I first heard of the Invaders through one of their lesser known members: Brian Falsworth aka Union Jack. My partner and I were minding our own business in the Avengers Academy mobile game when Brian showed up, kidnapped by the Black Knight in definitely-not-sparkly-BDSM-rope-that-Dane-got-on-discount-somewhere. The positive queer coding surrounding his character perked our interest, and we nearly dropped our phones when it was confirmed in-game that Brian identifies as gay. In fact, he and his partner Roger are Marvel's first gay characters, according to publication chronology. (For those keeping track, Brian was Avengers Academy's third confirmed LGBT character, after Loki and Janet Van Dyne).

Anyway, I was so excited that I combed through wikis, read/wrote fanfiction, followed the glib and meme-tastic @MrUnionJack on twitter: basically did everything BUT read Brian's comics. Until now. At a certain point, I was nervous that the canon in comic wouldn't live up to my personal hype.

But, readers, it f*cking did.

Collecting INVADERS #10 to #21 and their Annual #1, INVADERS CLASSIC, VOLUME 2 blew my socks off. Easy to pick up in media res, the collection has several arcs, including Steve & Bucky's battle with Reaper's fascist rhetoric; Brian and Roger's introduction & reunion, Jacqueline getting her speedster powers & becoming Spitfire; the destruction of a Warsaw ghetto; an inter-dimensional high-five to the Avengers; Warrior Woman & Master Man's deeply frightening "upgrade." To say this comic was action-packed would be underselling it.

INVADERS first and foremost is a comic book. I found what I expected: our heroes spend a lot of time flying around battlefields and shouting lines mid-kick. The art is stylized, most of the men have the same haircut and jawline, and the more eccentric coloring can be dismissed, if you want to be a coward and not let Bucky have a bright magenta bucket hat. I liked all of this, but what I liked more was what else Thomas used the frame, tropes, and platform of comic book storytelling to do.

Because while INVADERS is a collection of war stories, they are also anti-war, feminist, anti-fascist, and marginalized identity-supportive stories. Thomas takes pains to acknowledge the varied identities of this group, with its Americans, Atlantean, British aristocrats, and Android. The Jews who inhabit the ghetto are heart-wrenching in their plight and inspiring in their bravery. Anyone who underestimates Spitfire because she's a woman receives a trouncing. There are multiple discussions of how moderate people are made into fascist monsters (sometimes literally) and how appeasement doesn't work. The hot garbage mix of toxic masculinity & misogyny in the concept of Master Man/Woman/Race are not played off for laughs, but addressed. In fact, Warrior Woman is almost a tragic figure: she wants to be the ultimate, idealized "master woman of the master race," but even at her all powerful, she is reduced to a walking baby factory.

Honestly, considering a loud yam is president of the USA right now, this year is the perfect year to read the INVADERS, and I recommend it to everyone. If you like G. Willow Wilson's MS. MARVEL and/or Ta-Nehisi Coates' BLACK PANTHER series, you will definitely love Thomas' INVADERS. Read it, love it, and live it. My humble suggestion for living it is to vote in all elections and punch your local Nazis.