BAB Classic: Nice Job, Hank! Bride of Ultron Part 4

This post was originally published on 16 August 2010.

Avengers #171 (May 1978)
"...Where Angels Fear to Tread!"
Jim Shooter-George Perez/Pablo Marcos

Doug: The End, kids! Yep, after our Hank Pym lovefest this month, we put the wraps on today with part four of the Bride of Ultron arc. It's been a fun romp, with wonderful storytelling from the words and pictures points-of-view. However, might this last installment leave us feeling a bit flat? Let's see...

Doug: If you recall, when last we saw our heroes, Cap and Iron Man had arrived on the scene to stop the ganging up of Wonder Man, YJ and the Wasp, Wanda and the Vision, Thor, and the Beast on the person of Ultron's chosen wife -- the metal construct that we'll learn in this issue is to be called "Jocasta". As Jocasta seemed intent on moving out and away from Avenger's Mansion, it was Cap's and IM's opinion that she would lead the team to their ultimate goal -- a final showdown with Ultron! We pick up the trail mere moments after the conclusion of ish #170.

Doug: What did you think of the first several pages of this story? I'll say one thing for Shooter -- he wasn't afraid to be unconventional. I guess my expectations when I first read this, and again on the re-read, would be to see a short chase scene and then WHAM! All-out super-heroing! But instead, we get an odd street scene with the good guys interacting with New York's general public. In order, we see the Beast beseiged by several women who want a piece of him (literally; and this would be a plotline for some time to come), Wonder Man surprisingly finding the cojones to stand up to and criticize Captain America, Wanda receive an offer to model (because you know, buxom was "in"), and the crowd react to Wanda's "my love" comment to the Vision. Now all of this is good stuff, and we've said a hundred times before that this sort of writing is part of what set Marvel and DC apart in the Silver and Bronze Ages, but it was just surprisingly somewhat out-of-context!

Karen: It was an interesting choice for Shooter to open this story the way he did. That being said though, I can recall plenty of other times where Marvel heroes interacted with "normal folks". Although this did seem to extend quite a few pages. We even get the store clerk thinking about her co-worker getting fired and she getting promoted! Now that was a bit much. I did enjoy Thor's remark to the Beast: "Thy wenching is ill-timed!"Doug: And then we head back into the dept. store from whence had come the lady with the modeling offer. Seems a customer had been left in the dressing room when the Avengers had kicked up a commotion. And in one of the first gratuitous a$$ shots that I can recall (I'm sure there had been some fine Black Widow moments in the pages of Daredevil before this), we are reacquainted with Carol Danvers. Is it just me, or was there really no point to that camera angle used by Perez?

Karen: Oh, I think we know what that camera angle was about!

Doug: So, the Avengers are tracking Jocasta, who's been picked up by a nun. A nun! Yep, Sister Eucalypta of the Order of Qantas. I made that last part up. Koala bear reference, no? Anyway, while the good guys close in, we see Wonder Man suddenly lose his cojones as he questions Ms. Marvel (of course Carol was going to factor into the story with more than just her curvy cheeks) on how she just jumps into a fight. I thought Wondy's self-doubting pity-party, too, was an odd storyline, but they managed to milk it for the better part of two years and I guess it kept things from seeming status quo. Finally, the team arrives at their destination -- a convent!

Karen: Wonder Man's discomfort around Ms. Marvel was another nice touch. Shooter really seemed to enjoy writing Wonder Man -probably because he was not an established character, so he was free to do whatever he wanted with him. At the time I was annoyed that he got so much of the spotlight, but now I can look back and see that Shooter was giving us another angle on superheroing -that of a scared hero!
Karen: There was also the interaction between Jan and Ms. Marvel, with Jan welcoming another "girl" to the group, and Ms. Marvel saying she stopped being a girl some time back. It wasn't really a harsh comment but it did point out some differences in the characters -and let's not forget, Ms. Marvel was being touted back then as Marvel's 'liberated' female hero.Doug: In two of the better scenes in Avengerdom of this era, we see the Beast address Sister Eucalypta in Latin, and Thor and Wanda muse on an Asgardian's place in a Catholic center of teaching and worship. Great stuff! And then... Wanda vanishes! But wait -- is this the same thing that's happened to the Two-Gun Kid and Quicksilver, which we saw earlier? Hmmm...
Doug: Coming to the end of the line, the team enters a chamber to stand face-to-face with Ultron. I'll tell you -- there are more words on this one page than are in some entire 21-page comic books of today! And it worked! It was exposition that moved the story, and it was not unbelievable that all of that could have been said in that single setting. Lord, I miss comics! Ultron doesn't waste too much time here -- he's told everyone what his goals are (basically to kill everyone starting with the Pyms), so it's encephalo-beam time!
Karen: I thought Ultron had a nice speech here:" I am your son! Do you not yet know the mind of your sole offspring? My desires are the same as ever! I want your death...I want your wife...and then...I want the world!" Well, that's pretty exact!
Doug: Ah, but daddy-Hank didn't come unprepared. The Avengers are now wearing shields inside their masks and helmets to ward off that specific attack. One of the pay-offs in this issue is that Simon finally snaps out of his scaredy-cat mode and takes it to Ultron, hard. Another pay-off is seeing Wanda assert herself. Early in the story she even suggested to Iron Man to brief Ms. Marvel on the goings-on. I know that seems very minor, but reflecting back to the days when she and Jan had to be told when and how to use their powers, it was noticeable. In this story's climax, it's Wanda (not Thor or Iron Man) who wins the battle. She was aggressive, confident, and very powerful, and I was happy to see her in the limelight.

Karen: Shooter's depiction of Wanda really picked up from the work Englehart had done previously, making her into her own person. Unfortunately, his Wasp was just as annoying as ever! Roger Stern managed to make her more likeable, although some would argue that he completely changed her personality.

Doug: However, I must declare that the story ended somewhat abruptly for such a build-up. I think part of the problem with Ultron is that he's too powerful. He just can't be beaten unless he's undone. Now maybe hex power is not playing fairly, but I would have liked to have seen some more scrapping, maybe Wonder Man go Round Two with Ultron. It was a nice bit of foreshadowing to see Jocasta turn on her creator (much as the Vision had a decade earlier) and then disappear right away (along with Cap). We'd of course see her ally with the Avengers later.

Karen: Yes, Jocasta turning on Ultron was nice, and made sense, since her mind was based on Jan's. While Hank has had to deal with his creation of Ultron and all the woe that has brought, Ultron has had his share of failures too, as both his 'son' and 'wife' have turned against him. Of course, Kurt Busiek brilliantly tied all this together in Avengers volume 3 when he revealed that Ultron's brain patterns were based on Hank's! Like father, like son...

Karen: I do think that Ultron's adamantium body did tend to overshadow his emotional impact on the team. He was just too hard to beat, and it seemed like it always came down to Wanda and her hex powers. Like most really good villains, Ultron should be used sparingly -like every three or four years.
Doug: So, overall a true classic. I don't have any major complaints. I felt that the team grew during Shooter's run, and he introduced some good elements, specifically the watchdogging of Agent Gyrich. I do wish, though, as we said earlier that there had been a resolution to Hank's breakdown in #'s 161-162. That dangling plot thread seems unforgiveable.

BAB Classic: Nice Job, Hank! Bride of Ultron Part 3

This post was originally published on 13 August 2010.

Avengers #170 (April 1978)
"...Though Hell Should Bar the Way!"
George Perez/Jim Shooter-Perez/Pablo Marcos

Doug: Greetings, Armadillos, and welcome back to the last two installments in our very-fun look at the Bride of Ultron storyline. You'll notice that George Perez gets a co-plotter credit for this story, and I think that shows actually in the artwork. I'm not privy to whether or not young George actually did any of the scripting, but I think it's obvious that Pablo Marcos had a greater hand in the art chores than he'd had back in the first two parts, Avengers 161 and 162.

Karen: I've read some interviews where Perez said that Shooter was not as familiar with the Marvel characters and that he (Perez) often helped by filling in background that Shooter was missing. Did you also notice that Shooter was the colorist on this issue?

Doug: I did not notice that! But there it is... Hey, I also saw that Terry Austin was the inker on the very nice cover art! Well, I can sum up this issue with one word: characterization. If Perez is the right man for the art, then Shooter is the master of the group dynamic. From the Legion to the Avengers, each character has their own mannerisms, voice, and he advances what becomes their backstory. This one starts off with a great deal of tension, as Shooter writes a very sullen, verbally aggressive Captain America. In the opening scene, as Cap works through some personal frustrations, we see the Beast in full character, and a side of Iron Man that's a bit softer than usual. Perez's lay-outs are top notch, as even though the entire scene is conversation there remain the elements of emotion and action. Perfect -- these guys got done in 3-4 pages what today's writers/artists do in an entire book!

Karen: Shooter was nothing if not efficient. He gets across his ideas easily and quickly. At this point in Avengers he was doing some things we hadn't really seen before, like having an insecure Cap.

Doug: No, you're right -- you'd have to go back to the Kooky Quartet to see a Steve Rogers brooding like he is here.

Karen: Yet it all worked. I especially liked the exchange between Cap and Iron Man, as these two friends had been really starting to go after one another. They resolve their issues here and Iron Man almost tells Cap that he's Stark, but Cap stops him before he can. But heck, I kind of figured he already knew.

Doug: There's also quite a bit of foreshadowing in this issue. You know, it's funny: This little four-parter has gone down in Avengers history as one of the must-reads, yet the next two scenes set-up what will become an epic on par with the Celestial Madonna or the Kree/Skrull War. Wanda gets a phone call (my, how times have changed technologically!) from Hawkeye, who is in Colorado. He tells her that the Two-Gun Kid has vanished, teleported away. Hawk's scoured the area, to no avail. When Wanda offers to come out to assist, Clint informs her that he will instead come to NY to take advantage of Tony Stark's technology. Right after, we're taken to the Hidden Refuge to drop in on Quicksilver. As he broods ('cause that's just what he does) and Crystal comes out to speak to him, he too disappears. Curiouser and curiouser... Oh, and let's not forget young Vance Astro, being guarded by his future-fellows, the Guardians of the Galaxy!

Karen: I know a lot of people love the Korvac Saga, but honestly, I thought it was fairly weak compared to the previous Avengers sagas. It did bring every Avenger imaginable -and then some -all in one place though.

Doug: I enjoyed "Korvac" because of the slow build-up, and as you said the vast array of characters involved. Meanwhile, back at the mansion a couple of delivery guys, working on the request and order of Hank Pym, bring the body of Ultron's bride to the laboratory. Even this scene has some nice, believable dialogue as the crate is hauled through the halls and into Hank's lab. However, when one of the men makes a crack about the robot, she seemingly responds by awakening! Right away, she remarks that it's Ultron who has awakened her, and she must go to him.

Doug: It's really eerie, because as the robot speaks the Avengers recognize that it's with Jan's voice that she communicates! While everyone had assumed that the life-transfer had been totally reversed back in issue #162, apparently it had not. Different Avengers attempt to subdue the robot, first and foremost the Vision. He is, in no uncertain terms, rebuffed. I found this to be an interesting scene, as it's apparent that Ultron took specific care to thwart an attack by this one Avenger. The robot throws off all attacks, and as she walks the Avengers plot another attempt at a takedown.

Karen: Both Jan and Hank are startled when the robot speaks, but the Vision ain't buying it. I love how he immediately attacks, saying that Ultron is playing a trick on them. The scene where Vizh is blasted away is fantastic. Ultron and his son still have a lot of issues to work out!

Karen: As the Avengers engage our metallic maiden, she displays a variety of powers, and is quite formidable. Although Hank and Jan are having a hard time engaging her, purely from a psychological standpoint.
Doug: Thor arrives, and it's interesting here that the team finds it quite odd that Thor speaks like he's been gone for quite some time, when in reality he had not. I almost had a Sentry-moment -- thought the dude was playing some sort of weird Bendis-game on me! Anyway, Thor slings Mjolnir at the robot, only to have it parried by Cap's shield. He and Iron Man arrive just in time to inform the team that no one is to impede the robot's progress, as she will most certainly lead them to a final showdown against... Ultron!

BAB Classic: Nice Job, Hank! Bride of Ultron Part 2

This post was originally published on 9 August 2010.

Avengers #162 (August 1977)
"The Bride of Ultron!"
Jim Shooter-George Perez/Pablo Marcos

Doug: Welcome back to our second installment of the "Bride of Ultron" arc. As Avengers #161 was actually chapter one of a four-part story spread over almost a year, #162 was a first “conclusion”. Ultron was revealed as the true villain last issue, having somehow mind-wiped Hank Pym and placed his memories well before he and Jan were married, and before the time when Hank had created Ultron. In this issue, we find that Ultron’s goal is to sap the life essence from Jan and instill it into his cybernetic bride (later to be known as Jocasta).

Karen: Yes, this story really brought on the full meaning of Ultron's Oedipus Complex, as he now not only tried to kill his "father", but also marry his "mother". Even Ultron creator Roy Thomas had not gone that far before.

Doug: Thor somehow got the distress signal that Cap had sent last ish, and arrives at the Mansion to see Cap, Wanda, Vision, and the Beast being hauled out on stretchers. It's interesting that everyone in the scene remarks that they've died, yet none of them have the sheet pulled up over the face. Hmmm... Anyway, Thor heads into the Mansion to find Iron Man recharging, and Wonder Man and the Panther trying to figure out just what the heck happened. Another call goes out to Hawkeye, but to no avail.

Karen: The grim nature of the situation is well-expressed here. As Panther and Thor talk about facing Ultron, they are truly avengers, hoping to destroy the one who has killed their comrades. They're in for the fight of their lives, and they may not come out alive.

Karen: Another interesting scene comes when Wonder Man questions whether Hawkeye is "worth all this grief." A stern Thor responds, "When thou hast proven thyself a thousandfold thou mayest question the "worth" of Hawkeye, my friend! I will disregard thy careless remark -this time!" This was a good example of Thor's tremendous respect for his mortal comrades. Shooter was spot on with this characterization.

Doug: In Ultron's laboratory, Perez does a great multi-panel layout showing Jan hooked up to a metal construct of a female. Ant-Man has been freed from captivity and is being cajoled into helping Ultron save the life of Janet van Dyne. Hank goes for the ruse, and begins a process that actually drains the life essence from Jan and into the robot. As this goes on, Shooter focuses in on each of the Avengers individually with some nice characterization, as they each come to realize what Ultron may be up to. As the process in the lab continues, we spy a couple of ants who hook up with some buddies and make their way to Avengers Mansion and spell out "STARKLI" on the floor.

Doug: Thor and Wonder Man must be kinda dense, because they don't get it. Iron Man and T'Challa of course put it all together immediately and the team begins to converge on Ultron's hideout. Another battle royale ensues, and there are some really great scenes. Of note are the entrances of each of the good guys (Thor's is the best), Iron Man's selflessness (whoa!) in taking a bolt meant for Thor, and Ultron shrugging off a two-pronged attack from Thor and Wonder Man. I really think, when you look at this line-up, that it shows just how strong Ultron is. And in the end, it's not brute force but a questionable headgame that does him in.

Karen: As the four Avengers head off to face Ultron, Thor gives out a battle cry, declaring that "This night we shall avenge our slain comrades, or taste death's bitter cup ourselves!" This rattles Wonder Man, who at this time was still struggling with his fear of dying again. I always felt that Wondy's fear was a great angle to take. Here's this guy who is damn near as tough and strong as Thor, yet he's paralyzed with fear when he goes into battle. It was different and made things interesting.

Karen: Let's talk a bit about the 'headgame' you refer to Doug. I felt this was another great bit of character work by Shooter, highlighting the differences in our Avengers. Iron Man realizes that they're getting nowhere in a physical fight with Ultron. He takes a gamble -and threatens to destroy Jocasta. It backs Ultron off, and he makes a swift retreat. But the Panther questions Iron Man's tactics. "I can not argue with success and yet your ploy with the girl...there is little honor in a victory that is won by-" Iron Man interrupts, "Stow it, Panther! Like you said, it worked!" But even Stark wonders if he would have gone through with it. I think this might have been one of the first times -if not the first -where Iron Man's "whatever means necessary" attitude was expressed.

Doug: Ultron is ultimately defeated, but at a cost of Hank’s permanent sanity. As the story winds down, and Hank is in custody, he screams out, “Ultron will be back to free me – and then we’ll crush you! That includes you, Janet! Now that they’ve somehow managed to make you whole again, your loyalties are apparently with them! How could I have ever thought I loved you (Avengers 162, page 31)?” In comfort, Iron Man says, “It…seems he’s gone totally mad, now – but don’t worry, Jan. After we study Ultron’s equipment, we may be able to restore his mind!” “Aye, ‘tis possible,” agreed Thor.
Doug: A pretty depressing way to leave a reader hanging, don’t you think? I'd like to follow up with some thoughts from my Hank Pym essay, mentioned last time. Frankly, I was crushed at this new development in the Pyms’ lives. How could Hank have let himself get to the point where he could speak to Jan that way? It was warming to see the other Avengers embrace and care for Jan in her time of need; that same picture, however, made me think of Hank as all alone and somewhat hopeless. Yes, the team had said they’d try to help him, but it seemed to me lines had been drawn; whilst one may forgive, can they ever truly forget? What Hank said – even if they could restore his mind, he’d said those words. Nothing could change that. I was eager to see how events would unfold over the next several stories. I assumed Hank and Jan would be missing for several issues, much as they had after the events of Avengers #’s 139-140. After a seeming fill-in in #163, where Iron Man did battle with the Champions and Typhon (years later, I’d see this for the marketing gimmick that it was – an attempt to build up sagging sales on a title Marvel would have liked to save), the team was back in action in #164 against a revised line-up of baddies calling themselves the Lethal Legion -- this was the opening chapter of the Count Nefaria arc that we reviewed last year.

Doug: The opening scene showed Simon Williams going through tests under the supervision of Tony Stark, the Black Panther, the Beast and… Yellowjacket?? After I had read the issue, I went back to look for clues to Hank’s sudden sanity. None. When the next issue came out, same thing. And again, and again – and no hint whatsoever as to how Hank had gotten back up and running. Nada. When #170 arrived and I saw that the Bride of Ultron story was apparently being continued, I thought surely Hank’s mental state would be addressed. Even when he was brought face-to-face with the robot for whom Jan’s life force was intended, he remained calm, almost as analytical as the Vision might have been. And that was that. The story, which was very good – I certainly don’t mean to diminish its wonderment and lasting greatness – ended and Hank was just status quo.

Karen: Yes, it does seem pretty odd that we never saw Hank regaining his sanity -it just seemed to happen off-panel. If I could venture a guess, I might suspect that it had something to do with the fact that Shooter had spent most of his career at DC, where "one and done" stories had been the norm. Perhaps he didn't feel he needed to show how Hank was restored -the reader would just have to assume he was. Not very satisfying, I agree.

BAB Classic: Nice Job, Hank! Bride of Ultron Part 1

This post was originally published on 6 August 2010.

Avengers #161 (July 1977)
"Beware the Ant-Man!"
Jim Shooter-George Perez/Pablo Marcos

Doug: Today begins a 4-part series that I can only call "one of my all-time favorites"; to call it anything less would be a lie. It's been long known by anyone I've ever discussed comics with that the Avengers are my favorite team, and surely somewhere in that conversation it's come up that if John Buscema is my #1 Avengers artist, then George Perez is #1A. Toss in a script by Jim Shooter, a long-ago superstar with another favorite title of mine, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and the formula for a winner is all here.
Doug: I am going to mix into these reviews some thoughts from my essay on Hank Pym, scheduled to appear in Assembled, Volume 3. To begin, the splash page by George Perez showed Ant-Man lurking in a ventilation shaft while Cap, Iron Man, Vision, Wonder Man, and Wanda enter the room. Making himself known via the use of a magnifying glass, Ant-Man addressed the group. It doesn’t take any time at all for us to know that Hank is not right. Seeing him like this, I felt that the potential seemed great for a mental breakdown along the lines of that suffered through Avengers #59-60 – and that is indeed what came to pass.

Doug: Hank was enraged that the Avengers were not present for their “first official meeting” – no Hulk, no Thor, and Iron Man not in his old, clunky yellow armor. Referring to Wanda as “the chick in the swimsuit” and Cap as a “two-bit imposter”, Hank asked for answers and when receiving only stunned silence launched a one-man (and mega-ant) attack against his friends. As the Beast and the Black Panther entered the fray, Hank single-handedly dismantled the team in a great scene by Perez that evoked the equally great cover. During the fracas, Hank's speech was unlike anything we’d seen from him. In response to the Vision’s suggestion that Hank is somehow putting them on, Ant-Man snapped: “Back off, Red Puss! And you can drop the weird hollow voice bit! Special effects don’t impress me!” It’s only when the Wasp suddenly appears, startling Hank and attacking him with her stings, that he is subdued. After containing him and restoring him to his normal height, Jan related the recent backstory of their personal lives, as she said, “It’s been…building for a long time…and I’m afraid his mind…has finally snapped.”

Karen: It's pretty cool to see the oft-denigrated Ant-Man wiping the floor with the Avengers! Obviously, he had the advantage, seeing as how his pals were both stunned by his actions, and unwilling to actually hurt him. Even so, he shows that he can be more effective than I think most of us ever considered.

Doug: Jan took the team back to shortly after she and Hank were married. She mentioned the accident that led to Hank taking the Yellowjacket identity and that subsequent to that his lab work began to go awry. Hank had begun to respond with rage and violence, often destroying machinery and other resources. Jan said that in days past it was always she who went to Hank for strength and support, but during this period their roles reversed. Jan mentioned that she had suggested therapy but that Hank would never have agreed to it; she went instead and was told to try to bring Hank back to life as it had existed before he had become YJ. She stated that things had been going well, and that she was excited when he agreed (seen in Avengers #151) to join her back on the team. But, as they flew back to the lab mere days before this, Hank sped away from her. And then the attack in the guise of Ant-Man…

Karen: I know Jim Shooter wanted to turn a Marvel hero into a villain, and eventually did that with Hank. Was he already planning that here? He planted the seeds certainly, with Jan's story about how Hank was often violent and unhappy. I mean, we saw some dissatisfaction on his part over the years, but I never got the feeling prior to this that he was capable of such rage. It also seems like Jan does a bit of blaming herself for Hank's issues here, and that would be magnified later.

Doug: The Avengers decide that Hank needs to be subjected to the "subliminal recall-inducer". Lord, if that isn't straight out of the Batman TV show!! Anyway, they put him under this old-fashioned hair dryer doohickey and... nothing. So, Wanda decides that maybe more of his close friends might bring him back. Cap attempts to contact Thor, Quicksilver, and Hawkeye, but no dice. We do get to see Hawk and Two-Gun living the dream out on a dude ranch, and that's a fun interlude.

Karen: That device was first seen back in issue 99, when it was used on Hercules. So you can blame Roy Thomas if it seems hokey!

Doug: Back in New York, the Beast is asked to drive Jan to her house to pick up some things. Shooter uses this little vignette as an opportunity to expand Hank's character, and Jan's too. It's a really nice scene. But, when Jan enters the house, she's struck down by an intruder who in turn takes out the Beast. Hank manages to make it back to Avengers Mansion in time to announce the arrival of Ultron! Last seen in Fantastic Four #150 at the wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver, Ultron was reconstructed and apparently made meaner than ever. He begins to knock down Avengers in a cool, calculated manner. No one staggers him, until Wanda begins to mess with his computer mind. Even that is temporary. Iron Man is drained of energy, the Vision goes down early, Wonder Man (who Ultron had done homework on) is taken out, and then the less-powerful members fall; most are taken out by Ultron's encephalo ray, a deadly neuro-neutralizing beam.

Karen: Great stuff in this fight sequence. I don't know if Ultron had ever seemed so menacing before. We get more of Wonder Man's fears,and Wanda's assertiveness which seems to have carried over from the Englehart era.

Doug: I'm certain some among our faithful throngs of readers are just dying for the scheduled BAB rip-job on Pablo Marcos' inks. Well, from my perspective Mr. Marcos did a pretty bang-up job here. As was stated in our first Open Forum, perhaps an inker's main job is to enhance a bad penciller and to stay out of the way of a good penciller. I feel Marcos does the latter here. My complaints earlier about harsh faces, muddy panels, etc. just aren't found.

Karen: I have to agree with you Doug: I have no complaints about the inking here. Perez' art comes through and looks as slick and detailed as I would expect. It's a fantastic looking issue.

Doug: The story ends when Hank, overwhelmed at the events of his day, decides to lash out at Ultron. Ultron seems surprised, but then calmly holds a finger toward the small hero, sucking him into a chamber as a prisoner. In a brilliant bit of foreshadowing, Ultron gloats over the defeated Ant-Man, ending his comments with a single word -- "father". The scene fades to black as the robot exits the mansion, only to return to light as Jarvis enters the room -- to a fabulous last-panel by Perez.

Now That's a Legit Fight... A 100-Word Review

Doug: Yeah, I know. Last week I said we'd have a review of DC Comics Presents #26 for you today. And we will... tomorrow. Your hosts seem to swim in two separate pools of busy-ness, and to be honest, neither of us like it much. Karen keeps remarking to me that we need to quit our jobs and find some way to get paid to do just this -- fun stuff! Don't I wish. But you won't go away without a comics fix today, my friends. Last Thursday before turning in I was messing around on my Kindle and came across my digital copy of Avengers #158, which just happens to contain my favorite superhero tussle of all time (not to be confused with the greatest book of all time with a superhero tussle, Silver Surfer #4). The back half of the book is a separate story that leads into #159's conclusion of the introduction and first battle with Graviton. But the first half of #158 contains a battle for the ages. For The Ages... Check it out:

Avengers #158 (April 1977) (cover by Jack Kirby/John Romita, Sr./Joe Sinnott - how's that for a Hall of Fame?)
"When Avengers Clash!"
Jim Shooter-Sal Buscema/Pablo Marcos

Doug: Jim Shooter shook up the Avengers, and this issue typifies his torment of the team’s relationships. Wonder Man, only back from the dead for 6 issues, assists Wanda after the battle with the Black Knight. The Vision broods over the fallen Knight, when he hears WM say “Lean on me, Wanda.” Uh oh. Having increasing feelings of inadequacy, the Vision explodes in anger. Ferociously attacking his teammate, the Vision basically substantiates everything he feared he did not have – emotion, personality, and the ability to love. Iron Man lets them fight it out, and do they ever! One for the ages…

Now that's what the BAB calls "Gettin' Buscema-blasted!"

BAB Classic Rewind: Inkers -- Just What Should Be Their Role?

  This post was originally published on July 10 2010
It was re-published as part of our BAB Firsts feature on January 23 2015

Doug: Welcome back to the post that just keeps on running. We are revisiting this topic yet again, as we have something to add to it. Our pal pfgavigan was gracious enough to submit another strip for your perusal and commentary. He based this one on the post you're about to read (again). It struck a chord with him back in January, so he submitted his own topical response. It rests at the very bottom of today's post, and will hopefully generate even more conversation. I'd throw out, too, that today we could discuss not only inkers in general, but bad fits. Of course we know those great fits -- Terry Austin and anyone would be tops on that list. But what of the mismatches? Thanks, pfg, and to all others who will dive back in today!

Doug: I have inking on my mind today. Part of my preoccupation concerns the current series Karen and I are running on Mondays in July, what we're calling "George Perez July" and featuring four annuals with his pencil work. Last week's peek into Avengers Annual #6 showed the inks of Mike Esposito, et al. However, tomorrow and a week later we're going to see Perez under the influence of one Pablo Marcos. In the opinions of the Bronze Age Babies, the results are less than stellar. Fortunately, when we delve into X-Men Annual #3 to close out the feature, we'll be inspecting the embellishment of super-inker Terry Austin. Austin's run with John Byrne in the regular X-Men title is among the finest series of issues ever published.

Doug: The other reason I'm spending the better part of a Saturday fretting over these issues is the recent e-mail I received from TwoMorrows promoting their upcoming retrospective on the career of Vince Colletta. Now when any discussion of inkers comes up, Colletta's name is sure to be at the forefront of the "disdain" side. For further information on not only the book but on what Vinnie did to Jack Kirby, check out the preview of the book. By the way, the tome will hit shelves on July 30, and can be ordered at this link.

Doug: If you scroll down our sidebar, I've added a little retrospective of the pencilwork (some with inks) of John Buscema. After the Silver Age, Buscema was known mainly for providing breakdowns over which the inkers had some liberty in bringing the finished page to you. Of course one of Buscema's longest-running collaborators was Tom Palmer in the pages of The Avengers. Palmer seemed to stay pretty faithful to Buscema's "look". John was known to say that the only two inkers he preferred over his pencils were himself and his brother Sal. Recently I reviewed the TwoMorrows biography of Sal -- you can see his comments on inkers here.

Doug: What we'd like to do is begin a new feature on the blog that we'll call The Open Forum. Please feel free to use this like a message board. What I want to know today is your opinion on inkers you love, hate, what their role is, are pencillers too picky, etc. How do you feel about Colletta erasing parts of Kirby's panels? Do you think it was good or bad that Joe Sinnott somewhat "unified" the look of the Fantastic Four while inking over Kirby, Romita, Buscema, Perez, and Byrne? Are there some pencillers who make good inkers (I always thought Gil Kane was best on the Amazing Spider-Man when Romita inked the book), and others who never mastered the craft? Have at it...

Doug: Below is another gallery of John Buscema's work, featuring his layouts, tight pencils, inks on his own work, inks by Dave Cockrum (from Avengers #125) and by Dan Adkins (the Captain Mar-Vell frame). Submitted for your appreciation and inspection.

 

Inaugural Post - The Arc of Triumph? Avengers 158-159

 

Doug: If you're one of our regulars, you came here today seeking a review of a Chris Claremont-penned tale. After all, that's what we'd agreed to several weeks ago. I have to confess -- I just can't do those reviews any more, at least for the time being. I could make a list of excuses, and I'm sure they'd mirror the professional and private lives of most people here. If that is indeed the case, then you know where I'm coming from. But rather than go totally away from what Karen and I consider to be one of the hallmarks of this blog, we thought we could sort of backdoor a review by choosing a story arc and letting our readers reminisce on their impressions of the tale, the art, the events within, etc. So today we're going to dip our big toe into the water and see how this goes. We have a few other stories we're considering for the next couple of weeks -- consider this the test-marketing of an idea.

Doug: I may have said it before around here -- the first half of Avengers #158 is one of my favorite hero vs. hero battles in all of comicdom. Two powerhouses just thrashing each other -- can a room contain that much testosterone?? The rest of the story, and on into issue #159 is a bit more pedestrian in my opinion. But enough of me -- this is what this series should get away from. What did you think?

Keep on Rocking in the Free World... or Not - Marvel Presents 3

Marvel Presents #3 (February 1976)
"Just Another Planet Story!"
Steve Gerber-Al Milgrom/Pablo Marcos

Doug: I can honestly say I got more from Al Milgrom in this issue than I expected, but way less from Vance Astro. So should I applaud Pablo Marcos and pan Steve Gerber -- is that what I'm trying to say? As we go through the month of August (and a temporary return to weekly partner reviews -- how's that for a taste of the past in a mag about the future?), I am confident that I'll be analyzing what it was that I liked about this incarnation of the Guardians. Of course the heavily-publicized feature film debuted just days ago here in the States, and I admittedly have no knowledge of the present team (I am assuming that these modern versions of Gamora, Groot, and Drax have no relations to their Bronze Age namesakes). So I'm definitely looking at the first five issues of the Marvel Presents Guardians series with an eye toward successes and failures.

Karen: I had most of the issues of this short series, and recall liking it well enough. I also enjoyed a lot of the more recent Guardians stuff (back when I was actively buying comics) although the original team are still the "real" Guardians to me -it's just a matter of perspective. I can say before we even get started, that this series is drenched in 70s attitude, most of it of the negative or bad variety, so on some level I have an automatic appreciation for it, although it gets a bit too bizarre for my tastes.

Doug: I think we can all agree that Steve Gerber often (OK, always?) injected his own politics into his stories in the form of satire. This series seems to be no exception, as right from the front page we get some POV narration from Gerber about the significance of the Milky Way, the Earth, and life. It ends well enough, and sets up the story, but I thought it read just a bit heavy. So do you suppose that imposing his own point of view on readers led Gerber to the Guardians strip, or would he have played it as heavy-handed in any title on which he would work? Gerber's writing style is quite different from that of Denny O'Neil, yet as I've read through the first few issues of this series I have found Gerber writing with as heavy a hammer as O'Neil in his Green Lantern/Green Arrow feature.

Sorry - small scanner bed!

Doug: We turn the page and we're faced with a nice two-page splash from Milgrom and Marcos that shows a full-on war between the Earthlings, the Badoon, and the Guardians. It's a summer movie spectacular, with fire, energy beams, and explosions! And the four main heroes are all in action, dutifully aiding those seeking to throw off Badoon imperial oppression. From the beginning, there is a reference to the storyline in Defenders #s 26-29, and keep in mind that prior to this issue, the Guardians had only been seen in less than ten comics. The creative team uses the next four pages to spotlight each member actively engaged in the skirmish, giving their backgrounds, power set, etc. Most of this is accomplished through narration boxes and relates information with which we are all by now familiar. I will say, though, that I was a bit surprised on the re-read that Milgrom showed us both a Badoon taking an arrow bloodily through the neck as well as Martinex turning a Badoon governor to ashes. It seemed a bit rough for a newsstand comic.

Karen: I guess all's fair in war, huh? In retrospect, this was shockingly violent.

Doug: Once reunited, the team quickly discovers that they have been victorious over the Badoon and have effectively freed the Earth! As the comrades celebrate, Vance Astro wonders where Starhawk is, and why he didn't help out. And then Astro seems to become a cipher for that guy on the street, the one who used to turn up from time-to-time in the Lee/Kirby books, doubting the heroes, dwelling on the power they have and that they don't have to answer to anyone for it. It's an odd voice I hear coming from Astro, as I don't believe it's the same characterization we've seen in the Marvel Two-In-One two-parter nor in the Defenders stories. I think in those stories Astro had more of a Captain America-type voice; here he's a grump, even a loose cannon. Maybe that's Gerber shaking things up, bringing us the unexpected. So we see Starhawk, rather aloof from the fighting, who takes off to survey the damage and to see what the next steps will be. He listens in on some Earthlings railing on about an eye-for-an-eye form of justice, and then Gerber gives Starhawk the moralizing voice, thinking to himself that the challenge will be to create a new society based on dignity, not hatred.

Karen: To play Devil's advocate, I can see why Gerber gave Vance Astro the personality he did. In his other appearances, he was a pretty bland guy -sort of your generic hero, nice, upstanding, etc. But if you start thinking about his situation, and the extreme,  ironic cruelty of it all (the thousand year old man whose mission was pointless, and who can never leave his foil suit), well, making Astro into a somewhat bitter, angry guy makes a lot of sense. He's not the most pleasant character, I'll grant you that, but he definitely has some layers. All of the characters have something of an edge to them, and looking back, it's surprising that a lot of this made it past the Comics Code!

Doug: I agree with your assessment of the change in Astro. Prior to this issue, ol' Vance could have been a cut-out from a Silver Age DC comic. So he provides some depth, some controversy on the team. I guess he was odd man out, huh? I couldn't have seen this personality being foisted upon Yondu or Martinex, and Charlie-27 is sort of a gentle giant, like Ben Grimm. Yup -- Vance was the guy. But what a jerk...

Doug: But just as we think the worst is over, there's a relapse to the situation. Another starship is landing -- a Badoon starship. Immediately Charlie-27 joins the Astro I-don't-trust-Starhawk chorus, this time to be coaxed back to his senses by Martinex. Everyone is understandably on edge, but in this short time span of a few panels it reads as over-the-top to me. But most fears are allayed -- or at least confused -- when the ship lands, opens, and out walks the female Badoon. We're reminded that the two Badoon genders hate each other and only reproduce to continue the species. The males are warlike conquerors, while the females are rational and would like to keep the males in check. They have come to take the males away and to deal with them. Of course the males want no part of this, and actually encourage the Earthlings to flay them alive! Wow... The man on the street, all couple hundred of them, of course think any Badoon is a bad Badoon and don't trust anything about this -- nor do they trust Starhawk, who seems to be in league with the Badoon women. The Badoon queen, growing weary of the arguing and accusations, basically says "you want the males dead, fine -- deal with them yourselves" and turns to leave. Astro steps in to calm the crowd, but Starhawk interrupts him. This causes friction between the two, and Astro again states his opinion about Starhawk's lack of assistance during the fighting. Starhawk says he answers to only himself, and one other -- and the other one is not Astro's god. We then get an odd page in the story, half art and half text, where Starhawk explains his position.

Karen: It sure seems like Gerber used a lot of text boxes, doesn't it? I can't think of another writer who had large runs of text like that. The mystery of Starhawk was one of the more interesting aspects of the title and the way it unfolded was well done. He certainly had an angelic aspect to him, and Astro's sarcastic response of "I suppose He speaks to you directly" properly shows the friction between the two of them. 

Doug: To close the issue, we again get one-page vignettes focusing on each of our main characters. Yondu heads to the forests of Earth, which reminds him of his homeworld. Yondu is a bit of a mystic, and in his meditation is nearly taken down by a... caveman? Wait, wait, wait. Every Earthling in the first half of the story, despite the advancement of time, was dressed much as we are. But only months later, and on the same planet, Yondu is attacked in the woods by a caveman? Who cannot speak? And as the guy leaps from a tree Yondu runs him through the vital organs with an arrow -- and then says he'll nurse the guy back to health? A few months later Martinex is hoping to get back into the science game -- that's his background. But while inspecting a command center of some sort, he's told by the resident director that the knowledge fell to the will of the Badoon -- there was time and space to craft shelter for humans or for their physically stored knowledge. But not both. And during the conversation, in a human effort to console, the Earthman reaches out to touch Martinex, but draws back. Martinex picks up on this and asks him why. And here Gerber asks us to consider bigoted behavior.

Karen: The scene with Yondu is a bit puzzling. I assumed that some humans had reverted to a more primitive state -that's really the only explanation I could come up with! The more disturbing thing here is that Yondu was considering suicide before the attack, but was convinced that his reflexive defense was a sign from his gods that he was not ready to die yet. Then again, he (like Martinex and Charlie) is the last of his kind - the Badoon really did a job on the galaxy! The encounter between Martinex and his colleague was very well handled by Gerber and Milgrom. Martinex, like Charlie, is of human descent -his ancestors were humans with genes altered so they could live on Pluto. He's not an alien. But his appearance causes unease. Despite helping to free the Earth, he has no place there.

Doug: On the west coast, Charlie-27 has gone to work for a construction company. He's a grunt, with a tyrant for a foreman. Toward the end of the shift Charlie finds that he can take no more. So, right before the whistle (why all these 20th Century conventions for a story set in the 31st Century?) to end the day, Charlie decides to wrap the boss in a girder... and leave him there. Lastly, we look in on Major Vance Astro. He's in a strip club (seriously? I was only 9 years old when this was on sale, and I could tell you 2-3 grocery stores/drug stores where I could buy this off the spinner racks) feeling sorry for himself due to his condition of advanced age -- after all, if not for his containment suit, he wouldn't exist. He cannot eat, cannot touch, nothing. So when one of the ladies strolls over and asks him about a good time and all that, Astro brushes her off. He's mocked by a nearby patron, and Astro's response was -- to me -- startling. I don't know that he was vaporized, but I'd be willing to bet he got more than a taser's worth of shock from Astro's mind blast.

Karen: All four of these vignettes stuck with me from when I read them as a kid, but the one with Astro really got burned into my brain, because you just did not see super-heroes in strip clubs back in the 70s! I don't know that I truly grasped everything that was behind this scene when I first read it, but upon re-readings as I got older, the meaning became crystal clear. Again, how this got through the Comics Code I have no idea, as it speaks of sexual frustration. The shot with Astro staring at the dancer's torso and the jewel in her navel pretty much says it all. I felt that this scene laid out the reasons for Astro's borderline mental breakdown later on -all of the normal physical activities that humans engage in are completely denied to him. Who wouldn't be angry and even a little nuts from that?

Doug: We end back on the Captain America, as Vance Astro is teleported aboard. He's, in his own way, happy to see his teammates. The same could not be said, however, for his greeting to Starhawk as the mystery man informs Astro that they are embarking on a mission of his own choice. They are leaving Earth for the stars, on a pre-destined course of travel. Astro's not sure he's given his consent to any of this...

Karen: Who's leading this thing? And we've got a crew of outcasts and malcontents -oh boy...

Doug: I can't say that I truly enjoyed this story much past the nostalgia factor. In fact, if I were to put myself in the shoes of the current film's producers and this was the issue I was shown as backstory for the original characters, I think I might have gone with the updated incarnation of the Guardians. We'll see how this goes as we move through the next four issues (week #4 of our series will be a two-for-one, as we were originally going to end in the middle of a story), but I have to say as we begin that I'm a bit edgy about Gerber's style and the art -- it was overall better than expected, but could still be uneven here and there.

Karen: I still have fondness for these issues, but I'm trying to evaluate them on their own merits. I have to say, this issue is pretty dark! But it's entirely set-up, so I'm prepared to see where it takes us. The art was solid -I've found Al Milgrom to be a mixed bag, really varying in quality depending on who's inking him. Here, Marcos is a good match.