Marvel comics of 1990. Rebirth of Thanos, Stan Lee Silver Surfer, and Guardians relaunch!
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What’s Going On with Marvel’s Avengers Continuity?
A Hypothetical Case Study of How Not to Handle Continuity
Let’s say you’re writing a largely self-contained ongoing comic book title within a much larger shared universe. Let’s call your book… Sergeant USA! During most of your long-running story, Sarge’s lost his superhero identity and his place in the… Revengers. How do you mesh that with the universe’s continuity? Cleverly, at the start of your run you don’t allude to anything else going on in this comic universe, so that you can go on with your long-running story for as long as you like, and when you DO have to link back to the universe’s continuity you get to choose when all of it fits, start to finish. You can have your thirty-part, two-and-a-half years-running self-contained story while justifying Sarge’s absence from the Revengers in-between any two Revengers issues of your choosing, in retrospect. Damn you’re clever!
And then someone else comes along and messes with your simple but genius plan.
*Some spoilers for Sarge… Captain America and Avengers follow*
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Bomber Jackets & Love Triangles, The Avengers: The Gathering Omnibus
The early-to-mid-’90s were a wild time for superhero comics, and the overall “heavy on action, low on plot and character development” vibes have been commented on far and wide. Still, for all the bad, this was a time where major shake-ups were happening across the board. This omnibus collects a truly weird era of the Avengers in which the cast was flipped on its side with mostly lesser-known characters like the Black Knight and Crystal of the Inhumans taking the spotlight, and just about everyone owned at least one bomber jacket. Mainstays like Captain America and Iron Man disappear, and the book takes on a moody, tempestuous vibe rare to the Avengers. Love it or hate it, the era that brought us Avengers: The Gathering shook up the status quo of a team that could, at times, feel stagnant.
Collects: Avengers (1963) #343-344 And #348-375, Avengers Annual #22, Avengers Strikefile, X-Men (1991) #26, Avengers West Coast #101, Uncanny X-Men (1981) #307, Black Knight: Exodus And Avengers Anniversary Magazine [Read more…] about Bomber Jackets & Love Triangles, The Avengers: The Gathering Omnibus
X-Men Epic Collection: The Sentinels Live Review!
On my thirteenth birthday, I was given my first collection of X-Men comics. The characters were already legend. I’d spent the last few years being told stories, bits and pieces cobbled together from comics, and cartoons, and movies. When I started to read that collection, it did not disappoint. I fell in love with each character, the variety of personalities and backstories, all coming together to make a family. Each character showed a different philosophy, a different worldview, a different moral code, and they bounced off each other, creating a world that reflected the real one, creating a team that had depth and nuance.
Was it, at times, soap opera? Absolutely. But it was soap opera that worked, because each character had a beating heart. These X-Men are not those X-Men. [Read more…] about X-Men Epic Collection: The Sentinels Live Review!
Doctor Doom by Christopher Cantwell & Salvador Larroca Review!
In a word, Doctor Doom by Christopher Cantwell and Salvador Larroca is propulsive. It kicks off quick and does not stop. The hook is simple: an international tragedy has occurred, and it looks like Doom is the culprit. This makes ol’ Victor the world’s most wanted fugitive, and puts him at a severe disadvantage. Good pitch! Doom is indisputably the best villain in the Marvel universe, possibly of comics in general, and conceivably the entirety of fiction. And the comic is good… but not perfect! To better understand the quality of this series, we are going to turn to three men. The first is series writer Christopher Cantwell. The second: main series artist Salvador Larroca. And finally, we will consider Victor Von Doom himself, in all his armored glory. [Read more…] about Doctor Doom by Christopher Cantwell & Salvador Larroca Review!