The Invaders #12
Published and © by Marvel, January 1977
Title: “To the Warsaw Ghetto!”
Synopsis: Spitfire joins the Invaders as the team heads to Poland to liberate a scientist from Nazi service.
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Frank Robbins
Inker: Frank Springer
Review: Few series have fared as well upon revisiting as an adult as The Invaders. Little Me found Roy Thomas’ Marvel passion project generally lackluster and Frank Robbins’ art downright unappealing. From today’s vantage, Thomas’ scripts are more enjoyable, as they ground the writer’s passion for Golden Age characters with real-world historic detail. Here, Thomas brings the Invaders to the Warsaw Ghetto and explores the Jews’ passive response to Nazi aggression. But it’s Robbins’ stylish pencils that benefit most from reconsideration. His work is still an acquired taste but it’s the perfect fit for this period piece. An above-average book.
Grade: B+
Second opinion: “Robbins excelling.” – The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide (second edition), 2003
Cool factor: Frank Robbins’ pencils deserved better from fandom …
Not-so-cool factor: … but not so sure about Frank Springer’s inks.
Notable: First appearance of Spitfire.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 10p British variant of this issue.
Character quotable: “If Union Jack cannot carry the family crest to new glory – then let that be the first task of – SPITFIRE!” – Spitfire, legacy superheroine
Editor’s note: This review was written Dec. 21, 2024.
