Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Thank you, Ray Tate!

      Daniel Elkin, Michael Bettendorf
      August 27, 2012
      Columns, Manifesto
    Recent
    • Revisiting the Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider Crossover

      Daniel Gehen
      February 8, 2021
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • 3.5

      The Thing #1

      Daniel Elkin, Michael Bettendorf
      November 30, 2005
      Big Two Reviews, Marvel Comics, Reviews
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: 6 Most Expensive Comic Books April 2021 Update

      nguyen ly
      April 17, 2021
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Snapshot: The Backstagers #1

      Daniel Elkin, Michael Bettendorf
      August 20, 2016
      Boom! Studios, Columns, Indie, Snapshot
    Recent
    • 4.0

      Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past

      Stephen Cook
      March 3, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 4.0

      Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave #2

      Daniel Elkin, Michael Bettendorf
      May 10, 2012
      Reviews
    Recent
    • Singles Going Steady – Vowels, Who Needs Them?

      Daniel Gehen
      March 8, 2021
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Interview: Charles Forsman and the Brilliantly Violent World of Revenger

      Daniel Elkin, Michael Bettendorf
      October 17, 2016
      Indie, Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Editor's Commentary: 'Black Light: The World of L. B. Cole'

      Daniel Elkin, Michael Bettendorf
      January 9, 2015
      Classic Comics Cavalcade, Columns
    Recent
    • VISITOR is the Quintessential “SPIRIT” Story

      Daniel Gehen
      March 26, 2021
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • DC Joins Comixology Unlimited, Striking a Blow to DC Universe

      Daniel Elkin, Michael Bettendorf
      January 8, 2019
      Big Two, DC Comics, News, Press Release
    Recent
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 17, 2021
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: 'Out of Nothing' is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Daniel Elkin, Michael Bettendorf
      July 23, 2018
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: 6 Most Expensive Comic Books April 2021 Update
  • Collecting Profile: Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Collecting Profile: 1990 Marvel Universe Trading Cards
  • Collecting Profile: Red Sonja
  • Collecting Profile: Dr. Doom
  • VISITOR is the Quintessential “SPIRIT” Story
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Books

Review: “Intro to Alien Invasion”

Daniel Elkin, Michael Bettendorf
September 16, 2015
Books

Intro to Alien Invasion

Daniel Elkin: I am in awe of people expressing their unfettered creative vision. Putting yourself out there in such a naked manner shows a level of self-confidence and intestinal fortitude that I, to my shame, really don’t possess. Even when an artist stumbles in the realization of his or her art, my respect for them personally doesn’t diminish. If anything, in a way, it grows.

I just want to put that out there before we jump into this review of Intro to Alien Invasion by Owen King, Mark Jude Poirier, and Nancy Ahn. I take no joy in saying negative things about someone’s creative act. Please realize that I honor and respect the fact that these people have even attempted something so personal and revealing, something I am too afraid to try.

That being said, the new OGN Intro to Alien Invasion fails on many levels. It is a fractured read and a disappointing experience. To be honest, I’m more impressed with the creativity used in the press release than I was with this book.

Intro to Alien Invasion is the first graphic novel to be put out by publishing powerhouse Scribner (A CBS Company and imprint of Simon & Schuster). It is written by novelist Owen King (Double Feature) and screenwriter Mark Jude Poirier (Smart People), and it is illustrated by Nancy Ahn.

The press release that Scribner put out with this book says that it “stars Stacey, a brilliant, but socially marginalized student at Fenton College, a liberal arts school nestled in the hills of Vermont. Even her few friends find her relationship with Professor Evans, the highly eccentric astrobiology instructor, strange, and they’re skeptical of his theories about alien species. But, when an enormous hurricane strands the student on campus, Professor Evans’s theories prove to be correct: an alien invasion suddenly hit the college, leaving Stacey as the student most capable of taking down the infestation that threatens to wipe out the entire Fenton College population.”

Whew… that sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Except that’s not really what happens in this book. What happens in Intro to Alien Invasion is jumbled mess of hamfisted intentions gone awry in the clumsy hands of people who were looking at the product and the process.

Here, in this book, the characters and the setting and the narrative and the drama all bottom feed on the worst aspects of each trope it gels its hair with. Everything is piled on in such a manner that none of it rings true, as if King and Poirier were writing what they overheard instead of writing what they know. There is such an absence of connection points in Intro to Alien Invasion, everything seems covered in plastic, like my grandmother’s furniture, or behind glass, like an octopus at the aquarium. There is no direct experience.

Intro to Alien Invasion is ersatz comicing in so many ways.

My teenage son introduced me to the term “try hard” not all that long ago. From what I could discern through his guttural mutterings, “try hard” is when someone wants to be either socially relevant or controversial or outlandish or “deep” so badly that the intent overshadows the final product. Whatever they create rings false because it is not a true creative vision, rather it’s the approximation of the vision of others — like really bad performance art or post-ironic comedy or indie films that just reek of desperation instead of imagination. The fakeness of “try hard” comes from a level of pathos, I think, as if the need for validation of being part of a group is more important than validation for being yourself. It lacks any sort of authenticity.

Intro to Alien Invasion has “try hard” stink wafting off of nearly every page. King and Poirier have taken on too much in order to swim in a lake they have no business wading into because they never learned to doggie paddle. I felt a little sorry for Nancy Ahn, as her art struggled to keep up with the increasing ridiculous missteps of the narrative.

But bless them all for trying, even if it is “try hard”.

Unless this is just a blatant, soulless cash grab trying to capitalize on the new hotness that is issues of diversity in the the comics market. If so, then fuck these guys. They are gross.

Michael Bettendorf: Ya know, I appreciate your introduction, Elkin. I do not enjoy writing negative reviews because I always try to give creators the benefit of the doubt and respect for the very sake of just being a creator. Like you said, it takes a lot to put your vision out into the world, naked and alone, vulnerable to all end. And sure, I’m sure a lot of people look at us critics or reviewers or whatever name you want to call us and think, “well, everyone has their opinion” or simply “you don’t matter.” 

This is a half-truth. It’s half-true because we represent the audience. I’m not published. I want to be, but I’m not. This book is for me to read and consume and have opinions on. Tell my friends if I liked it or not, etc. Well, unfortunately Intro To Alien Invasion did not do it for me.

I read the press release and instantly thought, “Yes. This is my type of story.” I enjoy quirky, B-rated films and comics. I appreciate them for what they are, what purpose they have in our society and in our popular culture, but I don’t think Intro To Alien Invasion hit the mark.

The book’s biggest problem is that it tripped over it’s own shoelaces and left the artwork by Nancy Ahn to brace it’s fall. The script, as you mentioned Elkin, feels phony and my best guess is that these two are out of touch with their audience. This is extremely problematic. Know why?

Owen King went to Vassar College and Columbia University and is the son of literary legend Stephen King. Stephen King. Stephen King. There we go. One more…STEPHEN KING!

Mark Jude Poirer is a graduate of one of the best, if not the best, writing programs in the nation – the Iowa’s Writer’s Workshop. Not to mention writing seminars including: John Hopkins University, Georgetown University and Stanford University. He’s taught Bennington and Columbia and is currently teaching at Harvard. The only work I know him from is his work on the film Smart People.

All it took was a smidge of research. A few clicks and few clacks of the keyboard and there it was. All of a sudden I feel horrendously under qualified to be critiquing individuals with those sorts of background, but here I am, opening my big bearded mouth.

How in the world did these two manage to write such a mediocre book? You’d think that with the education these two have and the resources that are at their fingertips, they’d be able to come up with something of higher quality.

The back of the book mentioned that it’s “Mixing classic tropes from science fiction, indie comics, B movies and campus culture.” Nancy Ahn uses this to her advantage with lots of guts and gore of exploding aliens, goo covered students and grimy scenes. There’s a lot of over-the-top playful action that sets the tone for the book. The dialogue on the other hand, is horrible. I could imagine hearing some of that in junior high and high school, but college? No. Not at the University level. I couldn’t get past how forced the interactions with the characters felt. It relies on these tropes to produce humor, when it should have been left to natural interaction.

The artwork by Ahn is loose and flows with the oddly-paced action well. The linework uses line weight to convey depth and bold facial expressions to convey emotion. She’s the crutch that holds Intro To Alien Invasion up. There’s plenty of variety in her page layouts, from using angled panels to using arrows to show movement, action and location, often within the same panel.

The pacing seemed a bit off, but does follow some B-movie logic. So that said, it is sticking true to what I assume they were going for. I still think it would have been helpful to have chapter breaks to help pace the story. What did you think about the pacing, Elkin?

Elkin: I think the whole thing has fallen apart because the center does not hold. These guys have loosed mere anarchy upon the world for seemingly no reason other than either to garner some puerile giggles or because they thought that if they just smush every trope into a giant dough ball, it would somehow end up being a delicious cake.

It’s not just a question of pacing, I don’t think. It’s a result of “try hard”.

I had no idea about the pedigrees of its authors. Somehow, knowing this now only makes me sad. What could have been great is only reflective of, perhaps, entitlement or overreaching or, cynically, a slap dash cash grab.

Scribner should stay out of the OGN business if this is what they think the audience is clamoring for. Then again, Scribner does publish some Stephen King books, so perhaps Intro to Alien Invasion is kinda like a bonus handie to keep one of their top grossing authors placated. “Of course will publish your son’s book, Mr. King.”

Either that or they confused Owen King with Joe Hill and they looked at the market shares and ran with it.

God, Bettendorf, this whole thing has depressed me beyond end.

Bettendorf: I’m with you, Elkin. I think there is a lot at play here. Names, overreaching and of course, money. The most positive thing I can scrounge up is that Nancy Ahn was able to get some work out into the world. I couldn’t find much about her or her previous work. While I think the book doesn’t work on multiple levels, I think she did a great job doing her part. Most serious comics readers will be able to appreciate what she did for the book.

Intro to Alien InvasionMark Jude PoirierNancy AhnOwen KingScribnerSimon & Schuster

Share On:
Tweet
This Week in Boom!: Mermaids!!
Handguns, Hormones, and Hijinks: A Look at Grant Morrison and Philip Bond’s Kill Your Boyfriend

About The Author

<a href="https://comicsbulletin.com/byline/daniel-elkin/" rel="tag">Daniel Elkin</a>, <a href="https://comicsbulletin.com/byline/michael-bettendorf/" rel="tag">Michael Bettendorf</a>
Daniel Elkin, Michael Bettendorf

Michael graduated from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in 2012 with a BA in English with a focus in Creative Writing. When he's not spending time with his wife, he's working on creative projects and drinking enough coffee to take down a small horse.

Related Posts

  • The Trolls Don’t Need Your Help

    Charles "Zan" Christensen
    February 22, 2017

One Response

  1. comicsgrinder September 18, 2015

    Hey Daniel and Michael, I appreciate what you’re saying. I tend to think you’re being too harsh since the book has a certain level of entertainment value that leaves it in the running. I’m considering tastes on a grand scale. This will amuse a lot of people. But it is not going to win any awards–that’s true. I guess, at the end of the day, I want to encourage more and more graphic novels from Scribner/Simon & Schuster. That’s because the honest truth is that it’s rough starting out. I’m not sympathizing so much with the writers as with the publisher! “Intro to Alien Invasion” is not a perfect work by any means but it’s a start. Ideally, this book would have been launched with four or five other graphic novels. Too much scrutiny is being placed on this one work. You break some eggs on the way to a worthwhile omelet. I think that’s just a fact. I understand that you find the writers to be creative carpetbaggers. Well, yes, I doubt we’ll see more comics from them. It’s an odd and uneven work and there is too much of a disconnect between the marketing and the actual work. We don’t want more of the same. But don’t give up now, Scribner/Simon & Schuster!

Support Us!

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Friends of the Site

  • SOLRAD
  • Your Chicken Enemy
  • Psycho Drive-In
  • Women Write About Comics
  • The Beat
  • Loser City
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders