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When the Avengers Ruled, Part 2 (continued): Power Drama, Avengers #164-166

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[covers by George Pérez]
This piece continues from last time our discussion of the first half of Jim Shooter’s 1970s Avengers run. Here, we’ll cover his “Nefaria Supreme” or “Nefaria’s Lethal Legion” arc with artist John Byrne. Next up will be the epic “Korvac Saga,” drawn by George Pérez and closing out this relatively brief era that nevertheless stood as proof that the Avengers could be more than just a wildly inconsistent smorgasbord of kooky or far-out ideas that, in the execution, largely failed to impress. This was a transitional period that would ultimately lead to one of the very few multiyear runs that easily redeem and justify the existence of this 60-year-old franchise—the Roger Stern run, followed over a decade later by the Kurt Busiek run. So far in this century, we have the Bendis and Hickman runs, with little of interest in the title since early 2015.

The back-to-back classic Avengers stories, “The Bride of Ultron” (#160-162) and “Nefaria’s Lethal Legion” (#164-166), are available in both a smaller trade edition and a much bigger Epic Collection.

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Justice League Infinity Review!

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The DC Animated Universe (DCAU) was a big part of my childhood; I know I’m not alone in that. Watching Batman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, and all the other shows always was a good time. That universe gave us what – at the time – we didn’t have with Marvel or any cinematic experience. It ended on TV after Justice League Unlimited concluded, but it continued living on through a few movies and comics.

During the last season of JLU, we saw Lex Luthor forming the Legion of Doom, basically the Justice League for villains. After many failed attempts at destroying the League, Luthor tried to reach godhood again by reactivating Brainiac; instead, he resurrected Darkseid by mistake. In the last episode, the Justice League and the Legion of Doom united to fight Darkseid; however, the one who “defeated” him was Luthor, who delivered him the Anti-Life Equation.

JLU had a near-perfect conclusion, but between its events and the start of Batman Beyond there still were many possibilities; Justice League Infinity represents one of them. From JLU producer James Tucker and animated series writer J.M. DeMatteis, accompanied by artist Ethen Beavers and colorist Nick Filardi, Justice League Infinity is a multiversal (and really nostalgic) adventure that gives a taste of the great DCAU. [Read more…] about Justice League Infinity Review!

Hickmania 8.1: East of West Review!

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These days, thanks to his years of work with legacy Marvel Comics properties, Jonathan Hickman is regarded as one of the kings of long-term comic book storytelling. He is supremely skilled at planting seeds early on that become hugely impactful plot points, and at recontextualizing scenes by returning to them 30 issues later and revealing information that fills in gaps the reader had no idea existed. Within Marvel, that deftness has, of course, given us the 2015 universe-resetting Secret Wars event and, more recently, revitalized the entire X-Men franchise. But even with the huge swings Hickman has taken over the last decade or so, working with legacy characters within a shared universe at one of the Big Two meant he had at least some limitations. East of West – the sci-fi/western end-of-days epic Hickman co-created with artist Nick Dragotta – has no such boundaries. Over 45 dense, exciting issues, Hickman and Dragotta flex their world-building muscles, and boy are those two jacked. [Read more…] about Hickmania 8.1: East of West Review!