A comiXologist recommends:
The Avengers (1998)
by: Scott McGovern
With less than a week to go before the release of AGE OF ULTRON, Comixology and Marvel are happy to run the “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” sale. In 1998, Marvel launched Avengers Vol. 3 under it’s “Heroes Return” banner. Along with Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, the Avengers returned from a different Earth (don’t ask) and the titles were being launched with all-star teams, and given new #1’s. For just 24 hours, Avengers Vol. 3 is on-sale for $0.99 each. There’s many great stories to be read from this promotion, but here’s a few to get you started:
* Kurt Busiek and George Perez were tasked with launching the new Avengers book, and they decided to see how many Avengers they could fit into the first issue. No, really! Kurt Busiek has always been known to have a great feel for superhero characters, and it shows in the first arc: So many characters getting great lines, while telling a story of the Avengers beating unbeatable odds. George Perez’ work is simply incredible. Considered by many to be one of the great Avengers artists of all time, he cements his legacy by making simple updates to some costumes, and returning the classics to their glory. Even when he creates all-new costumes for when SPOILERALERT, he still touches upon what makes so many of the original costumes great. His story-telling skills are one of the best in the industry. Start with issue #1 and enjoy.
* Busiek and Perez continue their incredible run with ULTRON UNLIMITED, a classic Ultron vs. Avengers story. As Ultron plans to create “children” of his own, Hank Pym is forced to come to grips with his creation. The guilt, the sorrow, the anger… all of the emotions that tie Pym to Ultron come to the fore in this story.
ULTRON UNLIMITED Starts with #0, and then continues with #19.
* THE RED ZONE is a story where you’re not certain who the villain is until halfway through, and once you do, you smack yourself in the head for not figuring it out sooner. Geoff Johns writes as a good a story as you can imagine, but it’s Olivier Coipel who steals the show with some incredible artwork. When a mysterious, poisonous gas in the northwest US appears, the Avengers jumps in to help out, only to have the gas affect some of the Avengers in ways they hadn’t planned. This 6-issue story starts in #65 does such a great job of fleshing out less-popular heroes such as Jack of Hearts and Scott Lang; this story even helped make Henry Gyrich likeable for the first time.
* AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED is the beginning of Brian Michael Bendis’ years-long run, and the end of an era. The Kree, Ultron robots and one dead Avengers all show up in an action-packed finale that serves to wipe the current Avengers roster clean. The knowledge that one of their own was partially responsible, along with the loss and death of one Avengers ico sets the tone for stories and years to come. Start at #500, and hold on tight until the end.
[Check out The Avengers (1998) on comiXology]
Scott McGovern is a member of the Launch team, works on the Pull List, and loved the finale of LOST. Yes, really.
A comiXologist Recommends:
Scott McGovern recommends
Hawkeye
Hawkeye is the one of the best super-hero comics in recentmemory. Bold words, but true. As the critically-acclaimed and award-winning series comes to it’s conclusion, we’re pleased to offer the first 11 issues as part of this weekend’s Marvel sale for only $0.99 each until 3/22/15.
It’s a steal at twice the price. The general premise of the series is simple: What does Hawkeye do when he’s not avenging? Answer: he’s getting himself into trouble like fighting the Tracksuit Draculas, arguing with the other Hawkeye Kate Bishop, trying to convince his neighbors he’s not really Hawkeye (Is that a S.H.I.E.L.D. carrier hovering over the building? Oh, Clint.) or taking care of the world’s greatest super-pet - Pizza Dog.
This series isn’t the first time Matt Fraction (mattfractionblog) , David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth have collaborated. Their underappreciated run (in collaboration with Ed Brubaker) on Immortal Iron First showed that these creators work very well together. On Hawkeye, they’ve taken it to a whole new level.
If you’ve never read Hawkeye and you love comics and love great comics, grab the first issue. It’s one of the best comics you’ve never read. And if you HAVE read it, then you know what’s waiting for you. Treat yourself all over again.
In addition to Hawkeye, Marvel has also put the first 6 issues of Black Widow and a whole smattering of Secret Avengers comics on sale. Yes, you read that right - it’s a smattering.
Scott McGovern is a member of the Launch team, works on the Pull List, and loved the finale of LOST. Yes, really.