Invasion [Paperback]

Keith Giffen (Author), Bill Mantlo (Author), Todd Macfarlane (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401220665
• ISBN-13: 978-1401220662
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.6 x 10.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #635,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The headline on the Daily Planet reads: "Earth to Invaders: Drop Dead!", March 30, 2009

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H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Invasion (Paperback)

- Quoting the literally long-in-the-tooth Dominators: "For it is the purpose of this war to insure that no hero shall ever spring from mankind's seed to menace our universe again!"

Lest fanboys forget, DC did stage its own Invasion crossover event two decades ago, long before Marvel's Skrullapalooza Secrety Invasion. Only instead of one alien race, DC threw a number of multi-extraterrestrial fuglies at its heroes - including, yes, a race of shapeshifters. So take that, Marvel.

But unlike the Skrulls' more sneaky covert takeover plan, this one was pretty much in your face. Back in 1988, DC published the INVASION! mini-series, consisting of three 80-paged issues and now collected in this trade paperback. That this trade's release coincided with Marvel's then ongoing SECRET INVASION event is, I'm sure, purely coincidental.

Here's how it went down: With its genetic potential to produce diversely-powered metahumans, Earth's humanity has become a threat which can no longer be ignored. The cerebral alien race - the Dominators - construct a sinister alliance with the most warlike alien races in the universe (the Khunds, Durlans, Thanagarians, the Warlords of Okaara, etc.) and contrive and then implement a plan of attack on Earth. And lemme tell you, there's nothing quite like the sight of a colossal alien armada ominously hovering over Mother Earth to get a jingoistic rise out of your basic comic book reader.

Why not simply blow up the planet, one asks? Two reasons. First, there's Darkseid, who declined to participate in the earth stomp, but has warned the alliance not to destroy the planet (he thinks the key to the Anti-Life Equation can be found on Earth). Secondly, the Dominators have an ulterior motive. They not only intend to muzzle Earth's meta-humans, but also to harvest humanity's meta-gene for their own use. But their allies don't know this.

Looking back at INVASION! now, from a vantage point twenty years removed, and trying to gauge its impact on DC's continuity, this story arc has lost much of its punch and immediacy. Although I do remember that, when it first came out, INVASION! was a terribly exciting mega-happening. I also remember that I lost much cash picking up tie-in titles to this thing. INVASION!'s short-term fallout resulted in deaths in the Doom Patrol and the Omega Men, the resurrection of Metamorpho (but, of course, he'd later get killed again, only to be re-resurrected), and the debut of L.E.G.I.O.N. and Snapper Carr's the Blasters. In the long run, INVASION! triggered Maxwell Lord's mental ability, something which Blue Beetle years later won't appreciate. It also introduced the concept of the meta-gene, the genetic trait inherent in the human species which, in times of extreme peril, can trigger super powers in a person. Of course, if that same person resided in the Marvel universe, he'd be a mutie. This is also when the Daxamites first learn that, when exposed to a yellow sun, they develop amazing abilities similar to that of Superman.

The first issue - or Book One - is titled "The Alien Alliance" and goes into the Dominators' alarmed discovery of the human meta-gene and their ensuing formulation of the alliance to invade earth. It covers minutiae of the invasion plan, including the breakdown of responsibilities among the partner races and the steps taken to negate Earth's allies (the Green Lantern Corps, the Omega Men, etc.). Because it's a lot of set-up and exposition, this issue reads fairly slow, although, again, when I read it years ago in '88, it amped up my bump of anticipation. Earth and its residents don't even appear until the last few pages, and I recall doing a mental fist pump years ago when I read earth's response, via the Daily Planet, to the aliens' demand that all superheroes be handed over: "Earth to Invaders: Drop Dead!"

Plotter Keith Giffen draws a tonal parallel between INVASION! and Tom Clancy's riveting RED STORM RISING. And there's a bit of that Clancy brand of wartime action in Book 2, "Battleground Earth," as Earth's leaders deploy their Armed Forces and meta-human forces, with Captain Atom appointed as commander of the latter. The rest of this issue depicts the ebbs and flows and twists and turns of the war, as Earth's heroes take the fight to the alien races on a global scale and then on to outer space. The various engagements made me purchase comic book tie-ins which I normally didn't even collect back then. A tragic day for my wallet.

Book 3, "World Without Heroes," deals with the war's aftermath. One lone lower-caste Dominator detonates the Gene Bomb, causing an atmospheric inversion and the frightening collapse of many meta-humans around the world. When Earth's premier scientists prove unable to find a remedy, a desperate plan is devised calling for the infiltration of and the seeking of a cure on the Dominators' homeworld. Despite Guy Gardner's annoying asides, everything more or less eventually works out.

Keith Giffen plots the thing and Bill Mantlo scripts it, so they're the two poor souls to target for INVASION!'s occasional lame dialogue and somewhat pedestrian storytelling. So it's a good thing the can't-lose premise tides things over. Keith Giffen also provides a share of the artwork, as does Bart Sears, who was brought in to beat the deadline blues. Surprisingly, superstar artist Todd McFarlane's contribution is the weakest, of all the pencillers on this mini-series. Or maybe it's just me. I just feel that his slightly cartoony style renders him the wrong illustrator to depict this sort of massive, epic superhero-in-wartime narrative.

Nowadays INVASION! understandably doesn't resonate as strongly as the more recent crossover stuff. But it does play a significant role in DC history. In re-reading INVASION! I can't help but reminisce to back in the day, when Amanda Waller's covert Task Force X was still around kickin' tail, when the JLI had a sense of humor, and Superman suffered such a hellacious guilt trip that he felt compelled to forsake his adopted planet and go a-wanderin' in space. INVASION! is two decades older, yep, but its story arc, meriting 3.5 out of 5 stars, still improves on that version just recently put out over at the House of Ideas.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Understand the Dominators, November 10, 2008

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John A. Herrmann III "DC Comic FAN" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Invasion (Paperback)

Reading this trade really demonstrates how much comics have changes in the 20 years since these books were published. That said, the story is very good even if the dialogue suffers a little from too much from late 80's wording and too much Guy Gardner quips (Guy is great in limited doses). To understand the Dominators and their role in current storylines, this is a must-read.