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A review by timgrubbs
Avengers Assemble, Volume 1 by Kurt Busiek, Joe Edkin, Mark Waid, John Ostrander
5.0
The beginning of one of my favorite avengers runs of all time…by two their greatest creators..
Set after the Onslaught and Heroes Reborn, this volume collects the first 11 issues of the Heroes Return Avengers run, including the weird Live Kree or Die crossover and the avengers/Squadron Supreme annual.
Kurt Buseik and George Perez are solid gold regardless of what they are working on, either together or seperately. While Perez has sadly left us, his work continues to live on in all the wonderful stories he’s drawn from marvel and DC. Naturally, Buseik gives him a LOT to draw as he reunites or references virtually every avenger up to that point as part of his run.
The Avengers assemble due to the rise of various monster threats that appear linked to Asgard (as this was during a period when Al the gods were missing and Asgard was a broken realm, a trope that has been repeated MANY times since then, but this was the first time carrying on from Thor’s status quo before he died against onslaught).
Basking the amazing art as dozens of characters work together and fight a range of foes from across marvel canon including Morgan Le Fey, whirlwind, Moses Magnum, the Squadron Supreme, and the Grim reaper.
Not content to only use existing toys, the creative team also introduces two other new members that meet some minor success with the avengers, Silver law and Triathalon, two characters that have sadly been rarely seen (though triathlon has been part of some good stories with Avengers the Initiative and Agents of Atlas).
Meanwhile new names are added to the avengers ranks with Justice and Firestar (putting them on a higher tier than their new warriors days).
This was the start of something special. While the later stuff may have gotten a little long near the end (the final Kang arc went way long than it needed to, and this was before Kang became the over exposed mess he’s become in the last ten years).
This is my recommended starting point if you want to see the avengers at their best and not the mess that the comics would become after Disassembled and prior to Hickman taking the reins.
Set after the Onslaught and Heroes Reborn, this volume collects the first 11 issues of the Heroes Return Avengers run, including the weird Live Kree or Die crossover and the avengers/Squadron Supreme annual.
Kurt Buseik and George Perez are solid gold regardless of what they are working on, either together or seperately. While Perez has sadly left us, his work continues to live on in all the wonderful stories he’s drawn from marvel and DC. Naturally, Buseik gives him a LOT to draw as he reunites or references virtually every avenger up to that point as part of his run.
The Avengers assemble due to the rise of various monster threats that appear linked to Asgard (as this was during a period when Al the gods were missing and Asgard was a broken realm, a trope that has been repeated MANY times since then, but this was the first time carrying on from Thor’s status quo before he died against onslaught).
Basking the amazing art as dozens of characters work together and fight a range of foes from across marvel canon including Morgan Le Fey, whirlwind, Moses Magnum, the Squadron Supreme, and the Grim reaper.
Not content to only use existing toys, the creative team also introduces two other new members that meet some minor success with the avengers, Silver law and Triathalon, two characters that have sadly been rarely seen (though triathlon has been part of some good stories with Avengers the Initiative and Agents of Atlas).
Meanwhile new names are added to the avengers ranks with Justice and Firestar (putting them on a higher tier than their new warriors days).
This was the start of something special. While the later stuff may have gotten a little long near the end (the final Kang arc went way long than it needed to, and this was before Kang became the over exposed mess he’s become in the last ten years).
This is my recommended starting point if you want to see the avengers at their best and not the mess that the comics would become after Disassembled and prior to Hickman taking the reins.