L.A.ser Boy and Friends

It’s been a while since I updated the “Long Invasion” series which stars Lorenzo Almanzo, the titular L.A.ser Boy, and a cast of many, many characters. For those of you of a certain age, the phrase Kree-Skrull War will bring up certain memories. I read that Avengers storyline when I lived in England for one school year. I was in fourth grade at the time, or would have been had I been in school back in the United States. Honestly, I forget the term for the grade I attended when my family lived in England. It wasn’t as simple as fourth grade or grade four. But it escapes me now. Anyway, black and white reprints of American comics (mostly Marvel but a few other random ones, too) were how I stayed connected to the U.S. When you’re 11, a whole school year seems like forever. Comics helped me pass the time and the Kree-Skrull War was unlike anything I’d read in comics at that young age.

The British, black and white reprints of Marvel’s titles came out a handful of months after their original publishing in America. The titles were mostly (except for “Hulk and the Planet of the Apes”) printed in landscape format and came out weekly. So an issue of Avengers that was printed in whole in the U.S. would be cut up into three or four parts and put out in sections once a week. Each title was a composite of three or four main titles from America. The Avengers book would have sections from Defenders or Dr. Strange or something like that. I don’t remember those details at this point.

But I do remember walking down to the corner pharmacist/candy store in order to buy the new issues. Those comics were a little bit of home in the midst of a very strange place. When the Kree-Skrull War came out, I somehow missed the first installments and spent a couple of weekends going to different stores or, in the merry, Marvel lingo of the time, “purveyors of fine comic book magazines.” Once I got my hands on those early parts of the story I, of course, had to go back and read everything in order. Several times. All in the same afternoon. Then again the next morning.

L.A.ser Boy and the “Long Invasion” series is my version of a complex, multi-charactered, worlds-clashing, millennia-spanning “superhero event.” In many ways the Kree-Skrull War was a precursor to the yearly (or more often) BIG STORY events that that comics producers have been doing for decades now. Those familiar with the details of the Kree-SKrull War will recognize a few scenes and story beats in the “Long Invasion.” Yes, I did that on purpose.

In terms of progress, the first title, L.A.ser Boy, came out last August. I have completed book two (working title = “When Come the Aliens”) and am 2/3 of the way through book three (no title yet). Originally, I had planned to release book two in April. But at this point, I think I will wait until I’ve finished the whole series (all four books) and really take the time to go through them with a fine-tooth comb to make sure they are as good as they possibly can be.

The series has been a blessing to write as, well, I love superheroes. I love reading their stories. I love watching their stories. And now I love writing their stories. Working on the series has felt like coming home, in a weird sense. Marvel comics kept me connected to home while I lived in England. Writing L.A.ser Boy’s adventures has helped me focus and process those memories to a degree of depth that I hadn’t before…ever.

Just around the corner now, the Brie Larson Captain Marvel movie comes out. The previews look fantastic. Marvel’s earlier version of that character, Mar-Vell the Kree soldier turned defender of Earth, plays a huge part in the Kree-Skrull War. It feels like everything is coming full circle. The whole MCU build up to Infinity War and Endgame is very similar in scope to all the narrative threads in the Kree-Skrull War (Rick Jones, the Negative Zone, The Supreme Intelligence, The Fantastic Four, Clint Barton goes missing, Thor using Mjolnir to power a quinjet in space – and that’s just off the top of my head.) So, since I haven’t had the opportunity to thank them in person, my hat’s off to Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, Sal Buscema and John Buscema for bringing that wonderful story to the comics pages.