Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: The best one so far Review: Easily the best volume of the three Avengers Essentials to date, we now see Rascally Roy Thomas at the scripting helm, along with Awesome John Buscema doing most of the art chores. Say no more! This duo is one of the greatest in comics lore... and even demi-gods Barry [Windsor] Smith and Gene Colan show up to help out on art. This collection contains the spectacular introduction of the Vision, the Avengers vs. the (old) X-Men, several battles with arch-foe Ultron, and the classic Avengers vs. Avengers thanks to the machinations of the time-spanning Scarlet Centurion. I'd give this compilation five stars, but the several issues featuring Hercules and the battles in god-ville are just plain dull. (Avengers #50 featured this crap? YEESH.) But don't let these few pages spoil the rest of the great fun.
Rating: ![1 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-1-0.gif) Summary: The quintessence of hackwork Review: It's pretty clear that Stan Lee had no real love for this series and was just grinding it out. None of the characters are sharply drawn, except Hercules. The villains are usually recycled, their villainous plots rarely interesting, and way the stories are finally resolved almost never make sense. Most of the dialogue, in fact, is designed to try to explain the implausibility of the images we're looking at. Good God, how many times does some bad guy observe Captain America at work and cry out, "His speed is unbelievable" or "His shield is uncanny - it's like a part of him"? It's a pathetic attempt to justify the fact that Cap, who is just an acrobat and hand-to-hand fighter, is allowed to prevail over giant robots, or laser canons, or dozens of men with machine guns, or whatever happens to be that issue's menace. Cap was always to weak to be a member of this team, so Lee tried to make up for it by making the more powerful characters heap praise on him. It doesn't work and it's annoying. Lee and Heck really should have tried to come up with foes who were more appropriate opponents for the team. They never could decide what to do with Hank Pym either, so every few issues his powers keep changing. Every time they change, he delivers some wooden speech explaining exactly what he can and can't do. It's like reading the description of a character in a role playing game.
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: Wandering haphazardly Review: The second volume reprinting this comic series is a bit of a mixed bag - the stories are of a fairly variable quality, some great, some quite poor, and the overall impression is of something moving along with no real plan. I guess what we have here is fundamental proof that Stan Lee, at the height of his powers, had his limits - while turning out great stories in Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, this title suffered. Stan even appeared to realise that as, part of the way through this volume, a new writer was brought in: Roy Thomas. Roy has shown himself to be a great writer of this form, but his first few stories don't really show him at his best. I believe that this was amongst his first published work. On the plus side, however, the characterisation improves vastly, with some of the cast becoming easily distinguishable by their dialogue alone, a vast improvement from the period where all the characters spoke the same. Not a showcase of the greatest Avengers issues, but of a period of transition. Things were better before this, and also improve after.
Rating: ![2 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-2-0.gif) Summary: The least essential of the essentials Review: These stories are genuine classics based on the fact that they are products of the 60s Marvel Explosion but are definitely not to be deemed essential. Starting with a very weak team, the Avengers are joined by Giant Man and the Wasp-the also-rans of the original team. The duo adds nothing but more angst to an already dysfunctional team. The villains are lame-we get the old missing scientist captured by aliens, the Living Laser, the Ultroids and the Keeper of the Flame. The only really good story from the period is the Sons of the Serpent story- a decent battle with white supremacists. Once Hercules comes on board after the obligatory hero vs hero battle ( Herc is brainwashed by the Enchantress) things pick up a little, but at this point GiantMan/ Goliath becomes redundant. In the tradition of early Marvel Annuals, we get the king-size special featuring the Mandarin commanding a host of villains which necessitates calling in Iron Man and Thor since the team can't seem to handle the "Big Jobs" with the then current roster. THe best stories of the bunch are the Red Guardian stories, wherein the Russians commission a Communist version of Cap. As a whole, the book is filler before the Avengers hit another highpoint with what should be in vol. 3. -the arrival of the Vision, Ultron, the Grim Reaper and several other touchstone stories. This volume, though, lacks the early Marvel pizzazz.
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: It's bad at worst, above average at best, mediocre overall. Review: This 'Essential' really doesn't have any exciting material, really. It's all just pointless, meandering filler. The characterization is nonexistent and the plots are very run of the mill. It's only worth seeing and reading as a sort of time capsule. It's not very good, but it's one example of how comics were like in the sixties.
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Classic Avengers! Review: This is a wonderful value for the money which contains over 20 issues of Avengers continuity. Great stories by Stan Lee and Roy Thomas and likable art from Don Heck and then up and coming John Buscema. Not up to the level of the first Essential volume but is still must reading. You get to see the evolution of Hawkeye's character, the return of Goliath and the Wasp to the team, and the addition of the mighty Hercules. The skillfulness of Cap's kookie quartet (Cap, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver) was in no way the strongest lineup but their skills and teamwork was among the finest in the group's history.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Buy this now! Review: This is an amazing collection of late 60s comics adventures. Here we have the cream of the Marvel heroes gathered together to fight some awesome menaces. Several heroes are added to the group and it is arguably one of it's most diverse incarnations. Black Panther, the greatest of the black superheroes, joins early on in this collection. The Vison, the lonely android, is given an original and membership. hawkeye becomes Goliath replacing Giant Man/Ant Man who becomes Yellow Jacket. Henry Pym's problems are the cause of several plot twists in these stories, from his multiple identities to his creation the Ultron line of robotic menaces. besides the evil robot, we're given excellent villains to battle the Avengers-Magneto, Grim Reaper (1st appearance), The Scarlet Centurion (another persona for the time traveling Kang/Rama Tut/Dr. Doom) and Zemo. Time travel figures in the Zemo story and the Scarlet Centurion epic (a 44 page slug fest beteween different versions of the Avengers). All in all an excellent collection. Roy Thomas is always at his best with superhero groups and this is where he honed his craft. John Buscema's art is excellent making group battle scenes flow without seeming overcrowded. The reproduction varies from stark black and white reprints to what appears to be muddy xeroxes of the stories, sometimes within the same story. Except for those few bits of murky copies, Marvel again shows why it dominated the field in the 60s. Listen up, true believers, Make Mine Marvel Essentials!
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Moving towards greatness Review: This third volume collecting the earlier issues of the Avengers sees the title emerging from the somewhat listless period on the last volume. Roy Thomas is now the writer, and is plainly undertaking the work with enthusiasm and a desire to create something very much worth reading. This volume sees the membership of the team in flux, with characters being added and removed, and some not even officially joining the team. The stories themselves see members departing for personal reasons, and older members, who are technically off the team, dropping by. It also sees the introduction of some elements that continue to have impact today: the first two conflicts with Ultron, the introduction of the Vision, Hank Pym taking up the identity of Yellowjacket, the Scarlet Centurion, the conflicts of loyalty that beset the Scarlet Witch and, in particular, Quicksilver... Art-wise, we are generally in the safe and capable hands of John Buscema, although there are a couple of issues illustrated by Barry (Windsor) Smith, who will soon go on to greater things... Also present are Don Heck, Gene Colan and Sal Buscema. The stories still show the elements of a relatively new writer working out what works and what doesn't in this format. However, they become increasingly self-assured towards the end, and Volume 4, when it is released, will show a far more mature writer...
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: The Avengers keep assembly but not much is happening Review: Volume 2 of "The Essential Avengers" marks the point where the pendulum started to center for the series and Roy Thomas and John Buscema took over from Stan Lee and Don Heck. The Avengers started out as a group of super strong super heroes including the Mighty Thor, the Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man. This proved to be rather problematic with coming up with super villains who could plausibly give this group a stand up fight. So then the group went in the completely opposite direction and came up with a skill quartet of Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. That lasted until issue #28 when Giant Man came back (now called Goliath), bringing along the Wasp. This not only gave the new Avengers some muscle, but with Henry Pym back in the fold the group had its requisite scientist for those times when brains can help brawn and the ability to throw a shield, shoot an arrow, run really fast, or cast hexes. Then for brawn without the brains, Hercules joins the group. Collected in Volume 2 are "The Avengers" #25-46 and Annual #1, which brings together the "original" Avengers with the Avengers of "today," against the Mandarin, Power Man, the Living Laser, the Swordsman, the Enchantress, and the Executioner. Thomas took over as writer with issue #35 and Buscema takes over as the primary artist with issue #41. The artistic improvement is obvious, especially for someone such as myself who was never enamored of Don Heck's artwork, but the more significant changes are coming from the writing. It was Thomas who brought Hercules into the mix, which upped the ante on the bickering in the group. In other words, with Hawkeye and Pietro vying for the role of the biggest malcontent in the group, always having to be slapped back into place by Cap, Hercules provides a joyful sense of having no regard for teamwork. Consquently, even more so than the Fantastic Four, the Avengers are the group that has to stop fighting itself to be able to fight the super villains. However, we are still a year or two away from getting to some of the classic issues of "The Avengers." The group starts off fighting Dr. Doom, weathers an attack by the army of Attuma, and Hawkeye falls for the Black Widow. Then there is another giant conspiracy with the Serpents, the attack of the Ultroids, and a visit from the Sub-Mariner. Of the three volumes of "The Essential Avengers" out to date, this is the weakest of the trio, without a really memorable story in the bunch. Again, part of the problem is that we are dealing with characters who were considered strong enough to only carry half a comic (e.g., Captain America with "Tales of Suspense"), if even that (e.g., Giant Man as the former Ant Man), and a couple of ex-members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Wanda and Pietro). It was really not until the Avengers created their own characters (i.e., the Vision) that it really made it up to the next level in the Marvel Universe.
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: The Avengers keep assembly but not much is happening Review: Volume 2 of "The Essential Avengers" marks the point where the pendulum started to center for the series and Roy Thomas and John Buscema took over from Stan Lee and Don Heck. The Avengers started out as a group of super strong super heroes including the Mighty Thor, the Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man. This proved to be rather problematic with coming up with super villains who could plausibly give this group a stand up fight. So then the group went in the completely opposite direction and came up with a skill quartet of Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. That lasted until issue #28 when Giant Man came back (now called Goliath), bringing along the Wasp. This not only gave the new Avengers some muscle, but with Henry Pym back in the fold the group had its requisite scientist for those times when brains can help brawn and the ability to throw a shield, shoot an arrow, run really fast, or cast hexes. Then for brawn without the brains, Hercules joins the group. Collected in Volume 2 are "The Avengers" #25-46 and Annual #1, which brings together the "original" Avengers with the Avengers of "today," against the Mandarin, Power Man, the Living Laser, the Swordsman, the Enchantress, and the Executioner. Thomas took over as writer with issue #35 and Buscema takes over as the primary artist with issue #41. The artistic improvement is obvious, especially for someone such as myself who was never enamored of Don Heck's artwork, but the more significant changes are coming from the writing. It was Thomas who brought Hercules into the mix, which upped the ante on the bickering in the group. In other words, with Hawkeye and Pietro vying for the role of the biggest malcontent in the group, always having to be slapped back into place by Cap, Hercules provides a joyful sense of having no regard for teamwork. Consquently, even more so than the Fantastic Four, the Avengers are the group that has to stop fighting itself to be able to fight the super villains. However, we are still a year or two away from getting to some of the classic issues of "The Avengers." The group starts off fighting Dr. Doom, weathers an attack by the army of Attuma, and Hawkeye falls for the Black Widow. Then there is another giant conspiracy with the Serpents, the attack of the Ultroids, and a visit from the Sub-Mariner. Of the three volumes of "The Essential Avengers" out to date, this is the weakest of the trio, without a really memorable story in the bunch. Again, part of the problem is that we are dealing with characters who were considered strong enough to only carry half a comic (e.g., Captain America with "Tales of Suspense"), if even that (e.g., Giant Man as the former Ant Man), and a couple of ex-members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Wanda and Pietro). It was really not until the Avengers created their own characters (i.e., the Vision) that it really made it up to the next level in the Marvel Universe.
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