George Perez here makes his debut on one of the more high-profile Marvel titles of the day, having previously drawn Gullivar Jones and er, Man-Wolf. The multi-part Brand Corporation storyline revives the Squadron Supreme- Roy Thomas's parody of the JLA. It also introduces Hellcat, a revival of The Cat, the short-lived Linda Fite/Wally Wood Women's Lib heroine of the early 70s.
Having incorporated Marvel's romance heroine Patsy Walker into his story space, Englehart's bizarre but charming use of Marvel's roster of Western heroes- Rawhide Kid, et al- is counterpointed by his wrap-up of the adversarial role of Kang. The masked monarch from the future loses his sh*t spectacularly and is destroyed by his own weaponry, severing the timelooped existence of his other selves, Rama-Tut and Immortus.
The story arc is interupted by a two-parter by Tony Isabella and Avengers veteran Don Heck. Dark and melodramatic, the Assassin tale is quite effective but it is at odds with the overall tone of the series. I wonder if it was a Giant-Size inventory issue?
The references to the "Crisis" motif at DC in the course of the Squadron arc is ironic because Conway, who has been an occasional JLA scripter, returns to Marvel at this point. Englehart subsequently departs for DC, having established a new roster to create "ferment": Iron Man, Cap, the two couples - Hank & Jan, Vizh & Wanda- and the outsider figure, the Beast. Englehart's pet character has an "off-the-wall" personality that catapults him to star status. His predecessor in that role, the Vision, here begins a decline in the hierarchy of the book that never quite reverses.
It's odd too that Englehart - about to deliver a phenomenal revivification of Detective Comics which will define 70s DC- dismisses creators of friction like Hawkeye, Moondragon and Hellcat, especially after the development of Patsy from housewife to neophyte super-doer. Two characters, however, gain prominence at this time and will shape years of storylines to come: Hank Pym and Wonder Man.
John Buscema produces a short run of issues with Conway: gorgeous comics that are technically superior to Perez's dense cartooning. The scripts themselves are a little dull- pedestrian super-heroics with blocky Kirby covers- but they're significant to me because this was the point where the US Avengers title finally began to circulate in South Lanarkshire again (aside from 153 which I got in a "grab-bag" in Morecambe in 1978.)
At this point in 1976 , only a few months after the debut of our own Captain Britain Weekly, Avengers became my favourite Marvel comic ( next to Conan the Barbarian- which would be usurped in 1978 by the Claremont/Byrne X-Men). The Attuma storyline crossed over to the Doom/Namor series Super-Villain Team-Up.
Another Heck-pencilled interlude saw the return of the Black Knight as an animated statue. There's no telling if Conway had any idea where this was going as he is replaced as scripter by Jim Shooter. Graviton is a third-rate Magneto and his transition of sleazy martinet to godling -gone- mad might have been better suited to the Wingless Wizard. However, "The Trial" begins a period of weirdness and tension.
Largely a flashback issue, with a rare appearance by the Black Panther, this issue recaps much of the history of Wondy and Vizh and reveals Simon Williams' transformation into an ionic energy being. My mum was in Stonehouse Hospital in the late spring of 1977 and this was one of the many Marvel comics sold in the hospital canteen.
The next story-arc introduces "The Bride of Ultron" and serves as a prelude for the Age of Ultron event running today. Pym's breakdown foreshadows the true extent of his problems and both Wondy and the Beast display insecurities and unhappiness. The Hawkeye/Two-Gun Kid subplot, like that of Hellcat and Moondragon, sputters to an inconclusive end.
The volume ends with a Tuska-pencilled fill-in and a guest appearance for the Champions: a series that is already staggering to its end. Viewed sequentially, this inconsistent run of Avengers veers from satire to headshop enlightenment to neurotic identity crises. After Perez leaves during the Korvac Saga, which overruns by a good two issues, the title will be thoroughly mediocre until Byrne and Michelinie see out the Disco Era. The stand-out sequences are the developing friendship of Simon and the Beast and the disintegration of Hank Pym.
While the eponymous Avengers title of today and its sister publication New Avengers trade in cosmos-shattering sci-fi tales more suited to Superman, the Uncanny Avengers (above) most closely resembles the 70s Avengers. The line-up features Cap, Thor, Wonder Man and the Wasp ( alongside 70s X-Men cast-off Sunfire). The antagonists are Kang, Rama-Tut and Apocalypse, another sci-fi Pharoah. The tone of the comic is violent and nihilistic, however, with a strangely melodramatic voice.
In the vein of witty and fresh Marvel titles like Hawkeye, Wolverine and the X-Men and the charming Nova, the colourful and energetic Young Avengers strikes me as the fittest successor to Englehart's vision. (Pun intended)
Coming soon: The Worlds of Dr. Who
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On the subject of Essentials books, some of the early printings were really quite poor. However, with superior proofs now being utilised for the Masterworks and Omnibus editions, Marvel have also used them in updated Essentials volumes, improving the quality of reproduction quite significantly. I've just bought a 'new' version of Thor Vol 1, and you can actually see the fine linework of Vince Colletta which was missing in the first printing. Looking at my first printings of Vol 2 & 3, I think I'll be replacing them also at the earliest opportunity.
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