Invaders #6 - A Review

James Robinson is one of the best idea men in comics history.  He can build whole scenes around musings about what life would really be like in a world where superpowers were a reality.  And while that often leads - to give an example from Robinson's Starman - into serious discussions about why super-scientists who develop amazing technologies in the name of fighting evil never use those same technologies to improve the lives of humanity in general, this issue of Invaders offers a scene which explores the difficulties in psychoanalyzing a mechanical man whose existence defies all the standard tropes of modern psychiatry, in a comedic fashion.


Thankfully - for those unlike me who don't find such examinations of the reality of a super-powered world interesting or amusing - the book does a bit more than wax philosophical.  And for those - like me - who care little about the Original Sin event running through several Marvel Comics books at the moment, this book can be enjoyed without any outside reading being required.

The focus of this issue is a young heroine named Radiance, who - thanks to the events of Original Sin - has learned a dark secret involving her grandmother (the Japanese heroine Golden Girl), the original Invaders team and something they did (or didn't) do during the Second World War.  Raiding a SHIELD base looking for confirmation of what she knows she demands to speak to some of the heroes involved.  And in goes newbie SHIELD agent and long-time superhero Jim Hammond a.k.a. The Human Torch...


The artwork by Mark Laming proves the equal of Robinson's excellent script.  The clarity of the action and the character design is not lost among the intricate details of Laming's pencils.  And as befits a comic featuring to characters whose powers are based around light and heat, there is a bright and vibrant aspect to every moment thanks to the coloring team at Guru-eFX.