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

Well, now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

(The G.I. Joe reference is Welker-relevant, because he voiced Wild Bill, Torch, and Copperhead on that show.)

thanks for explaining. I wouldn't have got the GI Joe reference either. Oh, wiki? wiki? Do you have a moment?

Wiki work it out.

(What is it with me and bad puns tonight??)

Your favourite movie is Lethal Webpun isn't it?

Mighty Avengers is moving along just fine. Greg Land took a break but the art is still pretty good.

They always do this thing where they split up the group and do a good job of giving the street level characters important things to do while keeping the uber powerful Marvel and Spectrum in check. Story arcs also move along pretty quickly in around 2 issues. A lightning pace for comics these days!!! Seems a tiny bit light to me sometimes but the story is still fine.

Plus She Hulk!

So a string of events snowballed in such a way as to cause me to plunge myself completely into a '70s Avengers nostalgia buy/read frenzy! I detailed this a little in the re-read thread, but basically the causal sequence went this way:

1) A recent drift toward '70s Marvel in such cases as my recent first-time read of the classic Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle and the re-read of the first 50-odd issues of the "All-New X-Men".

2) A general renewed appreciation for the artwork of Dave Cockrum, especially from his X-Men work.

3) A sampling of Cockrum's work on Giant-Size Avengers #2 showing up in my news feed on Facebook thanks to other friends belonging to a Cockrum fan page.

4) Realizing I'd had a never-read Celestial Madonna TPB in my possession for the better part of a decade where this sample came from and immediately diving into it.

5) Seeing how terrific this saga was and realizing there were so many great Avengers stories I've never read from the era that's captured my fancy more and more lately.

6) Deciding to obtain (from eBay and other online sources) and read all the Avengers stories from the Kree-Skrull War to just before issue 200 via various collections that pretty much assure an unbroken run from Avengers 89 thru 196 because the fire and the desire to read all of this was too strong to ignore...even at the protestations of my wallet!

So throughout this project, I will share some thoughts and impressions of the entire read as I go. I will start with the Kree-Skrull War since it would seem strange to start with the Celestial Madonna saga and then backtrack 30 issues! The last issue I read was 109 just tonight, so thoughts on the first couple of collections will be forthcoming in a timely fashion. Feel free to chime in with your own thoughts as well!

First edition coming in the next couple of days.......

Lardy, this is awesome. I look forward with great anticipation to your thoughts on Avengers 89 to 196, and I will certainly share my own thoughts on those issues with you.

Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 10 (collects Avengers 89 thru 100)

This Masterworks wasn't my first exposure to the classic Kree/Skrull War, but it was the first time I'd had the opportunity to read the whole thing. Previously, in the early '80s, I'd bought the two-issue reprint that featured just issues 93-97 with a new prologue that summarized 89-92.

All in all, I can see why the decision to not reprint those issues was made as the storyline doesn't read much like a "Chapter __ of a Nine-issue Epic!" It's more like a slow build in which things slowly come together to show there's a much larger threat behind all of these seemingly random events. Plus, the chapters reprinted in the '80s feature all of the lavish Neal Adams art that is best remembered from the storyline and the final chapter featuring John Buscema.

Still, I'm glad to finally read the whole thing because it means I got to see a lot more of Mar-Vell than what he appeared in the final chapters. And also, Sal Buscema did some really great work on those early chapters. The adventure on the island in the Arctic that Ronan the Accuser uses as a base to de-evolve Earth was particularly a fun new discovery.

Honestly, the biggest surprise reading the Kree/Skrull War for me was that there was pretty much no warfare between the two races depicted in the whole thing. The whole point of the thing was about Earth's strategic value to both of them, how each were trying to take the planet off the board and how the Avengers kept getting in the way. Hostilities between the races started before and continued during and after the events of this storyline. So, in a way, the title is a misnomer. It's still a good story, though, and one which shows a great deal of creativity and world-building on the part of Roy Thomas and Neal Adams in how it helps unify and deepen the greater Marvel Universe.

The standout issue in this saga, to me, is clearly issue 96. That issue, more than any other, is the one that really delivers on the promise of this being a great space epic. Who wouldn't be in awe of the Avengers heading out into deep space and boldly taking on Skrull spaceships in the vacuum of outer space? It was simply awesome and exquisitely depicted by Neal Adams (and Tom Palmer) in one of Adams' personal finest moments, imo. These are the moments I remembered most fondly and wish there was more of in the saga. In hindsight I can see where Roger Stern probably got some of the inspiration for his own Avengers run, particularly in the storylines involving Nebula.

By contrast, the rest of the storyline was kind of a let-down. While the journey inside the Vision was another highlight, the finale and its undeniable deus ex machine with rick Jones is a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong...it's kind of iconic in its own way, but I would have much rather seen the Avengers end things themselves. Part of the problem, I think, is with Neal Adams' absence at the end. Roy Thomas describes in his intro that Adams did most of the plotting in this story which was most definitely plotted "Marvel style" with the artist drawing the whole thing and the script being mostly added on to a finished product. When Adams ran behind on his deadline, Roy had to hastily plot the finale for John Buscema to draw with very little time to get the finished product in. Adams may have ended the story much differently. All Roy knows for sure from the few finished pages he saw is that Adams planned to tell the whole finale as a flashback from Rick Jones' perspective. The rest is probably lost to the ages as Adams hasn't been too keen to revisit it, the whole thing having been a sore point.

Of course, the idea of an extended epic storyline of more than 2 or 3 parts was pretty much a complete novelty at the time. Thomas himself admits that what came to be known as the Kree/Skrull War was not something that he even originally planned but just evolved as he wrote the initial stories and saw the potential in them, particularly when Adams came aboard. Had it all been planned in advance, we might have gotten something more cohesive and satisfying than what we ultimately got. Still, it had many great moments and some definitive character work mixed in. For basically the first of its kind, the story was a worthy effort.

What I enjoyed more as a whole was the 3-parter that ended the volume, one I was previously unfamiliar with. The story involved the Greek God of war Ares making a bold bid to eliminate his fellow pantheon members with plans to extend his campaign into Eartn and ultimately Asgard. The story featured some early art from Barry Windsor-Smith that at times was nearly as enjoyable as the work Neal adams did earlier in the same volume. What was really cool, though, was how issue 100 featured every character who had ever been an Avenger at the time gather to take on Ares in Olympus. It also featured a memorable moment near the end with the Hulk chilling out to the pipes of Pan and enjoying the looks of the Enchantress!

All in all, this volume was a nice read, even if the Kree/Skrull war didn't necessarily live up to its own legend. Hell, if the modern Avengers books were even half as good as these issues, I'd gladly be shelling out my hard-earneds for them! Sadly, I feel the only Avengers stories worth experiencing were either published years ago or occasionally seen at a theatre near you.....

Yeah, the Kree-Skrull War does crash-land just as its beginning to soar. IIRC, Adams wanted the story to keep going, possibly ending in issue 100.

I personally don't much care for the Ares three-parter. Windsor-Smith is hit-and-miss for me, and I think his work on this story looks rushed; Roy Thomas' scripting feels that way, too. Maybe if issue 100 had been a giant, it wouldn't have felt so overcrowded with characters, but with 93 having been a giant, Marvel wasn't likely to do another one so soon.



I agree. I haven't fully enjoyed an issue since 375, the last Steve Epting-drawn issue of Bob Harras' run. And that was almost exactly 20 years ago.

I agree that Windsor-Smith's art looks a little rushed, and some images and character shots suffer for it. But I like a lot of the detail he put into a lot of the characters. For one thing, his Vision is spot-on perfect! In fact, I'm debating whether Adams or Smith did the Vision more justice in these issues. I think making his face look very thin and almost gaunt just suits the character perfectly (something Perez does well with Vizh as well).

One thing neither Adams or Smith did too well was their portrayal of Clint Barton. Admittedly inherited from how Sal Buscema and others drew Barton as Goliath, Clint just looks too beefy, about as muscular as Captain America. Even with the giant powers Clint should look noticeably more lithe than Cap and Thor. And the less said about the costume Smith put him in when he went back to being Hawkeye, the better!

But, yeah, the 3-parter (and especially the finale) was probably a bit too abbreviated, but I do feel the characters mostly had a good chance to shine. Plus, I appreciate how 100 exemplifies how comics were able to tell a story without all the decompression back then. I loved Smith's double-page spread with all the various Avengers gathered together and especially the presence of the Black Knight. You could definitely see shades of later Windsor-Smith in that image.

One definite downside of this story was it seemed too soon to play the angry mob card again so soon after the Skrull-induced scenes in the Kree/Skrull War. Yeah, we had mind-controlled Avengers in the fray this time, but it still felt like going to the well too often, even if you could argue that this second instance was better than the first.

Fickles, do you draw any parallels between the greatness of Adams' 96 and Stern possibly drawing some inspiration from it for the nebula issues?

Absolutely. And that, I think, is the very reason why, for all its faults, The Kree-Skrull War remains a legend -- it really did break new ground. Much as I love Stern's Nebula arc, it basically took what had been done before and gave it shiny new coat of paint (and, of course, an awesome new villainess).

I couldn't even describe what all happened in the Nebula arc because it's been so long since I've read it. What I remember most is the feel of it. And the feel I remember is very much like what issue 96 felt like. I wish there were more of that in the Kree/Skrull war.

And, clearly, a Stern Avengers re-read will be something for me to do in the not-too-distant future!

A Stern Avengers re-read would be great. And I'd be happy to re-read it with you at the same time.

I know exactly what you mean about the feel that both issue 96 and the Nebula arc had. I got that same feel from Jim Starlin's Avengers Annual 7, and also from Operation Galactic Storm -- I can understand how the latter's ending might be too dark and downbeat for some people's tastes, but I think it's a brilliant ending.

Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol. 11 (collects Avengers 101-111 & Daredevil 99)

This collection features the Avengers in transition as it contains both the end of Roy Thomas's long run and the beginning of Steve Englehart's. It's kind of a mixed bag, but I'm glad I read it.

Issue 101, an adaptation of a Harlan Ellison story (used with permission), really means well but is kind of a hot mess! There's this overarching theme that calls to mind the morality of scenarios such as killing Hitler when he was a baby or killing his mother, etc. This time, it's about a man given the chance to dispose of five individuals before they somehow cause the end of the world. (Kind of a riff on Ellison's Star Trek episode, actually.) But the ending makes no sense nor does the Watcher's involvement the way it shakes out. It's really pretty terribly executed, especially with a great high concept completely fumbled.

Issues 102-104 comprises an arc where the Avengers take on the mutant-hunting Sentinels, the first of no less than three X-Men tie-ins in this volume. All pick up threads from the then-cancelled X-Men series before its revival later in the decade. It makes particular sense for Roy to use the Sentinels because he wrote their last appearance with Neal Adams during their classic run with the merry mutants. Here, the mutant-hunting robots kidnap mutant Avenger the Scarlet Witch in an elaborate plan to wipe out mutations.

I found that I liked this arc quite a bit. The opening scene, unrelated to the Sentinel plot, in 102 especially was great as it sets up the dynamic between Vision, Grim Reaper and Wonder man for many years to come. It's especially effective to see how Vision's reaction to the encounter is shown.

My favorite scene in the whole volume is in 102. It's the scene where Hawkeye brashly makes his move on Wanda, but she rejects him and says she's in love with the Vision. You would expect a loudmouth like Hawkeye to go off on her, but instead he looks shocked and walks away. It's kind of an understated moment of nobility for a character known as a hothead and a show-off. It kind of makes me love the character more than I already do. The scene has an extra layer of pathos in that Vision witnesses the exchange but only the part where Hawkeye kisses her and declares his feelings. Vision misses the crucial rejection and extends the will they/won't they scenario for the star-crossed lovers for a few more issues.

105 immediately features the next tie-in to the X-Men as the Avengers face the Savage Land Mutates (here known, for the first and only time, as the Beast-Brood). The story feature the mutates a little more extensively than they had been in their previous appearance. It seems that Englehart, in his first issue as writer, missed some tricks in featuring the Savage Land but not including Ka-Zar or even a single dinosaur! And the thread that gets the Avengers there, a supposed clue to the whereabouts of missing Avenger Quicksilver, is one of the flimsiest excuses for this adventure conceivable--especially as it doesn't progress that plotline one bit.

It's notable that this issue features guest star Sif. Her presence apparently ties in to events in Thor's book at the time, as she and several other Asgardians are apparently staying at Avengers Mansion. There's not even a caption providing an explanation, but I kind of love it and wonder exactly what was going on. Marvel Comics were fun with their tight continuity tie-ins back then!

I thought the best part of the volume was issues 106-108, which brings the Grim Reaper tease in 102 to the forefront and incorporates a Stan Lee/George Tuska Captain America inventory story Englehart was forced to include rather brilliantly, I think. At the heart of this is the Vision's relationships with his "brother" the Grim Reaper and with Wanda. Under all the bluster and pomp from the Reaper is his grief over his deceased (at the time) brother. And finally, finally...Vizh and Wanda declare their feelings to each other. Classic stuff and some fine plot twists.

The art on these first 8 issues is really great. Most are penciled by an underappreciated artist I've always liked, Rich Buckler. His clean line work is on full display here, especially on the issues where he is inked by none other than Dave Cockrum! I can't say I've seen many example of Dave inking another penciller, but he does a brilliant job on not only Rich's pencils but also on Tuska's on the pages from the inventory story. Tuska did some decent work on some classic LSH stories, but they never looked as good as here with Cockrum's inks! Truly, Dave was a gifted inker as well as all-around artist. He also inked over Don heck in 108 and did some of the pencils.

109-111 were penciled by Don Heck with other inkers, and the result is some competent, but unexciting, artwork after having been treated to Rich Buckler and Dave Cockrum. 109's cover features Hawkeye quitting the team. Basically, he's lonely and heartbroken over Wanda's rejection. He accepts an offer to train a shady fella named Champion how to shoot a bow. Champion turns out to be another megalomaniac, and when the Avengers come to Hawkeye's rescue, he's basically so embarrassed that he resigns. It's all done kind of clumsily, but underneath it all, it's believable and relatable what Hawkeye is going through, and he comes off all the more human and fallible because of it.

110, Daredevil 99 and 111 form a kind of three-parter to close out the volume. This time, the final threat from the defunct X-Men is their archfoe Magneto. The Avengers fly to Xavier's mansion to rescue the X-Men. Englehart doesn't do Magneto or the X-Men any favors with their use here. The X-Men are either unconscious or mind-controlled the whole story, so they make little more than cameo appearances here. And Magneto is as generic a raving lunatic villain here as he's ever been. Plus, he's using mind-control powers as he never has before or since.

The more interesting plotline of this trilogy follows Hawkeye as he misguidedly tries to mend his heart by re-connecting with his old flame the Black Widow. As she was currently with Daredevil (and then co-starring in his book), Daredevil 99 basically shows Hawkeye and DD fighting over her. What is in many ways a generic hero vs. hero battle is elevated by how vulnerable Hawkeye comes off underneath all his bluster and how the usually stoic Widow shows a soft spot for the big lug and seems genuinely moved by his pain and her own still-there feelings for him. I'd say that Hawkeye, along with Vizh and Wanda, is very much the star of the stories presented in this volume.

So DD and the Widow (but not poor butt-hurt Hawkeye) are recruited by the Avengers not under Magneto's mind control to help defeat the bastard and free the rest. In the end the Widow decides she needs a break from DD and surprisingly joins the Avengers! The beginning of a bee-yoo-tiful friendship--or haven't you caught her in a number of cinematic blockbusters, recently?

And lest I forget, Englehart helps define what a bastard Quicksilver can be in a scene in 110. After the long-missing Pietro is revealed to have been vacationing in the pages of the FF and getting engaged to the lovely Crystal, he screams at poor Wanda when she tells him of she and Vizh finding each other at last! What a DICK move, Pietro! I swear, no one's ever written Vision, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver like Mr. Englehart! Well done!

So, all in all, we have a set of stories that are a mixed bag, but there are lots of gems inside even the ones that are otherwise forgettable. Still better than any Avengers stories published in well over a decade!

Good insights into Hawkeye's personality, Lardy. It was nice to see the heart underneath the bluster. I think these issues set him on the road to becoming a better-rounded character and eventual team leader of the WCA in the 80s.

I love how Englehart writes the Scarlet Witch. Although I concur with the faults you found with 105, I did like that the issue opens with a splash page of her being much more assertive than she ever was as written by Lee or Thomas. And things only get better from here. Wanda as written by Englehart was, in my opinion, the first three-dimensional super-heroine.

I agree that the art in the first 8 issues is great, but I'm a bit puzzled that you'd mention Cockrum, Buckler, and Tuska, but not John Buscema & Jim Mooney, the artistic team on 105. I would go so far to say that Buscema & Mooney's art redeems Englehart's flimsy plotting.

I also think it's worth mentioning that, in the arc of 106-108, Englehart brings back the Space Phantom, unseen since issue 2!! As the Avengers' third writer, Englehart had a nice way of tying together all the strands of the Avengers mythos, something future writers would emulate.

The Black Widow/Daredevil/X-Men/Magneto arc is admittedly a disappointment (though I always like seeing Natasha in the Avengers book, whether as a guest star or a member), and I think it puts the book in a brief slump that wouldn't turn around until the Avengers/Defenders Clash. Englehart himself admits that writing both the Avengers and Defenders books was more than he could handle, and that's why he quit the Defenders so soon.

Yeah, I definitely skipped over them for some reason. Certainly, their combo was entertaining and pleasing to the eye. It was especially interesting seeing Mooney's touch on Buscema's pencils. You could definitely see his more--is bright the right word?--influence on Buscema's work. I think, overall, that I was so blown away by seeing an old fave like Buckler and Cockrum's clear elevation of other pencillers that I kind of forgot Old Reliable Avenger Buscema's great work, even with the unusual Mooney pairing. Kind of the same thing happened last volume with Neal Adams's overwhelming presence. But in my mind John Buscema is clearly one of the (and arguably numero uno) elite great Avengers artists.

The groundwork is definitely being laid here. Heh. Sometimes, you forget how unsubtle comics writing could be at times, for instance Hawkeye's declaration of love by forcing a kiss on Wanda. In this case, it seems to fit Hawkeye's character, who underneath it all seems so emotionally immature and broken inside. Looking at some of this early work, I can see how it was in-character for him to marry Mockingbird so quickly into their relationship. He was just really lonely underneath all that bluster.



One nice thing about these Masterworks is how the writers provide some insight into the issues at hand in the introductions. One of Englehart's main goals was to build up Wanda's character while forging her into a powerful Avenger. Certainly, he was the key creator toward accomplishing both of those things. It was natural for him to do so, as she was one of the few characters not attached to other books.



He would do the same with Immortus, not seen in about as long, to dramatic effect later on. I tried to talk around Space Phantom in case someone reads this who might've had a surprise spoiled!



Well, the Avengers/Defenders War is only 4 issues away, and among those interim issues is the first appearance of mantis, along with the return of Swordsman! Some slump!

Getting into this Avengers read, I can't help but wonder how rewarding reading the Defenders might be.....

Bright is the perfect word to describe Jim Mooney's inking. Of other notable inkers over John Buscema on Avengers, George Klein was moody, Tom Palmer was ethereal, and Big John inking Big John himself was gritty, almost Joe Kubert-ish.

Jim Mooney also inked several issues of John Buscema's Thor run. Those are among Big John's better Thor issues. There's also a couple issues where he's inked by Dick Giordano, and beautifully.



OOPS!



I think the Steve Englehart issues are great, the Len Wein issues disappointing, the Steve Gerber issues sublime, the Gerry Conway issues awful, the David Kraft issues a very mixed bag, and the Ed Hannigan issues not as bad as their reputation for the most part, except for the retcon about Patsy's origin, which is unforgivable. Immediately after Hannigan, J.M. DeMatteis did a slick but mean-spirited run where he did horrible things to Patsy and Val, and then Peter Gillis did the final issues, effectively ending the book not with a bang but a whimper.

Art-wise, Sal Buscema does some of my favorite work of his, although his enthusiasm seems to run hot and cold over the course of his run, Keith Giffen is at his most Kirby-esque, which to me is a good thing, Ed Hannigan is inventive, and Don Perlin is pedestrian.

I often think of Mooney's style for its overall brightness and cheeriness. Hard not to associate him with his Supergirl work. It was interesting to see that influence on Buscema.



Hm. Maybe I'll eventually read it thru the B&W Essentials collections, rather than the Masterworks, to avoid overpaying for what sounds like a very up-and-down run. That is, unless I can pinpoint which issues may be worthy of the Masterworks coin. I'm very curious, though. I've only read the latter part of the run from about 130 to the end, when I bought it off the shelf because of the X-Men connection in the membership.

I just had a look on Amazon at the Defenders Masterworks. There's only been four volumes over the past eight years, and the only one I'd recommend without reservations is Volume 1, because although Volume 2 has the entire Avengers/Defenders War, it also has the weak issues which immediately followed it, and anyway I'm guessing you already own the Avengers/Defenders War in some format.

Hm. We'll see....

Meanwhile--Desmonius, don't think I'm gonna see you peek in on this thread and let you off without you providing some commentary!!!

I’ve been crazy busy lately and that’s had me chomping at the bit to weigh in. For me, in retrospect, probably my favorite era of the Avengers is the Steve Englehart run, though that’s a really hard statement to make since I consider so many other eras so amazing. Steve is also probably my favorite Avengers writer, though Bob Harras gives him a run for that title (with Thomas and Stern also coming close).

I did a complete reread of the Avengers in 2006; that doesn’t feel like that long ago though we’re getting on 8 years. When I was a pre-teen and early teenager, I used to reread the Avengers in its entirety about every 8 months or so. This was with a heavy emphasis on the first 16 issues, and then the Thomas / Buscema stuff (especially once the Black Panther joined). Much later, I started to really appreciate this era you’re in, and that’s squarely because of the majesty of the Celestial Madonna story.

I’ll wait for you to get there before I comment much on the Celestial Madonna stuff, other than say repeatedly (and probably every post) that its my favorite part of the whole decade of team stories, and Mantis is one of the best characters ever in Marvel history.

As time moves on and memories fade, its harder to recall with clarity the art in individual issues, though I can clearly recall the story beats. Still, I’ll mention things as I remember them.

For me, The Kree- Skrull War (though I think they refer to it as the Skrull-Kree War when it came out) is a monumental story that was glorious to read. From a personal standpoint, I actually read it without ever knowing it was super popular—it was almost an accident, and it was the first time I ever noticed Neal Adams’ artwork, though I’d seen it randomly a few times before. (I take that back—my Dad had a huge Neal Adams Deadman poster in our basement when I was a kid and I used to stare it because of the incredible detail). I think just like Dark Phoenix, it’s been far too built up in your mind and in fandom so that you can’t help but feel a little letdown. That’s a bit of a shame, because it really is amazing. It’s not going to be Tolstoy or Hemmingway though—afterall, this is still comic books during the hyberole days of the early 70’s; but its full of fun, action, adventure, intrigue, over the top soap opera and lots of fun plot twists.

It’s also the first time, IMO, that Iron Man, Thor and Cap are worked back into the roster in a seamless way that allows them to mesh with the “core team” of Hank, Jan, Pietro, Wanda, Clint, T’Challa and the Vision. The evolution / Ronin issues are probably the single most impressive artwise (which is what I remember from my last reread), and I love the Vision / Ant-Man issue. I can see how the ending is a little off the beaten path, but its hard for me to imagine it ending any other way since…that’s the way it ended since I first read it when I was 11.

Thomas had kind of run out of steam in the lead up to the War, so I like that he really got to finish out his run on a real high note. Following that, the three parter always felt like a bit of a come down again, though like you, I loved the fact that every single Avenger appeared in #100. It was still a real treat to see the Hulk in the pages of the Avengers following his major falling out with them in the Silver Age, and that always made it feel special. Plus, Hercules kind of checked out way back in #50 so it was cool to see that addressed.

I don’t remember #101 at all, other than recalling that every time a Harlan Ellison story was done by Marvel during this few years, it usually wasn’t very good. The earlier Ellison Avengers story was special because it included the Hulk and the Falcon, but beyond that it was pretty forgettable.

The Sentinels story allowed Thomas to write out Quicksilver—basically making him a dickhead for the next 20 years—and really amp up the mutant / android drama. That sets the stage nicely for Steve to come on and present the most melodramatic and romantic subplot to hit the Avengers series thus far with Wanda and the Vision.

The Vision was already immensely popular: in 1972 a poll was taken to vote for the most popular Marvel heroes and the Vision came in #3 behind Spider-Man and the Thing. This continued that trend, and I agree with everything said about how Englehart helped make Wanda the first truly magnificent super-heroine at Marvel.

I also really like Lardy’s commentary on Hawkeye, which hits on a lot of beats that explain why I love the character as well. It also really fits the way Matt Fraction sees the character in the current series. Hawkeye is the most human of all of the Avengers in all the best and worst ways.

#104 stands out to me because Sif is on the cover. Over in Thor, the Asgardians (all exiled this time, not just Thor) staying at Avengers mansion was a cool little subplot for about a half year. This was also when John Buscema gave Sif the sexiest outfit in the history of Thor, which I think she wears around here.

I LOVE the Grim Reaper issues, and they continue the trend to me of basically every story the Grim Reaper appears in for the first 25 years of his existence being very high quality.

The Black Widow / Hawkeye quitting issues are special because the feature the Widow joining the Avengers at last (for only one story) and the cool little crossover with Daredevil, which then leads into Hawkeye’s run with the Defenders, which in turn kind of leads into the Defenders / Avengers War. It’s very reminiscent of the Hulk’s appearances in the early MU being basically a mini crossover between several different series. Between that and the aforementioned Quicksilver-in-FF stuff, the MU was still totally in sync at the time and it was a lot of fun. However, beyond that, the main plot is only okay, as it’s yet another “meh” appearance by Magneto during the interim of the X-Men’s series, and the X-Men are yet again resigned to being story points instead of actual characters.

I also always love to see my man Jim Mooney getting all kinds of love. He did a great job inking a whole plethora of Marvel series during this era, especially on the various Spider-Man comics. His inks on Gil Kane were especially a pleasure to look at, as they could soften the almost viciously hard edges in Kane’s work in the early 70’s. I’m pretty sure Mooney inked a few Big John stories in ASM as well, but I can’t remember offhand how many there were (in any case it was very few).

And speaking of Big John, to me my very favorite work of his career is his Thor issues immediately following Kirby’s departure and a so-fast-you-better-not-blink run by Neal Adams right around this time, though perhaps a year or two earlier. There is a multi-part story featuring “Silent One” and Infinity where John is inked by the legendary Joe Sinnot, Mooney and some others and just totally KILLS IT.

Cobie, thank you for chiming in.

I hope I don't embarrass you, but I believe it was John Romita Senior rather than Jim Mooney who did those beautiful edge-softening inks over Gil Kane's Spider-Man pencils. Romita also inked many of Kane's covers, including the iconic Avengers #141 cover where the team is poised to take on the Squadron Supreme.