The Avengers Book Club

[pym]

Let us all rediscover the magic and wonder that may or may not have diminished over time.

Starting with issue #1...give your thoughts about each book. Relate what you feel about how the issue affected you or the comic book community in general.

As it is the holiday season, we will devote the remainder of this year to #1 and #2.
When the new year starts...we will resume with isssue #3 ( as it has a cover month of Jan ) and beyond for the period of one week per issue.

Aside - I know that cover dates are usually about 1 month in advance of actual bookshelf dates...but it just seemed like a tidy way of organizing. I am always open to your thoughts and will edit/amend this first post according to popular consensus.

Be well, my friends...and Happy Holidays!

[ultron69]

Actually, cover dates are 3 months in advance of bookshelf dates. Anyway, yeah, cover dates are much easier to go with.

[spiderwasp]

#1 is certainly not a brilliant story but I love it nonetheless because of its historical significance. I think its fun to read how it all started and I admit to being filled with a sense of magic and wonder when the group decides to make it formal. I do roll my eyes quite a few times, particularly when Ant-man and the Wasp project their images by standing in front of a projector. Wouldn't that have projected shadows at the most. Maybe they had some form of ELMO years before its time. Of course the Hulk/circus bit is just so completely out there. The stories progressed greatly in quality over the years but for me, it's like watching a child take its first steps. It may be wobbly and unstable but exciting and amazing at the same time. If, ten years later, the child was still walking the same way, I wouldn't be too impressed but going back and watching a video of it can still make you go "Wow, that was cool". Despite its flaws, Avengers #1 feels that way for me.

[pym]

I can only imagine what the mindset was in mid '63.
For many years following WWII...comics had become a world of SF, Suspense, Crime, Combat and Romance.

There was always that small pocket of of the DC3...but it seemed that super heroes were on the back burner.

With the dawn of the Silver Age...it must have been a shining beacon of hope when the lines were drawn concerning Earth I and Earth II.

And then came The Marvel Age.
Most will say that early Marvel's are part of the Silver Age.

I disagree.

From the moment that the first issues of Spidey and the 4 hit the stands...that age had changed.

As DC would go on within the Silver for many years...Marvel had already broken that mold.

The idea of the 'Super Team' was not only relevant...but welcome and comforting.

I can only imagine the thrill that readers felt when they saw the big Marvel powerhouse heroes join together under one title.

The Avengers!

[pym]

#2...with the yellow brick tiles in the background...it seemed to send a message that this adventure might occur in any town.

Perhaps your town.

The Avengers have come to your town!...YAY!!!

The high tension of all of those powerhouse figures had to break...and it did.

The die was cast...there was no room for a 'monster' in this august cast of heroes.

I often wonder if they knew Cap was coming here...even before #1 hit the stands.

[Marvel Boy]

Jan 12, 2013 12:14:22 GMT -5 pym said:

I can only imagine what the mindset was in mid '63.
For many years following WWII...comics had become a world of SF, Suspense, Crime, Combat and Romance.

There was always that small pocket of of the DC3...but it seemed that super heroes were on the back burner.

With the dawn of the Silver Age...it must have been a shining beacon of hope when the lines were drawn concerning Earth I and Earth II.

And then came The Marvel Age.
Most will say that early Marvel's are part of the Silver Age.

I disagree.

From the moment that the first issues of Spidey and the 4 hit the stands...that age had changed.

As DC would go on within the Silver for many years...Marvel had already broken that mold.

The idea of the 'Super Team' was not only relevant...but welcome and comforting.

I can only imagine the thrill that readers felt when they saw the big Marvel powerhouse heroes join together under one title.

The Avengers!

I would imagine the mind-set of '63 was more of wonder and fun.

I have no clue as how to much advanced advertising there was for Avengers #1 but if this was done today, we'd know about the title six months before it's release, have preview pages probably with some form of spoiler, lots of hype, so that when the actual issue is released, we almost know half of the story before we even read it.

Back then, though, at least for me in the 80s, you'd have the Previews Checklist, Marvel Age may have a preview article, interview with the creative team, just enough to wet your appetite.

So that when you spun that spinner rack around and finally saw #1, you got so excited, you bought it, rushed home, and devoured it, page by page, punch by punch. You were thrilled by it, not spoiled.

Magnify that feeling back in '63 and I think it must have been mind-blowing to see Avengers #1 on the rack.