Marvel: Heroes Return

Dec 17 20:40 UTC 1997

As of today.. the new number one's of Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Ma,
and Avengers has come out.. MOST are written and drawn by GREAT creative
teams.. the main exception being Lobdell on FF..  Iron Man and Avengers both
being written by Kurt Busiek as labors of love..  I beg of all you
Marvel-haters.. pick up Avengers #1.. andread it.. please.. this ends my plea

response 2 of 12:

Dec 18 23:59 UTC 1997

(_Avengers_ #1 is going to be the first Marvel comic I've picked up in
a _LONG_ time [since the quasi-Savage Dragon appearance written by
Steve Gerber in _Marvel Team-Up_]. from what I understand, both Busiek
_and_ George Perez [the ultimate Avengers artists, IMO] are very excited
about bringing _Avengers_ back to the quality book it SHOULD be. I've even
managed to squelch my fear that Busiek and Perez will leave within twelve
issues and that some flavor-of-the-month hot-shot thin-talented creative
team will takeover and ruin it in the new Mighty Marvel Manner.)

[sidebar: I'm reminded of an old Marvel fan who was disappointed in the
drop of quality and continuity of the line over the years and suggested
that we should pretend that Marvel stopped publishing comics right around
the time of the Secret Wars, {i.e., when the heroes were whisked away to
Beyonderworld, they never came back} and simply remember the heroes as
they were, because the stories that were never went away and did not need 
to be forgotten or revised to fit the quasi-continuity that has developed.
I might enter an item to discuss the pros and cons of such revisionist
thinking.]

response 4 of 12:

Jan 6 19:25 UTC 1998

(I did buy [and read] _Avengers_ #1, and I actually enjoyed it. I'm
hesitant to call it an instant classic, but I'll definitely buy #2.
it's certainly an entertaining and nostalgic read.)

response 6 of 12:

Jan 10 00:56 UTC 1998

(...and speaking of the revival of once-great supergroups, has anyone 
else been following the new JLA series over at DC? one of the big 
selling points for it is that every major DC superhero is a member this 
time around, just like back in the old days, when it was the typical 
12-year-old kid's wet dream. I actually have mixed feelings about the 
series; the art is really distracting at times, and the story isn't 
always clearly laid out. check out the pages in this month's issue [14?] 
where the Joker blows a hole in the Luthor's alien. [note to aspiring 
writers and artists: plot isn't the only place to look for continuity 
gaffes; sometimes it can happen in the space of a panel.] however, there 
are some very nice touches, namely Grant Morrison's characterization of 
the individual heroes, and his portrayal of their interactions. I did 
pick up the first story arc, and I've also picked up the most recent 
story arc, "Rock of Ages." after the next issue, when the line-up 
changes to 14 [!] members, I'll go back to picking it up on an issue by 
issue basis.)

(...but I am wondering what other people think of the series. [hint, 
hint.])

response 8 of 12:

Mar 8 20:24 UTC 1998

It was Black Panther not Dr.Strange.

response 10 of 12:

Mar 9 05:22 UTC 1998

yup, the new Avengers books is probably the best comic i'm reading..
although the books i'm reading is a small list..
I agree.. Perez is doing wonders with all the detail in his art..
Busiek's writing is excellent and his love for the characters is obvious
if you're not reading it.. YOU SHOULD BE!! :P

response 12 of 12:

Apr 1 01:16 UTC 1998

(the line-up for the Avengers, at least for now, has finally been 
selected. there were a couple of surprises, at least for me. I would 
have liked to have seen the old camaraderie shared by Wonder Man and the 
Beast from way back when, but I'd already resigned myself to neither of 
them making the current roster. =^) it looks like a classic line-up: a 
balance of founders [Cap, Iron Man, and Thor] along with some of the old 
West Coast team [Hawkeye, Vision, Scarlet Witch], plus Ms. Marvel, who 
now goes by the name of Warbird. there's also two new never-before-been 
Avengers with reservist status. [Busiek promises to work them into the 
team shortly.] this definitely harkens back to the classic days circa 
issue #200, which would have been just before I started reading the 
Avengers; my first issue was #211, which was also a new roster issue, 
and a classic, IMO.)