BT05 – Three Comics Shot Me Down!

(Five extra Blogathon points to anyone who knows where that title came from …)

One challenge to this Blogathon thing is that … well, really, 30 minutes isn’t very long to do this sort of thing. Three reviews last time? Yikes! I could do this for 48 hours!

Well, no.

Review code format (ranked 1-5, blah to faboo): [writing / art / new reader? / non-comics reader?]

Essential Avengers (Vol. 4) (Marvel) [4/4/4/1] (collects #69-97)
w. Roy Thomas; a. Sal Buscema, John Buscema, Neil Adams, et al.
One of the fabulous “Essential” collections through which Marvel has been affordably and en masse reprinting some of their “classic” series. In this case, some of the greatest Avengers tales of all time, as Roy Thomas took the helm. Though the centerpiece here is the Kree-Skrull War, we also get the appearances of the Squadron Supreme, Zodiac, Sons of the Serpent, the origin of the Black Panther, and more. There’s even a tie-in to a Harlan Ellison-penned Hulk tale here. Some truly triffic stuff here, warming the cockles of my Silver Age heart, stirringly (if, by today’s standards, floridly) written and with some of the best art talent to come down the pike. Highly recommended.

Avengers Legends: The Korvac Saga (Marvel) [3/3/3/1] (collects #167-168, 170-177)
w. Shooter, Michelinie, Mantlo; a. George Perez, Sal Buscema, et al.
One of the first “big cross-over cosmic events” in the Avengers ‘verse, this tale brought together the Avengers with the Guardians of the Galaxy (remember them?) to battle the growing menace of Korvac — a second-rate villain who, Thanos-like, achieved Big Mojo and threatened to take over the universe. But there’s plenty of Silver Age Marvel angst here, as Korvac and his love tale begins to resemble something from Shakespeare, and the Avengers are forced to fight a foe who can — and does — kill them. Avengers dying in battle was shocking in those days, even if it’s treated with a bit more blase attitude these days. Amazing stuff for the era, even if a bit crude (writing and art) by today’s standards. On the other hand, the Perez cover is worth the price of admission.

Batman in the Eighties DC) [3/3/2/1] (collects misc issues)
w/a. Diverse Hands
This book tries to show how Batman evolved in the 1980s, as the camp of the 70s gave way, and the “Darknight Detective” came to the fore, with strong if simple drama that could stand up Marvel’s writing qualities if not their “universe” richness. Art was getting better, too. The end of the decade saw Miller coming in with The Dark Knight Returns, throwing the DCU on its ear, but for the moment, this was the “best” era of Batman since his initial Golden Age origins. Worth reading for folks who want to see Bats in his pre-nutso days.