Invaders, Vol. 1: War Ghosts

Invaders (2019) #1-6

by Chip Zdarsky (Writer), Jackson Guice, Carlos Magno (Illustrator)

THE GREATEST GENERATION OF MARVEL HEROES IS BACK - TO STOP ONE OF THEIR OWN! In commemoration of Marvel's 80th anniversary and springing from events in the pages of AVENGERS and DEFENDERS: THE BEST DEFENSE, the Marvel Universe's first super-team is back! Captain America. The Human Torch. The Winter Soldier. Namor. They fought in World War II together as THE INVADERS. But now Namor is the enemy--a global threat more powerful than ever. His deadly plans are as deep and far-reaching as the ocean, and revelations about his past could threaten the Marvel Universe! It's up to his old allies to stop him, but what chance do they have against the man who knows their every move? As the Torch digs deep into Namor's past and Bucky takes on a dangerous mission, Cap takes the direct route--to Atlantis! But the clock is ticking as a new world war looms--one that will reveal the Sub-Mariner's secret history!

COLLECTING: INVADERS 1-6

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 2019

About the author

Chip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zdarsky has created another winner. Namor has went off the deep end and is preparing to start a war with the surface world while Captain America, the Winter Soldier, and the original Human Torch, Jim Hammond, try to stop him. All four of them served in World War II as the Invaders. Zdarsky provides lots of twists and turns to keep things interesting. I like that they brought in Butch Guice to draw the WWII flashbacks.

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa! This was EXCELLENT. This might be my favorite thing Chip's wrote, and I enjoyed a lot of his stuff.

So Namor has had enough. He's going through a phase (emo eyeliner and Gothic feel) and he's ready to set his plans in motion. Cap and Sam, the original Human Torch, are working to stop him alongside them is Bucky Barnes. These are the original Invaders. Not sure who that is? Don't worry, this book will fill you in but won't bombard you with so much Exposition you'll hate yourself. On top of that Namor moves to conquer, but in a different way than you might expect, and the end results give us a truly thrilling adventure.

Chip has really outdone himself here. Creating each character in an amazing way, interactions I always wanted to see, and a truly "holy shit" twist I didn't see coming. On top of that there's a ton of history here with the Invaders but the book smartly fills out in so you understand 99% of it without reading anything prior. On top of that the art is great with some thrilling action scenes and somber moments to match the grim tone at times.

Overall, this is a fantastic mini-series that might only be 12 issues in the end but the first half so far is truly amazing. A 5 out of 5.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one, though I could do without the emo-Namor and his long, greasy hair...

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book that re-unites some of the original Invaders team in an attempt to stop Namor, who's gone crazy again some more and is threatening the surface world again some more. The original Captain America, the original Torch, and the original RetCon poster boy (remember the Bucky Clause aphorism?) dig into his past and discover some oddities (I could have done without the Prof. X angle) that fill in some blanks and provide some explanations. It's intriguing that they don't really save the day this time, but the book does conclude on a somewhat hopeful note. It's interesting to compare the look of the characters from their Golden Age versions to the current iterations, particularly Namor, who has quite a few different looks over the years. The art is enjoyable, quite colorful and dramatic, and the story is well-written, too. 'nuff said.

[RG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zdarksy is slowly turning into a fave writer of mine. Great story telling and awesome artwork. Highly recommend

[Mitch Kukulka · Rating 4 out of 5]

”With all the unofficial books about The Invaders, I'm not entirely comfortable with one that's so personal and on the record... But I think the world could do with remembering the war right now...”

Zdarsky’s metamorphosis from one of comics’ most irreverent funnymen to arguably one of the mediums greatest dramatists has been one of the biggest plot twists of 2019, though also probably a good indicator that the world is about to end.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 2.5 most of this was just okay. The tease about a secret with Professor X was a little lame.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a REALLY good story. The characterization, conflict, and drama is very well done! Zdarsky is becoming one of my favorites.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

COLLECTS INVADERS ISSUES #1-6

I really like Zdarsky's writing so I may have expected more from this, but with my high expectations aside, I think the story here would have been worth exploring in one of Marvel's annual, line-wide events. Namor is poised to be one of the greatest villains in the 616, although I expect that at some point in the not-too-distant future, he will be restored to being someplace between hero and anti-hero.

Final rating = 3.5 stars

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty great, I definitely want to check out the next volume. My one complaint is that original Human Torch in his civvies looks so much like Steve Rogers. Get your own lewk, bro!

[Adam Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars.
Marvel has recently been doing many callbacks to their origins and older heroes who have been around for a long time. With the recent successes of Aquaman, Marvel must be looking to revitalize Namor, the King of Atlantis in the Marvel Universe. What we get here is a team-up between Namor (who spends a large amount of time being an annoying brooding jerk), Captain America (Steve is still dealing with the "Secret Empire" fallout), Winter Soldier (who is made popular by the MCU, but the comics still can't really figure out what to do with him), and the original Human Torch (not Johnny Storm, but Jim Hammond, famously appearing on the cover of Marvel Comics #1). We get to see both their time together fighting back during World War II and then working together again to try and stop Namor from flooding the Earth.
Overall, I thought the story, which actually has Marvel Universe altering events with the invasion from Atlantis, was a little forced and kind of dry. Just really wasn't my kind of story. Might still try to the second and final Volume of this run just to see if it gets better, but not sure.
Not really recommended unless you are a fan of Namor and miss his character being around.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This turned out to be a...well, good read, although Zdarksy really hasn't disappointed me yet.

After an event in Justice League, Cap and the rest of the Invaders attempt to stop Namor from starting a war. Along the way we get some glimpses of all of their times together back in WWII as well as a few secrets. I liked the flashbacks because it showed things weren't always rosy.

Namor's position in the Marvel U becomes clear once again as he does something very unexpected. Excellent tension and shock at the end of the story. Art was a little shaky at first and could be slightly better, but not bad to look at. Looking forward to the next volume.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chip Zdarsky is one of my favorite comics writers working today. He combines great plotting with wonderful character work. A madman wants to make a better world and will destroy the current world to do so. The madman's friend wants to save the world and stop his madman friend.

A great hook and a wonderful start to an Invaders series. The art is gorgeous and has two different artists handling the current events and another the flashbacks.

Chapter 4, the Secret Life of Namor was a highlight as it raised the stakes while taking a moment to breathe and fill in some backstory.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looks like we're finally going to deal with Namor, maybe. What a shock that Xavier is involved. I like that there's two different artists for the two time frames, but I really wish that I didn't hate the modern day artist.

[Desa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3’5⭐️

Le tenía ganas a Invaders después que de Aaron planteara el problema con Namor y Atlantis en Vengadores, y aunque no me ha defraudado, se nota que este volumen (los 6 primeros números) es el que plantea la situación y que se acaba en lo mejor, que es lo que está por venir...

[Iris Nevers · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Read in single issues]

Great start to a series, always love an attempted redemption story.
I wonder if Namor will ever completely be redeemed

[Derek Moreland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy hell, Chip Zdarsky is going to end up telling the quintessential Namor story, isn’t he.

[Terry Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any title with artwork by the sublime Butch Guice has my attention, but the script is intriguing as well as Chip Zdarsky tries valiantly to pull together the threads of the saga of Prince Namor and why he’s such a conflicted and often confounding character. Not sure I fully agree with some of the choices here, but it’s a much better series than I expected.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Namor's plan was unbelievably effing stupid. I mean, you could probably get more than 3000 people to volunteer to become Atlantean. That was a lot of effort for very little payoff and the US isn't likely to look the other way over the murder of the Admiral and many subordinates. What did he think he was accomplishing?

Really did not like the art.

[Sans · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don’t care for Namor. I was here for Bucky.

[Alex Sarll]

Namor is planning to lead Atlantis to war on the surface world, again, so his old WWII comrades Cap, Bucky and Jim Hammond determine to stop him before things go too far. On one level it's a powerful examination of PTSD and how people who have always felt themselves alienated and alone can in turn become a threat, and after Daredevil it's further proof that Zdarsky can write serious stuff just as well as he does comedy. Not to mention, Magno and Guice's art really captures both the war comic feel the flashbacks need, and the sense of wonder when it comes to the undersea cities and flaming androids. But for all that it determines to sympathise with Namor while the younger generation of Stark et al incline to treat him simply as a villain, it never really addresses, even as a possibility, the crucial point that Namor is right*. He was right back on the battlefield in WWII, when he told Cap to have no qualms about killing Nazis. He was right after the battle, when he wants to mark the death of a friend with carousing and flirting, and Steve insists that no, everyone has to be miserable and repressed and American about it and mourn it the Rogers way and only the Rogers way. And he's even more right now. On Marvel's Earth as on ours, the surface-dwellers have been treating the sea with gross disrespect for too long, and they're well overdue a reckoning. The incident about which the US is up in arms is Namor killing some workers for Roxxon, a corporation even more canonically evil than our own world's. If anything, Steve et al shouldn't be talking Namor down, they should be backing him up. I mean, imagine what Greta Thunberg could do with superstrength, hydrokinesis and an army of shark-riders! And then add the Avengers to that!

*Maybe I should get a t-shirt of this to go with my MAGNETO WAS RIGHT? I know you can get CYCLOPS WAS RIGHT; sort of tempted to collect the whole Extinction Team set, so I can quietly express my disdain for flatscans every day of the week.

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 down to 2/5. If you are a larger fan of Marvel or these characters it might be a better story. But as an outsider with no connection to these characters it feels weak. The story goes for a focus on these fallen out friends and the difficult experience of former friends becoming enemies. It's really neat to see it in how Captain America gets Namor off the Avenger's hook even as he's building a bomb to kill humans. But I don't care for this cast. I have no attachment. Maybe if I was a veteran reader of the cast I might care more. The story is still interesting otherwise as we get to see a lot about Namor and how he tries to push everything aside for combat yet still has attachments like Randall's family. The military intrigue of the second half once Namor bombs and turns people into multiple cities into Atlanteans.
The art is done by two people. This makes certain parts amazing. Any page-length panel is beautiful and even small panels are drawn excellently when they take place underwater. But I don't think either artist can draw a regular human face well. Too often the faces are given too many lines and make it look they have tanned old people skin with wrinkles and tight skin. It just looks off. The artists also struggle to do background or add in details when there is a lot of it in a panel. Panel with simple backgrounds or few objects look fine but once there is a large amount the background becomes cluttered and also muddled as the line weight feels too much. I also don't like how Captain America is drawn. He's weirdly proportioned and looks like one of those wrestler action figures with the blown up upper body and small legs and head. Maybe America's always looked a little top-heavy but its glaring and distracting here.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew, this was a surprisingly heavy book. The previous Invaders book that I read was a celebration of the pulp era and the stories that brought this diverse group together. This book is a reminder that the Invaders as a team were born in a time of war and that kind of experience leaves some serious emotional scars.

Set in the current post-Secret Empire timeline where the Avengers are under the leadership of Black Panther out of Avengers Mountain, we have Namor seemingly increasingly unhinged. And Captain America decides to bring together some of the original Invaders, in this case the original Human Torch and Bucky Barnes, who is now the Winter Soldier.

As a group they try to reach out to Namor while also trying to figure out what exactly he has been planning. The know Namor is on a path that will lead to war between Atlantis and humanity once more - if only the Invaders can stop the war before it even starts. But Namor has had a lot of time to put things together and this first volume of the series has quite the epic ending.

Great writing for this book and an interesting exploration of war stories, the trauma of war and even some tropes of how Captain America and Bucky would work together as a team.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Namor is fighting the surface world again! But this time it's a more personal story switching between Captain America's efforts to stop Namor's war and flashbacks about Namor in WWII. The original version of the Invaders, being a team fightin the Nazis, being compared to the modern Invaders fighting amongst themselves. Captain America, Winter Soldier, the original Human Torch, all trying to uncover why Namor is becoming increasingly violent. I like that this isn't just 'Namor hates the surface world', but Chip Zdarsky goes in on how rocky Namor's mental health is, his unique perspective in how he belongs to both sea and surface, and the general disgust for some of the more abhorrent acts humanity is capable of. He's clearly going too far, and needs to be stopped, but there's some tragic humanity there.

The art is a mixed bag. Some of the big modern events, like massive displays of water power, look neat from Carlos Magno, but I didn't care much for how he draws people and the human drama. I much preferred Butch Guice's flashback sequences, which looked more grounded and human. Of course that could be on account of the writing, as the flashback scenes with the more human side to Namor were the best while the modern violent Namor isn't as enjoyable.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Invaders and will give a try to any story that brings them together.

The overall story here, is uneven, but Zdarsky gets the characters right, which pulled me back every time I thought of dropping it.

Namor is going through a bad phase, like he does every couple years, and while I think he pulls a couple stunts that make him borderline unredeemable, and the explanation for why contains some annoying/shakey story bits, the interactions between the heroes and some of the stuff touching on 'how does war change a man?" and the other ideas of loyalty and friendship among men are interesting and well written.

Also, at times this feels like the original pitch was just a Namor series, with Cap guest starring, because Chip doesn't seem to know what to do with the Human Torch.

[Adam Bender · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the concept of taking a renewed look at the superhero team that fought in World War II, but this one didn't really hook me. Just didn't feel emotionally invested in the characters this time around. Enjoyed the artwork by Butch Guice in the flashback sections, but it ultimately made me feel more nostalgic for the incredible Ed Brubaker run on Captain America (see Captain America by Ed Brubaker Omnibus, Vol. 1).

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate how well this series set up the characters and incorporates background into the narrative without only referencing other comic series. I could follow what was going on though I've never read about Namor or did not know Jim the Human Torch robot. Didn't care much for the art. The faces aren't that varied so Namor and Bucky look like the same dude in different clothes and same with Cap and Jim the Human Torch robot. Still glad I read it bc I always like Steve and Baby!Bucky flashbacks.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fantastic work by Zdarsky, Magno, and Guice. Something is wrong with Namor, and it's up to the Invaders to find out what is going on with their friend before Stark sets the Avengers upon him. Zdarsky writes these characters very well and show us how the horrors of war have affected the Invaders. The characterization of Cap, Bucky, and Namor is given more depth than usual, and it really works well here.

Zdarsky has been earning lots of praise in recent years, and it is easy to see why. I'll be following his career eagerly.

[RND · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, Zdarsky's not playing around. With this and Daredevil and Life Story he's probably putting out the best books from Marvel right now that aren't Squirrel Girl. Good tactic using different artists for the different time periods to keep everything on schedule while thematically tight. As usual Zdarsky's grasp on character is solid and the plot emerges from that which makes it weightier. Can't wait to see him actually tackle his own event because he definitely has the chops.

[Alli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know so little about Namor, but I'm all about reading more about the Invaders! This was a crash course in Namor history and left me with a very important question—is Namor kinda gay? (I don't care if he is canonically, that's what I saw, that's what I'm taking away.)

Super loved this complicated story and I always love it when Steve tries to give people the chance to explain themselves and do better. (And I always love it when he enlists Bucky to help him.)