I HAVE to say, I'm becoming a big fan of the Marvel Adventures line, particularly The Avengers. In case you didn't know, it's all ages title, which should be the kiss of death for a grown-up comics fan like myself, but it isn't.
So there's no dark'n'cynical storylines, anguished anti-heroes and violent deaths. Instead, what readers get are quirky, interesting plots that get resolved by the end of each issue and, best of all, no dangling sub-plots.
When it comes to Marvel Adventures: The Avengers, I buy the pocket-sized collections, which are cheap and easy to read in one toilet sitting. They've all been pretty enjoyable.
Vol. 1: Heroes Assembled (#1-4)Written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Manuel Garcia
VILLAINS: Ultron, The Leader & The Abomination, Baron Zemo, The Masters Of Evil
What I enjoy about the line-up in The Avengers is there's no filler - all the big guns are here: Captain America, Storm, Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine and newcomer Giant-Girl (who's new, but is a powerful player).
The first three episodes were shaky (a tad too much moralising at the end of each story, but had improved greatly by the concluding chapter, where the group's captured by the bickering Masters Of Evil (Ultron, The Leader, The Abomination and Baron Zemo), who basically then fight among themselves while The Avengers look on in bemusement.
Vol. 2: Mischief (#5-8)
Written by Tony Bedard and illustrated by Shannon Gallant
VILLAINS: Loki, The Wrecker, The U-Foes, The Juggernaut
The title really hits its stride in this volume with Bedard combining the right amount of action and humour. #5 introduces the Norse God Of Mischief, Loki, who creates The Wrecker. Next comes The U-Foes and The Juggernaut. By the concluding chapter, all the bad guys have united to attack The Avengers' home base.
Vol. 3: Bizarre Adventures (#9-12)
Written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Juan Santacruz
VILLAINS: Too many to count
Easily my fave volume to date - there's some really funny, quirky stuff here. #9 is the best issue so far, introducing M.O.D.O.C. with guest appearance by Attuma, The Leader and The Abomination. The premise of the tale is: what would happen if The Avengers became mini-MO.D.O.C.s? Why, they'd reinvent themselves as the M.O.D.Avengers, a slightly more ruthless version of the team (as Attuma quickly discovers when they easily defeat his invading forces, then INVADE his underworld empire...much to his dismay).
#10 features Morgan Le Fay and The Black Knight (probably the only mediocre story of the four), followed by wacky installments starring Sons Of The Serpent (with guest appearance by IT, The Living Colossus) and Ego The Living Planet.
Right now, this is one of the best ongoing titles Marvel's producing - it blows away all that Civil War/World War Hulk shit the company's churning out.
On a related note, I'm also a big nerdy geek for the 1950s Avengers (as first seen in the classic What If…? Vol. 1 No. 9, back in the 70s), starring a bunch of classic pre-Marvel superheroes (plus retro-hero 3D Man).
I didn’t pick up the Agents Of Atlas miniseries last year (written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Leonard Kirk) - a reinvention of the 50s Avengers - mainly ’cos they dropped 3D Man from its continuity. Boooo.
However, curiosity got the better of me and I picked up the hardcover collection recently. Surprise, surprise…I enjoyed it a lot. Not a lot of action to be had, but still a heckuva lot of good-natured, light-hearted thrills. Although I still miss 3D Man.So, it was no surprise that I bought
Marvel Adventures Giant-Size The Avengers #1 (with the
What If…? #9 Jack Kirby pastiche cover) when I learned Agents Of Atlas were the guest stars.
I RECENTLY got sent this link - http://www.telewatcher.com/Telewatching/10-Sesame-Street-Scenes-I-Miss-the-Most---.51180 - and it brought back a lot of fond memories of my childhood in the 70s watching Sesame Street.
