Marvel’s latest epic kicked off this week with the release of Secret Invasion #1. There’s been a lot of hype over the past couple months as so much time, effort and planning has been put into this one event. Would Brian Michael Bendis’ idea pay off or would this long road towards the event reach a dead end?

I’ll save you all some time and tell you that Secret Invasion doesn’t just meet expectations, it shatters them to pieces, retcons them out of continuity and throws them into the sun. Bendis’ writing succeeds on all fronts and creates a feeling of anticipation for the next issue that I personally haven’t felt from one of his Avengers titles for a long time. There’s no drawn out moments either. It’s right down to business as soon as you crack open the comic. S.I. #1 features non-stop Action and Skrull reveals aplenty from page 1 to…whatever number the last page is and really does a great job of showing that Bendis is arguably the best writer working for Marvel.

I’ve been rather harsh on Francis Yu in the past as I didn’t really think his art had a place in New Avengers…or really in any comic for that matter. That being said, his work on Secret Invasion is very impressive and I have to give some credit to the inker for the brilliant colors and fantastic visuals that they’ve added to the comic. Most importantly though, Yu redeems himself in my eyes with this comic and I’m really hoping that his work stays this good for the remainder of this mini-series.

With the past couple events from Marvel, the opening shot has left me fairly disappointed and wanting more. With this first issue of Secret Invasion, we’re teased with a handful of great reveals and shown a quick glimpse of things to come that leaves me wanting more…in a very good way. I’m only hoping this caliber of comic continues as we get further and further into the invasion.

Secret Invasion #1

9.1/10 (How’d you get that?)