Superheroes! Megawars! Andy from INVOKER Counts Down His Top 10 Comic Books [Exclusive]

Swiss metallers Invoker are about to head on the road with To Kill Achilles and Reclaimer. Given the amount of travelling involved, there will be plenty of time to pass between shows. Given that Andy from the band is such a comic book geek, we’re sure a few of his Top 10 favourites will be packed in his backpack to help pass the time. Over to Andy to tell you about his favourites.

Andy: When PureGrainAudio asked me to rank my top ten comic books of all time, I was genuinely excited. For once doing an interview in which we don’t have to explain who Invoker is, how we got our name, or how we met each other is pretty refreshing. And having a chance to geek out a little and talk about comic books is just awesome!

One thing I love about comic books is that we get constantly new releases of pure quality. There are so many talented writers out there and there is so much to discover. I just love it. If people wonder why certain comics didn’t make my list, the reason will probably be because I haven’t read them yet, for example I have never read the Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, but I will do in future! And maybe then it will be my number one. Or I’ll read The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and think it’s totally overrated, who knows! But for now, this the list of my personal Top Ten Comic Books. Here we go!

10. Spider-Man – Spider-Verse (Written by Dan Slott)
– There are some people who think there are too many versions of Spider-Man. Yes, there are some which are nothing special. But there are also many versions that are so cool, like Spider-Man-2099, Scarlet-Spider, Silk, Spider-Ham and many more. Seeing them fighting all together against Morlun and his family of spiritual vampires across the whole multiverse sounds crazy, right? It is! And heck is it entertaining!

Check out Invoker’s video for the epic single, “End Me”.

09. Green Lantern – Blackest Night (Written by Geoff Johns)
– For people who are not really into comic books, Green Lantern is most likely just a bad movie starring Ryan Reynolds, featuring a crappy story, and awful CGI. In the comics, Green Lantern is one of the most interesting characters that publisher DC has to offer. Blackest Night is not a Green Lantern-only story, but rather the conclusion of a series of events happening in Green Lantern – Rebirth, and Green Lantern – The Sinestro Corps War. It all ends in a huge war of all the Lantern Colours (Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, Blue, Indigo and Violet) given to a various group of super heroes against the undead army of Black Lanterns. So cool!

08. X-Men – The Age of Apocalypse (Written by various writers)
– Imagine a world where Professor X is dead and Magneto has become the good guy, leading the X-Men into a war against an all-powerful super mutant, Apocalypse. When Prof. X’s son Legion travelled back into the past to kill Magneto, Prof. X got Killed instead, this is exactly what happens in this comic. The whole plot is like a big “what if” and just a massively exciting read. So many comic books tie in together, culminating in a huge event of apocalyptic proportions (pun intended). It takes a while to read it but it is so worth it.

07. Batman – Court Of Owls & City Of Owls (Written by Scott Snyder)
– I know, this is not a single book. But in comics you mostly have issues and so I put the stories of Court Of Owls & City Of Owls together because they simply belong together. And man is it good! You’ll get the full package with Batman and the Bat-Family and you’ll see Batman at his strongest and at his weakest. Because it is a Batman comic, it is of course a detective story. It is so thrilling and has some plot twists that keep you wanting more.

06. Avengers Vs. X-Men (Written by Brian M. Bendis)
– I have a love/hate relationship with Cyclops. Mostly in terms of “I love that I hate him”. He is so often just a big asshole. In AvX he is such a big asshole that he leads the X-Men into a war against the Avengers. With Bendis’ brilliant storytelling, and some truly awesome art, it is a massive event circling around the question; “Should the Phoenix Force be avoided or should it be used for good?” Pure entertainment!

Invoker’s Cursed To Feel EP is out now, so grab a copy here.

05. Thor – The God Butcher & Godbomb (Written by Jason Aaron)
– Jason Aaron is one of my favourite writers at Marvel but the best thing he’s ever written is Thor -The God Butcher and Godbomb. I cannot find a word other than “epic” for this one. You’ll get a Thor wielding two hammers and also fighting alongside a past and future version of himself! Jason Aaron is still writing Thor comics and they are all top notch but if you are searching for the best Thor stories, The God Butcher and Godbomb are the ones you want!

04. Fantastic Four / Avengers / New Avengers / Infinity / Secret Wars (Written by Jonathan Hickman)
– OK, I know we have more than one story and certainly many, many books here but it makes perfect sense, I promise. Jonathan Hickman wrote all these stories all in building to one overarching story. I cannot explain the plot here because I would be here forever, but it all ultimately leads up to 2015’s mega event Secret Wars. When reading all this, you’ll get crazy stuff like the collapse of the multiverse, Thanos demolishing the Avengers, Dr. Doom as a God, The Illuminati, Beyonders, Avengers and Inhumans getting killed off one by one and so much more… it’s insane! It’s a little difficult to keep track, but it is so worth it!

03. Guardians Of The Galaxy (Written by Dan Abnett / Andy Lenning)
– The first ever comic I’ve read was a Guardians Of The Galaxy issue. The old ones, no Starlord, no Drax, no Rocket but characters like Yondu and Major Victory. I have no idea what the comic was about, but the name “Guardians Of The Galaxy” stuck with me ever since. When Marvel rebooted them in 2008, Dan Abnett wrote a story that was not only thrilling but also filled with humor and lovable characters. The Guardians Of The Galaxy are still my favorite superhero team.

02. Watchmen (Written by Alan Moore)
– In every top comic book list, Watchmen is at least in the top five and for good reason. The story following the detective Rorschach (one of the coolest characters in comic book history) on his quest to find the man who killed a former superhero called The Comedian is nothing short of awesome. The characters are amazingly well-written, the story is intelligent and thrilling to the last page.

Watch this video before you “Cease to Exist”.

01. The Death Of Captain America (Written by Ed Brubaker)
– Stove Rogers gets shot! Who did it? Who will take the shield and become the new Captain America? Do we need a new Captain? Yes we do! This is by far the most intense comic about the death of a superhero I’ve ever read. Filled with intrigue and conspiracies, it’s the best spy-story I’ve ever read. That comic book had me from start to finish, I read the whole story in one session. It is the best comic book I’ve ever read and I think it will be for a long time!

Before I end this list, here are some honourable mentions which would have made my list were I in a different mood: Civil War II, Age Of Ultron, Y: The Last Man, V for Vendetta, Infinity Gauntlet, 30 Days Of Night.

I hope you enjoyed my list and maybe found some books you want to read now! Thank you PureGrainAudio for letting me do this. It was a lot of fun!

Tour Dates (w/ To Kill Achilles, Reclaimer):

03/22 – Geneva – Champmesle
03/23 – Freiburg – KTS
03/25 – Prague – Balada Bar
03/26 – Koln – Bar Pod Hodinama
03/28 – Birmingham – Subside Bar
03/29 – Manchester – Satans Hollow
03/30 – High Wycombe – Phoenix Bar
03/31 – Gillingham – Rock Avenue