tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post3542627528501136851..comments2024-03-12T07:42:50.050-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: Giant-Size July: Marvel Two-In-One Annual 2Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-42260226692425142572013-07-09T00:02:55.824-05:002013-07-09T00:02:55.824-05:00This has got to be one of my favorite Avengers ann...This has got to be one of my favorite Avengers annuals. I just wish Starlin was allowed to stay on the Avengers as a regular artist. George Perez was my favorite Avengers artist my overall favorite artist of the 70's. Next in line would be John Byrne. It's at this time in 77' that I started buying the title on a regular basis. I just got Avengers Essentials #8 where it is re-printed in black and white. If you don't mind the Essentials format, the price is under $20 if one of our readers would like to see it. The Essentials format for me is the most economical for me because I like to read my ol' 70's books that I sold to repair my car. <br /><br />I have to wonder why Thanos had to be exclusive to the Warlock and Captain Marvel titles. He made a great Avengers villain and should have been utilized more often. Fantastic Four Fan 4evernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-20182684712616711072013-07-08T21:01:50.697-05:002013-07-08T21:01:50.697-05:00Garrett -
For some unknown reason your first comm...Garrett -<br /><br />For some unknown reason your first comment was in the spam folder. I've published it.<br /><br />Sorry!<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-6284588583176050572013-07-08T19:01:44.443-05:002013-07-08T19:01:44.443-05:00Man, this is one of the comics I've never read...Man, this is one of the comics I've never read but always wanted due to all the glowing reviews it has gotten over the years.<br /><br />Spidey getting that psychic SOS from Moondragon highlighted a previously unknown property of Spidey's spider-sense - the ability to pick up a telepathic signal. I've always wondered if his spider-sense wasn't psychic in nature somehow. Or maybe just ultra-sensitive hairs on his body? Similarly, the Hulk is one of very few individuals who can 'see' Doctor Strange's astral form.<br /><br />Anyway, whether Spidey or our lovable blue-eyed Ben Grimm should have been the star of this epic is moot - when you have to take down Thanos it's all hands on board! The scene where ol' webhead taps Ben on the head causing Ben to swallow his stogie is priceless.<br /><br />It'll be interesting to see how the Thanos saga is portrayed in the upcoming Avengers sequel. I've heard Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will be involved, but no mention of Adam Warlock! I hope Starlin at least gets a writer's credit on this.<br /><br />I'm intrigued by Karen's comment about Starlin taking on this assignment in the way he did - sounds pretty much like he got an unexpected opportunity to wrap up his Thanos/Warlock saga purely by a chance meeting with Goodwin. One wonders how many great comicbooks would never have been made if not for a series of serendipitous encounters between various creators.<br /><br />All in all, MTIO Annual #2 has always been one of my top picks of must-reads; great comments and reviews guys!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />- Mike 'did I really use the word serendipitous here?' from Trinidad & Tobago.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-22231437263038493212013-07-08T18:44:13.362-05:002013-07-08T18:44:13.362-05:00Hmm...my comment was here earlier, now it disappea...Hmm...my comment was here earlier, now it disappeared. Well great Starlin, great review!Garettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-23259751073463918582013-07-08T13:07:13.749-05:002013-07-08T13:07:13.749-05:00Thanks for doing this one Karen and Doug. Nice job...Thanks for doing this one Karen and Doug. Nice job. As I've stated in previous posts, Marvel 2-in-1 Annual #2 is one of my all-time favorite comics. I actually read this issue years before I ever got my hands on a copy of Avengers Annual #7. Strangely, I actually like this story more without reading the first part. I think the main reason for that is that if you only read this chapter, you come in at the same time as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and you sort of see the whole thing through his eyes. You only know what he knows at the time he learns it, and then you follow him through the rest of the adventure. In that sense it's like the reader can put themselves Peter's shoes, and it makes the story an even more compelling read, IMO.<br /><br />Now, I'd like to address a couple of points, that you guys brought up. First I think that Moondragon contacted Peter Parker (instead of say, Dr. Strange) because his spider-sense probably makes him a great receptor for telepathic communication. (Plus Dr. Strange is a magic user, and he would have seemed out of place in this extremely science fiction based story).<br /><br />Next, I usually agree with Karen, but she stated that she thought that Starlin didn't really capture Ben's "voice". I have to disagree. I thought he did a marvelous job of writing the Thing. He had some of the most memorable, dramatic, and funniest lines in the whole book. Such as "What have you been smoking kid, old tennis shoes?" or "Mister, you're really sick. But I tell you what… Dr. Grimm here has got the cure for ails you-- his world famous knuckle knock-out formula!" That's great stuff, IMO.<br /><br />As for Spider-Man initially running away-- I have to agree with Karen when she said it was a uniquely "human" moment for the web-slinger (in an age when you didn't see that kind of thing a lot in comics). Peter Parker, (who's basically just a kid from Queens) temporarily freaked out, but he got his act together and in typical Spidey fashion he ended up saving the day. So when you think about it, it was actually a pretty cool and heroic moment for ol' web-head.<br /><br />For me, this comic pretty much had it all. It featured practically all of my favorite Marvel superheroes of the day, (Spider-Man, The Thing, Captain Marvel, and the quintessential Avengers team) all pitted in a desperate battle against one of the most purely evil and extremely powerful Marvel super-villains of all time. (BTW, I'll never forgive Starlin for killing Mar-Vell the way he did).<br /><br />Also, I personally thought the art was better on this issue than Avengers Ann 7. I thought the lines were cleaner, and there was more detail. But maybe it's just me.<br /><br />In closing, there is a great trade paperback out now called "Avengers versus Thanos" that features the entire Thanos saga in one stunning volume. It has his first appearance, and his battles with Captain Marvel and Warlock all culminating in Avengers Annual #7 and Marvel 2-in-1 Annual #2. I highly recommend it!!<br /><br />On an unrelated topic, and if anyone is curious, I have my complete Spider-Man collection up for sale at Comic Connect. The collection includes Amazing Fantasy #15 and Amazing Spider-Man 1-650, plus most of the Annuals, plus full runs of every other Spider-Man title, all mini-series, and spin-offs. Check it out.<br /><br />http://www.comicconnect.com/bookSearch.php?searchType=advanced&display=list&seller=WS19416&runSearch=Run+SearchWilliamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988016825582035390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-24855272875978686832013-07-08T11:11:24.025-05:002013-07-08T11:11:24.025-05:00Another great Starlin, another great review! Karen...Another great Starlin, another great review! Karen I picked up that Avengers Vs Thanos TPB, and yes the art and color look clean and fantastic.<br /><br />For the bracketology--thanks for running it! Favorite art is always subjective, but I love these top lists, and the discussions that come along with them. Exciting to see JB vs JB the end, and if you'd have asked me at different points in my life, I'd've picked either one! I like Adams over Kane, as I think Adams was more revolutionary with his realistic style at the time, with Kane looking more steady and solid in comparison.<br /><br />For the rest of the vote, Sal Buscema stood out for me as the guy many people love, that I'm just lukewarm about. Last night I looked at his Avengers work again with fresh eyes, and enjoyed it more than before. I like this group for giving me new appreciation for artists, writers, comics I may have overlooked. The other artist I should mention is Bernie Wrightson--I don't think he's been reviewed at B+B, yet he still made the final 8. Nice to see, he deserves it! Perhaps a Swamp Thing issue could be reviewed in the future?<br /><br />With this great Starlin story featured...how about a "Top Writers" vote next time around? Garettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-62830684798502832222013-07-08T10:49:41.804-05:002013-07-08T10:49:41.804-05:00Thanks for the scoop, Karen. It's funny how so...Thanks for the scoop, Karen. It's funny how some things like the finish to a masterpiece come down to a chance meeting/fate/kismet/karma/dumb luck.<br /><br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-63624069363582565252013-07-08T10:02:22.869-05:002013-07-08T10:02:22.869-05:00Tom, when I interviewed Starlin back in 2008 for m...Tom, when I interviewed Starlin back in 2008 for my Warlock article in Back Issue #34, he said that he had been working for Ralph Bakshi Studios and was back in New York when he ran into Archie Goodwin. Starlin needed some work, and Goodwin (the current Marvel editor in chief) offered him the Avengers Annual. Starlin thought that would be a good place to wrap up some loose ends with Warlock, so he cranked it out. Goodwin decided to offer him the Two In One annual as well, so Starlin accepted that too, and used it to complete the tale. This is just what I was told -I'm sure variations of the story exist!<br /><br />As an aside, the husband and I watched the Avengers film again this weekend, and I noticed how much the big spaceship shown inside the space warp looks like Thanos' space ark, Sanctuary. It has that strange H-shape. A nice tribute.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17032477453891087135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-79285920867220028002013-07-08T09:40:31.174-05:002013-07-08T09:40:31.174-05:00Per Chasing's mention of Spidey out-of-charact...Per Chasing's mention of Spidey out-of-character, I sort of agree.. The 'lets scram' idea by Spidey was a very fresh tactic by Starlin, which put a new twist on the final ending where Spidey saves the day..<br /><br />If that seems 'out-of-character' then Starlin strikes out on both Spidey AND Ben Grimm, which while a fun ending for this saga, doesn't say much for scripting a MTIO Annual (or would have for a MTU Annual). I do agree that there was more protaganist/story progression through Spidey than through Ben Grimm, hence why it would have been better served through a MTU Annual.<br /><br />Interesting though.., Moonie's pick of Spiderman. Why not Daredevil, since she shared more previous mind-bonding with DD in his pages (ish 105) as documented in the Avengers vs. Thanos tpb. I guess she somehow knew DD was otherwise busy.., but I like Starlin's tribute idea as Fred mentioned.<br /><br />I picked up the Avengers Annual many many years before this one, but being in love with SO MANY cool covers, I had to pick this one up as well. Glad I did, for the story works very good, aside from the whole Starlin/Warlock continuing story. You didn't need much backstory to enjoy the proceedings.david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-20121575663684275132013-07-08T09:28:23.002-05:002013-07-08T09:28:23.002-05:00Just want to say thanks for a very enjoyable serie...Just want to say thanks for a very enjoyable series of Thanos reviews. Doug you seem to deflect most of the credit for these to your more "cosmic" counterpart Karen, but the two of you make a great team on all of your write-ups so you should each take a well deserved bow.<br /><br />As to the stories themselves, I had most of these original issues and was even able to find 2-in-1 #2 amongst my very haphazardly organized collection over this weekend. And I echo others' thoughts about Spidey going from freak-out to saving the day - I was worried at first but agree with Amazing that Starlin stuck the landing.<br /><br />I was just trying to remember if we had prior discussion about how Starlin was given the opportunity to end all this up in Avengers and Thing annuals. Forgive me if that's been discussed already but if someone wouldn't mind chiming in on that, thanks.<br /><br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-41069612265617374722013-07-08T08:39:03.362-05:002013-07-08T08:39:03.362-05:00Edo --
You're right -- and we even left yeste...Edo --<br /><br />You're right -- and we even left yesterday open! That's a ball dropped by me on closing out the Bracketology. Tell you what: since our comic reviews generally elicit smaller comment totals, please (everyone) feel free to also discuss the J. Buscema/Byrne final, as well as the Adams/Kane 3rd place match-up.<br /><br />Thanks for bringing it up, and thanks also to Fred and Chasing Amazing for the comments so far this morning.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-26777179904825494972013-07-08T08:30:21.035-05:002013-07-08T08:30:21.035-05:00Re: The point about Spidey getting freaked out abo...Re: The point about Spidey getting freaked out about facing Thanos alone, I've long gone back and forth on this ... to this day, I find myself jarred by Spidey's initial response to just flee the situation - it feels very out of character for me ... remember this is the guy who's soul reason of superhero existence is he didn't make a valid attempt to stop a crook when he had the chance. BUT, Starlin saves things for me in a big way the way he has Spidey save the day by throwing himself at the containment vessel holding the Avengers. It's such a lovable loser Spider-Man move and may be one of the best ways he's ever backed into a victory (next to trapping Juggernaut in cement). So Starlin def. sticks the landing for me despite having me initially worried about how he was portraying Spidey.Chasing Amazinghttp://www.chasingamazingblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-29043761705282701352013-07-08T07:07:02.999-05:002013-07-08T07:07:02.999-05:00Yep, great conclusion. I can't really think of...Yep, great conclusion. I can't really think of anything to add to all of the praise heaped on these Starlin stories by myself and others in the comments over the course of the past few weeks.<br />Specific to this issue, I agree with Doug that it probably would have been better as a Marvel Team-up annual. Otherwise I thought the inclusion of Spider-man in particular here was really good. I liked how the "street-level" interloper played such a key role in this cosmic saga.<br />By the way, Karen, I zeroed in on that little cat behind Ben's chair as well. It made me think that it would have been a nice touch if it had been Ben's pet kitty, with recurring appearances in FF and Marvel 2-in-1.<br /><br />And not to go off topic, but it seems like that last bracketology ended with sort of a whimper, i.e., there wasn't really a post to discuss the final, was there?Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-25764302538464906712013-07-08T06:40:47.540-05:002013-07-08T06:40:47.540-05:00Great mag all around. Years ago I read that Starl...Great mag all around. Years ago I read that Starlin included Spider-Man and the Thing in this story specifically in tribute to their artistic creators, Ditko & Kirby. Of course, Spidey was very much out of his element here and it made sense that when he was Thanos take out Ben "without working up a sweat," he'd freak out and scram, but of course he is a hero and even if he knew he couldn't deal with Thanos on his own, he'd figure out how to get help.Fred W. Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07602124919964053532noreply@blogger.com