Quinn Martin's The Invaders in Print
Edgar Scoville Out, Al Lieberman In
Penned by the author of the acclaimed misadventures of galactic diplomat Retief, Keith Laumer's The Invaders #1 (142 pp.), recounts the first nine months of David Vincent's campaign against the aliens in three novelettes.
Unlike the television pilot, Laumer's The "Discovery" prudently establishes the series' hero as an engineer, rather than architect, to enhance his versatility in dealing with the super-technological challenges to come.
After fitting together a collection of strange electronic sub-assemblies found in anonymous mass production at diverse factories around the United States, Vincent brings what resembles a partly-built handgun to schoolmate Al Lieberman, a physicist whose recurring technical support serves a similar function as the program's Edgar Scoville character.
Once extrapolating the function of the missing component, they crudely replicate and incorporate it with explosive results, gaining the attention of those who had commissioned the production of the parts, in the first place.
In this way, Vincent's fateful discovery tellingly establishes the Invaders' insidious nature in a taut, yet less sensational manner than the TV pilot, while his poignant renouncement of career, friends and romance to embark on a nightmare quest ultimately casts the protagonist as he appears on-screen: a man constantly pushed to the edge of paranoia by the urgency of his cause.
Believers of Two Stripes
"The Maniac" provides Vincent a haunting taste of what can happen if he succumbs to that tendency, when he meets an eloquent "Believer" at a flying saucer gathering.
Promised incontrovertible evidence of the aliens, Vincent accepts an invitation to the seemingly harmless old man's home--a decayed manse right out of Poe, only to be mistaken for an alien by the crazed Winifred Thrall, who tries to dispatch him via a series of deadly traps set throughout the house.
Even while staying one step ahead in a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse, Vincent must contend with the additional threat genuine aliens, who enter the premises to deliver an ultimatum.
"Counterattack", the chillingly satisfying finale, links Vincent with Joseph Anoti, a frustrated Air Force NCO who has failed to convince his superiors to prepare against a major UFO landing using a meteor shower for cover. So, the pair steal a half-track to stage a modest ambush in the Arizona desert.
What they confront is a tableau reminiscent of War of the Worlds, wherein, like their Wellsian forebears, the Invaders brazenly deploy personnel and equipment, indifferent to the reaction their presence inspires.
But whereas the smug Victorians were ultimately undone by their own complacency, the sensibly-concerned humans in this scenario strike a concrete blow against the Invaders, seen in their embryonic form, providing readers a rare view of these mysterious beings prior to their assuming human form.
From Another Galaxy
Laumer's Invaders #2: Enemies from Beyond (159 pp.) explores the diversity of the aliens' operations, ranging from undersea encounters to the Moon, while maintaining the show's Earth-based format.
In The "Survivor" Vincent persuades a navy buddy to drive his sub to a point in the Gulf of Mexico where an unexplained spout of boiling water sank a commercial ship. But it is Lieberman's shattering analysis of igneous rock salvaged from the Cornubia that reveals the aliens are toying with geothermal energy to cripple marine commerce and defense.
Striking a Blow for Gaia...
Opening with unrelenting action, "The Allies" pairs Vincent with a spirited biology student, as they retreat from a Florida beach abruptly besieged by assorted literal bug-eyed monsters.
After barricaded inside an abandoned hotel, Vincent's astute companion can't resist pondering over the fantastic character of the vicious menagerie assaulting the old building. As the dog-sized creatures terrorizing the beach bear an atavistic resemblance to the "infant" aliens, "The Allies" does for the Invaders' homeworld zoology what "Counterattack" does for their particular physiology.
More awesome still is the timely and humbling response of terrestrial fauna to a unique biospheric attack--presciently in tune with today's heightened environmental awareness.
... and for a Moonshot
"The Telescope" covers similar territory to the exciting "Moonshot" TV episode, but has a dynamic, inventive quality of its own to recommend it.
When repeated attempts to land a Lunar probe fail, Vincent and a NASA telemetrist illegally divert the next craft's trajectory, confirming the presence of a hidden alien base, responsible for destroying the prying robots.
Before they can document anything, the location of their pirate earth station is traced, leading to a terrible firefight at an observatory, where the Invaders are repelled at the last minute with admirable ingenuity.
Frequently unfairly criticized for his restrained performance throughout the show's run, Thinnes' interpretation of David Vincent is most appropriate for this very same reason, as any sign of agitation might instantly undermine the sober conviction needed to support his anything-but-convincing allegations.
Beachhead Detroit
In contrast, Rafe Bernard's The Invaders #3: Army of the Undead (142 pp.) has the interpersonal skills of the series' crusading hero so thoroughly groomed, Vincent comes off as a charismatic pop psychologist.
Despite convoluted exposition of Invader telepathy, the unlikely role of Vincent as an unofficial FBI operative and other digressions from established mythos, somehow the plot springs reasonably from what has gone before.
A highway along Auto City has become the site of numerous car accidents, interesting Vincent because of the telltale aura repeatedly suffusing the survivors.
Transferring their minds into the victims' bodies in orchestrated crashes, the Invaders have commandeered a major auto plant and aim to use the U.S. highway system to infiltrate the populace with their new mode of subversion.
Overcoming their plot, however, isn't nearly as hard as overcoming the factory town's unwillingness to admit there is a problem with the cars it produces. But, an infectious enthusiasm for car culture informs Vincent's undercover test-driver role sufficiently to convince them to rout the aliens.
Culminating with a staggering light show, Rafe Bernard's compelling contribution to a stealth war with mortally incandescent extraterrestrials makes a fitting conclusion to an all-too-brief tie-in line, worth seeking out in used bookstores and media conventions today.
Cover of Invaders #1 (UK Edition)
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Cover of Invaders #2
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