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5 reviews for:
Avengers: Absolute Vision Book 1
Jackson Butch Guice, Roger Stern, Bill Mantio, Al Milgrom, Dan Green, John Byrne, John Romita Sr., John Romita Sr., Bill Mantlo, John Romita Jr., Ann Nocenti
3.63 AVERAGE
5 reviews for:
Avengers: Absolute Vision Book 1
Jackson Butch Guice, Roger Stern, Bill Mantio, Al Milgrom, Dan Green, John Byrne, John Romita Sr., John Romita Sr., Bill Mantlo, John Romita Jr., Ann Nocenti
3.63 AVERAGE
This book is curious. It's about three-quarters set up for a story that won't actually begin in earnest until the next volume. The Vision himself doesn't appear until about halfway through the book. There's lots of fun 80's Avengers super-heroics ably illustrated by the likes of John Romita Sr., Al Milgrom, and John Byrne, mostly written by Roger Stern.
It's an interesting look at how the evolution of subplots in comics makes the collections tricky to name. There are a couple explanatory text pages to set the scene or explore references to stories not collected here and I wonder just how necessary they are to understand and appreciate the stories. Given the time the stories were written there are footnotes and recaps within the pages of each issue and the writing is such that any reader should be able to at least follow along even if they don't appreciate every tiny detail.
It's an interesting look at how the evolution of subplots in comics makes the collections tricky to name. There are a couple explanatory text pages to set the scene or explore references to stories not collected here and I wonder just how necessary they are to understand and appreciate the stories. Given the time the stories were written there are footnotes and recaps within the pages of each issue and the writing is such that any reader should be able to at least follow along even if they don't appreciate every tiny detail.
Not typically a Marvel-goer outside of film, I bought this book on a whim. It being on sale served a good enough excuse, though I figured that at 400+ pages quantity over quality would be likely. You see, I'd always figured The Avengers to be a team of lackluster superheros with complicated origins fighting ridiculous villains who consistently pop up out of the blue. I realize this could describe basically any superhero team-up, but for some reason I imagined The Avengers to be a particularly egregious form of this.
I was not entirely wrong in this thinking, but Roger Stern does a remarkable (dare I say Marvelous?) job imbuing each Avengers hero with enough internal conflict to make them distinct individuals a reader can care about while partaking in a heap of punchy-punchy, smashy-smashy:
- Hawkeye spends the majority of this tome recovering from a broken leg and thus being forced to face his human limitations head on.
- Peter Parker, while not an Avenger, attempts to solve his dire financial issues by attempting to prove himself worthy of being a team member (and thus earning a team member's salary).
- The Scarlet Witch provides a not-so-pleasant origin story and spends the majority of the book worrying about her husband, The Vision, who is recovering from damage sustained in a battle detailed early in these tales.
- Tony Stark faces alcoholism and Captain America, despite all of his strength, faces an inability to rescue his comrade from this.
So, it's a little more than simply:
There are also distinct moral issues indicative of the early 80's social climate and, unfortunately, still relevant to today's realities. The Scarlet Witch and The Vision marry in secret as society cannot support a marriage between a mutant and an android, no matter how human the machine. She-Hulk struggles to find an apartment as landlords won't accept a jolly green woman, no matter how much money she is willing to shell out for a New York City room of her own. These stories that wallpaper the walls of the main conflicts are often (always?) far more interesting than villains like The Plant Man attacking our heroes, but seriousness balanced firmly with schlock makes for a meaningful and highly enjoyable superhero comic. Not to mention the fact that the new Captain Marvel, a strong, black female lead, makes her first debut early on and saves the day many a time.
The throwaway issues are kept to a minimum, like this gem:
Honestly, though, no complaints from that issue. In it, the main team turns their back and gives the backups some time to shine. While nothing spectacular happens, it is an issue grounded in our world, which has to lend it some kind of credibility, right? If anything, the front cover gives two jokes about the horrors of Assistant Editor's Month, so it doesn't commit the sin of taking itself too seriously.
Avengers: Absolute Vision - Book One is a great gateway, albeit an old route, into the Marvel Universe that requires minimal background knowledge. Yes, the annoying see issue so-and-so, ON SALE NOW! sales pitches are sprinkled around liberally, but outside of the ones that are included in this volume, they're pretty unnecessary. Also, in the age of the internet, YouTube superhero origin videos come in handy, but aren't necessary to the stories' enjoyment. (Though curiosity did lead me to Thor , She-Hulk, and The Wasp's origins).
I only wish the remaining volumes were available on The Kindle. I'd prefer not to shell out Marvel Bucks for these massive volumes, but if curiosity eventually gets the better of me...I'll probably still leave them on the shelf.
I was not entirely wrong in this thinking, but Roger Stern does a remarkable (dare I say Marvelous?) job imbuing each Avengers hero with enough internal conflict to make them distinct individuals a reader can care about while partaking in a heap of punchy-punchy, smashy-smashy:
- Hawkeye spends the majority of this tome recovering from a broken leg and thus being forced to face his human limitations head on.
- Peter Parker, while not an Avenger, attempts to solve his dire financial issues by attempting to prove himself worthy of being a team member (and thus earning a team member's salary).
- The Scarlet Witch provides a not-so-pleasant origin story and spends the majority of the book worrying about her husband, The Vision, who is recovering from damage sustained in a battle detailed early in these tales.
- Tony Stark faces alcoholism and Captain America, despite all of his strength, faces an inability to rescue his comrade from this.
So, it's a little more than simply:
There are also distinct moral issues indicative of the early 80's social climate and, unfortunately, still relevant to today's realities. The Scarlet Witch and The Vision marry in secret as society cannot support a marriage between a mutant and an android, no matter how human the machine. She-Hulk struggles to find an apartment as landlords won't accept a jolly green woman, no matter how much money she is willing to shell out for a New York City room of her own. These stories that wallpaper the walls of the main conflicts are often (always?) far more interesting than villains like The Plant Man attacking our heroes, but seriousness balanced firmly with schlock makes for a meaningful and highly enjoyable superhero comic. Not to mention the fact that the new Captain Marvel, a strong, black female lead, makes her first debut early on and saves the day many a time.
The throwaway issues are kept to a minimum, like this gem:
Honestly, though, no complaints from that issue. In it, the main team turns their back and gives the backups some time to shine. While nothing spectacular happens, it is an issue grounded in our world, which has to lend it some kind of credibility, right? If anything, the front cover gives two jokes about the horrors of Assistant Editor's Month, so it doesn't commit the sin of taking itself too seriously.
Avengers: Absolute Vision - Book One is a great gateway, albeit an old route, into the Marvel Universe that requires minimal background knowledge. Yes, the annoying see issue so-and-so, ON SALE NOW! sales pitches are sprinkled around liberally, but outside of the ones that are included in this volume, they're pretty unnecessary. Also, in the age of the internet, YouTube superhero origin videos come in handy, but aren't necessary to the stories' enjoyment. (Though curiosity did lead me to Thor , She-Hulk, and The Wasp's origins).
I only wish the remaining volumes were available on The Kindle. I'd prefer not to shell out Marvel Bucks for these massive volumes, but if curiosity eventually gets the better of me...I'll probably still leave them on the shelf.
Avengers #234
Basically just a recap of the Scarlet Witch's life, including Magneto as her father.
Basically just a recap of the Scarlet Witch's life, including Magneto as her father.
Continuing the theme of my comics reading lately, this collects a chunk of Roger Stern's long run on the Avengers, picking up just about where I started reading the comic as a kid. Lays a lot of plot pipe that won't pay off until the next volume, but notable for the David Letterman issue from Assistant Editors' Month.
Amazing read. The title is a real misconception. While we do give some emphasis on Vision, the real star of this book is Captain Marvel. Like this woman is a powerhouse and just so charming. She-Hulk keeps on being Shulkie, and Janet is proving to be a great leader. While Starfox feels rather forced. The Vision storyline wasn't really that interesting, and it seems like we're going to get a type of Ultron situation in the next volume, due to the fact that the situation still hasn't been resolved. On the other hand, we have Monica Rambeau, so that adds a star in my opinion. I really hope they give her more screen time in the MCU than what they did in Wandavision. That performance doesn't give as much life and vibrancy as the character deserves.
I really want to own Amazing Spider-Man(1962) Annual #16 now.
I really want to own Amazing Spider-Man(1962) Annual #16 now.