Product Description: There came a day, unlike any other, when Earth's Mightiest Heroes found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born -- to fight the foes no single hero could withstand. Featuring the formation of the Avengers, the revival of Captain America, and enemies such as the Sub-Mariner and Kang the Conqueror! Collects Avengers #1-24.
Black & white reprints of classic four-color comics...? I honestly don't get the appeal of these books. Why bother making (or reading) black & white reprints of classic four-color comics...? I mean, yeah, the stories are still great and the original comics are hard to find, but a huge part of what made these comics great was the eye-popping artwork, including the bright primary colors: reading them in dull B&W is just plain wrong. Sure, the printing costs are lower, so you can get more pages for your money, but it's more pages of boring, not more pages of fun. It's really a travesty.
On the other hand, it recently occurred to me that these could be used as coloring books... Maybe you could buy a box of crayons to go along with all the artwork that the publishers ruined in this format. (Axton)
Assemble! The Avengers have always been one of my favorite comics to read, through good creators and bad. I really enjoyed reading all the early adventures, especially after the original crew left and Captain America took charge. If Cap isn't in an Avengers comic, it's not really the Avengers! This is a series that just gets better and better in its early years.
B/W reprints of Avengers' first 25 issues (1963-1966) This volume collects the first 25 issues of Marvel Comics' Avengers series that were originally published between September 1963 and January 1966. Stan Lee is the credited writer on all 25 issues. Jack Kirby is credited with the artwork for the first eight issues with the rest mostly featuring pencils by Don Heck and inks by Dick Ayers. The first issue shows the founding Avengers: Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Ant-Man and The Wasp. By issue #2 the Hulk leaves the group and Ant-Man becomes Giant-Man. Captain America reappears in #4. A typical plot features the team battling a villian such as Kang The Conqueror, Mole Man or Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil. The first plots are contained within one issue but by #19 stories continue over two-plus issues. The original Avengers also appeared in separate books outside this series. As a result, their storylines offered more potential conflicts, sometimes with the characters seemingly in two separate places simultaneously. To solve this, Lee had each original member take a leave of absence and Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver joined the Cap-led team in #16. I prefer the Avengers DVD-ROM for its complete collection of the entire Avengers run in full color PDFs. However, the Marvel Essentials series offers convenient, inexpensive access to these 40-year old Avengers comics without needing a computer. At over 500 pages this is a tremendous value and offers hours of reading.
Great Book... Great book. Great Price. But I would pay more if you printed them on color newsprint. I like the cheapness of black and white but I can't afford the color Masterworks. Please print these on color newsprint in the future. I'm sure you'd sell way more printing them in color. People love these comics and want to share them with their kids. Pick up this book if you have any interest in classic comics. The art and writing is fantastic... but can't you print them in color... it can be color newsprint... I'd pay more and buy way more.
GREAT, DIVERSE TEAMUP FROM THE EARLY MARVEL YEARS The Essential Avengers, Volume I is a noteworthy classic consisting of many great works from the early to mid-1960's. Despite their flaws, the reprinted comics in this bound volume contain several origins and cornerstones in helping establish the Lee and Kirby brainchild known as the Marvel Universe.
Had I not read the very early Fantastic Four comics, I would have probably issued a resounding five stars. However, I saw slightly better teamwork with Mr. Fantastic and gang and sensed more creative energy in the science fiction realm with this other title. Nevertheless, the revival of Steve Rogers thus Captain America is a priceless story that only this Essential volume contains.
Though the early days of The Avengers needed a little fine-tuning, that deficiency, in itself, was a strength. With the resurgence of Captain America, a superhero from a day and age that was twenty years before the names Giant Man, The Wasp and Iron Man surfaced, the very first Avengers titles presented recurring clashes between the ideas and ideals of younger and older generations and showed how the initially opposing forces were ultimately united to bring about change for the underlying yet all-encompassing goal of a safer and better world.
From the first issue to the last, it is apparent that The Avengers, despite their shortcomings in establishing a stable team at the start, thanks in large part to the Hulk, had the common goals that made their formation very sensible. Though they did not have a shared fate among them a la The Fantastic Four, they were professional enough to look past their differences and use their skills and powers to complement one another.
All in all, where the Fantastic Four was perhaps the best homogeneous grouping in the Marvel Universe, The Avengers was arguably the best in the heterogeneous domain. Not even the Defenders, with their super powers and talent, could quite live up to the same billing.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
