The Avengers: Birth of Ultron

Avengers (1963) #54-60, Annual #2

by Roy Thomas, John Buscema (Illustrator)

Witness the startling creation of one of the Avengers most deadly foes: the insane automaton known simply as Ultron.

Discover what drives this metallic menace, as it undertakes a terrifying scheme that will leave the Avengers changed forever! Plus, change is afoot as two mysterious new members, the Vision and Yellowjacket, join the team. Collecting Avengers vol. 1 #54-60 and Avengers Annual #2.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Sequential Art, Bande Dessinée

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Roy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.

Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.

Reviews

[Димитър Цолов · Rating 3 out of 5]

Почваме от хубавото към лошото:

Рисунките на Джон Бушема (респ. м-м-м-м шарените папагалски цветове) бяха абсолютно прекрасни, истинска наслада за очите – 5/5;

Сценарият на Рой Томас, въпреки хвалебствените потупвания по рамото от легендарния Стан Лий, не ми хареса особено – имаше свежи проблясъци, но и абсолютно дебилни моменти – 3/5;

Преводните решения на Красимир Гълъбов (респ. редакцията на Цветина Цолова) счупиха тъпомера. Ясно е, че се гонят срокове, но всички тия дърводелски (да не кажа гугъл-транслейтнати) изпълнения, рязко намалиха удоволствието ми от разлистването на албума. Направих си труда да извадя няколко бисера само от един брой (№55), а такива се мяркаха навред из останалите (осем):

… макар че, докато хоризонтално застаналият механик...
… след това ще се свържем с всички комерсиални телевизори...
... но наред с това ще започне да прави социални коментари...
… междувременно в една тъмна зала под огромния град се изказваше една нечестива клетва…
…буйственият Хълк…

и за финал, къде без него - любимото ми Й : … изглежда сякаш ние, големите и смели героЙ... - 0/5.

Сумарно 2,6666666667

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Habe mich nun nach einjähriger Pause ein zweites Mal durch diesen Band durchgequält und bin noch weniger begeistert als beim ersten Mal. Die Artwork stammt aus der Zeit, als ich die Heftchen nach der Schule verschlungen habe, insofern bin ich positiv voreingenommen. Aber die "Handlung" ist absolut enttäuschend. Jarvis verrät die Avengers? Geht gar nicht! Und dass die ihm hinterher lächelnd verzeihen, obwohl sie schon so gut wie erledigt ware - oh Mann!
Danach kämpfen dann die alten gegen die neuen Rächer, was durch ein Zeitparadoxon verursacht wird. Das hat mich damals schon bei Marvel genervt, dass die "Helden" sich vorzugsweise auch noch gegenseitig an die Gurgel gehen, wenn schon kein Superbösewicht zur Hand ist. Die Giant Size-Nummer waren immer die schlimmsten, ächz (wie es jetzt in Entenhausen hieße)!
An Plattheit nicht zu überbieten sind die Sprüche vom Hulk, die auf Deutsch nochmal extra beschränkt sind. Da möchte ich fast meinem Avatar untreu werden.
Und was den Ultron-Handlungsstrang angeht, springt bei mir der Funken leider auch nicht über, da könnte deutlich mehr Zug im Kamin sein.
Einziger Lichtblick ist der erste Auftritt von Vision, der auch zeichnerisch nochmal herausragt.



Beim dritten Lesedurchgang die 2,5 Sterne ab= anstatt aufgewertet, fühlt sich richtiger an. Stories und Übersetzung machen einfach keinen Spaß.

[Martin Doychinov · Rating 2 out of 5]

Класическиге цветни рисунки са единственото достойнство на тази книжка.
Историите са за деца до втори клас, репликите са малоумни, а преводът им е много, ама много зле!

[Atomread W. Megaforce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Die Classic Comics sind echt nix für mich.

In diesem Buch passiert exakt ALLES... außer der Geburt von Ultron. Und der Typ auf dem Cover ist Vision...dessen Geburt auch nur angedeutet wird.

[Mark Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is a tad misleading but I guess The Avengers: Birth of Ultron, The Vision and Yellowjacket is a bit of a mouthful.

It was an enjoyable romp with a strong tinge of nostalgia. I miss those asides that Stan Lee use to put in the comics. I don't miss the heavy handed exposition when they do not allow the frame to tell the story and have to add someone saying what is going on or how someone is feeling.

[Dimitris Patriarcheas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Αντί της γέννηση του Ουλτρον, θα έπρεπε να έλεγε περί των γεννήσεων των Ultron, Vision και Yellowjacket. Δεν είναι αυτά τα γεγονότα απλά τα κομβικά αλλά συμβαίνουν παράλληλα με άλλες αφηγήσεις, όποτε από κλασικής πτυχής των κόμικς αποτελούν σημαντικές στιγμές, αλλά η απόδοση τους δεν φαίνεται φρέσκια στο σήμερα, ιδίως κάποια τεύχη με άφησαν παντελώς αδιάφορο. Η γέννηση του Vision και το πως γίνεται μέλος της ομάδας των εκδικητών το μοναδικό highlight για εμένα!

[Allan Heron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read of the starting point of Ultron who has played such a significant role in the MCU. Also, the introduction of Vision as part of this tale.

But it's hard not to compare the lack of depth in the older stories, although there will be those for whom this is a positive advantage.

[Pranav · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was cool to see the introduction of Ultron and Vision but overall this was just not fun to read

[Mateusz Nowowiejski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tak 1,5, ale dalej nie najlepsze

[Isaac Batista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roteiro: Roy Thomas
Arte: John Buscema

• Os Vingadores 54-60 e Anual 2

Nota: 7/10

[Al Capwned · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another silly, super outdated compilation of Marvel comics. Facepalms while reading were inevitable.

[Sorcha]

Witness the startling creation of one of the Avengers most deadly foes: the insane automaton known simply as Ultron.

Discover what drives this metallic menace, as it undertakes a terrifying (a scheme that will leave the Avengers changed forever! Plus, change is afoot as two mysterious new members, the Vision and Yellowjacket, join the team. Collecting Avengers vol. 1 #54-60 and Avengers Annual #2.

From my TBR pile, when at the time of reading, the second Avengers movie (Age of Ultron) is still in post production with an expected release in 2015, exact date dependant on region.

This is NOT the book of the film. This is a collection of early Marvel comics, charting the initial appearances of Ultron (Ultron-5), plus a few additional lesser known cast members in the Avengers canon. There's no "original publication date" I can see for the source comics, but judging on style, presentation etc, I'm guessing they were originally published in the 1960s. Of course, Marvel have a back history of the character.

The makeup of the Avengers here is not the team set up that modern audiences are currently used to (Thor, Iron man, Hulk, Black Widow etc). There is a "New" Avengers consisting of the lesser known Giant Man, Wasp, Black Panther, along with the better known Captain America) and Hawkeye.

The presentation as a Graphic Novel is lovely, with the hard cover, a collection of related strips etc. I have to admit that this is not my style of Comic Strip. I am very much a fan of the later style of Comic/G.N. with related narrative, violence and design, where as this is from the 1960s/1970s with a much more "innocent" (retro) style of cell construction, drawing and violence. Cells colours are lighter and brighter, exposition and story line is progressed though chunks of in-cell text explaining what's going on to the reader. There are also occasional handy arrows guiding you from one cell to the next in case you hadn't worked out where to go next! It reminded me somewhat of the Adam West Batman series - all gaudy colours, cheese and make believe fighting. There is also some bad alliteration at the start of each episode as to who wrote or drew what. These are the strips I would expect to see in the weekly "funnies" and that I would be able to pass onto Nieces and Nephews as a more "acceptable" level of violence.

Several characters are introduced, such as Ultron-5, The Vision (an android sent y Ulton to kill everyone, only to have a change of heart), and YellowJacket - yet another SuperHero character for Hank Pym to add to his other alternate characters of Ant-Man, Giant Man etc.

In summary: nice to have read as a backfill to the new Avengers movie, but not really my style of Graphic Novel

Here is one of the trailers for the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie:
http://youtu.be/MZoO8QVMxkk

[Eduarda Amorim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como uma boa "marvete" que sou, decidi começar a leitura das HQs e graphic novels para "complementar" o UCM. Apesar dos momentos vergonha alheia que tive durante a leitura (o que é aquele "uniforme" do Bucky, pelo amor de Deus - ou as frases de efeito do Capitão, que vergonha kkkkk), valeu a pena. Foi um pouco difícil me acostumar com a narrativa e estabelecer um ritmo para a leitura, mas nada que atrapalhasse demais. Além disso, ver a interação entre personagens que o UCM trouxe com tanto louvor com personagens que são considerados "secundários ou esquecidos" proporcionou uma experiência interessante. Valeu a leitura :)

[Jon Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roy Thomas loads up a hell of a lot of idea fuel that other writers have been able to feed off for decades to come. Sure, there’s a lot of contrivance here due to the necessities of churning out a monthly book (the Yellowjacket story in particular is nonsensical), but the run of issues featuring Ultron and the Vision are a crucible for a lot of modern Marvel product, including the second Avengers movie. The Ultron storyline ends up being surprisingly low key and is a definite case of other writers taking the ideas here and improving on them. The highlight is Even An Android Can Cry, an issue which works by building up to a single memorable image from Buscema.

[Gustavo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Termino siendo mucho más divertido de lo que esperaba. En unos pocos números pasan un montón de cosas y se presentan a varios personajes. La historia de Yellowjacket fue definitivamente la más ridícula... la forma en la que la Avispa actúa no tiene el más mínimo sentido. Y eso que hay un par de historias con viajes en el tiempo y todo.

En fin, como con todos los comics de esta época, la mejor opción es relajarse, no darle bola a los diálogos inflados y disfrutar la narrativa inocente y los giros inesperados (y muchos veces ridículos y predecibles).

[Johnny Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant classic tale from the marvel universe and one the avengers deadliest foes. A must read especially as the new avengers movie involving Ultron will be with us soon.

But in the pages of this entry in the graphic novel collection, we are introduced to Ultron's creation, The Vision and the story of Yellowjacket, who is he really?

A must for fans

[Phillip Berrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book collects a series of Avengers Vol.1 comics (Issues 54–60 from the late 1960s to be precise) and while it does contain a lot of very historical events (e.g, the first appearance of the Vision, Yellowjacket and Ultron) the stories are actually pretty ho-hum in my opinion.

One for the collectors and I can only hope that the up-coming movie is a lot better.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not be more of its era. I'd really only recommend reading this for the art or if you're super curious about the birth of Ultron (and Vision and Yellowjacket).