Broken Frontier

With the Invaders in 2008, Tony Stark wants to contain them and quick before word spreads that Captain America is alive!  However, the Invaders prove to be a tough opponent.

Ross and Krueger are actually writing one hell of a book.  We’ve already seen the Invaders take the non-reg Avengers side, but the heat amps up this issue as Tony Stark and his Mighty Avengers step into the fray. 

It all makes for an interesting read coming at us from many angles.  There is the way the Invaders see this brave new world and how they are suspicious that all of it must be a Nazi trick.  There is Tony and Ms. Marvel understanding that so soon after the Civil War, having a live Captain America running around can’t be good.  There is also the concern that if something happens to them, history will be irrevocably changed for the worse.  Then there are the New Avengers, how will they take all this?

There are brilliant moments of characterization in this book.  Bucky’s monologue at the end gives me a respect for the WWII version of the character that I never had before.  Ares' solution to the problem would be an interesting way around all the troubles of the Marvel Universe, if it didn’t mean the end of the world.  Namor is Namor.  It’s good to get some info on the original Human Torch as I am really unfamiliar with the character.  And that mystery guy from the end of the last issue?  Well, besides getting a name, he does what anyone unencumbered by the fear of time paradoxes would do when jettisoned into the future.

The action is more exciting this time around as center stage sees Cap and Iron Man face off, again.  This time, Steve is unaware that he is fighting a friend.  Plus lots of neat scenes with S.H.I.E.L.D. trying to figure all of this out.

The art is a mixed bag.  The action is conveyed well for the most part.  There are panels and pages that make little sense though; Namor's last act in the fight against the Avengers is massively confusing upon initial reading.  There are also very strange panels, the crotch shot of Iron Man early on is unneeded and unwanted, plus even for those interested in that sort of thing what good is a shot of armor?  It may be nitpicking but it bugged this reader.  There is also the biggest flaw with Sadowski’s pencils, Namor.  The Prince of Atlantis seems to morph ages and styles all along the way.  There was one scene where the panel was so skewed it took me a minute to figure out that it was Namor and most of that assumption was based on the character’s topless uniform.   He spans the age gap from Bucky to the Sub-Mariner’s more modern and older design.  I mean is Ross even checking this thing out or just collecting his check?

The first issue of this mini-series was entertainment light.  It was cool and all but seemed to serve very little purpose.  While I am still not sold on it serving a purpose, with the second issue, the action and characterization get into fifth gear making up for spotty art and now I can’t wait for the next issue.