I enjoy
James Robinson's writing. I just picked up the first two issues of
All-New Invaders that he's written. I like
The Invaders.
Captain America and
Bucky,
The Human Torch and
Toro and
Namor,
The Sub-Mariner. These five heroes fighting the Axis in World War II. After
Batman and
Spider-Man had introduced me to comic books, I started reading "history" through
The Invaders and found I enjoyed World War II stories. That was the '70's. In the '80's, I followed Invaders writer
Roy Thomas over to DC where he wrote All-Star Squadron, which was about every Golden-Age DC character together during World War II. In the '90's Robinson picked up where Thomas left off with his mini-series
The Golden Age,
Starman and
Justice Society of America. Robinson built up so much on the foundation that Thomas laid.
I am cautious not to use the word "fan". As much as I would like to say
that I am a "fan", I'm more likely to pause,
take a deep breath and confess that I like both Robinson's and Thomas' writing. I once said I was a fan, when I was a boy in school and it was
pointed out to me that I wasn't much of a fan because I didn't have the
bed-sheets to prove it. I've always had a limit to my obsession, where
others have gone the whole nine yards with either cos-play or a tattoo.
I put James Robinson alongside
New Teen Titans writer,
Marv Wolfman;
Kurt Busiek, known for
Marvels,
Astro City and
Untold Tales of Spider-Man;
Kingdom Come,
The Flash and
Fantastic Four writer
Mark Waid; and,
Paul Dini, who with
Bruce Timm created the DC animated universe starting with
Batman, then
Superman and finally the
Justice League. Dini then collaborated with artist
Alex Ross to create a rich Bronze Age tribute through a number of stand-alone over-size graphic novels, Peace on Earth, War on Crime, Power of Hope, Spirit of Truth, JLA: Secret Origins and JLA: Liberty and Justice. I like reading these five writers. I put them together, and I would group them with
Stephen King,
Michael Crichton,
Peter David - as a
Star Trek novelist -
Eoin Colfer, creator of
Artemis Fowl; and
Kinsey Millhone creator
Sue Grafton.
When I say that there is a
limit to my obsession, that means that there is a point where I draw a
line. I like
Marv Wolfman for his work on
New Teen Titans. I'm not sure I would pick up anything else he's written.
James Robinson has a unique voice as a writer when it comes to
The Golden Age of comic books. But, I was never compelled to pick up his
Superman or
Action Comics. I read his Justice League: Cry For Justice and felt a little disappointed. When he took over from the late
Dwayne McDuffie on the regular monthly Justice League, I wanted to like it. Unfortunately, it was a hybrid of the Justice League and Teen Titans; it was a Justice Titans.
Dick Grayson had taken over as
Batman;
Diana Prince's younger sister
Donna Troy was
Wonder Woman;
Mon-El was standing in for
Superman along with
Supergirl. I really wanted to like it. I still do.
That's the feeling I'm having after two issues of
All-New Invaders. I want to like it. It's the
characters I enjoy by the
writer I enjoy. It just doesn't feel like a story I'd enjoy.
What Robinson has done is pretty similar to what he was doing on Earth-2 before he left DC. DC launched a reboot of it's entire comic book like branded
The New 52. Robinson was re-imagining the
Justice Society. As newer, younger characters. With no connection at all to World War II. Instead, the team came together in the wake and aftermath of a cosmic event involving
Jack Kirby's
New God's and
Darkseid. Robinson left Earth-2 with issue #16, and now launches both
All-New Invaders and
Fantastic Four.
Here's what I'm thinking. Both teams have a
Human Torch.
Jim Hammond is the original Human Torch;
Johnny Storm is the modern age version. I'm wondering if Robinson is planning an
Invaders-Fantastic Four team-up crossover. I wouldn't be surprised. The first two issues of the new Invaders comic are cosmic in nature. An alien race called the Kree have come to Earth in search of something called God's Whisper.
The Invaders dismantled it and hid the pieces to keep it from ever being used. They first encountered God's Whisper fighting
Hela, during World War II. It's a bit of a stretch, but that doesn't seem to fit the team. The most common
Invaders stories have been against Axis despots. Like The Red Skull or Baron Blood. Now they are fighting aliens. That seems more within the Fantastic Four's wheelhouse. The Fantastic Four are more cosmic in nature.
I have to admit, I haven't read
The Invaders since the '70's. The team was brought back not to long ago in an
Avengers/Invaders team-up, and an
Invaders Now! series.
I'm wondering why
James Robinson is writing
The Invaders like they are the
Fantastic Four. Because, I'd like to see them fighting bad guys like the ones they faced before. Like The Red Skull, Baron Zemo, Von Strucker, or maybe Doctor Doom. They could be working with aliens. The Invaders are more soldiers. I have a hard time seeing soldiers fighting aliens.
