  In this paper, we propose an ansatz for defining Gopakumar-Vafa invariants of
Calabi-Yau threefolds, using perverse sheaves of vanishing cycles. Our proposal
is a modification of a recent approach of Kiem-Li, which is itself based on
earlier ideas of Hosono-Saito-Takahashi. We conjecture that these invariants
are equivalent to other curve-counting theories such as Gromov-Witten theory
and Pandharipande-Thomas theory. Our main theorem is that, for local surfaces,
our invariants agree with PT invariants for irreducible one-cycles. We also
give a counter-example to the Kiem-Li conjectures, where our invariants match
the predicted answer. Finally, we give examples where our invariant matches the
expected answer in cases where the cycle is non-reduced, non-planar, or
non-primitive.
