Avenger Books

reading these eight issues collected in a hardcover edition is a very good idea, because the subplots have abrupt breaks and are (fortunately) followed up well throughout the book and the binding is more durable.

Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, the core, three original Avengers, are all present and accounted for, and writer Joe Casey gives a very accurate, shorthand slice of The Avengers' essential personalities; easy to do when you're a good writer and have 42 years to research their history...

The Avengers always had an interesting turnover of characters from their shaky beginnings, and this particular series re-tells (what Casey and Kollins considered to be) events that were most significant to The Avengers that took place between their origin in Avengers #1 (Sept. 1963) to their second lineup in #16 (May 1965).

the towering significance of The Avengers as a superhero team stems from the fact that each of the heroes were all A-list, the heaviest hitters of The Marvel Universe, but were always struggling to get along with one another; the Justice League almost always got along, the Fantastic Four, Teen Titans and the Doom Patrol were like families, but they were never quite as disjointed or alienated as The Avengers.

Casey and Kollins smooth out some of the original quirkiness by Lee and Kirby, and they intentionally play up undercurrent themes present in the stories they based their material on; Casey and Kollins also built on the early importance of Jarvis the (usually silent) butler and Rick Jones, teenaged fan-boy and intermediary, for example.

the story, art and character development in this book all make these superheroes very accessible and entertaining to the reader.

This book revisits the early days of the Avengers (roughly through the period of "Mighty Avengers" #s 1-16) giving the characters the depth they lacked back in the good old days, and filling in some of the blanks regarding how they worked with the blessing of the government... It's not a grand, cosmic story, but it's fun and entertaining, a nice lighthearted update of sme classic old stories. I liked it. (Joe Sixpack, Slipcue.com)

This is a great book if you already know Avengers history. It fills in the gaps and fleshes out the characters. You get a close up look at the personality conflicts and politics that went on as this grand team went through its early growing pains.

This should not be the first Avengers book you read but if you become an Avengers fan and get familiar with their early history, you will probably enjoy this book enormously. It is a bit of a recon, so if you are a purist you may want to avoid it but you will be missing a treat.

That basically sums up this book: brilliant characterizations. The book goes through the first year or so of the original Avengers run, but instead of rewriting history with a new story or jsut retelling the same thing, this book goes behind the scenes. As other reviewers said, this book skips around, but I do not find this to be a problem. The book does not detail the big fights that happened. It only includes them if they help flesh out teh characters. Joe Casey makes each of the original Avengers feel like real people with real problems. This is perhaps the best characterizations of the team I have ever seen. I did not read the original run. I was not extremely familiar with the original plots. I knew enough history that I had some idea what the general progression of things would be (i. e. members leaving the team and such). This being said I had no problem with the jumps. I may not have known why the lava people invaded but I didnt care. I wa smroe concerned with how Iron Man was going to handle Thor temporarily takign charge. I actually cared about these characters. I knew they woudl win the fights. I didn't really care about the fights, but it definitely made me love the characters. It also has a g reat Captain America story too. For a barometer on my tastes, I like Watchmen, Sandman, Invincible, Strangers in Paradise, and early Savage Dragon among others. So I am into the Superhero action and the character driven stuff. This book is a melding of that.

I'm a sucker for these "Year One" type books. All I knew about this book was that it was a re-telling of the Avengers' early days. I love the Avengers, so I thought, "How can I go wrong?" I wish I had read some reviews before I ordered this!

First, what's good:
The artwork by Scott Kolins is decent. He has a clean style that suits the story and characters well. It's not too cartoon-y and it's not bogged down with over-the-top detail. It's fun to see the different versions of the heroes costumes, especially Iron Man's. He goes from his old clunky getup to sleeker designs. The Wasp's costume goes through some funky changes too.

What's bad:
This book tries to jam too much into what was an eight comic run. There were times when I thought I had skipped a page, or maybe one was missing. It felt like a badly edited movie. The writer, Joe Casey, often drops the reader into the middle of some big crisis with villains like Kang or the Masters of Evil, with virtually no explanation. It's a lot of snapshots of Avengers' history that don't fit together as a single story. You'll be asking yourself questions like, "Why are they in outer space all of a sudden?" or "Who the hell is Rick Jones?"

The biggest flaw of the book is that it "revisits" the time when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby told these stories, but the book shows cell phones, cable TV, and computers. If Joe Casey is re-telling old stories, why does he set them in the present? This makes no sense at all. At least he could have left the time period ambiguous, but he hits you over the head with the whole "present-day" concept.

There is an attempt to tie the chapters together with Captain America's quest to kill Baron Zemo to avenge the death of his sidekick Bucky. This almost holds things together, but not quite. There are too many side stories squeezed in here. Maybe an editor told Casey "OK, you've got eight issues to cover these 50 events, good luck."

Skip this book and check out "The New Avengers" and "The Ultimates." Learn from this comic fan's mistake!

The Young Avengers and the Runaways are two of Marvel's more prominent teenaged superhero teams, and the many similarities between them prompted calls for a crossover. In the midst of Marvel's "Civil War" event, those calls were answered; the purpose of this miniseries is twofold: first, two plug "Runaways", a perpetually low-selling title; and second, to bridge the gap between the first and second volumes of "Young Avengers" (in this later task it was a failure, through no fault of the creative team, because of the protracted delays that have bedevilled the Young Avengers since the summer of 2006; as I write this, we are only now getting new material, and even that is another miniseries designed to further bridge the gap). The creative team is Zeb Wells and Stefano Caselli, who are generally speaking adequate; Wells has the feel of both teams down quite well, and Caselli's art, while it takes some getting used to (and isn't especially youthful), is enjoyable.

Storywise, the Civil War is basically a shoestring to have the teams meet and interact, before they rescue their kidnapped members from the dastardly clutches of SHIELD. Wells is one of many writers who doesn't give the pro-Reg side a fair shake, although he does come up with some quite hilarious bits, such as SHIELD's "adjusted public sympathy rating" which governs the level of force they employ against unregistered heroes (robots are okay to trash, but not kids). The two series have a huge cast, well over a dozen characters, so Wells focusses in on a few of the characters who have logical connections; the two Skrull characters, Teddy and Xavin; the two robots, Vision and Victor; and Chase, Molly, and Speed, in a plot that follows up on the death of a Runaway in the preceding story in that title. There are bits and pieces for most others, with only Patriot and Hawkeye II (especially the latter) really not having much at all. A particular favourite subplot/running joke was Stature's interest/concern for Victor, and the Vision's annoyance at this; Wells presumably has read the various fan observances of Cassie's taste in men. There is also the introduction into the Marvel Universe proper of Marvel Boy, from Grant Morrison's miniseries of the same name, and Wells handles him quite well too.

If there is a real complaint about this, it is that, while enjoyable, the Young Avengers ultimately turned out to have far more important status quo changes forced upon them by the Civil War, changes that were not really addressed in any concerted fashion for a year and a half or more, and, looking back, it might have been preferable to get something that examined their status with their parents, and (especially) their reaction to Cassie's defection later on. All the same, this is a very enjoyable, isolated adventure for both teams, well worth getting for fans of either or both.

This pairing of the two youth-oriented teams of the Marvel Universe is primarily, to me at any rate, for providing additional Runaways stories. I don't actively dislike the Young Avengers, but the Marvel Universe is so enormous that one will inevitably find some parts more or less interesting than others. The Young Avengers have always struck me as one of the least original corners of the Marvel Empire. The Runaways, on the other hand, are among the most original creations. For one thing, they are young and most decidedly not sure about this whole hero thing. They do some policing of L.A. to keep down some of the baddies their defeat of their parents (who were the crime lords of L.A. and ran the city with a tight fist), but it isn't an obsession to them. And until this series they were pretty content to ignore the whole Civil War mess that was afflicting the East Coast super empowered. They bring a decidedly West Coast feel to the whole undertaking, not even bothering, much to the chagrin of their youngest member Molly Hayes, to have uniforms (though Molly sometimes manages to cook up a makeshift one that looks like a really bad Halloween costume). In other words, I got this almost exclusively because there just isn't enough Runaways stuff out there to my satisfaction.

While this is the weakest installment in the Runaways saga, it still isn't bad. The story takes place after the end of creator Brian Vaughan's run with the series and immediately before Joss Whedon took place. This is far less compelling stuff than the Vaughan stories and based on the first two issues by Whedon not nearly up to the level of that either (for one thing, given Whedon's gift with dialogue, the "talk" has gotten really, really good--e.g., when Kingpin tells our guys that he wasn't talking to them for a lesson in semantics, Chase replies that Mel Gibson didn't like semantics either, only one of many really clever jokes).

The story, which takes place over four issues, is pretty short and simple: the Runaways are spotted in L.A. taking down an out of control caped guy and the Cyborg Victor is hurt badly repelling the attack of those who would like to arrest them under the new act requiring all super heroes to register with the government. The Young Avengers sympathize with their situation and fly to the West Coast to help Victor and the others. After initial misunderstandings they realize they are not enemies, but are attacked by an super empowered soldier under the control of the warden of the secret prison where the unregistered super-empowered are jailed. After the warden takes the alien members of each team for his own sadistic experimentations (aliens having no rights in the eyes of the law,) both groups teams up to free their cohorts.

All in all it is a fairly successful pairing. As usual there are some friendly rivalry, especially between Xavin and Hulkling, as well as some natural pairing. The two who should spend some time with each other are Nico and Vision, for while she can cast any spell there is, she can only do so once, though different variants in language multiples the spells. And Vision being something of a supercomputer, can give her almost endless versions of spells.

So, while this isn't a classic, it is fun. And given the rather limited amount of Runaways material, it is worth the purchase price just for that. But while Brian Vaughan's efforts in the series are among the best comic work of recent years and Whedon's work has all the earmarks of at least matching that, this can only be considered as "minor" Runaways. But if like me you just don't think you've gotten enough, then get this. I will add in closing that it does provide a bit of a narrative bridge from the end of Vaughan's final contributions to the series to the start of Whedon's. It explains why they are in New York at the start of the latest run and Xavin's exceedingly difficult integration into the group is furthered in this book.

I read the young avengers before this but never the runaways. I was pleasantly pleased to read about both of them in this civil war book. Good art, good story, what's not to like? In fact, I liked this book so much I started collecting all the runaways volumes.

As the Civil War rages on throughout the Marvel universe, everything and everyone is impacted in one way or another. If you read Mark Millar's main Civil War storyline, you'll know how much of a pivotal role the Young Avengers played in the battle between Captain America and Iron Man, and everyone in between. Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways finds both young teams being effected in pretty much the same way as the superhero Civil War rages on in full effect. Loyalties are tested and broken, battle lines are drawn, and alliances are forged as it appears the Civil War storyline makes good on it's promise to leave nothing in the Marvel universe unaffected or viewed the same way for quite some time. Zeb Wells, who scripted the great New Warriors mini-series not too long ago, may be no Brian K. Vaughan (whose run on the Runaways was truly something special), but he provides enough action and intrigue to satisfy any comic reader. The art throughout this TPB is solid as well, with the only real downside being that the TPB is too short and features some plot holes that don't really get tied up right away. Despite that though, this Civil War tie-in is surprisingly good, and definitely worth picking up for fanboys stocking up on everything Civil War.

I am one of those who started reading "Runaways" because Joss Whedon was going to be writing it a while. Going back and seeing what I had missed was relatively easy because all of the issues prior to Whedon's debut are now available in three hardback collections. I also picked up "Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways" even though I had no idea who the Young Avengers might be and my investment in Marvel's "Civil War" event has been limited to the main story, the Spider-Man titles, and a subsidiary title. So my primary interest here is in the Runaways, although I can appreciate the irony that the New Avengers have sided with Captain American against Iron Man and most of the "Old" Avengers. Most of the action in the Civil War is obviously taking place in New York City, so out in Los Angeles where the Runaways are running around trying to fill the void left by the disappearance of the Pryde (a.k.a. their "'rents") and they have no reason to really care about what is going on.

The Runaways are taking down some costumed lunatic with a mace who is ranting about super-beings being the last truly independent power structure when S.H.I.E.L.D. shows up to take the kids (who have an adjusted public sympathy rating of mark 8 because they are minors) into custody. But Victor is synthetic (i.e., a mark 3) and things escalate. Victor is damaged and because the Vision was monitoring the situation the Young Avengers decide to head to L.A. to offer assistance. Now, one thing we know about the Marvel Universe is that when two groups of superheroes get together, they are going to fight (I think the first "Avengers" comic book I bought was because they were fighting the X-Men, complete with the requisite cover showing the two teams lined up to fight each other). Add to that one of the favorite recurring comic moments with the Runaways is when somebody assumes Molly is just a cute little girl and they quickly learn the error of their ways. But before the Runaways and Young Avengers can really go down that predictable road, the Vision starts having problems similar to Victor. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. strikes again and the two teams of young superheroes have to band together, which is also quite predictable. Fortunately writer Zeb Wells ("New Warriors") has a good enough feel for the Runaways and the New Avengers to have some fun playing the characters off of each other.

I am sort of surprised that they would devote a mini-series to this Runaways/New Avengers crossover, because it really is a sideshow to the whole "Civil War" event. After all, it is just S.H.I.E.L.D. that comes after them. The back of this trade paperback asks "Whose Side...Are You On?' Granted, this is key question for Marvel's superheroes in the "Civil War" event, but I found the response of the Runaways to the question to be patently obvious. Actually, the more I read of the back cover and the exaggerated claims about what was inside ("the gears of Civil War threaten to crush the Runaways" with "lasting repercussions for both popular teams!") the less I was impressed with this story. But Wells and illustrator Stefano Caselli ("Avengers: The Initiative") are not responsible for what is on the back cover, only what is in these four issues. The back of this trade paperback has a two-page spread showing how the four covers fit together into one giant strip of art and then a dozen character profiles that are well suited to helping fans of one series get a better idea of the characters from the other team. If the goal here was to get me to start reading the "Young Avengers" as well as the "Runaways," that is not going to happen. In fact, taking a look at one of the competing "young" superhero teams only reinforced while the Runaways are something special.

This is a wonderful book for Avengerphiles. It has marvelous pictures as well as complete episode descriptions.

Peters book covers all the material of The Avengers, his earlier book, and the New Avengers 1970s shows. The photographs are wonderful. There are textual errors in the Avengers Steed and Emma snopsis, story after story.Peters' excuse is that people would prefer the original scripts' not how the show was filmed.

The wittiest book is Paul cornell's Avengers Dossier which rates each episode by: wit, kinkiness, champagne, fight scenes, suspense, direction. Peters' book is good but since I own most of the Rigg/MacNee videos I found his many errors jarring. Didn't the publisher care that the book, like Peters predecessor, is riddled with errors? What the Butler Saw-in that episode Steed closes jauntily with "The butler did it!" Peters eroneously says Emma says it. There are many other examples of wrong methods of death. Peters writes that Emma stabbed Cartney with a spear in A touch of Brimstone. Cartney causes his own death by cracking a whip at Emma,his whip curls around a walled item, yanking the secret passage open below him so that he falls to his death. Those are only two of many so the same errors may permeate the Cathy Gale/David Keel episodes as well.

In my dedicated and often fruitless search for the perfect Avengers reference guide, I have discovered that The Complete Avengers, the first ever reference book dedicated to The Avengers, stands alone as the closest to perfection you will find. The format, unlike The Avengers Files, is very reader friendly, breaking down each segement of The Avengers era, from the Steed-David Keel first season to The New Avengers, with an overview of the season followed by a complete episode review/synopsis guide. The overview of each segment details the characteristics of each of the main cast, and accounts important details of the seasons as they occurred. The episode guide is very easy to follow, lavishly illustrated with over 200 photos, albeit black & white. Unfortunately, no color pictures exist in this volume, therefore The Avengers Companion would be the book to recommend if you're looking for the best photos.

Even the supposed flaw of The Complete Avengers should not really be considered a flaw at all. In critical reviews of this book, many people complain that the synopses of each episode vary with the finished product. Some differences are minor, while others alter entire plot twists, yet keeping the main plot resolutions true to the televised version. Rogers opted to give us the synopsis as it appeared in the script rather than the final televised version, perhaps showing great forsight, as most fans of The Avengers have seen the episodes, possibly own the DVD sets, having every story at their disposal to view at their leisure (Rogers in this case predicts the advent of VHS/DVD by taking the "script" route)... They know what happens in the televised final edit. If you know the story, why do you need to read it? In this regard, the episode variations are not mistakes, but how they were scripted. It is great to be able to read about how the episode was originally intended, so you can spot the differences between script and final version with ease. Besides, these synopses go into such great detail that often the only alterations are mere details, with the resolution remaining intact.

The book concludes with an Avengers memorobilia guide. Unfortunately, since this book is 20 years old, this guide is two decades outdated. This is the only problem in The Complete Avengers, through no fault of its own. A victim of the passage of time. Perhaps Dave Rogers can write an updated version, since there has been much more memorobilia released in the last 20 years, not the least of which DVD sets, and trading cards.

As a fan of the avengers who did not manage to see all the episodes, this book gives the most complete guide to all the seasons and stories that were screened. It has beautiful pictures and has been very thoroughly researched. It provides a lot of information such as how certain actors or characters became what they became on screen. What it lacks is some authors comments on how the individual episodes performed in the ratings. It would have been more complete if the author had commented on how good some of the individual episodes were

I am giving this book 3 stars because of all the long and tedious work put into it, and all its great pictures, most of which cannot be found elsewhere. Also, the list with details about all the memorabilia available is very useful. But I found that the episode descriptions were not very accurate. If I remember correctly, this is because the summaries are based on the scripts and not the actual episodes (as they were broadcast) of the show. I recommend buying it if you are a huge fan of the show; just don't rely on the book for accuracy.

"The Hood" is "Lost" scribe Brian K. Vaughan's (slightly) more realistic take on the Marvel Universe. What if the super-hero who was granted mysterious powers turned out to be not so much of a "hero"? While the same "sympathetic super-villain" card has been played out, Vaughan does manage to wrangle an entertaining and morally challenging story out of the premise. The book is labeled as containing "explicit content," which equates to an f-bomb on every page.

While the Hood faded into obscurity, "New Avengers" writer Brian Michael Bendis has recently thrust him into a starring role in the New York criminal underground.

With Brian Michael Bendis finding a use for the character in the pages of New Avengers, now is the time to get re-acquainted with The Hood. Originally released a few years back, The Hood was written under Marvel's mature themed MAX line by Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina creator Brian K. Vaughan, and tells the story of young hoodlum Parker, who comes into the posession of a mysterious pair of boots and red cloak which grant him some weird powers. Eventually, he comes under the crossfire of a crime boss, who enlists super villains Jack 'O Lantern, Shocker, and Constrictor on him; all of which adds up to a surprising and funny turn of events. Vaughan's poppy dialogue sizzles, and his grimy look at the Marvel universe is just plain fun. The moody art of the underrated Kyle Hotz stands out as well, and it's great to see The Hood get re-released in a handsome hardcover edition. Maybe with Bendis finding new use for the character, Vaughan will re-visit The Hood and deliver a worthy sequel. After reading this, you'll be hoping for the same thing.

I bought this book because Brian Michael Bendis is using this character in the New Avengers, which i read every month.
I thought if this character was going to be big i thought i should read his back story, and plus it is written by Brian K Vaughan who is also doing amazing things in his other books "Y The Last Man".

Backstory is a guy finds a cloak (think red riding hood) and uses it to his own advantage.
There are apperances from Villians such as Shocker and Jack O Lantern.

I was really pleased with this book, i liked the idea of how he has to activate the suit which i won't spoil.
Vaughan does a good job of making you feel for the character, then you realise what he is doing, and do not want to.

I'm gradually making my way through every original comics offering that bears the imprint of Brian K. Vaughn because I continue to find his work inspired, entirely accessible and absolutely brilliant. The ONLY problem with this multi-layered story is that BKV moved far too swiftly past Parker Robbins to other original projects I flat-out love, so there's JUST enough of his rich, luxurious, exquisite storytelling (and Kyle Hotz' mouthwatering art) to whet an increasingly ravenous appetite.

There are countless comics about some average guy who is in the wrong place at the right time and obtains, somehow, superpowers. In most cases, you'll read about the way in which this guy puts his powers to good use and becomes a champion for justice.

But not Parker Robbins, a 19-year-old ne'er-do-well whose bungled robbery attempt lands him a magical cape and boots that give him the powers of limited flight and, for as long as he can hold his breath, invisibility. You just know Robbins, a high school dropout who juggles a pregnant girlfriend on one hand and an exotic hooker on the other, is not cut out of the same cloth as heroes. For him, this is a chance to get his share of the pie. But a ne'er-do-well is a ne'er-do-well, and it takes more than fancy clothes to change his stripes.

"The Hood," written by Brian K. Vaughan and pencilled by Kyle Hotz, is an atypical comic, to say the least. And Marvel's use of its MAX adult-themed imprint gives Vaughan some freedom to play in this stand-alone collection.

Vaughan, whose credits include "Y: The Last Man" and "Ex Machina," certainly knows how to create complex characters and motivations, and I can't think of many writers who could make this gimmick work. There's no question throughout that Robbins is a bad guy, and not a particularly charming or endearing one, either. But Vaughan scripts a man who you might not root for, but you'll certainly understand. His dialogue rings true, and Hotz delivers the moody illustrations (supported by inker Eric Powell and colorist Brian Haberlin) to carry the action along.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.NET editor

This story is slightly problematic in a number of ways, with one being that it has a hard time going along. Several characters haven't appeared within the comics collected,and their is a slight jumping around quality to me. The characters randomly find each other, and the settings jump from New York to the Savage Land for no real reason more than the writers wanting to set up a mildly overhashed S.H.I.E.L.D. is evil story line. This is not bad in-and-of itself, but its been done several other times with significantly better writing. It even follows the X-Men's "everything with Wolverine works like a charm" policy by throwing him into the eam in one of the later stories. I would suggest ditching this story and, if you like the Avengers, buying Vol.1 of Mighty Avengers.

While not an Avengers fan, I was easily drawn into the storyline. The story and art is definately straight forward marvel style,but very classy.

This is a great way to be introduced to the New Avengers. This is a handsome hardcover graphic novel (comic book), and at 350-some pages it doesn't seem over too soon. The first arc focuses on a super villain prison break which brings together Captain America, Iron Man, Spider Man, Luke Cage, Daredevil, and Spider Woman. 42 of 80 villains escape leading Captain America to bring together the New Avengers. On the hunt they end up in the Savage Land and run into none other than Wolverine and learn some very shady details concerning Shield. The second arc puts the spotlight on Superman....i mean The Sentry! Which basically is Marvels answer to Superman, but with those zany "Marvel flaws" that make there characters interesting. And his back story is ALL SORTS of interesting. With appearances by Emma Frost and the Astonishing X-Men.
There is a lot of outstanding character development and story telling here. The dynamic of having Luke Cage and Spider Man on the avengers, Tony and Steve's friendship on display, and Spider Womans nasty secrets really propels the story which is backed up by some OUTSTANDING art.
You won't be sorry with this purchase.

Before that messy event known as Civil War ever happened, the Avengers were "disassembled" thanks to long time member Scarlet Witch going all nuts and stuff. New Avengers begins with a massive prison breakout that soon re-unites former Avengers leaders Captain America and Iron Man, and unites them with Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, and Luke Cage. Soon enough, the New Avengers travel to the Savage Land in hopes of solving the mystery of the breakout, and soon team-up and gain a new member with Wolverine. The second storyarc here deals with the Superman-esque hero known as The Sentry (created by Paul Jenkins, who makes a cameo here as well, yes you read that right) who aided the New Avengers, and desperately needs the team's help. With appearances aplenty from the X-Men and plenty of various villains like Electro, Sauron, and more; writer Brian Michael Bendis is in pure heaven with the tales he weaves here. Though I was never too crazy about the New Avengers lineup when the series first debuted, New Avengers managed to grow on me thanks to Bendis' stellar love for the Marvel universe. David Finch provides great artwork, and provides a simply luscious looking Spider-Woman as well. All in all, this hardcover collection of New Avengers is worth owning for new and old fans alike, and even for those who missed out on the series when it first debuted.

From the ashes of the old Avengers rises another team of Marvel fan favorites both old and new. The first half of this book really shines and is packed to the gills with obscure vilains as much of it takes place during an island prison breakout insigated by Elektro. And when the island prison (known as The Raft) in question houses nearly a hundred super-villains, you'd best believe there will be blood. The action here is phenomenal and the coming-together of the new team flows quite naturally as the night's events progress. Matt Murdock -having been finally outted by the press as Daredevil- is on the scene as a lawyer with partner Foggy Neslon along with S.H.I.E.L.D agent Jessica Drew (aka Spider-Woman) and pal Luke Cage escorting them for security. Then all hell breaks loose. Spider-Man is soon on the scene, greeted by Captain America himself and the fight is on. Iron Man happens on the scene by happy coincidence and before the battle is done, the most bada$z villain in the place will meet his end at the hands of an incarcerated mystery hero with powers comparable to Superman's, The Sentry.

Once the smoke has cleared, Cap and Tony Stark decide the time has come to re-assemble the Avengers. All but Daredevil, who has problems of his own to contend with, accept. Sentry, being nearly insane, is gone... for now. Further adventures have the newly minted team going after the 40-odd supervillains that escaped in the prison break. First stop: The Savage Land. It is there that the team encounters Wolverine, and let it never be said that Spider-Woman is not hardcore after initial contact is made with the psychotic X-Man. After many more battles, a S.H.E.I.L.D plot is discovered and Wolverine is offered a spot on the team after Stark decides that there should be at least one Avenger with the guts to do what the rest of the team won't as a failsafe against another attack on the scale of Avengers Disassembled.

After this epic storyline closes, the next chapter lost me a bit. It deals with the mysteries of The Sentry and why such an immensely-powered being could exist with nobody remembering him. Clues are offered up in the form of vintage-style comic books and the story gets a bit meta for a while. There is a classic moment, though, when Sentry opens his front door to be greeted by the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Inhumans, Astonishing X-Men, and the Illuminati to boot. So is he seen as a potential threat? I'm a gonna say "yeah". Long stretches are spent with an uncharacteristically motherly Emma Frost inside of the man's mind attempting to sort out his past as the rest battle a huge monster that apparently appears whenever Sentry uses his powers. Much of it is good stuff, but it just drags on a bit too long for my taste and after reading Joss Whedon's Emma Frost dialogue in Astonishing X-Men, it's disappointing to read anyone else's. Last on my short list of compaints is that Ronin never appears, which is disappointing after seeing all of the cool covers featuring the character and reading about him in the prologue by the author. On the other hand, this edition does give you an extra New Avengers/Fantastic Four crossover issue that was handed out to members of the Armed Forces and not previously available to the general public. The story deals with some leftovers from the Kree/Skrull war and is a nice read. There are also detailed character files on the Raft escapees included which feature commentary by the Avengers members who know them best.

If you want a taste of new-school Marvel hotness, then this isn't a bad place to start. It features a great cast of heroes and appearances by countless villains including impressive contributions by Sauron, Carnage, The Wrecker, and Hydro-Man to name a few. There are some humorous moments, the usual references to past character events, and most of all tons of action. If you're a fan of superhero teams, give it a shot.

"STORMBREAKER: THE SAGA OF BETA RAY BILL" TP
by Michael Avon Oeming, Daniel Berman(writers), &
Andrea Divito(penciller).
reprints the original mini-series #1-6.




The Characters:

. Beta Ray Bill - Planet Korbin's champion. Thor's brother-in-arms. The book's lead character.
. Skuttlebutt - Beta Ray Bill's sentient battleship & his long-time best friend.
. Stardust - Galactus' new herald.
. Asteroth - Beta Ray Bill's adversary.
. Alpha Ray - Planet Korbin's first champion.
. the Korbinites - Planet Korbin's people.
. Ashta
. Galactus
. Spider-man




Beta Ray Bill's planet Korbin, the Korbinites, & their ways of life begin the story.

Their story is talky, interesting, & meticulous. Stardust, Skuttlebutt, & Galactus also make their appearances.

Very good beginning!(*****)

The subplot(primary) is something that should not be in this book. It is not important(as opposed to its belief). It is out of place(although it is surprisingly good).

Beta Ray Bill is not even in it.

Beta Ray Bill & Stardust have many fights in this book. They are not very good(contrived).

Skuttlebutt has a good part.

The "Thor: Ragnarok" arc is a little related to this book.

The "Thor: Ragnarok"(Avengers Disassembled: Thor TP) is a very, very good story. It is hardcore, heavy, dramatic, & with exciting fight sequences. "Stormbreaker: The Saga Of Beta Ray Bill TP" is not nearly as good.





Marvel Comics 5-Star(*****) TPBs:

. Avengers Disassembled: Thor TP
. Daredevil Vol. 1: Guardian Devil TP
. Daredevil Visionaries Vol. 2: Frank Miller TP
. Incredible Hulk: Beauty And The Behemoth TP
. Incredible Hulk: Transformations TP
. Iron Man: Armor Wars TP
. Iron Man: Demon In A Bottle TP
. Origin TP
. Secret Wars TP
. Spider-man: Kraven's Last Hunt TP
. Spider-man: Death Of Gwen Stacy TP
. Spider-man: The Wedding TP
. Spider-man Vol. 1: Coming Home TP
. Spider-man Vol. 2: Revelations TP
. The Rise Of Apocalypse TP
. The Villainy Of Dr. Doom TP
. Thor: Gods On Earth TP



Marvel Comics 4-Star(****) TPBs:

. Apache Skies TP
. Avengers Disassembled TP
. Avengers: Living Legends TP
. Call Of Duty: The Precint TP
. Daredevil Vol. 2: Parts Of A Hole TP
. Hulk: Gray TP
. Punisher: Born HC
. Silver Surfer: Parable TP
. Spider-man: Son Of The Goblin TP





Overall, "Stormbreaker: The Saga Of Beta Ray Bill" TP is a character story(although action-driven). It should have been better.

For people like to read this book!

For Beta Ray Bill fans!




FINAL ANALYSIS:
"STORMBREAKER: THE SAGA OF BETA RAY BILL" TP
3.0 of 5 stars
*** = good, but subject to one's opinion
Rating: B-




-----
MILDLY RECOMMENDED !!!


WARNING !!!
SPOILER!


Beta Ray Bill has a big revelations. He has a new look, new costume, & an alter-ego. He is Simon Walter(black man).

During the much maligned Avengers: Disassembled storyline, Marvel icon Thor, as well as his fellow Asgardians, met their demise in a cataclysmic final battle orchestrated by Powers artist Michael Avon Oeming. Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill picks up shortly after the events of Thor: Ragnarok, in which longtime Thor ally Beta Ray Bill is Asgard's lone survivor, which may not last long as he comes across the new herald of the planet eating Galactus: Stardust. Surprisingly packed with enough history of what is otherwise a minor character, Stormbreaker packs enough action and surprises to keep readers interested, but it's nowhere near as good or prolific as Ragnarok. It's one big low point is the ending, which seems rushed and feels out of place. Despite that though, Stormbreaker is quite good, and features a new direction for the character as well. Andrea DiVitto, who provided the excellent artwork in the aforementioned TPB, provides art here as well, and it's great here too. All in all, if you're a Thor fan, Stormbreaker definitely deserves checking out.

I am a huge Beta Ray Bill fan, and wish he would become a bigger player in the Marvel Universe. I have always been a Thor fan, but I think Bill is even a better character. The enemies battled in this saga are immensly powerful, and it's good to see Bill use his considerable might. The artwork is fantastic as well. If you are a Beta Ray Bill fan, or you like awesome cosmic struggles, this book will not disapoint.

A very satisfying compliment to Thor: Disassembled. Once Thor & the rest of Asgard is gone as a result of Ragnarok, we assume that will be the end of all adventures even loosely tied to Asgard. Wrong! You can see what happens to the last being bestowed with the power of Odin in this trade collecting the 6 issues of the Beta Ray Bill mini-series. You get Galactus, his new herald, cosmic combat, and of course, as any good Marvel mini-series would have, a guest appearance by Spider-Man. I highly reccomend this book due to the strong story and art, as well as brining new life to an old fan favorite character that sorely deserves his time in the spotlight.

I'm a fan of Beta Ray Bill, Marvel Comics' alien, co-incarnation of their Thunder god Thor character.

So when the "Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill" miniseries was released as a trade paperback, I picked it up right away.

Bill was created by Walt Simonson, and it's hard to compete with that caliber of talent, but Daniel Berman, Michael Avon Oeming/Andrea Di Vito do a solid job on the story and art.

The beginning is strong, the emotion and stakes are well-articulated, and though the cosmic battles could go the tiresome way of the Dragonball Z "Frieza Saga", they're kept pretty tight and engaging.

It's the series' ending with which I have a problem.

I have to be vague to avoid spoilers, but the last issue tie-in to the Marvel Universe seems like a forced marketing tie-in, and the last-minute dovetail to the origin of Thor (abandoned for Thor himself for a reason) and nod to Simonson seems (to me) hacked. Overall, it weakens the saga.

On the upside, maybe this will give Bill some more play in Marvel Universe.

I'd recommend this trade for Beta Ray Bill fans. For those unfamiliar with the character, I'd recommend "The Mightly Thor in The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill" trade paperback, which collects Simonson's introduction of the character.

Okay, i admit i havent actually read this book but i have read the comics that are reprinted in it, the story is great, Geoff Johns links all the charecters together and they all play a part, the avengers is a big team and not many writers can juggle all of them in one story, Sott Kolins art is great, but not many people like it and you might not either, then again thats may opinion.
overall scale: 2 stars

What a story! Jenn Walters, AKA She-Hulk, cousin to Bruce Banner, is now a rampaging She-Hulk, after fellow Avenger Jack of Hearts destroys her gamma radiation balance in her body. She's on the run, a la Bruce Banner or David Banner in the TV series, and her metamorphosis are triggered by fear, and is tracked to Idaho, where the Avengers find her...and her cousin. Not a pretty sight, as she does what she never has done, reverted to a rampaging mindless yet extremely powerful She-Hulk!
The art is not bad, and Jenn Walters human form is portrayed very well. She looks like the pretty lawyer she's always been. Her metamorphosis into She-Hulk are frightening, as not only do her eyes go green(a nod to the classic TV series), but they turn blood red as well, evoking a demonic possession. Her She-Hulk form is also drawn well, though her hairstyle reminds me too much of the big hair of my 80's youth, and John Byrne's Fantastic Four She-Hulk.
A great story, as Cap, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, and even Hawkeye show up to stop her from destroying a small Idaho town, and the Hulkbusters finally show up, with Doc Samson leading the vanguard. Interesting to see her act like her cousin, with classic "She Hulk Smash!" fist poundings, throwing cars and the traditional "Hulk no like" dialogue. Indeed, the meeting between her and Bruce Banner is touching, as she still cares for him and is very protective of him, no matter what he has done.
Highly reccomended, with plenty of traditional action and old school Avengers vs. Hulk fights.

I decided to buy this book after reading the latest She-Hulk TPB "Single Green Female" (a great book by the way).
This book, "The Search for She-Hulk," was pretty good, but She-Hulk is all "hulked-out" in it, on a rage-a-thon. It's a little boring to see her like this.

The writing is just OK. Apparently better than the other Avengers TPB's from this era (most have really bad reviews on the Amazon site).

What saves this book is the artwork. It's stunning.The depictions of Captain America and the Scarlet Witch are awesome.

I grew up reading the Avengers, so it was fun to revisit them.

This final chapter of writer Geoff Johns' Avengers run is comprised of character-driven big stories, showing why the Avengers are Earth's Mightiest Heroes in three seperate stories.
The first focuses on the Wasp and Yellowjacket in Vegas resolving their relationship with great art by Steve Sadowski (and of course, "where's the bang?" refers to the (...) scene that has been cut from this collected edition).
The second story is a three-issue arc that names this collection, "The Search for She-Hulk". Scott Kollins delivers the same action-packed storytelling that he did in the Flash (where he was first partnered with Geoff Johns). Kollins is an accomplished artist, able to merge the fantastic world of super powers and the mundane reality of everyday people. The impact of She-Hulk's rampage is felt in the wide-angle shots, as well as the up-close character-shots. Kollins takes special care in designing even background characters and this ups the stakes of the story.
The final part of the collection resolves the conflict between Jack of Hearts and Ant-Man. These two minor characters have flourished under Johns' pen. While the conclusion is a bit too pat - perhaps brought on by the urgency of Johns' departure - it still serves to open up the characters of Ant-Man, Jack of Hearts, and the other Avengers in its simple choices.
"The Search for She-Hulk" is a stronger collection than expected. It shows fans what might have happened if Johns had stayed with the team - solid, character-driven stories that make every Avenger truly formidable. There's little wasted dialogue, and a lot of care to show each hero, villain and bystander in their full complexity. Geoff Johns is the first person in a long time whose vision of the Avengers combines the nobility and power inherent in the team with a human scope of stories that draw a reader in. I would have liked to have seen more, and I highly recommend the three volumes of his run to anyone interested in seeing what Marvel's old-school super team can do with modern storytelling.

If you can suffer thru the 80's and 90's dialogue and artwork you end up getting a good history of Wanda Maximoff that can explain the events of Avengers: Disassembled and The House of M. I felt like it took forever to get thru it but history class can be tidious sometimes.

This 2nd part of Byrne's Avengers West Coast issues begins with the return of Iron Man! And right when Scarlet Witch is about to break. Byrne's storyline here sets up future Marvel events, showing the quality of everything he does.

Highlights here for me...
*Issues 51 & 52- Iron Man returns. And Master Pandemonium strikes! Features U.S. Agent, Wonderman, Hank Pym, Wasp, Vision, Scarlet Witch, the original Human Torch & more. Throw in Immortus & Mephisto for an especially crazy time.
*Issue 53- Enter the U-Foes. And Magneto makes an appearance.
*Issue 54- Mole Man attacks Los Angeles! My favorite issue here, it features that big creature from FF #1. This is yet another issue where Byrne imitates the cover to that 1st Fantastic issue.
*Issue 55- Bi-Coastal Avengers vs. Loki. After this issue, the focus is mainly on Scarlet Witch, Magneto & Immortus.

I love Byrne's artistic vision, the Avengers in general, and especially the Avengers west coast team in the '80s. Here we get all three! This isn't usually considered his best work, but it *is* among my favorites. The clarity & consistency in his artistic vision never ceases to amaze me. In this paperback he touches on story points he previously visited in titles like Avengers & Fantastic Four. He especially, continually references the Invaders all throughout his career, and I actually appreciate these brief flashbacks.

Included in this volume:
*Issues #51 & #52- John Byrne writes & pencils; Mike Machlan inks
*Issue #53- John Byrne writes & pencils; Keith Williams inks
*Issues #54 to #57- John Byrne writes & pencils; Paul Ryan inks
*Issues #60 to #62- Roy & Dann Thomas write; Paul Ryan pencils; Danny Bulanadi inks

I largely agree with the previous reviewer. This is a solid run of stories with the only problem being that there are gaps in the story that make it feel disjointed at times. Many events relevant to these stories occurred in other comics, including the flagship Avengers title, that are neither collected here or even given recaps. This is particularly true of things that refer to "Atlantis Attacks" storyline and not as bad with the "Acts of Vengeance" thread.

To be fair most longtime Marvel readers probably know enough to fill in many of the blanks, and they are certainly a large part of the target audience for this collection, so this is a relatively minor complaint because what's here is really good. In fact, I'd say it's up there with the relatively recent Kurt Busiek run on the title and is in some ways better because it did more to shake up the status quo. Much as I enjoyed Busiek's run he frequently seemed intent on keeping a certain "classic Avengers" mood to the book that meant that (a few wise retcons aside) it was as if almost everything from 1987-1997 never happened.

Byrne (and then Roy/Dann Thomas) were not working in that comfort zone. At the time, what they did really felt like a significant change, and at the time it kind of put me off. In hindsight I appreciate it much more.

In any case, the bottom line is that this is a good example of Marvel as the 1980s gave way to the 1990s, before things like Heroes Reborn, variant covers and a lot of the other nonsense from which the comics world is still recovering. In the best marvel tradition, the heroes are heroic, albeit conflicted at times, and they feel like they inhabit a larger world where small events can have great consequences. If more of today's Marvel stories were remotely this good, I'd probably read a lot more of what they publish. Excelsior!

The John Byrne (no relation) run on Avengers West Coast was one of my favorites when I was younger. I LOVE that these books are being collected, but unfortunately there are some things missing from this collection. Included:

- There is a mention of something that happens in the Atlantis Attacks AWC Annual #4. Would it have been that hard to include it in this collection?

- The two fill-ins between #57 and #60 are missing; since it's been years since I read the original books I have no recollection of Wonder Man and Iron Man escaping; in issue #60, they are okay. Would a one-page recap or something been that hard?

- I remember that John Byrne had at least created some unpublished covers for that era. Did anyone try and get those from him? I'd have loved to have seen those.

- For some reason I remember a different cover solicited for issue #55, too... and always found it odd that the cover was made up of parts of interior art from the book. What was on this other cover?

Either way, there are some great stories within this and the VisionQuest volume, don't get me wrong. I would have really liked it if the additional material had been within, however.

This features, as previously stated, Captain America and The Falcon 5-7, and Captain America 29-32.

The issues with the Falcon, while somewhat off pacing-wise, suffer from being the second half of an entirely different story arc. In these issues, the actual connection to Avengers: Disassembled is made, wherein The Scarlet Witch makes several odd appearances, and some really weird things happen to Cap (like being inside a block of ice after getting into a Taxi).

The last issues of Captain America have little to do with Avengers: Disassembled, aside from characters, including Cap himself, referring to his recent Avengers troubles. It does feature the long awaited return of Diamondback, but she's again lost in the ether in Brubakers run, which has both excellent art and story, see the Winter Soldier trades for details. The final issues of Cap are engaging, and an entertaining read, but it definitely lends itself to being an ending.

If collecting the entire Disassembled arc, I recommend the Captain America and The Falcon arc is read prior to Avengers: Disassembled, and the final issues of Captain America are read afterward.

Collecting storyarcs featured from the last run of the current volume of Captain America and from Captain America & The Falcon, Captain America Disassembled finds Cap a little more than battle worn after what's been going on with the Avengers. Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) scripts the first arc, which is the main highlight here as Cap fights off against the Red Skull and the usual array of rogues. The Captain America & Falcon story is nothing special though, even though Modok makes an appearance (and every Marvel fanboy knows he's worth a laugh or two). The art in both collections is solid, and Kirkman's story makes this volume worth picking up for Cap fans. Captain America is getting relaunched yet again though, under the helm of Ed Brubaker, which is also worth picking up.

It's best to, much like the actual issues, contained here, ignore the headline of Avengers Disassembled. For those who don't know, its a poorly written mess occurring in the main Avengers title (500-503) that has little to do with these stories save a scant mention of 'trouble'. Since this trade is composed of two separate stories, from two separate books, I'll break up the descriptions:

Captain America 29-32: Captain America and Diamond back go up against Hydra, Mr. Hyde, the Serpent Society, Batroc the Leaper, and Red Skull, all while a coup takes place at S.H.I.E.L.D. The story is by comics newest golden boy, Robert Kirkman (Marvel Team-Up, Invincible, The Walking Dead) and artist Scot Eaton, with the fantastic Drew Geraci handling inking (Met Drew at a convention once, and he's one of the nicest comic personalities in the biz). The tale is a lot of fun, but feels far to cramped to be only a four issue arc. Of course, in this age of story decompression another writer (coughBENDIScough) could have taken a year to tell this much of an adventure. Its goofy in a way that can only be described as Silver Age; there's lots of action, and the plot points make you scratch your head, but when its all said and done you have a smile on your face.

Captain America and the Falcon 5-7: This tales a bit harder to describe, since it palys heavily off of the initial arc of the story. But the gist is that Captain America and Falcon are on the run after refusing to turn over an `Anti-Cap' produced by the Navy. Everything hits the fan here, and Captain America starts having strange visions that may or may not be real (Thuis gets cleared up a bit in the MODOK story beginning in issue 8). There are some great moments found though, including a possible start of a Captain America/ Scarlet Witch romance, and it was a beautiful cover of the two by Joe Bennet that fist drew me to the book.

Should you buy this book? If you're a Captain America fan, or a fan of fun-loving stories, there's not a reason not to. This isn't the heaviest or most thought provoking super-hero fare available, but it is incredibly enjoyable.

the author was one of the best ever. Marvel should make more avengers books but include Hawkeye more

I've always thought that Victor von Doom was one of Marvel's best, most fleshed out and most human villains. Doom is indisputably brilliant, powerful, arrogant, practical and ruthless, but also tortured by his private failings. His versatility as a character has ensured that he keeps popping up regularly and can play a major or supporting role in almost any setting. As Shadowcat once said "Science, magic, politics - is there anything you CAN'T do?" (Doom's response: "Knit. I find it repetitive.") Doom is often misused as a power-hungry cardboard cutout, but he's best when his multifaceted nature is revealed. This is one of those stories.

Doom rather easily executes a brilliant plan that uses the mind-controlling Purple Man as the focus of a device the literally brainwashes everyone on earth. He even has a backup plan to control people who aren't actually susceptible to mind control (although I think it's bit unlikely that there are only three such characters in the entire Marvel Universe). This all works perfectly and world immediately enters a new golden age of peace and prosperity. There is no war, plenty of food for all and economies everywhere are booming. What a wonderful conundrum! Before the book is even at the halfway point the reader is confronted with an awful dilemma: what is worse, a world run by Doom or the world in it's current state? This is a much more sophisticated approach than we normally see in comics, especially from this era.

Of course, at this point things begin to go downhill. One Avenger un-brainwashes the others and things devolve into a rather typical comic-book ending. Which is a pity, as there was much to be explored regarding the pros and cons of benevolent dictatorship as well as its aftermath. I found it particularly lame that after Doom's defeat and the destruction of the brainwashing device (what, you wanted a spoiler warning? It's a comic book - how did you THINK it was going to turn out!) the world happily went back to it's various wars instead of unanimously deciding to take out that pesky little country of Latveria and it's trouble-making despot once and for all.

Things get off to a great start and stagger through to an uninspired but adequate finish. The artwork is only ok, but the writing is often excellent - especially when it comes to dialogue. (Ronald Reagan: Would you like to use the Whitehouse as your palace while you stay in America Dr.? Doom: Well, I'm used to more opulent surroundings, but I suppose sacrifices must be made...) The Avengers are a bit lame, but I've never been too fond of them to begin with.Definitely a worthwhile read, one just wishes some of the more wide-ranging implications of the plot were better explored.

Emperor Doom uses a GREAT idea as a springboard: What if the bad-guy actually acheived his goal of World domination? From that great concept comes this average Graphic Novel...

Doctor Doom, one of the all-time great Marvel Villains, uses the persuasive powers of The Purple Man to cloud the minds of everyone on Earth, allowing him total unopposed dominion. And guess what? Things are actually BETTER than they were before. People are happy, crime is virtually non-existant, no one wants for food or shelter, Worldwide Economy is good, everyone has jobs....But do the ends justify the means?

Writer David Micheline uses a plot-device that stands out like a sore thumb to keep one of The Avengers free of the control of The Purple Man, and that kind of tainted my enjoyment of the book. It just seemed too far-fetched. Also, this is probably the third time I've been exposed to the character The Purple Man, and I still have no idea where he got his powers from. A little explanation would have made things easier to swallow....

Micheline's writing gets the job done; He does a great job of making Doom a real threat; Menacing yet Regal. I appreciated the sense of ennui creeping over Doom towards the end of the book. Apparently the chase is more fun than the prize itself. I did feel the book ended too abruptly, and without a satisfying confrontation between Good & Evil. The art, by Bob Hall, didn't exactly light me on fire, but his characters all look distinctive, and the action scenes look good.

Overall, Emperor Doom is nothing special, but at least we get to see what would happen if the bad-guy actually won....