Featuring: Avengers Release: January 10, 1967 Cover: March 1967 12 cents Edited for everyman by Stan Lee Scripted for somebody by Roy Thomas Penciled for posterity by Don Heck Inked for immortality by Geoge Bell Lettered for a living by Artie Simek 20 pages
Nuts! Those creeps yell “Avengers Assemble” every time somethin’ goes wrong with the pop-up toaster!
Goliath and Hawkeye are fighting because Hank doesn’t want Black Widow to join the Avengers. He doesn’t quite say why. Because she’s Russian? Because she’s a woman?
The other male Avengers join the fray. Because.
Goliath finally admits he doesn’t know why he’s so opposed to her joining. This is a concept known as unconscious bias.
I was chosen to be– keeper of the flame! But now– the torch has– gone out!
Captain America is certain there is somebody behind Power Man. Since he knows nothing about Power Man, I’m not sure where that certainty comes from.
The Avengers have been ordered to disband by the city. That’s enough for most of the team, but not for Captain America. He thinks they stand for something bigger than obeying laws.
This leads the Avengers to fight amongst themselves. They do this a lot. But this time, the fight dissolves the team.
Featuring: Avengers Release: August 10, 1965 Cover: October 1965 12 cents Written with the usual Stan Lee madness! Drawn with the usual Don Heck magnificence! Inked with the usual Wally Wood magic! Lettered with the usual Artie Simek mistakes! 20 pages
When I took command, the Avengers were at the height of their power, their prestige, their fame! And now– look what I’ve done!
Yesterday was Don Heck’s birthday! He would have been 94 years old, but he passed away at the age of 66.
The story opens with a lot of chastising.
Well, first Hawkeye is fixing a fuse. The narrator seems to mock that the artist chose to begin the story in such a “prosaic” way. Stan, if you want the stories to open differently, you have to write the stories.
The machinery seems unusually detailed. I suspect that has a lot to do with Wood’s inking.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: July 1, 1965 Cover: 1965 25 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inked by: Vince Colletta Lettered by: Artie Simek 23 pages
I now pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss your bride!
It’s the wedding of the century. Today’s the day. Half the Marvels have been invited! And the rest of them are turning up anyway!
This issue represents by far the largest gathering of heroes and villains yet, forever binding these disparate characters into a universe.
This issue represents the idea that there is no status quo, that these characters are at their best when they change and grow. Forward momentum is an essential ingredient to storytelling. Genuine, non-illusionary, change.
This is the most significant moment in the early Marvel Universe.
I think I’d have come up with a better title than “Bedlam at the Baxter Building”.
I wish Chic Stone or Joe Sinnott had been the inker. A few months too late to have Stone and one month too early to have Sinnott. Also, Colletta is uniquely suited to a long special issue with many characters because he’s famously expedient.
I appreciate that the headline takes for granted the public knows who Reed and Sue are without the need for surnames or superhero identities. The cover does the same for its audience.
Pretty cool this worked out to be the 400th story in our reading order. Currently on track to also have the 500th story be a particularly special issue of Fantastic Four as well. When we read Avengers #1, it was the 100th story, but then I went and retroactively mucked with the ordering.
We’re still spinning out of the events of issue 114, when Loki kidnapped Jane. This led directly to last issue’s Trial of the Gods, a challenge which Loki won by cheating, right as last issue closed.
We pick up precisely where we left off. For continuity’s sake, Thor is still without his cape. He’ll get another one when they get home.
This issue, Thor finds himself entangled in the Vietnam war. Marvel heroes have been fighting Communists for as long as we’ve been reading, often in Vietnam. The nature of US involvement in Vietnam was changing drastically, as this comic was published just 7 months after the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Here, we see the civil war that ravages South Vietnam, as South Vietnamese farmers face the terror of the Viet Cong, guerilla forces supported by the North Vietnamese.
Before we get to Viet Nam, we have unresolved plot points from last issue. Who won the Trial of the Gods? Will Jane be rescued from Enchantress and Executioner?
Featuring: Thor Release: March 4, 1965 Cover: May 1965 12 cents Written by imperial Stan Lee Illustrated by impregnable Jack Kirby Inked by implacable Vince Colletta Lettered by impossible Artie Simek 16 pages
Colletta graduates from inking the backup stories to the main Thor feature. He will be the Thor artist for a very long time to come. For better or worse. In fact, he will ink the next 52 consecutive Thor stories, and a good many of the next 50 after that over the course of an 8-year run.
We’ll reserve commentary on the his style for now. Let’s spend a few issues taking in this new art style before we try to see how we think Colletta compares to Chic Stone.
Another compelling Thor title. “The Trial of the Gods!”
We’ve known the phrase since we read Avengers #16, which was actually published a week after this, but took place earlier. At least, Thor’s appearance in the story took place before this issue.
Kirby seemed to use the same concept for cover and first page.
I’ve never really understood Odin and never will. Everybody seems to agree he is wise, but his wisdom must be too much for my mortal intelligence to grasp. Thor claims Loki kidnapped Jane to Asgard; Loki claims Thor brought Jane to Asgard because he loves her. Who is lying? The God of Thunder or the God of Lies?
Only one way to find out, says Odin. The Trial of the Gods!
“Avengers Assemble!” shouts Captain America. With quite the assemblage of heroes and villains behind him. Check out our pretty full cast list near the end.
A little annoyed with myself as I make this post. I screwed up. In the middle of a move and all my comics are in transit. I have this issue, my second oldest Avengers comic after issue 8, and I thought I had scanned this before I packed and shipped it. I remembered doing so. Apparently I only scanned the single page I used in my Wandavision post.
I considered pausing our reading for a bit until I could scan my comic, but who knows when that will be. So we’ll press forward with scans, err, found on the internet. We’ll call them temporary. I’ll come back in a month or so and replace them with my own. You probably won’t even notice the difference. I just prefer to scan my own comics when I can.
And this issue means a lot to me.
Had it since early childhood somehow. My cousin had borrowed it for an extended period of time, but I eventually got it back.
This is a pretty historic issue. For whatever reason, Heck chose this issue of all issues to take a breather, leaving Ayers to do the artwork over Kirby’s layouts… or perhaps Kirby’s loose pencils, or maybe full pencils for some of the comic.
First, we need to wrap up the story from last issue. Captain America had just fatally defeated Zemo, and now needs to get back to New York with Rick. He’ll have some trouble with Zemo’s henchmen. Meanwhile, the battle with the Masters of Evil continues in New York.
Let’s just say the Avengers win, though Enchantress and Executioner escape. The battle’s anyway over by page 4, and we have more important things to discuss.
It turns out this was these heroes’ final battle together.
Featuring: Avengers Release: February 11, 1965 Cover: April 1965 12 cents Script: Stan Lee Layouts: Jack Kirby Pencilling: Don Heck Inking: Mickey Demeo Lettering: Artie Simek 20 pages
For several issues, Avengers had become a Lee/Heck production and was much the worse for it. Last issue had everybody working at Marvel pitch in. Now, Kirby is on hand with the layouts. Recall, we’re basically talking positioning of characters, but with that comes the storytelling, and this story is a cut above the last several issues. That’s likely Kirby’s hand. He’s been the missing ingredient. He’s back to do layouts for two issues, and they’ll be two of the best Avengers stories of the era.
Ordering is funny, as continuity is getting tight. Everybody is embroiled in multi-issue arcs, stories are flowing into each other; Avengers is always tricky continuity because it needs to be fit around the solo titles; and there’s a wedding any day now.
That’s why we already skipped ahead 5 months in our X-Men reading and are so far behind in our Dr. Strange and Hulk reading. Trying to fit it all together. This is the February issue of Avengers. We’re already mostly on to March, but about to read the January Thor. I think it all makes sense. This issue for significant reasons plainly takes place after the July issue of X-Men.
Featuring: Avengers Release: September 8, 1964 Cover: November 1964 12 cents Story superbly written by: Stan Lee Art adorably drawn by: Don Heck Inked by darlin’ Dick Ayers Lettered by stalwart Sam Rosen 20 pages
The issue’s title is “The Avengers Break Up”. Yet, at no point in the issue do the Avengers appear to break up. Instead, characters go to great lengths repeatedly to explain the title via the dialogue. “Now that Thor’s over there and Iron Man’s across the room, it’s basically like they’ve broken up.”
The Heck/Ayers art looks much as it did last issue, which I see as a negative. I’ll give them credit for a couple nice panels. A trippy one of Immortus and an easy-on-the-eyes Enchantress.
We get a weirdly sexist moment in an era filled with weirdly sexist moments. I don’t know if I’m ready to claim it’s the worst, but it’s up there. Iron Man recommends giving Rick Jones a uniform and making him an official Avenger. “…why don’t we make his membership in the Avengers official, as the Wasp’s is…”
Featuring: Avengers Release: August 11, 1964 Cover: October 1964 12 cents Sensationally written by: Stan Lee Superbly illustrated by: Don Heck Selectively inked by: Dick Ayers Sufficienty lettered by: Art Simek 21 pages
