Essential Avengers, Vol. 2

The second volume of Marvel's Essential Avengers sees not just the team but the magazine itself going through a lot of changes. When we begin with issue #25, the team's lineup is seriously under-powered. Thor, Iron Man, Giant Man and the Wasp are gone. Captain America is left to lead mutant siblings, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver as well as the hot-headed sharpshooter, Hawkeye. Arguably this is the weakest incarnation of the Avengers ever!

How the comic book managed to avoid cancellation with such a puny roll call is beyond me. Yet, that was part of the genius of Stan Lee. Love him or hate him, the man knew how to sell a comic book and he managed to keep the World's Mightiest Superheroes relevant without any of Marvel's heaviest hitters. By issue #35, Stan would leave the title in the hands of his most trusted protege, Roy Thomas. Along with Don Heck, some of the weirdest tales ever told this side of Marvel's sci-fi and fantasy books would occur in the pages of the Avengers; including the heroes being abducted by aliens in the Bavarian Alps.

Eventually Hank Pym, stuck at the towering height of 25 feet, along with Jan Van Dyne, would return to the team, becoming the de facto leaders in the absence of Cap. A terrifying story of a fascist group of bigots calling themselves the Sons of the Serpent would do their best to infiltrate the ranks of our government as well as the boards of many Fortune 500 companies, declaring America for Americans only, would be an early test of Pym's leadership. Taking place in issues #32-33, you really couldn't tell if this story was set in 1966 or current day 2025. Extremely unsettling how undated that story of political terrorism was.

Heck would eventually leave after issue #49. His replacement was John Buscema. The change in artwork was so striking. Heck was great. Buscema was just a tad bit better. Along with the new artist would soon come a new character to the title, that Prince of Power, the Mighty Hercules. While not an official member of the team, the hero's presence as an exiled guest of the Avengers adds a powerful punch that has been missing since the absence of Thor. 

But don't fret thinking that Thor and Iron Man have completely turned their backs on the Avengers. They'll both make guest starring returns in a pair of stories, one of who's sees the heroes battling against the Mandarin and his team of 5 of the Avenger's most fearsome does.

I have an early print of this volume. The printing was terrible. I don't think any sort of remastering had even been attempted. Multiple panels were in desperate need of ink. Others seemed to have been over-inked. It was rare to find a complete page where there weren't any print flaws.

I had low expectations for this book. While the Sons of the Serpent story was a gut punch of a read, I really enjoyed this seemingly implausible lineup of Marvel heroes. I just wish my print was given the same amount of love and care as the original works were given.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Essential Avengers, Vol. 1 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Comic Book Quiz Time: True or False - the Fantastic Four appear in the first issue of The Avengers.

The answer is TRUE. In fact, Marvel's First Family play a very large role in the formation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes becoming a superhero team. 

The Norse god of mischief, Loki, would like nothing more than to defeat his boastful half brother Thor. However, due to being banished to a forbidden zone within the Seven Realms, Loki has to use a proxy via his magical inclinations to defeat the god of Thunder. The chosen lackey is none other than the Incredible Hulk who is duped into destroying a train track after Loki used an illusion spell to make the green behemoth believe there was dynamite about to explode.

Using a ham radio, the Hulk's teenager sidekick, Rick Jones attempts to summon the Fantastic Four for help, as they had dealt with him previously. However, the Fantastic Four must decline and they recommend Jones summon Thor, since he's a heavy hitter. You'd think this is just what Loki was hoping for. Only his ultimate trap is far from set. So when Rick Jones attempts to radio Thor, his transmission is received instead by Iron Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp. 

Eventually, Thor joins the fight against the Hulk with the other heroes. Rick explains that the Hulk is innocent of the mass destruction and Thor with assistance from the All Father, defeats Loki. Enjoying their adventure together, the heroes, along with the Hulk, decide to make this a regular thing. With suggestion of the Wasp, the team take on the name of the Avengers and comic book history is made.

Marvel characters had already been interacting with each other for a couple of years prior to the debut of The Avengers. As mentioned earlier, the Fantastic Four attempted to defeat the Hulk in issue #12 of their first series. Spider-Man asked the FF for a job in his first solo issue. With each of these crossovers, Marvel developed a cohesive universe which was a delight to readers.

As fans were demanding more of such adventures, Stan Lee got the idea to develop a group team title that would hopefully introduce readers to some of the struggling (in popularity) heroes and hopefully enticed them to pick up their solo books as well. Besides, DC has been having similar success with it's flagship group title, Justice League of America. Thus in Stan's mind, what was good for the goose must be good for the gander.

By issue #4, the Hulk departed the Avengers feeling hated and unwanted by his teammates and the remaining Avengers added the World War II legend, Captain America, since frozen in an iceberg, to the roster. Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man now going as Giant Man, the Wasp and Captain America: they may not have been the original lineup. But they are considered by many to be the most iconic membership of the team's 60 year plus history.

Jack Kirby was Stan Lee's go-to artist and collaborator whenever a new project arose. Kirby was allowed to select the original roster of the Avengers. When asked in interviews years later why he went with the 5 characters that made up the Avengers by the end of issue #1, the King responded 'they were all characters that I had created' and was comfortable drawing. Plus, Kirby felt that he'd receive a higher working wage if he used only characters that he had created previously at Marvel. Familiarity and money might have been the reasons why The Sub-Mariner became a one-time adversary of the Avengers as well as the return of the Sentinel of Liberty, Captain America.

By issue #8, Kirby became bored with the title, as he often did, and went on to plot and pencil other projects at the House of Ideas. Don Heck took over as the series' regular artist. The co-creator of such Avengers stalwarts as Iron Man and the Wasp, Heck would oversee the team's biggest roster shake up in Avengers #16 when Captain America would now lead the team, comprised of former baddies Hawkeye, The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Heck would stay on until issue #40. Dick Ayers inked a majority of the first 2 dozen issues with lettering completed by Artie Simek at Sam Rosen. 

Completing this review completes Task #14 (A Volume of Marvel Essentials or DC Showcase) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #130 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Thanks to an encounter with a psychic, reporter Lois Lane is subconsciously informed of Superman's secret identity. Unaware to this event, Lois has a series of nightmares in which she murders her co-worker and best friend Clark Kent. In the dream, as Kent falls, his superhero costume is revealed to which the shock of murdering the Man of Steel awakens Lois in a cold sweat. As Lois tries to make sense of this reoccurring dream, she is constantly attacked by a pair of crooks. Narrowly, the journalist escapes doom. Yet as Lois composes herself, the bystanders claim that no such attacks occurred. Could the nightmares and now supposed phantom attacks be a sign that Lois Lane is losing her mind?

The feature story in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #130 was penned by Cary Bates. 'The Mental Murder' is a mystery that keeps the reader guessing most of the time. However, if you've figured out the real identity of Lois' psychiatrist, you'll realize that Superman will do anything to protect his own self interests if it means keeping the world from knowing that Clark Kent is the Last Son of Krypton. 

Cover and interior art was by John Rosenberger with inks by Vince Colletta 

The backup story stars the somnambulist superhero Thorn. The second character to bear the name, Thorn's secret identity was Rhosyn 'Rose' Lynee Forrest. Created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru, the character debuted in issue #105 of Lois Lane. In her origin story, Rose becomes distraught at the death of her father, police officer Phil Forrest at the hands of a gang known as The 100. The desire for revenge triggers something in Rose's psyche to the point that whenever she went to sleep, she would switch personalities. Instead of sweet, innocent Rose, Rhosyn would transform into the vicious, athletic street vigilante Thorn. 

'Nightmare Alley!' sees Rose changing both personas, clothes and hair color into Thorn as she finally uncovers the identity of 1 of the 3 men who murdered her father. Unfortunately, the quest for vengeance will continue for the young lady when the thug is killed by an unknown assailant before revealing the identities of his co-conspirators. 

Artist Don Heck provides pen and ink to Kanigher's script.

Completing this review completes Task #14 (Main Character is a Woman) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.