in the Invaders following this volume.

The Invaders Classic Volume 2 is a worthwhile read. It is a fun series that might read a little heavier than modern comics, but does a nice job blending ’70s Marvels with the classic Golden Age series. The Invaders Classic Volume 2 was followed by The Invaders Classic Volume 3 which contains the next issues of the Invaders.

[Terry Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, now we're talking ... the second collection of Invaders tales by Roy Thomas and Frank Springer (with the occasional fill-in artist such as Jim Mooney) gels completely as we get an ongoing supporting cast and subplots extending over more than two issues. Several issues find The Invaders behind enemy lines, where they finally confront Hitler (spoiler alert - he gets away), travel in time to meet the 1969 incarnation of The Avengers (showing their side of the story that originally took place in the regular Avengers series as also scripted by Roy), and in the first Invaders Annual, classic golden age artists such as Alex Schomburg, Don Rico and Lee Elias each illustrate a solo adventure chapter featuring Cap, Sub Mariner, or The Human Torch. All stories come with reproductions of the original monthly covers by either Gil Kane or Jack Kirby. Add it all together and you have meat and potatoes Marvel comics that any reader from the 1970s will recognize. This volume collects issues 10-21 and the Annual - and in full non-garish color!

[Devero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roy Thomas ha un grande amore per i personaggi della Golden Age, e si vede sempre, quando li usa. Queste storie degli Invasori, disegnate da Frank Robbins col suo caratteristico stile spigoloso con pose anatomicamente improbabili dei personaggi (un Macfarlane ante litteram) unito alla realisticità delle sue armi ed aerei della WW II in cui combattè lui stesso, hanno retto abbastanza bene, a mio avviso il passare dei decenni, ormai quattro, dalla loro edizione originale. Queste storie mi piacciono e mi affascinano, hanno chiaramente qualcosa che manca nella produzione Marvel attuale.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the second volume of the 70's comic series, the storyline gains momentum, and the Invaders gain two members, in the form of the British heroes Union Jack and Spitfire. The stories make better use of the World War II setting as the Invaders venture into occupied Europe, and face off against Hitler himself.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked how the cast was expanded with this volume, but the artwork made this one a bit of challenge. I wish the internal issue artwork was as solid as the covers.