Invaders, Vol. 2: Dead in the Water

Invaders (2019) #7-12

by Chip Zdarsky

The world is forever changed. The INVADERS are shattered. And NAMOR is the world's greatest threat.

COLLECTING: INVADERS 7-12

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

136 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2020

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 a great handle on Marvel's history and uses it to his advantage here. Some epic storytelling, with great moments between Captain America and Namor. I like how Professor X is kind of to blame for this whole mess as well.

The art by Guice and Magno works really well, with Guice handling the flashbacks and Magno taking on the main story. I really like Magno's vision of Atlantis.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as strong as volume 1 the series still ends on a good note.

With Cap and everyone having to hit Namor back for what he did everything gets moved into the next stage. The biggest storylines being Bucky trying one last solution to help Namor. Cap and namor's history. And of course the fate of all the people and what happened to them in the previous volume and what will happen now.

Overall, it's still an exciting storyline with plenty of great action set pieces, wonderful character movements especially with Steve and Namor, and also the art holds up really well. I'd say the pacing feels off in this volume, a little rushed. Also, not sure what the bad guys goals were much at all, they got blurred in the end.

Oevrall good stuff and Chip once again proves that he does characters really well. A 4 out of 5.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE SUB-MARINER! THE HUMAN TORCH! CAPTAIN AMERICA! THE INVADERS, BABY!

A truly epic conclusion to the latest outing of one of my favourite superhero teams. Chip Zdarsky wrote a very brave story with real world parallels and didn't pull any punches or hold anything back. The fact that it was accompanied by some truly excellent art from Butch Guice and co. didn't hurt, either.

I love the original Human Torch (#JimHammondistheonetrueTorch) and Namor (or 'Subby' as his longtime fans call him) and, c'mon, who can resist Captain frickin' America? It was also great to see my homegirl Spitfire getting some well overdue page time! This book did all of them justice and now I have to go back into hibernation mode for another goodness knows how many years until the Invaders get another series... Sigh... I just hope that when it does come it's as good as this one was!

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, Captain America? Sure, he's fun to read, not my favorite or anything but yeah. Then we get, the Original Human Torch? Whatever.. It's like wanting to read about the Hulk, and you get to read about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde so I don't really care about him at all. Then we get some why-the-fuck-are-you-even-on-the-team old dude who was back then in the Invaders (and back then also didn't make sense) called Rammond or something, and another Human Torch Knock-off? I don't even remember him from the oldies, and finally we get the most obnoxious arrogant piece of shit you've ever read about-- NAMOR!

So, I wouldn't pay for a team like that, I don't like them, they sound boring as fuck and also, I hated Namor since I was a kid.

And yes. Chip Zdarsky managed to make them interesting and fun to read, and another thing, I fucking hate flashbacks in shows/movies/comics/books (thanks a lot Lost) and even the flashbacks here were fun to read.

To sum up. You like the Invaders? You'll definitely like this one. You hate them? You'll still like it. Great writing, and amazing artwork! You'll love the 'now' and 'then' between the pages with the different artwork and coloring, pretty much everything is wonderful to look at.

Bravo to the whole team!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, not bad at all. I've been consistently impressed with pretty much everything Zdarsky's been writing these days...

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

So there's finally been an attempt to settle Namor, and I don't know what to make of it. It's kind of like a Jekyll and Hyde sort of thing, except Jekyll is also a little bit Hyde, or something? In the end, I'm not sure this is actually going to do anything to make Namor a more stable character. Other than that, it's just an excuse to get together the Invaders again, and as such 12 issues is a bit much. I feel like what was accomplished here could have been done better in half the space. Decompression strikes again.

[Alex Sarll]

The bond between the veteran heroes remains compelling as the series concludes, which is good, because it has a lot of questionable choices to push against. The Fight Club riff of the villain's identity would be corny enough, but to then transfer that personality on to another character (presumably to keep the original host's hands a little cleaner, as well as leave a punchable antagonist) makes very little sense, even once a classic Marvel Macguffin is in play and looking even goofier than usual. The serum which flip-flops land and water breathers seems to work according to immediate narrative convenience rather than any consistent rules, particularly the lethal side effects which pop up to cause jeopardy and then are never mentioned again. And of course the first volume's besetting flaw is still here too - the surface dwellers really are killing the ocean and really do need to stop, but only lip service is paid to acknowledging that. Although come to think of it, the Atlantean plan would make that worse, not better, so everyone is being an idiot, without that feeling like a deliberate choice to evoke character. Disappointing.

Although - and I know it's not up there with 'WANK!' or 'FAP!' in the comedy side effects - I was amused by 'KRAKOW' as the sound of thunder.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I read this Volume since I didn't really like the last one, but here we are.
We continue the story from last time, but add in a controlling psychosis for Namor, Roxxon involvement, a compound that can change air-breathers to water-breathers, and another fight against Atlantis.
I'm sorry, for me, Namor will always be the "Sub"Mariner, as in an inferior substitute for Aquaman, who is infinitely a better character and person. Maybe it's my bias against alpha male personalities... Not sure.

I'd suggest skipping this one. But... if you love Chip Zdarsky (I normally do) or the characters covered here, check it out.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad and a good, although somewhat predictable ending. Seemed to be mostly an excuse to bring the band (Invaders) back together again. Don't really care for what the original Torch ends up looking like. I really didn't care for the art. It's split between two artists and both had their flaws.

Zdarsky is able to generate believable motivations and solid characterization. Hopefully he can return to the title with a better artist. Occasional mini-series seems like a better idea than a continuous ongoing.

[Desa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3’5⭐️

Bucky y Steve infiltrándose en Atlantis de la forma en que lo hacen 👌🏼 y Steve recordándole a Namor el ‘una vez invasor, siempre invasor’ 👌🏼

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fighting, as Namor goes pretty full on bad guy.

Even with the big reveal of what's causing Namor to go off the rails, there is still this dancing around, trying to make sure he doesn't go unredeemable and I have my doubts they pulled it off.
He really crossed some lines and I'm not sure if they managed to change to the status quo to a point that Namor is written into a bad corner.

Love the issue where Namor and Captain America are stuck together and Cap finally gets in Namor's face and calls him out. Really well done.

The moments of friendship and treating the cast like old soldiers works pretty well, so you can forgive the clunky bits.

I appreciate Chip trying to include everyone in the Invaders team, but it's pretty obvious he had no idea what to do with the Human Torch and again, he may have left that character in a bad corner.

[Iris Nevers · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Read in single issues]

Namor becomes human and is just a grump the whole time.

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

2.5/5 rounded down. While the story improves and it fleshes out Namor and his weird god complex to a really neat degree the complete lack of connection to the heroes and the wild escalation of the threats pulled me out of this one. I think the Machan idea was fumbled a bit. I get its going for the idea that Machan is this darker part of his subconscious that he’s always had. But the way it plays out is weird with it essentially taking over control of him and blanking out his memory and Namor only becomes aware of it when he sees it when he’s not taken over. But sometimes the things that are hidden are long-term plans that would require extremely careful attention from Machan / that darker part of his subconscious to not have Namor let on. It also doesn’t make sense what Xavier did. So he made a clone of Machan in Namor’s mind for them to have therapy and Xavier accidentally made the clone in such a way it latches onto his darker subconscious (even though its meant for therapy?) and be able to control him? It's weird and it eventually materializing into the real world was even weirder.
While I didn’t touch on it in the previous volume the art also picks up in the flashbacks. If the whole comic was just the flashbacks and the underwater scenes it would be a much stronger piece artistically overall. But most of it isn’t and it looks poor most of the time at least imo.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, quite the epic little adventure. The first volume ended with the revelation that the assertions that Namor was not entirely in his right mind were more right than initially speculated. A botched attempt to help him with his wartime trauma by Charles Xavier resulted in doing far more damage to his psyche than expected. And now the Atlanteans' big plan to exact revenge on the surface world has spun out of even Namor's control.

But at the end of the day, it's up to Captain America and his fellow Invaders to find a way to get through to their former teammate and set things right again. The way they went about this was slightly contrived, but what superhero story isn't, right? But it was still a satisfying ending that was totally in tune for Captain America, who drives most of the story.

The resolution is a very human one that doesn't quite set things in black and white for Namor and his crimes against humanity. But it is a fair ending that shows that these wartime comrades were able to do their best to see things through.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the setup in the first volume, but still enjoyable. The resolution felt rushed after all that had happened, and Namor feels like no less a threat than he did before. Also, there are some weird plot points that would have been nice to wrap up. What happened with Nay? What is going on with Roman/Machan? Are they one person now? What about all the displaced people? How did they undo the damage done to the world? Not enough plot payoff in favor of BOOM! SMASH!

Maybe it's me or maybe it's the strange times we are living in (so close to being done with the pandemic, yet so far), but it took me way too long to read this as I kept losing focus. I'd get tired after reading an issue! I hope that goes away soon.

[Sandrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐

I loved this series and I believe it is underrated. Perhaps the first volume didn't have enough action for some readers, but this one has a lot and somehow still manages to allow good character and friendship development. Some aspects of the plot are a bit farfetched but sshhhh it's Marvel so it's magic! Just for that I think I prefer the first volume but I am rating this one higher as it didn't let me down with a bad ending or anything. Not a fan of the art styles but it was okay (Butch Guice did better in this than in other works such as Winter Soldier) Rating the full series 4.5⭐, go get it!

[Dan Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep, and thoughtful

This whole series was great!
We see the Invaders - especially Namor - dealing with war trauma. Plus, a new villain using the Serpent Crown, as well as Hydroman. Meeting Namor's human family friends was touching.
This is Zdarsky's best story yet!
I love the deeper stories about the Invaders.
Buy it!

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zdarsky has a good handle on all these characters, and I like that he managed to toe the line where Namor isn't the unilateral villain but still isn't completely blameless. I'm disappointed it started turning into one big fist-fight to save the world but it retained enough of its quiet and human moments to still be a thoughtful and interesting book.

[Thelaurakremer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really enjoying this and I’m sad it got cancelled (because the conclusion felt a little rushed) also because I felt like there was more story to tell. Zdarsky is definitely a solid writer and I’m never really disappointed!

[Jacob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Public library copy.

I've not read volume one, but I found this second volume just an all right read. I preferred the Guide art above others, but the story wasn't interesting to me and I can't believe Namor has not been fixed after all this time.

[Alli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot is very comic book-y and I have no objections. Give me all the Invaders and soldiers-in-arms and being there for people you know don't actually suck, they're just traumatized by the psychic projection of their dead son figure or possibly lover, it's really hard to tell with comic books.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

COLLECTS INVADERS (2019) ISSUES #7-12

This is the final collection of this series, and with Chip Zdarsky as the writer, as well as an interesting concept, I expected to like this more. In the end, even though the second volume had its good moments, the series as a whole was just OK.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

The big Namor retcon doesn't really deliver, but the book is pretty twisty and fun. And the art is GREAT.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical comic story which sadly I was never really able to get into the way I wanted.

[Brannigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weak ending

[Jason Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy, Charles Xavier is the biggest f*ckup in the whole Marvel Universe.