Originally posted on COMICZONEAZ.com (site no longer active)
Secret Invasion: Front Line TPB
Writer: Brian Reed
Pencils: Marco Castiello
$14.99
Starting with Civil War, Marvel started including a Front Line tie-in book with their major crossovers (so, Civil War, World War Hulk, and now Secret Invasion). While the main crossover title deals with the major events, and the other tie-in issues deal with individual characters’ reactions to the events (i.e., Secret Invasion: Ms. Marvel is about Ms. Marvel’s story during the Invasion), the Front Line books have a unique take:
They deal with regular people in a Super world.
Secret Invasion: Front Line follows the stories of Marvel Universe citizens during the few days of Skrulls invading Earth. Ben Urich, from the newspaper Front Linenarrates the story, through recordings he’s made as the events unfold.
I’ve really enjoyed the Front Line comics so far, and Secret Invasion‘s version doesn’t disappoint. In just five issues, we’re invited to see the worlds of a police officer who’s been burned in the leg, a young nurse trying to do her job, a cab driver whose day went from crap to worse, and a teenage girl whose parents are separating. And we witness all of these characters coming together, and how they survive (or not) the Skrull Invasion.
It’s good times. Reading these tales, writer Brian Reed really brought more weight to the insanity of the Skrull Invasion – Rather than just seeing how Iron Man dealt with losing his StarkTech, or how Ms. Marvel was destroying monsters from another world, or how other heroes dealt with it, we get to see what would happen to you or I. Because, let’s face it; in the threat of an shape-changing alien invasion, I bet a lot more folks would run away than stand up and fight for the safety of the planet.
It’s also great to see Ben Urich’s reaction to people’s reactions to Norman Osborn taking control, and the beginning of the Dark Reign. Urich, as you may remember, wrote a book that ousted Norman as the psychopathic Green Goblin, and Mr. Osborn’s dealing with the situation is rather impressive.
So, if you want a complete picture of the Marvel Universe’s dealing with the Skrull invasion, I’d highly recommend checking this TPB out. But it’s mostly for completists and Marvel Universe uber-nerds, like me.
It seems as though I’ve only reviewed things I’ve enjoyed, so far… Maybe next time, I’ll review something that I think sucks…