The Great Lakes Avengers: Same Old, Same Old

The Great Lakes Avengers #1-7

by Zac Gorman, Will Robinson (Artist), Tamra Bonvillain (Colourist)

"All New, All Different?" No, thank you! New things are bad and different things are scary! Instead, why not join everybody's least favorite super-hero team, the Great Lakes Avengers in their brand new - but not too brand new - ongoing series, Same Old, Same Old, Great Lakes Avengers! When the team gets reinstated as permanent members of the Avengers and uprooted to Detroit, the GLA has one more shot at super hero glory...but can they answer the call? Do they even have 4G coverage here? Find out!

Collecting: Great Lakes Avengers 1-7

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Humor, Fantasy, Science Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2017

About the author

Zac Gorman is an author and cartoonist from Michigan. He received an Emmy for his work on Over the Garden Wall (Outstanding Animated Series, 2015) and was nominated for an Annie Award for his character design work on Welcome to the Wayne.

For some reason, his webcomic Magical Game Time was archived by the Library of Congress.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thirty years in the Marvel universe, and still the Bullpen is unable to create a sustainable book about Mr Immortal, Big Bertha, Doorman, Flatman and co. For what it is worth, this wasn't so bad, and a few of the jokes were superb! I read the Marvel comic books Great Lakes Avengers #1-7. 5 out of 12, Two Star read.

2017 read

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do contests still reward mediocrity? Are there still 9th place ribbons? “Thanks for participating loser " plaques?

This is what this volume reminded me of. A sad little comic trying to give a group of characters their moment in the sun and falling way short of the mark.

Thanks for trying!



Sensed something? Probably this book being cancelled.

I don’t hate the Great Lakes Avengers or the concept of a Great Lakes Avengers, it’s just that this book is a very poor showing for this group…or any group. It’s a tome that strives to be funny and yet, painfully, isn’t.

I think a key benchmark for the wit stuffed into this package is the name of a new character:



Yep. “Good Boy”. A woman who transforms into a male wolf-creature. “Good Boy”. *sigh*



Fursona? Please, just stop!

So: Flatman is hanging out moping because there’s no Great Lakes Avengers (GLA)…



…until a potty-mouthed lawyer, tells him that his savvy copyrighting of the “Avengers” name means the GLA are back in business…



Kind of.



Half-baked shenanigans ensue until they get fired by Deadpool



Nuff said.

Bottom Line :

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a heck of a lot of fun. A shame it was cancelled after only seven issues...

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the lawyer for the Avengers finds out that a guy has the rights to the name "Avengers", she has to go and try to buy the rights back. The guy? Flatman!.... yeah i don't remember him either.

Basically Flatman and his team where the Great Lakes Avengers at some point. And now, he is basically just a dude in an apartment hanging out. However when the opportunity presents itself - due to the whole name rights thing - he seizes on it to re-band the crew. Comprised of Big Bertha - a woman who can change her mass at will, Mr. Invincible - he cant die, Doorman - teleporter extraordinaire, and their newest member Good Boy - a girl who is a werewolf, they are officially sanctioned once again as the Great Lakes Avengers! They basically move into a new place and have to contend with the local gangster - who is also the mayor or councilman for the city as well.

This was just a fun romp with not much in the way of consequence. I found it funny and enjoyable. However the last issue has Deadpool literally show up and end the series, so I guess its a one and done for the GLA. I think that is ok because less is more probably from this team. And that's not to say this was bad at all, but better to go out on a high note I think.

Recommended for fans of funny, misfit heroes.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is like the version of Justice League International a well-meaning gran gets you at Christmas.

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Great Lakes Avengers as single issues through Marvel Unlimited.

For sake of honestly I should tell you that I never read the original Great Lakes Avengers, and thus don’t know a whole bunch about the original crew and what they went through. Still, if I let that stop me, I’d never pick up any new series in any of the larger comic publishing worlds.
What made getting into this series a little difficult, ironically, wasn’t that I didn’t know the characters. It was knowing that the series had been canceled before I even started reading it. I know, I know – if you want a series to continue you need to buy it as the issues come out (I’ve been told that’s when they crunch their numbers and decide the fate of a series), but in my defense this series sort of slid under the radar for me.
After having read it though, I’m wishing that wasn’t the case. I don’t know if one more fan would have made the difference. Perhaps it was cancelled for a completely different, though unlikely, reason. Who knows. Still, this was a fun, quirky, and light series with lots of unique and humorous characters. I’m sad to see it go, especially after a mere seven issues.



When you pick up a new series like the Great Lakes Avengers, you may be expecting for them to start off with a dramatic fight, or a comedic scene. Something to immediately pull the audience into the mix, right? Well, that isn’t quite the case here. It does border on the humorous, I’ll give you that, but it’s also ludicrous, fascinating, and odd all rolled into one. In short, it’s a perfect introduction. That was the moment I knew I was going to like this series.
It did take me a few minutes to get used to the new cast of characters, but that was to be expected. Many of the characters made an appearance in the original, which if I didn’t know beforehand I certainly know now. There are backstories for some characters that are implied, referred to, and even flat out stated at times. It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together from there, and once I did it took me even less time to start liking the characters.
There’s at least one new character to the mix, I think. It’s almost funny in a way, because they quickly became my favorite character. But not for the reasons you’d think. Good Boy fascinated me, plain and simple. It was a spin on the whole werewolf thing that I hadn’t seen before, and while they clearly had fun with the concept…it was also oddly well done. It certainly made for an unforgettable character.
The Great Lakes Avengers didn’t have too much time to be the superheroes they so desperately wanted to be, but they really gave it their all in the time they did have. Still, I feel like there was more to their story, if it had been given a chance. For example, some of the characters introduced barely got any screen time, other than to indicate that something was going on with them (like the secretary who hired herself and moved in – there’s got to be something going on there).
This was a fun volume on the whole. It was fun enough to encourage me to go back and read the original Great Lakes Avengers, though I don’t know when I’ll be having time to actually sit down and do it. So for now it’s getting added to the list.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Emma Gear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Lakes Avengers is a good fun comedy series that fails to reach the same heights the initial run did, but is still enjoyable nevertheless. While things are played a little more safe this time and there's far less suicide attempts by Mr. Immortal, there is still a lot to enjoy here. After other goings-on in the Marvel universe it turns out that Tony Stark lost his hold on the name "The Avengers". A plot point during the initial GLA run was Flat Man getting in legal trouble for his attempts to use the branding for their own team, meaning that through some bizarre legal loophole not only is the GLA now an official Avengers team, but they are also the legal holders to the brand!

The whole band gets back together except for Squirrel Girl, which sadly makes sense as she has a much, MUCH higher profile nowadays than she did during the initial run. The rest of the group returns though and things have changed quite a bit. Big Bertha now prefers to stay in her fat form as she's become a plus-sized model instead of a regular supermodel who can make herself fat then throw it up to become thin again which is a nice plus for body positivity. It could also be argued that the one new member, a blue-haired girl that turns into a big, masculine werewolf (Named Good Boy, which is cute!) is also trans, as she kind of swaps genders during the transformation and refers to her bestial form as a fursona.

But semantics aside the sad thing about this run is that it was cut far too short. At only 7 issues long it feels like things have only just gotten started when they are cut short. The ride is still enjoyable and I would definitely recommend this as a friendlier follow-up to the original run despite its weaknesses.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this comic. It was silly and made me laugh, I'm a huge fan of Doorman now. It's a shame there aren't many GLA comics but the way this book ends, and the way in which the reason why there aren't many comics is addressed, is actually a fair reason and pacified me!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big Bertha is my new favourite superhero. Good Boy is pretty awesome too.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much exactly what you'd expect, although that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's a silly story of lovable loser superheroes. The art isn't bad and fits the story well, and the story is...let's just say goofy. Overall a fun, light read.

[Sam Whale · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really good fun read. oddly quirky and very charming too. my favourite parts were the letters page where readers auditioned to join the team, and the ending which I will not spoil. In a way it's a shame the run only got 7 issues but at the same time it feels fitting for such an off the wall group to go out the way they do.

It'd be great to see more of the GLA some time soon, maybe even another mini series sometime this decade, but I'm not optimistic.

[Arturo · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first 2.5 rating.
It wasn't funny nor was there even any action.
It was more like a bad sitcom, just following unfunny characters who try to be funny around and weird stuff happens to them. But yet the characters were nicely fleshed out, I wouldn't mind reading more when another mini series pops up years from now.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been a die-hard fan of Marvel Comics. Outside the MCU and my occasional foray into the databases in my younger days; I have a strange relationship with them. Individual stories and series' have been read, and I have a very general understanding of most plotpoints and characters- but some things just flew under my radar.
So I never read any GLA tales, though I knew of the characters- partly because I admittedly thought they weren't quite as cool as the standard Avengers and more well-known heroes. They were joke heroes, written as filler and humor and to be laughed at- not much more.

So I was understandably surprised and excited to discover a reboot of sorts from 2016: led by a new creative team, and with eye-catching art, I had to pick it up to see what I'd missed.

The GLA consists of "joke-tier" heroes, a group of misfits with powers and abilities outside the normal realms of super strength or simple flight. Hailing from the Midwest, these disparate souls were assembled by Mr.Immortal all the way back in 1989- but were usually seen in the pages of other, more famous heroes. Much like any other hero, they've not aged a day in thirty years- but they have been through a Civil War or two, though conveniently sat out the most recent events in comicdom.
By 2016 the GLA have broken up, shattered into disparate pieces with nary a few text messages between the former team members. Flatman has sunk into his couch and videogames, Doorman has a new and Grim task to be about, and Big Bertha her plus-sized modelling career.
So when the Avengers name falls out of trademark, it falls to the last soul who dared try to hold it- Flatman. In comes a lawyer, a pile of money, and the team hastily reassembles and moves to Detroit.

While maybe not the most skyhigh city, it's a memorable setting and a character all it's own; with seedy bars, rowdy nightlife, and plenty of D-Tier supervillains just waiting for a new team to move in on their turf. Beyond a teenaged girl with a lycanthropic transformation and love for graphic design, this city is in serious need of heroes.

Enter Flatman, with his stretchy, 2D form, and dry wit. Leadership skills aside, he tries his best to rekindle the old team, and his powers are varied and used creatively. He tries to hold the team together, and grows in maturity through his trials therein. He's still constantly mistaken for a certain other elastic hero, but that may dog his steps til the end of time- fortunately for us, it's quite fun.
Doorman, the teleporting portalist with a rather Spider-man influenced mask, and a new job as Grim Reaper- he's wonderfully nerdy, witty, and mercifully most of his jokes land with hilarity. The fourth wall is broken a few times, though never with the inanity of Deadpool- thankfully.
Mr.Immortal is unkillable, but not unlikeable- he sadly spends most of the book being a dick, though is redeemed somewhat by the end, and his heroic acts do give him a measure of depth. He's a good character, and even better warning against stupid drunk behavior- just not exactly the sort I'd root for.
Goodboy, a not-exactly-werewolf gains an honorary membership; but what could easily have been a token girl character is instead a full-featured, well-written young woman with struggles and dreams of her own. Both her human side and wolfish form are expressive and endearing, whether clawing badguys or passing the Bechdel test with Bertha in a beat-up tavern. There's a brilliant, heart-warming panel where she expects revulsion from a hidden side of herself, but is instead greeted with knowledge and acceptance by arguably the perfect woman for the job- and it's a fantastic character beat for them both.

Back to the book itself: it's wonderfully well-written, with a crafty set of storylines that never get in eachothers way, and consistently humorous and endearing. Drawn with absurdity in mind, even the art itself is fun and humorous, with big characters and a sense of pure joy throughout. Even when the artist changed for one issue towards the middle- that absurdist sense, the stretchy characters, and gorgeous expressions never waver. Even Bertha remains as plush as ever- a feat, when most ladies in comics became noticeably more busty or slender depending on the creative. If anything, Goodboy is even more impressive in wolf form, which is no easy task.

There's a noticeable lack of extreme violence throughout, which keeps the book suitably cartoony and fun- though it's not without a few darker panels and moments. Detroit is lively, sometimes too much so- to the detriment of our heroes' sleep schedules!

The storyline keeps it mostly simple, no giant overarching plots besides the teams' trials and tribulations in a new city, with legal troubles dogging their steps. Fittingly, and despite Doorman having a more outwardly terrifying backstory and rogues gallery, it's Bertha's baddie that winds up becoming the main villain towards the last few issues- a quite personal, amusing, and timely sort of brawl that needs the whole team to properly finish up.
If there are any plot-based issues I have with the book, there are a few transitions that aren't particularly well-explained, and some developments occur entirely offscreen, and are a little hard to track at times.

I've kept away from mentioning Big Bertha(now legally changed to Bertha), mainly out of trying to avoid personal bias. In a word, she's monumental.
From a...problematic, rather jokingly portrayed female hero with a bizzare powerset, she's been turned on her head- then finds her footing with aplomb and class. With the ability to change her size and shape at will, and grow in strength and durability with every pound- she was once considered revolting, almost always in a supermodel shape to ostensibly finance the team. For years, she kept the "perfect" figure, hiding her massive size for only the superheroing, as if as disgusted with it on the inside as everyone else.
Now, she easily and proudly dwarfs her comrades; a plus-sized model who's never seen without a few layers of adipose to her towering frame- Ample Amazon indeed.

From a bulimic, concerning superheroine, to a confident and awe-inspiring woman of size; Bertha's transformation is the defining element to this book- and she's even given a starring role in the last few issues. She's strong and capable, even in her smaller default size- easily appearing more than capable of dealing with foes without needing to gain an extra pound; but choosing to use a panel-filling fat fist to punch a villain's teeth in when they insult her teammates.
When her enormous, nigh-invulnerable figure fills an entire page for one particularly heroic- almost sacrificial- moment, you might well cheer.

Bertha(in keeping with the books' style) is drawn cartoonily and appealingly, though not sexually either- notably, neither does her rotundity look forced or drawn with horror in mind. She's simply pneumatic, with curves and swells in abundance- where the Hulk might merely be a mass of muscle and masculinity. For the first time, Bertha wears her size with pride; whether easily busting through walls, wrenching steel bars like tissue paper, or smashing through the diet industry- belly first.

All told, this book is brilliantly funny, gorgeously drawn, and a rollicking good time from beginning to end. Nothing hinders the pacing, not Squirrel Girl's fitting cameo, any number of StarWars references, or tine-y villains who insist on forking bad puns(Sorry, but also not).
With the way Marvel's main MCU cast seems to be reaching their twilight hour, now would be the perfect time to introduce Detroit's finest team to the live-action pantheon; Flatman,Doorman, Mr. I, Bertha and GoodBoy all deserve their silverscreen debut.

May it be as lovingly drawn, hilarious, and masterfully crafted as this volume.

[Honora Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I... um... loved this?!?! Just yesterday I finished reading the wonderful collection of the teams early adventures as was STOKED to read this trade. The first ever ongoing series with them in the spot light. I genuinely could not put this down which is not always the case when reading. I wanted to uncover more and just learn about the characters new and old. This series and it's characters had so much potential, one note joke characters finally getting the spot light which was snuffed out too soon. I doubt this will be the last time we see this team I certainly hope it isn't, I would have loved to read way more than 7 issues of this and maybe some day we will get to read there adventures again. Just like the "Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and the GLA" collection it was weird and absurd but funny and full of heart. Lovable losers that you want to root for. Like with most things I read I highly recommend.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a weird team, and this definitely seems like Marvel giving a hapless Doom Patrol a go. Lots of fun, self depricatingly, sarcastically and intentionally scrappily written, with really clean art. A great team lineup including the fun new character Good Boy, who sadly hasn't appeared anywhere else, and the coolest looking character ever Doorman. The only disappointment is that this only went on for 7 issues and hasn't been revived since, as I think it has great potential and would love to see more.

[Shaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think perhaps that Great Lakes Avengers is already canceled, and if so that's a shame. This ragtag group of misfits is still a lot of fun, even if they have been overhauled a bit for millennials. I was looking forward to a future where there could have been fun crossovers. Oh well even if they don't have much of a future, you should still check out this collection. Perhaps in a few more years the world will be ready for heroes from the Great Lakes.

[Oliver Hodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this and thought it an intersting, funny, and imaginative combination of heroes. Yes there was a bit of inferiority complex for a few of them, but when they focused on gelling together and getting yo know each other on their own terms, rather than where they sit in the greater MU, I really enjoyed it. All the characters had cool wrinkles, in terms of powers and personalities, and it reminded me of Seven soldiers of victory in terms of confidently establishing a new team.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, it was ok. It had everything I would normally love, plenty of comedy, but somehow it just never clicked. Then it turns out it was canceled, that was it for the whole series. I do love the snarky jibes at hipsters, but the villains were forgettable and seemed to be in a revolving door. There were too many characters trying too hard to have their own stories. Overall, pretty forgettable.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a surprisingly daring book! Each character has his or her own heavy theme or issue going beyond normal comicbookery (except Doorman who seems to just have a "cosmic doom" story.) It's too bad it seems to have gotten its legs cut off with a quick cancellation. I'm interested to know where it was meant to go.

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe more a 3.5. It felt like each issue needed to breathe more. This could’ve been probably 10 issues and would’ve solved the pacing issues. The characters were great and the jokes hit most of the time, but I can’t help but think it all felt too rushed.

Had it rated a 3.75, but the more I think about it I'll drop it to a 3.5 for it's botched potentional.

[Paul W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as cute or as funny as the original. I did like Bertha, Flatman and Doorman finally having personality. Too bad the story, which ostensibly takes place in Detroit, is missing the majority black people that actually exist here. I was excited for the Detroit setting but disappointed by the execution.

[Dylan Caperton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brief run did a great job of getting me behind some forgotten and ridiculed characters. Really good plus-size representation and some brutal, kick-ass moments that you don't get to see with other, more realized teams or characters. I had a lot of fun with this series and wish there was more to enjoy.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in single issues. A sadly short-lived run with these lovable losers. Not required reading, but if you're into the comedically mundane side of superhero life, it's fun.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky and fun...my favorite GLA ever!

[Ryan Aikema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't had that much fun reading a comic book until this!

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way more fun than the original GLA run.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why are The Great Lakes Avengers the best heroes of all time? I'm glad you asked: https://entropymag.org/the-great-lake...

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess I’m missing something because this was not enjoyable. I can see why it was cancelled after seven issues.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only liked the female characters in this.