Notes On The Invasion Earth Trilogy

The Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes was meant to be a "closing act" for me. A few times I'd been ill but then things got a little "iffy" so I decided to do a story that ended -seemingly- the Black Tower Universe.

There were six parts that featured as lead story in the revived Black Tower Adventure (volume 2) in 2010. At the end of the story a good few heroes had died and as far as I am concerned death in my comics means death. No reboots or whatever. A total of 197 pages but then I thought to myself that I ought to make the "trade" a lot more interesting.

This was the cover blurbed:

It began slowly.  It always does. It's a deception that everything in the world is as it should be and that never changes.

Earth’s heroes and crime-fighters are going about their daily tasks –fighting a giant robot controlled by a mad scientist’s brain, attackers both human and mystical -even alien high priests of some mysterious cult and their zombie followers and, of course, a ghost and a young genius lost in time. 

Pretty mundane. 

But psychics around the world have been sensing something.  A "something" that sends feelings of sheer terror through their psyches.

There is a huge alien Mother-ship near the Moon. Undetected by deep-space radar and other instruments, only a few on Earth have sensed it and they cannot penetrate the hull but only feel psychic screams and....worse.

And then it begins: strange orange spheres isolate and chase some of Earth’s heroes who then vanish into thin air –are they dead?  An attack by an old foe or foes -?

Black, impenetrable domes cover cities world-wide. 

Then it becomes clear to those within the domes what is going on: Alien invasion of Earth! 
A war between the Dark Old Gods and the pantheons that followed! 

Warriors from Earth’s past having to battle each day and whether they die or not they are back the next day! 

No one suspects the driving force behind the events.  One single evil guiding events.  Events that could cause destruction and chaos throughout the multiverse.

Assaulted on all fronts can Earth’s defenders succeed or will they fail...is this truly the end? 

You might -or might not- ask how 197 pages became 331? Well, the whole concept had started as 1987: Invasion Earth so when I looked at the completed art for the build up (never published) I realised that it would be easier to up-date everything. When I write "easy" I'm understating things since all of the hand lettered pages had to be computer lettered (the only thing in a comic I use the computer for) to match the 197 pages version. And there was a lot of text. In the end I relettered everything and drew bridging pages to make things gel. 

This was all a huge pain really since I never write scripts -unless it is for others- to keep a natural flow. Far less rigid. Also, despite what you may have heard anyone else saying I do not think I am a fantastic artist -I do get praise but find that embarrassing especially when it comes from other better known artists. Ben Dilworth once told me: "One day you are going to produce a comic book masterpiece, look at it and say 'yeah, its okay' and next day you'll say 'it's shit!'"

I do the work, check it and move on. I very rarely look at any of my own books unless I need a reference to keep continuity.  My lack of a big ego is what held me back in comics -that and being teetotal! 

I think that the best praise I got came from Dave Hunt (at the time editing a Fleetway football comic), Steve MacManus and Gil Page, then Managing Editor at Fleetway, who informed me that in the hey-day of British comics my speed and quality would have assured me pof regular work.

The series was originally going to be drawn by a well known comic artist who then backed out because "I can't see big money in comics any more".  Then another artist who was all over the place with enthusiasm but then said there were too many characters -"Could you cut the number down to 5-10 characters?"  Another started on pages and then told me "I never realised drawing comics involved so much more!" and then buggered off. Sadly, the one artist I really wanted on the series, Dean Willetts eventually withdrew.

As in previous cases I realised that if I needed to clear the project from my head then I would have to draw it myself. I tried drawing in the Dean Willetts style but threw that work out because if you are going to draw something draw it in your own style. In this case 331 pages.

I had a minor character, around late teens when Invasion Earth was first contemplated -Jack Flash. I have no idea how or why but he became the focal point of Return as he tried to outrace "The Many-Eyed One".  The character Ally Sloper (long story read the book!) sits in darkness at the start of the book and says:

"This is how it started.

This is how it ended.

Not with some cataclysmic  universal "Big Bang"

But with a young man running in sheer terror and desperation

-his heart and lungs burning with the effort..

This is how it started.

This is how it ended.

This is how they died"

At that point I had no idea what that meant -seriously, whatever comes into my mind goes on the page and then I pray it makes sense later. The final words of the book -according to two people who read it- gave them "chills".

As for some of the action I think that the Hornet "using a lead pipe in the garden" in a fight helped. Giant robots, Old Dark Gods, alien invasion, heroes from the past and present -as well as some unexpected cameos and characters from almost any country you can think of and even finding ...I'm giving too much away.

Yes, my art style is not that of Byrne, Kirby or any other artist you can name but I'm told it works.  Hey -331 pages gimme a break.

What I never realised is that the "Many-Eyed One" had appeared in cameo in previous work. I work on so many things that then get put out of mind. I was looking through one Black Tower book and there was the MEO...I got confused but moved on!

I have contemplated redrawing the whole thing but I do not have that many years and I have other projects to finish!

Of course my mind had other ideas and so I started getting bits of the Cross Earths Caper popping up day and night. This was to be part 2 of the Invasion Earth Trilogy. More fun and adventure with "time lost" heroes -at a time when (following Return) there was a shortage: somehad retired or been affected so badly they had withdrawn completely. Oh, and of course the amnesic "Bob" was pickled up along the way.

But the events that had begun in Return needed to be tackled. This led to The Green Skies and turned into over 500 pages. So far completed but not lettered. Considering that this all began with a suggestion in 1985 I think over 30 years is long enough. Then, if I am lucky, I can get the other projects finished. The Invasion Earth Trilogy is, quite honestly, a once-in-a-lifetime epic.

I hate the idea that I have many other things to draw but let's see how it goes.