Building My Own Trade #6

Invisible Woman 1-5 (Marvel)
​By: Mark Waid, Mattia De Iulis

 IFor not being a huge fan of the Fantastic 4, I sure am reading a lot of F4-adjacent stories.  I came to this short series for Mattia's art, I stayed because of the fairly relatable storyline.

Book one, we get a glimpse into Susan Storm Richard's side hustle as a secret agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. and her old partner Tintreach.  After the brief flashback, Susan is dealing hitting a phase that a lot of parents eventually go through.  Their partner is over-drawn into their work, their kids are ignoring them, and while they have a period of peace, there comes the yearning to do more, and that yearning has ironic timing, as Storm gets a phone call to see if she could help identify the whereabouts of her old partner who is wrapped up in the midst of a student-hostage crisis. Books 2-5 take us on the wild ride of the Invisible Woman getting back into the secret agent game (against CIA orders), in an attempt to stick to her strict "No Killing" principle.  While the story itself is engaging, and I flew through each issue because I needed to know how it ended! 

Mattia's art throughout this small series is fantastic.  Drawing an evolving Sue (not just because of the invisibility, but because she can now bend light rays to effect her color) is something he nails.  Additionally, I love the strong detail work that goes into showing the human form whilst portraying a translucent (in the snow) or invisible (several other times) series of characters.  The color palette and use of shadow also drives a lot of intrigue in some high dramatic moments, or some smart plot points (like the slow development of human forms once Sue loses her eye sight).

What should you do? I feel like this is a great story for any sort of reader (you literally don't need to know anything about Storm or the F4 to pick this book up).  I also think this is just great for a parent yearning for a taste of their past (it could bite you in the ass). And, The more art of Mattia's I can own, the happier I am!