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the Mighty AVENGERS
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There came a day, a day
unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united
against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born - to fight
the foes no single super hero could withstand!
Through the years, their
roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been
denied! Heed the call, then -- for now, the Avengers Assemble! |
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THE
ESSENTIAL AVENGERS |
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Volume
One |
by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, &
Don Heck |
Paperback: 528 pages
Marvel Books
ISBN: 0785107010 |
$14.95

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Captain America--
Living Legend of World War II; the Mighty Thor, Asgardian God of Thunder;
the Invincible Iron Man, a brilliant industrialist turned modern-day knight;
the unbeatabe mutant duo of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch; and many others:
seperately they are extraordinary individuals. Together, they are the Avengers,
Earth's Mightiest Heroes! This volume collects issues #1-24 in black &
white. |
The Avengers
were initially an obvious recipe for success-- take a number of characters
already supporting their own comics and bring them together as a group,
an idea as old as the Justice Society of America. So, in the debut issue,
we have Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Ant-man and the Wasp joining forces as
an unexpected consequence of a plot by Loki against his half-brother, Thor.
However, the ideas changed
quickly as the Hulk left and teamed-up with the Sub-mariner to fight his
former allies and was replaced by Captain America, a World War 2 hero frozen
between then and the 60s. And then again, to suddenly have all the original
members depart, leaving Cap with Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch,
three super-villains seeking to reform, as his teammates.
The stories in this volume
represent a fairly diverse bunch, showing both the best and worst aspects
of Stan Lee's writing at the time. Interesting team dynamics, where the
characters are not always each others' friends, villains with motives beyond
the banal, references to events in other titles, secrets and subplots that
aren't resolved in a single story all show the hallmarks of a writer seeking
to develop a loyal following. At the same time, we have blatant sexism
and racism, villains with banal motives and some very hokey dialogue.
The art is OK, the early
Jack Kirby issues not his best work, and I've never been fond of Don Heck's
art. It seems a little odd to be reading these stories in black and white,
although this obviously keeps the price down.
If you want to see how one
of the best super-hero team series started out, get this. |
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ESSENTIAL
AVENGERS |
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Volume
Two |
by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Roy Thomas, & John Buscema,
et al |
Paperback: 528 pages
Marvel Books
ISBN: 078510741X |
$14.95

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This is a wonderful
value for the money which contains over 20 issues of Avengers continuity.
Great stories by Stan Lee and Roy Thomas and likable art from Don Heck
and then up and coming John Buscema. Not up to the level of the first Essential
volume but is still must reading. You get to see the evolution of Hawkeye's
character, the return of Goliath and the Wasp to the team, and the addition
of the mighty Hercules. The skillfulness of Cap's kookie quartet (Cap,
Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver) was in no way the strongest lineup
but their skills and teamwork was among the finest in the group's history. |
Reprinting Avengers
25-46 and King Size Special #1, "Essential Avengers vol. 2" is something
of a mixed bag. Stan Lee hands over the reins to Roy Thomas at approximately
the midway point in the collection, which is a slight improvement as Thomas
injects some fresh blood into a project which clearly held Lee's interest
only flaggingly at the end. Don Heck's art looks uniformly execrable throughout,
so John Buscema coming on board for the last third or so is a very welcome
change indeed.
The scripts themselves are
uneven. While the initial bickering amongst the team is fairly interesting
(if only to hear Captain America, a product of the 40s, exchanging barbs
with Hawkeye in perfect 60s tough-guy patois), the team soon begins to
emit affirmations of hero-worship to each other like a couple of natural-born
bootlickers at a Promise Keepers rally ("You're the man!" "No, you're the
man!" <hug>)
The initial promise of Goliath's
being trapped at the freakish height of 10 feet tall is squandered within
a few issues, Hercules joins the team in an apparent attempt to bring Stan
Lee's lofty dialogue back, the Wasp is her usual irrelevant self, and Captain
America, the born leader, fails miserably to control the team and needs
Goliath to straighten it out.
The issues do build some
momentum, and classic battles with the Super-Adaptoid and the Whizzer rekindle
the old magic of the Avengers.
Even with all the aforementioned
flaws, this collection of the Avengers still beats most of the stuff on
the newsstand and in the comics shops today. |
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The
ESSENTIAL AVENGERS |
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Volume
Three |
by Roy Thomas, John Buscema, & Gene Colan, et al |
Paperback: 528 pages
Marvel Books
ISBN: 0785107878 |
$14.95

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Collecting
AVENGERS #47-68 & Annual #2
The Avengers continues to
be one of the hottest selling titles in the comics industry. In thanks,
we`ve given readers the opportunity to catch up on more of the classic
stories that made them legends in The Essential Avengers Volume 3, with
over two years worth of some of the greatest comic stories ever told at
one of the best values ever! |
See the Avengers
fight their greatest adversaries: the Grim Reaper, Ultron and the new Masters
of Evil! Thrill to the exploits of Earth`s Mightiest Heroes as they welcome
the Black Knight, Yellowjacket and the Vision into their midst! Each Essential
volume provides a hefty 500 page-plus page count at an affordable price! |
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