Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Secret Invasion: X-Men #1 of 4
Marvel Comics
Carey & Nord
The X-Men (minus Wolverine) finally enter the fray. It’s an odd entry into the war, but I guess it works. The artwork has an interesting look to it, but also works. In all, this issue doesn’t overwhelm you with the X roster and provides a nice ease into the invasion pool. It’s a decent start to this mini series.
The west coast gets invaded. The Skrulls aren’t bringing their A game because the west coast is light on super heroes. But, didn’t the X-Men move there recently? Well, the Skrull intel missed the boat on that one.
The X-Men pounce on the Skrulls like a puma on an injury rabbit. It seems like the main group is led by Cannonball and Colossus on the ground with some help from Cyclops when needed. Another unit has Emma leading the X children. All appears to be going really well. The Skrulls are back peddling.
Not everything is a slam dunk though. Nightcrawler starts tinkering with some kind of religious artifact and it doesn’t go well. Also, the Skrulls smarten up and send in the big guns in the end.
That’s pretty much the whole issue. But it isn’t just a battle though. The Skrulls have names and roles in this issue. There is interaction among the commanders and there is some realistic talk about strategy and counter offensives. A good deal of the story is told from the point of view of the Skrulls and it is pretty good.
The artwork actually has its strength in the battles scenes. The various colored rays shooting out all over the place makes the comic really stand out. It’s when the characters, specifically the X-Men, are standing around does the art look a little odd. It’s not bad, but it just has a feeling of lurchiness.
The comic provides a good story setup, but if the Skrulls didn’t know the X-Men moved to San Francisco then I guess there are no Skrulls among the X ranks, eh? That will be an interesting development to watch.
The issue provides a good start to the arc, but nothing too crazy. I’d say this issue isn’t essential unless you are a completist, but it might be fun for an X fan. In some ways I guess its better that the X arc is contained in its own little series.
3.5 out of 5 geek goggles
 Secret Invasion X-Men #1 (of 4) |
