This issue continues the story begun in the last issue, which ended with Captain America and Sharon Carter trapped under the collapsed ruins of a construction site after rushing in to save one last worker. We also learn more about the madness affecting prominent heroic American citizens—especially when it affects the title character himself. As... Continue Reading →
Avengers/Squadron Supreme Annual 1998 and Silver Surfer/Thor Annual 1998
The annual featuring the Avengers and the Justice League of America Squadron Supreme follows up on their "tense" team-up in Avengers #5-6 and offers a good old-fashioned "split into smaller teams to defeat the Big Bad's threat" story, while the Silver Surfer/Thor Annual from around the same time features one page with the Avengers, with... Continue Reading →
Marvel Universe #1-3 (June-August 1998)
Marvel Universe was a short-lived anthology series, the brainchild of writer Roger Stern and editor Tom Brevoort, that aspired to fill in the rich and varied history of our beloved canon (with numerous references to past events, only some of which are described below). The series began with a Invaders trilogy in which our three... Continue Reading →
Avengers #2-3 and Thunderbolts #11-12 (February-April 1998)
The two issues of Avengers covered in this post really have to seen in their entirety to be appreciated, presenting us a smorgasbord of George Pérez brilliance as he designed Arthurian-era outfits for dozens of heroes after they were transported by the sorceress Morgana le Fey, using the powers of the captured Scarlet Witch, to... Continue Reading →
Avengers #1 (February 1998)
This is the first issue of the third volume of Avengers, following the return of the core of the team from the "Heroes Reborn" universe in what is also a wonderful return to form for the Avengers and the book, now in the hands of Kurt Busiek and George Pérez. (See editor Tom Brevoort's reflections... Continue Reading →
Captain America #1 (January 1998)
Over 500 posts to get a Captain America #1, and now we get another one a dozen posts later? Welcome to modern Marvel Comics, where we go from new #1s to triple-digit legacy numbering and back again in the blink of an eye. The "Heroes Return" era brings our lost heroes—Captain America, Iron Man, Thor,... Continue Reading →
Avengers #12, Fantastic Four #12, and Iron Man #12 (October 1997)
These oversized issues comprise three quarters of "Heroes Reunited," the crossover event between the twelfth issues of the four "Heroes Reborn" titles that serves as the official* end of the Image Comics experiment and ends with Captain America #12 (covered in a separate post, despite being included in the collected cover image above). * I... Continue Reading →
Avengers #7-11 (May-September 1997)
This post covers most of the second half of the "Heroes Reborn" run of Avengers, as the title was transferred to Jim Lee's Wildstorm Studios starting with issue #8 and written by comics legend Walter Simonson for the rest of its short run, during which the team faces a large number of new versions of... Continue Reading →
Captain America #7 (May 1997)
Coming at the halfway point of the "Heroes Reborn" period, his issue serves as a reset of sorts for Captain America himself, as we'll see in the story below, and behind the scenes as well, as responsibility for the title changes hands within Image Comics from Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios to Jim Lee's Wildstorm. Most... Continue Reading →
Avengers #2-5 (December 1996-March 1997)
In this post we continue with the "Heroes Reborn" run of Avengers: In the first issue, the team found Thor trapped in amber, and in these four issues they face this reality's version of Kang and a new Hulk born from their old reality's Bruce Banner (split from the familiar Hulk in Onslaught: Marvel Universe... Continue Reading →