Marvel Masterworks The Avengers 1

This is where the second Marvel team -- and the first ever conceived from pre-existing characters -- begins, and it's a real microcosm of what was going on at Marvel, and in comics in general, at the time. But most of all, it's great, great fun, and full of color and action and fairly sings the earliest notes of the character-driven comic books that Marvel would soon come to define. The art reproduction is beautiful, the binding firm and solid, so anyone worried about getting their money's worth can check off those two boxes, all without fear. As to the content . . . this is where a new layer of popular mythology was being created and tested and fine-tuned, as ideas were tried and modified, discarded and renewed. The initial team-up of the Avengers, which still has a lot of vestiges of comics aimed at little kids (at one point the Hulk disguises himself as a giant robot in a carnival . . . .) promises a little more than it actually delivers, at least by modern standards (Stan Lee and company would later learn how to spin out anything that Loki was doing to two or three issues); and some of the notions behind the characters may seem quaint by modern standards (the idea that Tony Stark's Iron Man, more-or-less a newly minted super-hero himself -- still in the heavy gold armor -- would almost casually ponder the idea of "testing" himself against the Hulk speaks of a time when the Hulk's real power was not yet established). But it did deliver enough at the time, and still does in terms of where we now know things went, to get people to buy issue number two.But by the second issue, the battle with the Space Phantom (a threat right out of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone), the Hulk's own original book had been cancelled (contrary to Lee's official and oft-quoted story of the character's success, the original Hulk needed a LOT of fine-tuning and modification before he found a lasting place in the comic-book buying public's consciousness; his original book, in which they tried, after a nice sci-fi beginning, to shoehorn him unsuccessfully into a somewhat traditional super-hero role, complete with hidden laboratory, only lasted six issues), and there were changes being devised for the character and his nature that would preclude his being a regular member of any super-team for years to come; and so, a convincing story was needed to explain his departure from the newly-formed Avengers, and issue 2 was it. The alien invader provided the means for alienating the Hulk and continuing the transformation of his character, which would go on across another year or more of stories, in the Avengers and elsewhere.Additionally, the nature of the Space Phantom's power, to become a duplicate of any human (and send that human, for the duration of the transformation, into a limbo dimension), essentially created a string of "evil twin" replicas for the duration of the battle (and, almost anticipating the structure of chillers such as John Carpenter's The Thing, the victims and targets have no idea for much of the battle as to who or what is attacking them, or from where), the story allowed all of the personality traits that drive the various members of the Avengers to be put on display, and with amplification, to boot, as even those members who get along with each other clash in demeanor and priorities. (Issue 2 also marked the team-member debut of Giant Man [heralded on the cover], the first of many transformations that Henry Pym would under-go, often -- after this -- in connection with his work with the Avengers).And after issue 2, things really got going -- before this volume is done, we see Iron Man in his new red-and-gold armor, the renewed war between the Sub-Mariner and the surface world (with a more savage Hulk as an ally), the creation/introduction of Wonder Man (who would loom large for many years after), the introduction of Kang the Conqueror and the Masters of Evil, and a lot of the elements that would drive the Avengers' stories across their first 30 or so issues -- and MOST important of all, the rebirth/resurrection of Captain America. All in rich, deep color, with writing that became more mature with each passing issue, as Marvel's writers quickly came to realize their readers now included not just pre-teens and young teens, but high school students and even a growing coterie of college kids, who could and would absorb ever-more-complex character developments, motivations, and narratives.It's a really wonderful blast-from-the-past watching it all unfold again in these pages, about the best way we'll ever see these stories told.

This collection of the first ten appearances of the Avengers has to be among the best stories that the Silver Age of Comics has to offer. While the idea was essentially that of rival DC's Justice League--take the most popular individual characters and throw them on a team together--whereas the early Justice League tales are a bit stilted and the need to present every Justice Leaguer as the most positive of role models (a holdover from DC's Golden Age) throws a wet blanket on characterization, these Avengers tales are having none of that. The plots are the height of (Stan Lee flying by the seat of his pants) action and the characters are allowed to evolve with the series (The Hulk, for example, starts out as a member, but by the end of the book wants to smash any Avenger he happens across).While there are ups and downs as to the overall quality of the ten stories included, this is a very fun read. Stan Lee was very much aware that interesting villains are just as important as the featured heroes and this collection sees the debuts of the Masters of Evil, Kang, and Wonder Man, among others. Jack Kirby draws the first eight of the stories, putting the perfect visual stamp to the over the top adventures.Also on display is Marvel's ability from Day One to tie their world together. The book includes brief cameos by the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the X-Men--none of which felt forced--includes Golden Age star the Sub-Mariner as the villain in a few stories, and most famously resurrects one of the greatest comic book characters of all time: Captain America. Additionally several of the stories pick up after action that occurred in a different comic (such as Iron Man), but this is done in a way that raises curiosity about the goings on in the other comic, but for which absence of having that side story does not interfere with the enjoyment of the one being told.Admittedly, this is not for everyone. I know there are numerous readers of modern comics whose ability to stomach any story written before the 80s is limited. The stories included here are very much Silver Age tales, written for a very young audience. While there are shades of gray and plot elements that cannot be found in Golden Age tales (or DC comics of the era), these are still very simple, quickly wrapped up plots that lack the complexity of modern comics. Some readers may not be able to get past this--I personally enjoyed their simple charm and consider this a quick, fun read.One thing I would suggest be changed in any future printing are a smattering of typos. Rick Jones calls the Hulk by Thor's secret identity instead of his own twice; Bruce Banner refers to himself as Bob Banner more than once; and Rick Jones is Rick Brown on odd occasions throughout the book. On the one hand, this is a testament to the 100-miles-an-hour seat of his pants storytelling Stan Lee was using to crank out hundreds of stories that would create the foundation of the Marvel universe. On the other hand, however, these mistakes are just such glaring errors that coming across one really knocked me out of my reading for a moment and took a little something away from my overall enjoyment.

Cool

Worth every penny. It is strange how different each of the characters are compared to their later renditions and memory. The eloquence of the Hulk in his speech, the banter between the heroes, the secrets they kept from each other. The almost pointless attempts of villains to thwart the Avengers. That said the history of these initial adventures and the character's baggage and foibles are great. Will definitely be following this up with the next volume.

It is a joy to read this book. Every human aspiration and wish of the heart of soul is somewhere within its pages. This book is a force for good in a very troubled world, the Avengers are the real heroes that we need. God bless them all. We salute them.

Having once owned an almost complete set of The Avengers (up to about issue 200) this re-issue of the early stories is MOST welcome. For me, these stories have lost none of their capacity to thrill, and Jack Kirby's artwork continues to impress. I shall certainly be buying more.One word of caution: Before making my purchase I downloaded a free Kindle sample. Admittedly I don't think the comics medium translates to Kindle anyway, but gave it a try. That was very disappointing. But I would highly recommend the hardback version.

You know this stuff or you probably wouldn't be buying it. To add: yes, these are in colour, but it's debatable whether the adherence to the original levels is wise. Solid print colours may have been completely necessary for use on the awful paper they used to be printed on, but on glossy white stock they are much too overpowering, and don't reproduce accurately the colours you remember. But it's a minor quibble. As a current practitioner, I am envious of the talent involved and the occasional disregard of backgrounds!