In this post we see Captain America process the loss of his beloved shield in the last issue, while he also deals with the "Capmania" that broke out while he was "dead" for a year and which exploded when he returned. (Oh yeah, and Hydra too, again.) After a couple pages setting up Hydra's invasion... 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 #13, Iron Man #13, and Heroes Reborn: The Return #3-4 (November-December 1997)
This post concludes this blog's coverage of "Heroes Reborn," the year during which Rob Liefeld and Jim Lee of Image Comics took over four Marvel titles in an attempt to make them "kewl" and "Xtreme," only to see the initiative collapse halfway through, with Jim Lee's Wildstorm Studios carrying the ball over the finish line... Continue Reading →
Captain America #12 (October 1997)
This issue finishes the "Heroes Reunited" storyline across the twelfth issues of the four "Heroes Reborn" titles (begun here), as well as the main part of the "Heroes Reborn" period itself, with only the "World War III" crossover with the Wildstorm universe and the Heroes Reborn: The Return miniseries left to get our heroes back... 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 #6, Avengers #6, and Iron Man #6 (April 1997)
These three issues—plus a prologue in Fantastic Four #6—comprise the first crossover event of the "Heroes Reborn" era, which ends in Captain America #6. We'll get to our brief coverage of that story later in this post, but first we discuss the bulk of that issue, which deals with our hero meeting someone from his... Continue Reading →
Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1 (October 1996)
This is it, the culmination of the Onslaught Saga and the issue that leads to... well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. As with the first two installments of this story (here and here), Captain America serves mainly as field leader and—as emphasized in Avengers #402—supporter of morale among his fellow heroes and the population... Continue Reading →
Avengers #402, The Incredible Hulk #445, and X-Men #56 (September 1996)
This is the second post focused on the Onslaught Saga, which brings the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four together to battle Onslaught, an entity formed from the warped consciousnesses of Professor Xavier and Magneto, who plans to wipe out humanity for the sake of mutants. More important for us, the issue of Avengers covered here... Continue Reading →