Review of Invasion!

3.0 rating
  • AuthorBill Mantlo, Keith Giffen
  • PublisherDC Comics
  • Published4/19/2016
  • Pages256

***Contains Spoilers***

As I am making my way through the vast world of DC Comics, I recently had the opportunity to read Invasion!, an event from the late 80s. From the start, I was excited to see the genesis of the meta gene, knowing how it plays a role in the larger DC universe.

One aspect of the story that I particularly enjoyed was the alliance of all the warlike alien races. It was an excellent summary of the different cosmic races, and it was fascinating to see how they worked together to invade Earth. I liked the various battles that took place, and the back-and-forth nature of the invasion was really cool. I also appreciated the summaries of the conflicts happening in the tie-ins. It was an excellent way to build out the story, but it also gave me the option to dive in deeper if I wanted to.

While I don’t typically like cosmic stories, I must admit that Invasion! was a good read. At times, I found it a bit hard to keep track of all the characters, and there wasn’t much character development. The artwork was also very busy, which I found a bit overwhelming at times.

Despite these minor issues, I did like the third act when all the meta-humans went haywire. The mystery surrounding Superman’s disappearance added an extra layer of intrigue to the story. This was also one of my first encounters with Guy Gardner’s attitude. I always viewed him as one of the least interesting Green Lanterns, but now I want to learn more.

Invasion, Book One
Invasion! Book One art by Todd McFarlane

Overall, I found Invasion! to be a fun and engaging read. If you’re a fan of cosmic stories or just enjoy watching the heroes of the DC Universe come together, I would definitely recommend checking out this 3-star read.

Feature Image Invasion! Cover art by Todd McFarlane