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Avengers Classic #1-12
First to Last: Premiere Edition
They are the last of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes: Hawkeye, the blinded archer; the Wasp, pint-sized dynamo cursed with an incurable shrinking disease; Cannonball, mutant X-Man and Avenger; and former Ant-Man, former Giant-Man, former super hero Hank Pym, the last man who would have volunteered to lead them. They're not the strongest, but they are the only hope in the final battle against the greatest enemies of mankind. They are the Last Avengers. United, they will fall. This is The Last Avengers Story Also featuring timeless tales shedding new light on the early days of Earth's Mightiest Heroes: the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor In these previously untold stories, the six founding members vie for chairmanship of the team, Bruce Banner fears the Hulk's rage may have gone too far, Iron Man unveils his latest suit of armor, Captain America adjusts to life in the modern world, a WWII veteran reminisces about an early meeting between Cap and Thor, and more Plus: Marvel's founding father, Stan Lee, tells the "real" story of how the Avengers became a team Collects The Last Avengers Story #1-2, plus material from Avengers Classic #1-12.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published December 24, 2008
1 person is currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Peter David
3,569 books1,364 followersaka David Peters
Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.
Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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September 30, 2024Avengers: First to Last is a strange collection. Roughly the first half of the trade paperback is devoted to short back-up stories (each around eight to ten pages long) that accompanied reprints of the first twelve issues of Avengers. These short stories complement the classic 60s stories by providing additional character moments and plugging plot holes. Notably, this trade paperback doesn’t itself print the classic stories to which the back-ups refer, so readers need to already have a working knowledge of classic Avengers to really appreciate them.
With that said, these stories are surprisingly entertaining with high-profile talent. The collection opens up with a self-deprecatingly funny story scripted by Stan Lee and rendered with incredible character acting by Kevin Maguire. Mike Oeming provides gorgeous art for many of the back-ups; his blocky, stylized characters call back to Jack Kirby but remain distinctly unique. (Oeming’s work here reminds me of Bruce Timm’s own homage to Kirby in Avengers #1 ½.) Oeming’s best stories are scripted by Dwayne McDuffie with a highlight involving Bruce Banner accused of a crime he didn’t commit.
Another stand-out (by penciller Nick Dragotta and veteran Avengers inker Tom Palmer) features Rick Jones as he foolishly attempts to apply Captain America’s tactical training to the dating scene. The stories also feature Kano rendering a delightfully Ditkoesque Spider-Man and a surprise two-page story by Sergio Aragonés following the shenanigans of Mole Man’s Moloids. There are a few misfires – specifically Jorge Lucas’s ugly pastiche (tracing?) of Kirby and Juan Doe’s undercooked, abstract work – but the “hit rate” is surprisingly high for an anthology.
The second half of this collection is devoted to The Last Avengers Story, a story apparently written by Peter David in 1986 and published nearly a decade later with painted art by Ariel Olivetti. Besides a few good jokes, this story is dreadful. It follows a “What If?” scenario in which the Avengers, after a series of absurdly horrific tragedies, are old and cynical. I’d hedge a guess that David wrote the script shortly after reading Watchmen. This story has Watchmen’s edge but none of its depth. The characters are nearly all unpleasant and cruel to each other. Olivetti renders everyone almost exclusively with grimaces and gritted teeth. His panel layouts are borderline nonsense, especially in the extended battle sequence that closes out the story. Altogether, this story left a bad tase in my mouth, embodying all of the worst tendencies of 90s “storytelling.”
With that said, these stories are surprisingly entertaining with high-profile talent. The collection opens up with a self-deprecatingly funny story scripted by Stan Lee and rendered with incredible character acting by Kevin Maguire. Mike Oeming provides gorgeous art for many of the back-ups; his blocky, stylized characters call back to Jack Kirby but remain distinctly unique. (Oeming’s work here reminds me of Bruce Timm’s own homage to Kirby in Avengers #1 ½.) Oeming’s best stories are scripted by Dwayne McDuffie with a highlight involving Bruce Banner accused of a crime he didn’t commit.
Another stand-out (by penciller Nick Dragotta and veteran Avengers inker Tom Palmer) features Rick Jones as he foolishly attempts to apply Captain America’s tactical training to the dating scene. The stories also feature Kano rendering a delightfully Ditkoesque Spider-Man and a surprise two-page story by Sergio Aragonés following the shenanigans of Mole Man’s Moloids. There are a few misfires – specifically Jorge Lucas’s ugly pastiche (tracing?) of Kirby and Juan Doe’s undercooked, abstract work – but the “hit rate” is surprisingly high for an anthology.
The second half of this collection is devoted to The Last Avengers Story, a story apparently written by Peter David in 1986 and published nearly a decade later with painted art by Ariel Olivetti. Besides a few good jokes, this story is dreadful. It follows a “What If?” scenario in which the Avengers, after a series of absurdly horrific tragedies, are old and cynical. I’d hedge a guess that David wrote the script shortly after reading Watchmen. This story has Watchmen’s edge but none of its depth. The characters are nearly all unpleasant and cruel to each other. Olivetti renders everyone almost exclusively with grimaces and gritted teeth. His panel layouts are borderline nonsense, especially in the extended battle sequence that closes out the story. Altogether, this story left a bad tase in my mouth, embodying all of the worst tendencies of 90s “storytelling.”
July 26, 2024
This was a complete waste of time and money. From here on out, all ‘the end’ type events and ret-cons are out. Even Peter David can't make an 'end' series interesting. The all-new back-up stories from the short-lived Avengers Classic reprint series were awful. There were maybe one or two decent ones, but the writing and the artwork sucked. I hate kiddie-ish, overly cartoon-y artwork to begin with, and when you combine that with superheroes, it's even worse. This flavor seems to be replacing manga as the crappy flavor of the month.
April 10, 2024
It was fun …..until *bone cracking sounds*
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2017
An interesting mix of never before told behind-the-scenes stories of the original line-up of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and as well as the team's swan song.
The first group of stories appeared in the back pages of Avengers Classic. Featuring such greats as Dwayne McDuffie (Damage Control) and the Man himself, Stan Lee, these shorts reveal what happened between the issues, like how Marvel obtained the licensing rights to the Avengers and the first ever meeting between Captain America and Spider-Man.
It's always been my pet peeve with the Marvel Classic books that they never contain any original material. But with Avengers Classic, that wasn't case. Of note, if you already have issues 1-12 of the Avengers in some sort of collected form and you have this volume, you'll have all the original material and covers contained in Avengers Classic. You will not need to scour the bargain bins for the individual issues of Avengers classic.
The second feature was a completely new story. The Last Avengers Story reveals what could happen in a final stand off between Hank Pym and Ultron. Written by Marvel mage Peter David, this book was dark, bloody, and a wild read. It was also a little naughty. That's all thanks to the painted pages of Aliens Vs. Predator's Ariel Olivetti.
If you are trying to collect Avengers stories, you'll need this collection. It's the perfect combination of funny, serious, and adventure. But due to the level of blood and gore in The Last Avengers Story, this is not a book for all readers- especially kids- as some images can be quite unsettling.
The first group of stories appeared in the back pages of Avengers Classic. Featuring such greats as Dwayne McDuffie (Damage Control) and the Man himself, Stan Lee, these shorts reveal what happened between the issues, like how Marvel obtained the licensing rights to the Avengers and the first ever meeting between Captain America and Spider-Man.
It's always been my pet peeve with the Marvel Classic books that they never contain any original material. But with Avengers Classic, that wasn't case. Of note, if you already have issues 1-12 of the Avengers in some sort of collected form and you have this volume, you'll have all the original material and covers contained in Avengers Classic. You will not need to scour the bargain bins for the individual issues of Avengers classic.
The second feature was a completely new story. The Last Avengers Story reveals what could happen in a final stand off between Hank Pym and Ultron. Written by Marvel mage Peter David, this book was dark, bloody, and a wild read. It was also a little naughty. That's all thanks to the painted pages of Aliens Vs. Predator's Ariel Olivetti.
If you are trying to collect Avengers stories, you'll need this collection. It's the perfect combination of funny, serious, and adventure. But due to the level of blood and gore in The Last Avengers Story, this is not a book for all readers- especially kids- as some images can be quite unsettling.
February 21, 2012
With is rotating collection of Writers and Artists I could not say I disliked this book. It at times captures the Avengers perfectly yet the "Last Avengers" story felt lacking to me. I mostly picked this up for the McDiffie stories which I found to be highly entertaining.
June 5, 2014
Some good stories and some good artwork but it all just felt a little disjointed
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews