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It’s not just the heroes that the Secret Invasion targets…

The last few summers, Marvel returned to the idea of the summer event in massive limited series story arcs with major impact across their entire comic line.  House of M, Civil War and last year’s World War Hulk all changed the Marvel universe in so many ways that most fans are still reeling from the changes, only to have the culmination of these events, Secret Invasion, land on their doorstep.  With all of these massive life-altering events, the little changes sometimes might end up overlooked.  One of these great changes came for Ben Ulrich, the most ‘famous’ reporter in the Marvel universe.

Back at the beginning of the Civil War, Ulrich decided he could no longer abide J. Jonah Jameson’s tyrannical ways and struck out and with the help of another reporter, Sally Floyd, and create their own newsprint Front Line.  The Front Line comic series takes the unique look of how normal people deal with the insanity of living in a super-powered universe during these incredible events.  During World War Hulk, we saw Ben and Sally refuse to leave New York City as Manhattan crumbled beneath the Hulk’s Warbound and the heroes barely managed to pull out a win.  Now as the Secret Invasion begins in earnest, once again Ben Ulrich finds himself in the middle of the lives of several ordinary men and women, ready to tell their story.

Brian Reed takes on the chore of telling the story of the ‘average Joe’ this time around.  Reed, best known currently for his action packed work on Ms. Marvel, really provides that sense of the human touch.  The story completely cuts you off from the super-heroes while resonating a world filled with them.  I feel despite the insanity you know looms on the horizon, Reed takes a much gentler handling of the characters compared to the wacky punch-fest that Ms. Marvel trends toward.

GG Studio’s Marco Castiello handled the art chore for this issue.  The art comes across as smooth and clean.  The flow of the art to the story moves well and never really jars you out of it.  I think more than the penciling though, Barbara Ciardo and Amerigo Pinelli’s coloring really impressed me.  The lighting was perfect throughout the book.  The play of shadows across different aspects of the city gives a real ground level impression to the story.  It also reinforces an attention to detail you do not always seen in comics.  The change in the lighting once the massive explosions begin gives you the sense of dirt and ash that should accompany a war story.  I think it is this aspect of the art that really makes the book stand out.

Front Line: WWH and Front Line: Civil War proved that some of the best stories in the Marvel universe are about the heroes seen from a non-superhero point of view.  Secret Invasion: Front Line #1 steps up to that plate as well and seem to be on the right track to hitting another homer for the Front Line series.  Reed’s engrossing story mixed with a fabulous art team make this book a definite read if you are following Secret Invasion.

Secret Invasion: Front Line #1
“Chapter One: The End of the World”
Writer: Brian Reed
Art: GG Studios
Team Coordinator: Giuliano Monni
Penciler: Marco Castiello
Colorist: Barbara Ciardo
Assistant Colorist: Amerigo Pinelli
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover: Juan Doe

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