Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities The All Avengers Thread

Just posted at the site. Despite George Roussos' horribly-rushed inks, these contain some of Jack Kirby's MOST EXCITING panels ever!!


http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20004%20p01.jpg
http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20004%20p04.jpg
http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20004%20p07.jpg
http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20004%20p18.jpg
http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20004%20p19.jpg
http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20004%20p20.jpg

The latest restoration really started back in July 2005. I dug it out today and did some additional adjustments (levels, hue/intensity, removing all the color from the gray buildings, skin tones, etc.).


I had previously used airbrush on the white areas. Normally this would make it impossible to use "levels" after-the-fact, BUT, there was a tiny sliver of the yellowed page left behind in one spot, and that was all I needed to FIX the whole damn cover color in seconds! After that, the rest was easy.


There had originally been some creases and damage along the bottom edge, and the buildings, as I recall, took extensive copy-and-paste, and airbrush, to repair. Also, the ENTIRE LOGO area was missing. Yep, this was one of those "returns" that wasn't destroyed. The logo came from another scan, which is why, looking real close, it's a wee bit fuzzy compared to the rest. Oh well, maybe I can re-do the logo area in another 6 years...?


One of my very favorite JOHN BUSCEMA covers...


http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20A03.jpg

The latest restoration! This is an odd one, as the images are filed in the
AVENGERS section, but until I expand the run up to #150 (which I may not do for
some time yet), the only place it appears so far is in the ASTONISH section...
because, in the back, Roy Thomas put a reprint of a WASP story! (Go figure.)


John Romita did a lot of 2nd-rate covers around this time, but this, I think, is
one of his better AVENGERS efforts. (Too bad Roy found it impossible to edit
himself as far as the amount of TEXT involved...)


http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20G01.jpg


The left edge, the "MCG" banner and the "GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS" logo were at 3
different rotations. NOT anymore!

The latest restoration... GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #2!


http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20G02.jpg


This is apparently the work of Ron Wilson & Frank Giacoia. If so, it's one of
my favorite Ron Wilson covers. But I still wonder to this day... WHY didn't
they have DAVE COCKRUM to his own cover??


For the 2nd issue in a row, the reprint filler in the back isn't an AVENGERS
story. but this time, at least the choice is a sensible one. It's FANTASTIC
FOUR #19, the 1st appearance of Rama-Tut. This was the first time I ever got to
read that story, after having seen Alex Toth's 1967 cartoon adaptation of it
(still a favorite).

Annnnnd another restoration! GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #4...


http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20G04.jpg


This one's by Gil Kane & Al Milgrom, with touch-ups by John Romita. This issue
was the last time for about TEN years that Mantis appeared in any Marvel Comic,
as apparently nobody wanted to write her other than Steve Englehart.


The reprint back-ups were from (oddly enough) TALES TO ASTONISH #38 (Ant-Man)
and AMAZING ADVENTURES #1 (Black Widow).

The latest, and the final GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS, this one the reprint of KING SIZE-SPECIAL #1. John Buscema, Don Heck and George Roussos.


http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20G05.jpg


This was an unusual one. The left edge was not aligned with ANYTHING, but the banner was perfectly aligned with both the bottom edge and the text box atr the bottom. So I rotated it to match that. Then, strangely enough, both the left AND right edges needed "filling in"-- BOTH near the top, whihc just goes to show how SCREWED UP that left edge was. No doubt the result of a TERRIBLE paste-up job down that side.


Further, I wound up rotating only the LEFT section of the banner, as once you got past "68 BIG PAGES", that section was NOT in the same rotation as the rest of it! Bizarre, and suggests the upper-left corner was a separate piece, especially when you add to that the width of the banner does NOT exactly match the rest of the banner's width.


Lots of scratches and "wear", or maybe they just used CHEAP ink that came off easy, I dunno. I could do a lot more... maybe I will. But for now, this is how it is.


HEY! Doesn't Don's version of The Enchantress look just like HONOR BLACKMAN??? (His Executioner looks like Theodore Marcuse.)

As with several sections before it, the AVENGERS "Misc. Reprints" page is the MOST complex & confusing of the entire section. And the MOST complex & confusing part of that, no doubt, is the MASTERWORKS, especially the early volumes, as there have been so many different printings and DESIGNS.


Just added: 2 DEAN WHITE paintings. "Overdone" color is one thing, but in this case, I kinda like the results, since the guy actually has done FULL paintings right over the original pictures, totally obliterating the line-art. So it's not excessive color fighting with linework-- there ARE no lines... so it "works".


http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20Mast%2001%20TPB%202009.jpg

http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20Mast%2002%20TPB%202009.jpg


I haven't even TOUCHED the FANTASTIC FOUR or THOR sections on this score yet! And while there are a ton of SPIDER-MAN reprints set up some time ago, this latest set of Masterworks TPBs still need to be added.

AVENGERS ACADEMY #9: The issue starts right where the last one left off: mostly a good think for following up a cliffhanger, but not so great when just what the reader thought would happen does.

Tigra relents. The kids stay- on probation. That decision's only reached after a *very* interesting conversation between Quicksilver and Greer. Really, it's one many Avengers fans would appreciate, I think.

At issue's end, Tigra watches the bit where The Hood says 'I'm sorry' over and over...

Oh, yes- there's another little cofab that's of interest. Finesse talks Pietro into taking her to a place Taskmaster has been known to frequent. Quicksilver leaves her there when it appears empty. Which is, naturally, the cue for Taskmaster to reveal himself.

They fight- Finesse gets p.o.ed. Then things get worth reading. Turns out Taskmaster thinks Finesse could be his daughter, but can't remember. He tells her that in order for his memory to hold all physical muscle memory stuff that's his schtick, he doesn't have room for the more personal data. Like who he's slept with.

Is that an established bit for him? I wasn't sure whether it was 'confession ' time or if he was playing Finesse here.

He thought he might remember her if he fought her- that he'd recognize her 'moves'. Which are, follow the logic, someone else's. So he doesn't.

There's undercurrents here of a possible father reaching out to a possible daughter in decidedly untraditional manner. Since Taskmaster wears a full face mask, there's only the shifting of his eyes to reveal what he might be thinking.

His dialogue is ambiguous as can be. Is he telling Finesse to remain an Avenger? Or to find out lots of stuff so that she can sell out? What does 'getting better' mean? Would it mean the same to her as it does to him?

Okay, I need help here... can anyone identify the artist(s) who did this cover?

http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20Battles.jpg

I have a question for longtime Avengers fans. Was Hank Pym ever punished for the Ultron incident? And if so, what exactly was it and how severe was it?

He never was. Personally, I think that after years of re-reads, the only Ultron stories that still hold up well are the ones from the Silver Age. If it weren't for lazy writers bringing Ultron back for the 455356567th time, he would have justifiably been forgotten. But I digress. I think that Hank's treatment at the hands of mean-spirited and irrationally hateful writers has been punishment enough. Every time it looks like Hank is going to finally put his mistakes behind him and move on, those blasted writers dredge up the skeletons in his closet and drag him through the mud yet again. "My" Hank was the early-mid 90s Hank, the one who rose to the occassion when the Avengers were short-handed and embraced his destiny as a costumed hero. I haven't seen him for a long time, and probably never will again.

Avengers Academy 10 is pretty decent, although the cover has *nothing* to do with what goes on in the book itself. (Indeed, it's almost like a one page teaser of story that needs never be told, which is kinda fun, making it like that five minutes of action at the beginning of a James Bond movie that may or may not have anything to do with the plot of the movie, but is meant to just kind of start the show with a bang.)

I love how the book is pulling in people (and concepts) from all over the marvel universe. This issue, we get to see the totally logical use of the morlock boy Leech, to shut down someone's uncontrollable powers so that they can have a normal day. Nice to see that Leech is still around, and that the writer is really thinking about the stuff he's working with, drawing logical characters into play as they are called for by the situation.

(Kind of the opposite of other situations, like the 'why is Oracle still a paraplegic, despite having two dozen friends who could heal her?' question burning up the DC messageboards.)

I feel that way about a lot of characters.

"MY" Hank was the one who loved Jan, but was too "serious" to tell her. Who KNEW she was a lot smarter than she acted... but acepted her as she was.


ROY THOMAS got the black-ball rolling. First he made Jan GENUINELY stupid by having her hire a chauffer without checking his references (remember THE HUMAN TOP???). Then he had Hank create Ultron. WHAT THE F*** is a scientist with his specialty doing messing around with ROBOTS??? And how the F*** did he somehow manage to create "Skynet" decades before THE TERMINATOR movies? (Built robot, turn it on, it IMMEDIATELY develops sentient consciousness, and then for NO G**D*** reason whatsoever, decides to MURDER all human life on the entire planet. I mean, WTF?????) Then Roy has Hank have a temporary nervous breakdown, develop a 2nd personality, pretend he's KILLED himself, and marries Jan while he's unhinged. I mean... WTF???

A**H***s like Jim Shooter no doubt figured they were totally justified doing what they did. And Roger Stern, much as I liked most of his writing, clearly was TOWING THE COMPANY LINE. (In other words, "Don't cross Shooter.")

Steve Gerber treated Hank better in DEFENDERS long before that. Steve Englehart treated Hank better in AVENGERS (before Gerry Conway got in the G**D*** way). But what Steve did to Hank in WEST COAST AVENGERS-- completely out of the blue, have the guy try to COMMIT SUICIDE-- I mean, honestly... W-- T-- F!!!!!!


Pardon my ramble...

[quote]Originally posted by profh0011:
[b]Okay, I need help here... can anyone identify the artist(s) who did this cover?

[/quote]]http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20Battles.jpg[/QB][/QUOTE]
the first name that jumped into my head was Dan Panosian...but I have no idea if that is right.

Thanks! I've run across his name, but don't know his work enough to know if that's him or not. I found that cover at the GCD, but no one had done the index yet.

I'm not sure if it's him...just thought it might be. It's odd that nobody has it identified on GCD.

Oh well, TONS of covers get posted there without the person posting them bothering to do the INDEXES.


Also, it's rare for someone to add a reprint book and ALSO add the pertinent information to the indexes of the original comics being reprinted. (I guess that takes too much thinking.)


I was just noting elsewhere how MANY of the covers I posted there a few years ago have since been replaced by VASTLY-inferior images so DARK and dirty it's almost impossible to see what you're looking at. One more reason I stopped "contributing" over 3 years ago.

Never understood that about GCD. Why replace a scan if it is better than the one you just scanned?

In recent months, I've seen dozens-- maybe HUNDREDS (thousands?) of scans of old books replaced. I know they must be replacements, they just had to be books that had already been there for years and years. And I look at the new versions, and they're dark & dirty. And in many cases, these are NEW books, not anything that would have been around in someone's collection long enough to turn "yellow"!


It's just incompetence with scanning & processing.


When I started doing this stuff, it was like a toss-up between which site had "worse" scans-- the GCD or Mile High.


Best bet is almost always to scan my own copies and process them myself. I also get hi-res scans from other collectors, or from the Heritage Auction site, and sometimes, MyComicsShop (only about 600 pixels wide, but you do what you can). And in pretty much EVERY instance, I always process the images to make them look as good as possible.


Someone at the Masterworks message board severely objected to my scans... first it was because I sometimes "sign" my work (if I've spent SEVERAL HOURS, sometimes DAYS, cleaning up a single image, as happens with really old books, I feel justified in doing that), later it was when I started posting interior pages. My feeling was, whatever they SAID, the REAL reason they objected was, that site is set up to promote Marvel Reprints. And my scans were making them look bad.

You're at the masterworks forums? I'll have to venture out of my forum and find some of your stuff there.

I finally read that first 3-issues collection of AVENGERS ACADMEY

AND LOVED IT. I'll be trading-buying this, I think.

Would prefer a continuance of this 3-issues reprint format, though. That was awesome, and all for $3.99. Y'know, every 6 issues release a 3-issue collection, or something.

No, I USED to be there. Some obnoxious TROLL named "Aussie Stu" started hassling me a year ago, along with 2 or 3 of his brain-dead cronies, and BOTH of the Moderators stood up for them, and began hassling me as well!

Too bad, lots of interesting threads there, when they aren't being derailed for pages at a time. (Especially, "Movies" and "Doctor Who".)

Just found out a few hours ago that a TPB edition of AVENGERS MASTERWORKS Vol.3 just came out this month. And so, I have now already added it to the AVENGERS Reprints page!


I LOVE the color on this thing!


http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/avengers/AV%20Mast%2003%20TPB%202011.jpg

I was totally into the new Fear Itself arc, especially because it's drawn by Immonen.

Issue 1, follows an anti-Thor goddess of Fear (or so I thought) she turns out to be 'sin' in issue 2. (which does not seem very Asgardian since they are fairly hedonistic)


however issue number 2, reminded me of the power rangers.

^PB, I feel the same way. Fear Itself curdled into cheese very quickly. What a waste of Immonen's talents.