Meet The Skrulls #1 Is A Small Scale Secret Invasion
by Tony Thornley
One of Marvel’s most divisive threats is the Skrulls, the ultimate alien invaders, thanks to their ability to be ANYONE. For the first time though, we get a Skrull invasion from their perspective, thanks to Meet The Skrulls.
Robbie Thompson, Niko Henrichon, Laurent Grossat, and Travis Lanham bring us this tale of an alien invasion trying to avoid detection.
The Warner family are your typical middle class Americans- dad working for Stark Unlimited, mom for a Congresswoman, and two girls in high school- except for one key difference. They’re a part of a Skrull sleeper agent network. Their goal–to destroy Project Blossom, a scientific endeavor that will destroy the Skrulls ability to exist on Earth undetected. Unfortunately, not all of the Warners are true believers…
Thompson does two things extremely well. First of all, he avoids the trope of making this a villain book. The Warners are interesting, sympathetic, and engaging. They aren’t just bad guys (even though they’re that too), they’re living beings trying to continue their existence, and that makes the book work.
Secondly, this is a tense and engaging espionage story. The mysterious goggles-wearing antagonist is only a few steps away from the Warners, and the Skrull high council is worried about how much the family has their heart in their mission. They’re classic hallmarks of spy stories, and Thompson executes it extremely well.
Henrichon and Grossat’s work is fantastic. Henrichon makes the Warners interesting, but then turns a sneer into a reminder of the character’s villainy perfectly. He also is able to ratchet up the tension with great uses of silent panels, shifts in posture and close-ups. Grossat’s colors are smartly chosen, surrounding the Warners in suburban normalcy so their green skin stands out even more.
Lanham also does a fantastic job. I don’t mentioned letterers often in reviews because it takes me re-reading to notice their contributions, but Lanham stands out in a good way here. He uses green speech balloons and a special font when the Warners are in their natural form, adding to their alien nature.
I was definitely pleasantly surprised by this issue. I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here.
Meet The Skrulls #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
