|
Post by ultron69 on May 11, 2009 10:54:29 GMT -5
I know what you mean. I'm at least glad I've got those great back issues, and can read them when I want.
|
|
|
Post by bobc on May 11, 2009 10:56:50 GMT -5
Yeah--I thank God for the marvel Essential Editions.
|
|
|
Post by humanbelly on May 11, 2009 14:54:50 GMT -5
Humanbelly, here (my daughter is giving me endless grief about this hastily-chosen username. . . . I may have to change it. . . . )---
I think the one aspect of the Disassembled arc that may have won a lot of folks over (and continues to) is that the art was extremely dynamic and dramatic. I'm not sold on its story-telling strengths at all, but there were unquestionably some gut-wrenching, pulse-quickening visuals to support the events, and- although horrible- make them almost. . . . "legitimate", I guess, for lack of a better word. A well-drawn comic will, naturally, lend authority to even a very lame story. I imagine that topic's been thoroughly covered here at some point in the past. I think this is something that fooled folks into thinking that Bruce Smith's run on the Hulk was brilliant, while I personally HATEDHATEDHATEDHATED it! But the art was always first-rate. (I exchanged emails w/ the book's editor at one point, and he actually agreed with me that he personally didn't like that book's direction at all. . . . . . but sales were up, so what could he do? Man, man, man. . . . ).
|
|
|
Post by bobc on May 11, 2009 15:35:38 GMT -5
You're right--I think David Finch is one of the best artists in the world. I was extremely excited after reading the first two Avengers Disassembled and even wrote a fan letter. It seemed as though the whole thing was going to be exciting and a blockbuster--but then nothing happened. Issue after issue of boring, disjointed, incompetent writing. Thought balloons. Dead end plot developments. Incoherent character development. If not for Finch's beautiful art I wouldn't have stayed with it as long as I did. Great art can only mask garbage for so long,
|
|
|
Post by sharkar on May 11, 2009 21:42:30 GMT -5
...you had her (Wasp's) obliviousness to Dane's crush on her That was indeed a great piece of characterization...poor Dane! I will never forget those panels of him walking distractedly into the mansion and straight into danger. Love'll do that to you! A while ago I'd asked if Jan ever got wise to the fact that Dane had a crush on her. Well, our own AA! Wasp-expert, Dr. Hank Pym, informed me that later on Jan did tell Dane she didn't have "those kind of feelings" for him (this occurred in a Solo Avengers book). Thanks, doc! I'm talking about the 80's Masters of Evil storyline where they take over Avengers Mansion. I think Roger Stern wrote it but I'm not sure--John Buscema certainly drew it! I'm not crazy about this art, because it's too much Palmer and not enough Buscema. As I just mentioned in another post a few minutes ago, this was when John was doing layouts/breakdowns/rough pencils. I realize I am hopelessly stuck in the late Silver Age but "my" John is the one whose work is on display in the late 1960s Avengers, especially when inked by George Klein. Classic. Still, this is a great arc ("Under Siege"), one of the best; and I'll take J. Buscema where I can get him.
|
|
|
Post by Marvel Boy on Jun 7, 2013 12:47:49 GMT -5
I've been reading Van's ASSEMBLED Vol. 1 (very interesting) and I've come to the essays on the Bob Harras era, specifically the early years of the Proctor and Gatherers story. This was during the time I wasn't reading the title for reasons now lost to the mists of time and memory. But from reading these essays, I'm considering chasing down these issues to read. The Gatherers being a threat uniquely suited to fight the Avengers and the roster seems rather solid but what's sold me is the lead of the Black Knight, one of my favorite Avengers. The essays do mention how, as with everything in the 90s, it has to be darker, grittier and the Avengers were apparently no exception. But using Dane as contrast to Cap in showing this new edge piques my curiosity, not to mention that this is apparently where his romance with Sersi begins. Now, I know this plot runs from what, #343 to #375. Not easily collectible in trade, but still I think worth checking out. So any more recent thoughts on this period of the book? (Other than the jackets ) I've never read the Crossing either and frankly, the more I read about Teen Tony, the more I don't want to read about Teen Tony. Hard to believe that it's been collected in TPB.
|
|
|
Post by ultron69 on Jun 10, 2013 12:27:42 GMT -5
Now, I know this plot runs from what, #343 to #375. Not easily collectible in trade, but still I think worth checking out. So any more recent thoughts on this period of the book? (Other than the jackets ) I don't have the entire run (thankfully) but of what I do have, there are far more negatives than positives. Besides the jackets, I thought the characterization of many of the characters (especially Sersi and Crystal, and even Cap) were off, everybody is tough, and has a bad attitude. There were issues where every character had a scowl on every panel. I also hated the art for most of the Harras run. Also, I hated the introduction of a bunch of alternate timestream characters into the team, it made me think the Avengers were trying way too hard to be like the X-Men. Some of the dialogue was hackneyed, not that Harras is the first writer I've accused of that. There was an issue that focused on the Vision which I liked, a couple of the stories were decent, but basically, the tone of these issues, plus the art, really turned me off. Reading through all of these became a chore. Even though Hercules’ speech patterned changed, I did like the way he kept bragging about his past exploits. So there is that.
|
|
|
Post by ultron69 on Jun 10, 2013 12:43:07 GMT -5
Humanbelly, here (my daughter is giving me endless grief about this hastily-chosen username. . . . I may have to change it. . . . )--- Deathcry, that is. Well, if you change your name, you may have to change your avatar, so consider that.
|
|
|
Post by humanbelly on Jun 10, 2013 12:53:46 GMT -5
Humanbelly, here (my daughter is giving me endless grief about this hastily-chosen username. . . . I may have to change it. . . . )--- Deathcry, that is. Well, if you change your name, you may have to change your avatar, so consider that. Oh no no, HUMANBELLY is indeed who I am, at this point. Heh-- even though there's about 20 pounds less of it (me) these days. But I've carried it over onto a couple of other boards, and will be attending a convention with it later this summer-- so for better or worse, I remain metaphorically the Stomach that Walks Like a Man. . . HB
|
|
|
Post by ultron69 on Jun 11, 2013 8:16:22 GMT -5
Glad to hear, HB. The Stomach that Walks Like a Man would be a rather wordy screen name, anyway.
|
|
|
Post by Marvel Boy on Jun 11, 2013 23:49:36 GMT -5
Now, I know this plot runs from what, #343 to #375. Not easily collectible in trade, but still I think worth checking out. So any more recent thoughts on this period of the book? (Other than the jackets ) I don't have the entire run (thankfully) but of what I do have, there are far more negatives than positives. Besides the jackets, I thought the characterization of many of the characters (especially Sersi and Crystal, and even Cap) were off, everybody is tough, and has a bad attitude. There were issues where every character had a scowl on every panel. I also hated the art for most of the Harras run. Also, I hated the introduction of a bunch of alternate timestream characters into the team, it made me think the Avengers were trying way too hard to be like the X-Men. Some of the dialogue was hackneyed, not that Harras is the first writer I've accused of that. There was an issue that focused on the Vision which I liked, a couple of the stories were decent, but basically, the tone of these issues, plus the art, really turned me off. Reading through all of these became a chore. Even though Hercules’ speech patterned changed, I did like the way he kept bragging about his past exploits. So there is that. X-Men ruled Marvel during the 90s so it doesn't surprise me that Harras (who was an X-editor) tried to emulate them with the Avengers. Plus, if your characters weren't dark and gritty back then, you were out of sync with the times. I was kinda surprised when I recently checked through my Avengers collection. Seems my mail subscription lasted long enough for me to have the issues where Rage and Quasar join up (around #330-331) and it seems my very last issue via mail was #337. But I don't remember a single thing about those issues! :lol: Gonna have to re-read them now.
|
|
|
Post by ultron69 on Jun 12, 2013 6:40:12 GMT -5
I was kinda surprised when I recently checked through my Avengers collection. Seems my mail subscription lasted long enough for me to have the issues where Rage and Quasar join up (around #330-331) and it seems my very last issue via mail was #337. But I don't remember a single thing about those issues! :lol: Gonna have to re-read them now. I actualy think the title was decent up through about #330, so some of those issues might be a good read for you. I hope.
|
|