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Avengers Epic Collection
Avengers Epic Collection, Vol. 17: Judgment Day
Roger Stern’s fan-favorite run comes to a celestial conclusion! For the life of Hercules, the Avengers must storm the very gates of Olympus and take on an entire pantheon of all-powerful Greek Gods! Do our heroes stance a snowball’s chance in Tartarus? Then, Magneto’s on trial, and he needs all the help he can get! The X-Men aren’t sure what his scheme is, but they’re positive they don’t want the Avengers and the Soviet Super-Soldiers to find out before they do! It’s three-way warfare as the world watches, with the Master of Magnetism’s freedom — and conscience — as the prize! Plus: Jarvis stands alone…and Dr. Doom conquers the world! Guest starring the West Coast Avengers!
COLLECTING: Vol. 17: Avengers (1963) 278-285, Avengers Annual (1967) 16, Marvel Graphic Novel (1982) 27, X-Men vs. Avengers (1987) 1-4, West Coast Avengers Annual (1986) 2
COLLECTING: Vol. 17: Avengers (1963) 278-285, Avengers Annual (1967) 16, Marvel Graphic Novel (1982) 27, X-Men vs. Avengers (1987) 1-4, West Coast Avengers Annual (1986) 2
464 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2014
9 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Roger Stern
1,551 books111 followersRoger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 29, 2021
A very mixed bag of late 80s Avengers yarns from the tail-end of the Roger Stern era. Indeed it features some of the fall-out from Stern’s being fired from the title. The firing was a shabby affair: Stern’s editor wanted to do a plot where Captain Marvel, the Avengers’ first black female leader, wasn’t up to the job. Stern refused and got the chop. But he’d also been writing the Avengers v X-Men miniseries (included here), which promptly imploded with a bizarrely overstuffed and stupid final issue by Tom DeFalco, and has never been mentioned again since.
Up to that final issue the Avengers/X-Men series had been a good miniature of Stern’s strengths and weaknesses. He was good at handling large casts and pithily sketching character through dialogue (he has Rogue’s speech patterns change when she absorbs memories, which is a
fun touch that most 80s writers couldn’t pull off). He was not so good at making it feel like the slugfests these casts got involved in had much point. The quintessential vibe of the Roger Stern Avengers is the team hanging around the Mansion chatting duty rosters and bylaws or getting on with the helpful nuts and bolts of superheroing - the inevitable intrusion of the plot feels like rude interruption.
His final extended story has some of this, and plenty of nice interaction, but also a lot of that most pointless chunk of Marvel real estate, Olympus. Like most Stern work it’s well-paced, intelligently plotted and likeable but he’s just not someone you would ever go to for the kind of grand, operatic, storytelling he seems to be reaching for here, and the pleasingly solid Buscema/Palmer artwork is a poor match for it too.
Two non-Stern stories round out the book. In the two 1987 Annuals, some contrived nonsense with The Grandmaster and The Collector serves as an excuse for the East and West Coast teams to fight one another. Skip it. But stick around for the Emperor Doom graphic novel, in which Doom gets to conquer the world at last. It’s not a great Doom story (he seems happy to be a hands on ruler in Latveria so it’s hard to see why he’d be so jaded about administering the planet) but it’s the most fully satisfying Avengers tale in this scrappy collection.
Up to that final issue the Avengers/X-Men series had been a good miniature of Stern’s strengths and weaknesses. He was good at handling large casts and pithily sketching character through dialogue (he has Rogue’s speech patterns change when she absorbs memories, which is a
fun touch that most 80s writers couldn’t pull off). He was not so good at making it feel like the slugfests these casts got involved in had much point. The quintessential vibe of the Roger Stern Avengers is the team hanging around the Mansion chatting duty rosters and bylaws or getting on with the helpful nuts and bolts of superheroing - the inevitable intrusion of the plot feels like rude interruption.
His final extended story has some of this, and plenty of nice interaction, but also a lot of that most pointless chunk of Marvel real estate, Olympus. Like most Stern work it’s well-paced, intelligently plotted and likeable but he’s just not someone you would ever go to for the kind of grand, operatic, storytelling he seems to be reaching for here, and the pleasingly solid Buscema/Palmer artwork is a poor match for it too.
Two non-Stern stories round out the book. In the two 1987 Annuals, some contrived nonsense with The Grandmaster and The Collector serves as an excuse for the East and West Coast teams to fight one another. Skip it. But stick around for the Emperor Doom graphic novel, in which Doom gets to conquer the world at last. It’s not a great Doom story (he seems happy to be a hands on ruler in Latveria so it’s hard to see why he’d be so jaded about administering the planet) but it’s the most fully satisfying Avengers tale in this scrappy collection.
September 16, 2021
Parece bom, né?
Doutor Destino ao fundo, uma boa formação dos Vingadores, a Vespa - por algum motivo desconhecido - mostrando a bunda, nem sinal do Doutor Druida.
Eu acreditei no vintão.
E o vintão mentiu pra mim.
O Doutor Druida aparece.
E ainda pior, para adicionar ofensa à injúria, o Doutor Druida aparece de sunga.
Ninguém merece.
Essa história se passa logo depois do Cerco - uma das grandes história da fase Stern -, os Vingadores estão na Hidrobase, o Hércules tá em coma, a Vespa pede demissão, o Capitão também não tá muito a fim de pegar a liderança, sugere a Capitã Marvel que fica naquele clima meio barro meio tijolo, e nosso amigo Totonho Druida já começa com suas maquinações para assumir a vingadoria principal. O cara é muito picareta.
Bom, toda essa função é interrompida, alguém sequestrou o Hércules do hospital. Na real, foi Zeus, papei do Hércules, e quer vingança contra os Vingadores. Capitão, Capitão Marvel, Namor, Thor, Cavaleiro Negro, Vespa, Druidão são mandados para o Tártaro e começa um quebra pau magnífico entre os Vingadores e os Deuses do Olimpo. Coisa bacana, aquela troca justa e franca, o Thor tá particularmente fantástico com aquelas falas prolixas e dramáticas:
"Mesmo que meus ossos estejam sob a maldição de Hela, ainda é o aço asgardiano que me protege e eu não faltarei. Pelos Vingadores, por Asgard e pela Honra Eterna!" Claro, ele diz isso carregando meia montanha nas costas.
Bom, depois que as coisas são razoavelmente esclarecidas, temos o julgamento do Magneto na mini Vingadores vs X-Men, os heróis russos que sempre trocam de nome também aparecem. Ainda que a versão dos X-Men seja aquela mais rock'n'roll, com a Tempestade moicano, a Vampira cheia de cintos e a Cristal de faixa anos 80 na cabeça, a história é bem mais ou menos - a mini contra o Quarteto é bem mais interessante - e, apesar de tudo, é muito melhor que o AvX de uns anos atrás.
Bom, depois temos a edição que dá capa ao volume, Imperador Destino, nosso ditador favorito faz uma picaretagem com o Homem-Púrpura e consegue, com a ajuda de um outro membro do Clube dos Monarcas Marvel, conquistar o mundo, exceto pelo Magnum.
Lembra do Magnum? Jaqueta vermelha, óculos escuro, broderagem com o Fera? Pois é.
A esperança da humanidade resta nas mãos iônicas do Magnum.
Ainda bem que, chega um momento, em que o Destino meio que desiste, "Não vou me incomodar com essa porra toda.", e volta para a Latvéria, numa história um tanto quanto anti-clímax.
Talvez a pancadaria olimpiana seja o último bom momento dos Vingadores por um bom tempo, depois vem a fase do Doutor Druida, a fase da Jaquetinha, os Ajuntadores e mais um monte de porcaria, mas ainda que meus olhos estejam cansados, a tela do Kindle quebrada, eu não desistirei, pelos Vingadores, por Asgard, pelo Vintão!
Doutor Destino ao fundo, uma boa formação dos Vingadores, a Vespa - por algum motivo desconhecido - mostrando a bunda, nem sinal do Doutor Druida.
Eu acreditei no vintão.
E o vintão mentiu pra mim.
O Doutor Druida aparece.
E ainda pior, para adicionar ofensa à injúria, o Doutor Druida aparece de sunga.
Ninguém merece.
Essa história se passa logo depois do Cerco - uma das grandes história da fase Stern -, os Vingadores estão na Hidrobase, o Hércules tá em coma, a Vespa pede demissão, o Capitão também não tá muito a fim de pegar a liderança, sugere a Capitã Marvel que fica naquele clima meio barro meio tijolo, e nosso amigo Totonho Druida já começa com suas maquinações para assumir a vingadoria principal. O cara é muito picareta.
Bom, toda essa função é interrompida, alguém sequestrou o Hércules do hospital. Na real, foi Zeus, papei do Hércules, e quer vingança contra os Vingadores. Capitão, Capitão Marvel, Namor, Thor, Cavaleiro Negro, Vespa, Druidão são mandados para o Tártaro e começa um quebra pau magnífico entre os Vingadores e os Deuses do Olimpo. Coisa bacana, aquela troca justa e franca, o Thor tá particularmente fantástico com aquelas falas prolixas e dramáticas:
"Mesmo que meus ossos estejam sob a maldição de Hela, ainda é o aço asgardiano que me protege e eu não faltarei. Pelos Vingadores, por Asgard e pela Honra Eterna!" Claro, ele diz isso carregando meia montanha nas costas.
Bom, depois que as coisas são razoavelmente esclarecidas, temos o julgamento do Magneto na mini Vingadores vs X-Men, os heróis russos que sempre trocam de nome também aparecem. Ainda que a versão dos X-Men seja aquela mais rock'n'roll, com a Tempestade moicano, a Vampira cheia de cintos e a Cristal de faixa anos 80 na cabeça, a história é bem mais ou menos - a mini contra o Quarteto é bem mais interessante - e, apesar de tudo, é muito melhor que o AvX de uns anos atrás.
Bom, depois temos a edição que dá capa ao volume, Imperador Destino, nosso ditador favorito faz uma picaretagem com o Homem-Púrpura e consegue, com a ajuda de um outro membro do Clube dos Monarcas Marvel, conquistar o mundo, exceto pelo Magnum.
Lembra do Magnum? Jaqueta vermelha, óculos escuro, broderagem com o Fera? Pois é.
A esperança da humanidade resta nas mãos iônicas do Magnum.
Ainda bem que, chega um momento, em que o Destino meio que desiste, "Não vou me incomodar com essa porra toda.", e volta para a Latvéria, numa história um tanto quanto anti-clímax.
Talvez a pancadaria olimpiana seja o último bom momento dos Vingadores por um bom tempo, depois vem a fase do Doutor Druida, a fase da Jaquetinha, os Ajuntadores e mais um monte de porcaria, mas ainda que meus olhos estejam cansados, a tela do Kindle quebrada, eu não desistirei, pelos Vingadores, por Asgard, pelo Vintão!
April 26, 2017
Roger Stern's final 6-part adventure is the first 90 or so pages of the book. Pretty much the only good part. Serious decline in story post-Stern.
February 9, 2024
First up are a few issues exploring the aftermath of the Under Siege storyline from the previous volume. They aren't particularly action-packed but watching Captain Marvel deliberate over whether to become the new Avengers leader is incredibly readable and the issue focusing on Jarvis' inner thoughts and recovery is surprisingly poignant.
Onto the main event: normally I'm not a huge fan of the Greek and Roman mythology-centric Marvel stories, like the ones set in Olympus or Asgard. I tend to find them a little boring, especially when the majority of the God and Goddess characters feel so similar and one-dimensional. However, when reading Assault on Olympus this time around I found it far more interesting than before, perhaps because I had read the rest of Roger Stern's run leading up to it and was used to how he wrote the characters.
Also included is the four-part miniseries X-Men vs. the Avengers, a crossover with the West Coast team and the Emperor Doom graphic novel. X-Men vs. the Avengers is fine, but nothing special. It was quite interesting to see Magneto's inner battle as well as the Soviet Super Soldiers, who you don't see every day. The annual crossover is a bit like a reworking of the Contest of Champions event but solely with Avengers characters. Again, entertaining but nothing special. The book finishes up with Emperor Doom. Like the Assault on Olympus storyline, it didn't thrill me the first time I read it but it was a lot more fun this time around.
Overall, Judgment Day isn't perfect, but Stern's writing is good and John Buscema's wonderful artwork certainly helps.
Onto the main event: normally I'm not a huge fan of the Greek and Roman mythology-centric Marvel stories, like the ones set in Olympus or Asgard. I tend to find them a little boring, especially when the majority of the God and Goddess characters feel so similar and one-dimensional. However, when reading Assault on Olympus this time around I found it far more interesting than before, perhaps because I had read the rest of Roger Stern's run leading up to it and was used to how he wrote the characters.
Also included is the four-part miniseries X-Men vs. the Avengers, a crossover with the West Coast team and the Emperor Doom graphic novel. X-Men vs. the Avengers is fine, but nothing special. It was quite interesting to see Magneto's inner battle as well as the Soviet Super Soldiers, who you don't see every day. The annual crossover is a bit like a reworking of the Contest of Champions event but solely with Avengers characters. Again, entertaining but nothing special. The book finishes up with Emperor Doom. Like the Assault on Olympus storyline, it didn't thrill me the first time I read it but it was a lot more fun this time around.
Overall, Judgment Day isn't perfect, but Stern's writing is good and John Buscema's wonderful artwork certainly helps.
September 9, 2023
This is an uneven collection of 1987 Avengers.
Issues #278 to #280 deal with the aftermath of the Avengers Under Siege story line. They are a nice breather, focusing on characters instead of combat. Issue #280 seen through the eyes of Jarvis the butler is actually excellent!
Issues #281 to #285 Assault on Olympus are a bit childish but still fun to read. I appreciate the references to the Captain America and Thor books published at the same time. There is a feeling of coherence between different titles, which Marvel doesn't always manage to maintain.
The X-Men vs. the Avengers #1 to #4 are not as bad as the name sounds. However, I don't think they are mandatory reading. I had caught the story before in the Mutant Massacre Omnibus.
The rest of the collection, however, destroys the coherence and deserves to be retconned.
In the WCA and Avengers 1987 annuals, the god-like Grandmaster summons the West Coast Avengers and the East Coast Avengers to fight each other. Apparently this is a continuation of the 1982 Contest of Champions storyline, which I have luckily avoided. This may be the single worst story I have read from Marvel.
Emperor Doom has an interesting premise and the character of Dr. Doom is nicely explored. But the way he gains control and ultimately loses it is illogical and stupid. The story works better if you consider it as a What If? story. Jonathan Hickman's 2015 Secret Wars has actually a similar idea.
Overall rating for the collection: 2.5 stars
Issues #278 to #280 deal with the aftermath of the Avengers Under Siege story line. They are a nice breather, focusing on characters instead of combat. Issue #280 seen through the eyes of Jarvis the butler is actually excellent!
Issues #281 to #285 Assault on Olympus are a bit childish but still fun to read. I appreciate the references to the Captain America and Thor books published at the same time. There is a feeling of coherence between different titles, which Marvel doesn't always manage to maintain.
The X-Men vs. the Avengers #1 to #4 are not as bad as the name sounds. However, I don't think they are mandatory reading. I had caught the story before in the Mutant Massacre Omnibus.
The rest of the collection, however, destroys the coherence and deserves to be retconned.
In the WCA and Avengers 1987 annuals, the god-like Grandmaster summons the West Coast Avengers and the East Coast Avengers to fight each other. Apparently this is a continuation of the 1982 Contest of Champions storyline, which I have luckily avoided. This may be the single worst story I have read from Marvel.
Emperor Doom has an interesting premise and the character of Dr. Doom is nicely explored. But the way he gains control and ultimately loses it is illogical and stupid. The story works better if you consider it as a What If? story. Jonathan Hickman's 2015 Secret Wars has actually a similar idea.
Overall rating for the collection: 2.5 stars
August 8, 2018
A really nice collection of Avenger's stories, but in a way, the book is spilt up in to different sections.
First we get the end of the Roger Stern run telling the story of a confused Zeus thinking the Avenger's are responsible for the injuries to his son, Hercules. It's a good story where the Avenger's are just out gunned for most of the story. I always like a story where the heroes back is to the wall.
After that, the book is basically a collection of a few different Avenger's stories that take place outside the main title. First we get the Avenger's VS. X-Men story, which, while really good, probably should have been part of an X-Men collection. It's mostly about Magneto and the mutants of the world are certainly more effected than the Avengers.
Next is to Annuals, one for Avengers and one for West Coast. It's a two part story where the Grandmaster has tricked the Avenger's in to fighting each other so he can gain the power of Death. It was a good story, but I liked the first part better than the second.
The final story is from the Marvel Graphic Novel series. It's one where Doctor Doom figures out how to take control of the wills of everyone of earth, making him the ruler of the planet. It's an ok story, but I feel like I've read that story before. It seems kinda like a go to story for Doctor Doom.
Overall, a nice collection. I don't have many Avengers Epic Collections but I really want to get more.
First we get the end of the Roger Stern run telling the story of a confused Zeus thinking the Avenger's are responsible for the injuries to his son, Hercules. It's a good story where the Avenger's are just out gunned for most of the story. I always like a story where the heroes back is to the wall.
After that, the book is basically a collection of a few different Avenger's stories that take place outside the main title. First we get the Avenger's VS. X-Men story, which, while really good, probably should have been part of an X-Men collection. It's mostly about Magneto and the mutants of the world are certainly more effected than the Avengers.
Next is to Annuals, one for Avengers and one for West Coast. It's a two part story where the Grandmaster has tricked the Avenger's in to fighting each other so he can gain the power of Death. It was a good story, but I liked the first part better than the second.
The final story is from the Marvel Graphic Novel series. It's one where Doctor Doom figures out how to take control of the wills of everyone of earth, making him the ruler of the planet. It's an ok story, but I feel like I've read that story before. It seems kinda like a go to story for Doctor Doom.
Overall, a nice collection. I don't have many Avengers Epic Collections but I really want to get more.
November 10, 2024
This continues the stellar Avengers run of Roger Stern writing, with John Buscema and Tom Palmer art as they assault Olympus in order to save a severely wounded Hercules.
After that we're treated to the X-Men vs the Avengers miniseries where a supposedly reformed Magneto goes rogue to recover technology from his asteroid which has plummeted to Earth. Roger Stern continues the scripting for 3 of the 4 issues with Marc Silvestri doing the art.
After almost 300 pages of excellence, we get a less impressive story West Coast Avengers Annual #2 and the Avengers Annual #16 where they get involved with the Collector. Basically, it's an excuse to have various Marvel characters fight each other arena-style.
You might want to skip directly to page 375 for the David Michelinie Bob Hall Emperor Doom graphic novel which focuses on Wonder-Man and considers the age-old dilemma of free will versus despotism.
After that we're treated to the X-Men vs the Avengers miniseries where a supposedly reformed Magneto goes rogue to recover technology from his asteroid which has plummeted to Earth. Roger Stern continues the scripting for 3 of the 4 issues with Marc Silvestri doing the art.
After almost 300 pages of excellence, we get a less impressive story West Coast Avengers Annual #2 and the Avengers Annual #16 where they get involved with the Collector. Basically, it's an excuse to have various Marvel characters fight each other arena-style.
You might want to skip directly to page 375 for the David Michelinie Bob Hall Emperor Doom graphic novel which focuses on Wonder-Man and considers the age-old dilemma of free will versus despotism.
February 15, 2019
Not a bad collection. I enjoyed seeing Marc Silvestri's work on the X-Men before he took over on that title's regular duties, and the Emperor Doom GN was an interesting tale that kind of made the Avengers look like the bad guys.
May 8, 2020
A collection of fifteen Marvel comics put in one volume written by six different authors, and a vast assortment of artists working together to bring this superhero saga to fans of this genre.
March 2, 2022
The final leg of Stern's Avengers run - which includes his truncated X-MEN VS. AVENGERS mini(with gorgeous Silvestri art). Great stuff.
Read
July 3, 2023Good because it had Emperor Doom, which is an interesting story.
February 15, 2017
This book is definitely a mixed bag. The first, and best storyline is a follow up to the Under Siege storyline, where Baron Zemo leads a newly formed Masters of Evil and overtakes Avengers mansion. If you don't want any spoilers of that storyline, skip the rest of this, and the next paragraph. This book picks up where that story left off, and is a great follow up to Under Siege. The story first focuses on Jarvis, the Avengers' butler as he recuperates from grievous injuries he received at the hands of Mr. Hyde. This story in and of itself isn't especially great, as it is the equivalent of a clip show tv shows used to make back in the day where a thinly veiled story leads to seemingly endless flashbacks of prior stories. After that though is the "Assault on Olympus" story which is this book's best storyline.
Hercules was another casualty of Under Siege, and he ends up in a coma. Zeus is angered with how Hercules was treated and blames the Avengers. Zeus has them captured and sentences them all to "death by torment". Unlike the Norse gods, the Greek/Roman gods aren't as well developed in the Marvel Universe, and Stern does a great job establishing that world, and giving each god his or her own personality. He references much of Greek/Roman mythology, and makes a clever use of a myth to explain a character's behavior. In addition to the great story, the art is by John Buscema, whose art comes alive throughout this story. Buscema is no stranger to fantasy inspired stories, and the art in this story (with a great assist from Tom Palmer) is fantastic.
The next story is the four issue X-Men vs. Avengers mini-series. The first three issues were great, with a fun story by Stern and some great art by then up and comer, and now superstar, Marc Silvestri. Unfortunately, things fall apart with the fourth issue, which has a troubled history. Apparently Marvel didn't like the way the story concluded and changed it at the last minute. Stern left the book rather than rewrite the story with the changed ending, and Silvestri moved over to the regular X-Men title instead of drawing the last issue. The story that appeared is incredibly dissatisfying. It is hard to blame the new creative team, as they seemed to do their best to make the most of the situation.
The next story is a two part story from the Avengers and West Coast Avengers annuals. Both teams are caught up in the Grandmaster's schemes. Although the story is largely forgettable with some mediocre art, the conclusion of the storyline in the second annual is very clever.
Finally, the last story is Emperor Doom, which was a graphic novel that came out around the time these other stories were being published. Doctor Doom uses the Purple Man to take over the world. The story has a great concept, but ultimately doesn't live up to its potential. The ending is a cop out.
If I were judging the book based solely on Assault on Olympus, I probably would have rated the book four or five stars, but the quality of the rest of the stories brings the total rating to three stars.
Hercules was another casualty of Under Siege, and he ends up in a coma. Zeus is angered with how Hercules was treated and blames the Avengers. Zeus has them captured and sentences them all to "death by torment". Unlike the Norse gods, the Greek/Roman gods aren't as well developed in the Marvel Universe, and Stern does a great job establishing that world, and giving each god his or her own personality. He references much of Greek/Roman mythology, and makes a clever use of a myth to explain a character's behavior. In addition to the great story, the art is by John Buscema, whose art comes alive throughout this story. Buscema is no stranger to fantasy inspired stories, and the art in this story (with a great assist from Tom Palmer) is fantastic.
The next story is the four issue X-Men vs. Avengers mini-series. The first three issues were great, with a fun story by Stern and some great art by then up and comer, and now superstar, Marc Silvestri. Unfortunately, things fall apart with the fourth issue, which has a troubled history. Apparently Marvel didn't like the way the story concluded and changed it at the last minute. Stern left the book rather than rewrite the story with the changed ending, and Silvestri moved over to the regular X-Men title instead of drawing the last issue. The story that appeared is incredibly dissatisfying. It is hard to blame the new creative team, as they seemed to do their best to make the most of the situation.
The next story is a two part story from the Avengers and West Coast Avengers annuals. Both teams are caught up in the Grandmaster's schemes. Although the story is largely forgettable with some mediocre art, the conclusion of the storyline in the second annual is very clever.
Finally, the last story is Emperor Doom, which was a graphic novel that came out around the time these other stories were being published. Doctor Doom uses the Purple Man to take over the world. The story has a great concept, but ultimately doesn't live up to its potential. The ending is a cop out.
If I were judging the book based solely on Assault on Olympus, I probably would have rated the book four or five stars, but the quality of the rest of the stories brings the total rating to three stars.
April 30, 2015
This collection tends to cover many of the OK-to-good Avengers stories of the era. The biggest problem that I have with it is that it doesn't actually go a very good job as an "epic collection". We only get 8 issues of the Avengers proper, then everything spins off into an endless series of Annuals and other specials. They're worth reading, but they don't care any of the arcs of the main series, so the collection quickly loses its momentum.
A New Avengers (278-279). An interesting decision to start this Avengers Epic collection, just after the classic "Under Siege" arc, but then this is material that's never been collected before. These first two issues focus on putting a new team together, and they're the fun procedural issues that you only get in a comic like Avengers (or DC's LoSH). There's nothing particularly memorable about these issues, but they're a nice transition ... and I love Stern's semi-maleovolent take on Dr. Druid, and his decision to to push Monica to the fore as the new leader. [6/10].
Jarvis (280). A nice look at the Avengers history through Jarvis' eyes. There's not a lot going on here, but it's a good character piece [6/10].
The Wrath of Zeus (281-285). An epic battle for the Avengers in Olympia could be the stuff of Legend, but this one unfortunately has way too much battling (5 issues worth!) all over a misunderstanding! Though the interaction with the gods and places of legend is cool, the rest gets old [5+/10].
X-Men vs. The Avengers. It's funny to see this storyline in an Avengers volume, as I'd always considered it an X-Men story because of its focus on Magneto. But then the first three issues are also by the then-current Avengers author, Roger Stern. Overall, it's an intriguing team-up in a time when such things didn't happen much, and it's a great premise. The comic has too much fighting, and then the fourth issue (by de Falco and Shooter) is much more heavy-handed than what came before it. Still, an interesting read [6/10].
Annuals. Clearly intended as a sequel to Contest of Champions, but unfortunately these issues aren't very good. To start with long split-the-team-up battles between the Avengers and then their dead foes doesn't make for very interesting reading. Unfortunately, the story also has some really awful bits, worst of all being how half of the Avengers decide to poison themselves after the other half dies, so that they can go to Death's realm and save them. Conveniently, the author forgets everyone's dead in part two, and so shockingly has most of them die again. Yawn ... [3/10]
Emperor Doom. A much better West/East teamup than the Annuals. This graphic novel has a great premise: Doom taking over the world. It also deals with it somewhat well, with him ultimately being discontent. I even like the setup of Simon being the hero after he emerges from 30 days in a sensory deprivation tank. Unfortunately, the story doesn't go much deeper than that. The problem is dealt with in a relatively perfunctory way when all the pieces come together [6/10].
A New Avengers (278-279). An interesting decision to start this Avengers Epic collection, just after the classic "Under Siege" arc, but then this is material that's never been collected before. These first two issues focus on putting a new team together, and they're the fun procedural issues that you only get in a comic like Avengers (or DC's LoSH). There's nothing particularly memorable about these issues, but they're a nice transition ... and I love Stern's semi-maleovolent take on Dr. Druid, and his decision to to push Monica to the fore as the new leader. [6/10].
Jarvis (280). A nice look at the Avengers history through Jarvis' eyes. There's not a lot going on here, but it's a good character piece [6/10].
The Wrath of Zeus (281-285). An epic battle for the Avengers in Olympia could be the stuff of Legend, but this one unfortunately has way too much battling (5 issues worth!) all over a misunderstanding! Though the interaction with the gods and places of legend is cool, the rest gets old [5+/10].
X-Men vs. The Avengers. It's funny to see this storyline in an Avengers volume, as I'd always considered it an X-Men story because of its focus on Magneto. But then the first three issues are also by the then-current Avengers author, Roger Stern. Overall, it's an intriguing team-up in a time when such things didn't happen much, and it's a great premise. The comic has too much fighting, and then the fourth issue (by de Falco and Shooter) is much more heavy-handed than what came before it. Still, an interesting read [6/10].
Annuals. Clearly intended as a sequel to Contest of Champions, but unfortunately these issues aren't very good. To start with long split-the-team-up battles between the Avengers and then their dead foes doesn't make for very interesting reading. Unfortunately, the story also has some really awful bits, worst of all being how half of the Avengers decide to poison themselves after the other half dies, so that they can go to Death's realm and save them. Conveniently, the author forgets everyone's dead in part two, and so shockingly has most of them die again. Yawn ... [3/10]
Emperor Doom. A much better West/East teamup than the Annuals. This graphic novel has a great premise: Doom taking over the world. It also deals with it somewhat well, with him ultimately being discontent. I even like the setup of Simon being the hero after he emerges from 30 days in a sensory deprivation tank. Unfortunately, the story doesn't go much deeper than that. The problem is dealt with in a relatively perfunctory way when all the pieces come together [6/10].
November 19, 2015
A classic in every sense of the word. Famous heroes, infamous villains, universal themes, personal stories - this is comic writing and illustrating at its finest. A compendium that is worth the few extra bucks and the extra time to read it. Bravo Mr Stern, bravo!
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