JLA/Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Avengers Forever

Avengers vs JLA 1-4

Not like it’s a flash of brilliance or anything, but I think that I have to do my reading at an earlier time every day; I passed out yet again, this time reading JLA vs Avengers.  To be fair, it wasn’t just because I was sleepy/tired - I read the first 1.5 issues at 2 in the morning; I read the remaining issues today at 2 in the afternoon.  Still nodded off several times.  So I think the quality of the story had at least something to do with it.  But in any case, I’ll try to not make the reading the last thing I do for the night.  (I didn’t get any writing done yesterday, so today is a full hour of writing.)

So not the most promising start for Marvel and DC’s second shot at JLA/Avengers.  (There was an aborted attempt in 1979, written by Gerry Conway.)  This time around, Kurt Busiek wrote the story, but it contains none of the heart that you see in Astro City.  He certainly does a fine job hitting all the proper nostalgia buttons (here’s the standard misunderstanding-between-heroes fight, there’s the part where each team is in a race to collects a certain number of MacGuffins, much like the classic cartoon GI Joe 5-parters).  I particularly liked his references to past JLA/Avenger team-ups that never happened, harkening back to the old JLA/JSA crossovers.  And Hawkeye twice refers to the JLA as “Squadron Supreme wanna-bes.”  Heh.  

Soon this thing will be in three pieces and the Joes will be running all over the world.

But once I got past the initial thrill of seeing these two teams on the same page, I both literally and figuratively fell asleep.  The story did absolutely nothing to capture my interest.  In fact, the DC/Marvel crossover issues that led to Amalgam were way more fun, because they dispensed with any semblance of plot and focused on the fights between heroes.  I just wanted to watch Batman fight Captain American, I didn’t need a reason for it.  Green Arrow vs Hawkeye?  Sign me up!  Indeed those were the best parts of this miniseries.  I found myself wishing that I could ignore all of the plot-laden dialogue.  

Not a fan.

Especially when the art is done by George Perez!  It goes without saying that he was clearly the only choice to pencil this series. It was true in 1979, and it was true in 2003.  His splash pages are intricate Where’s Waldo masterpieces.  That cover to issue 3!  (Though I really dislike how he draws the Thing.)

That's more like it!

Regret buying?  No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again?  No, but I’ll look happily look at the art again.

Rating: Fine

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes 1-3

I stopped buying this miniseries after 3 (It ran for 8).  Can’t remember why; the story’s decent, and Scott Kolins does wonderful art here.  His Thor is impressively godly, and there’s a small panel of Cap towards the end of issue 2 that really moved me with its quiet majesty.  

The story fills in the gaps between the first issues of the original Avengers series, covering fascinating details like the signing of the Avengers charter and getting Avengers Priority Status from the US government (not being sarcastic here).  I wouldn’t have minded reading the rest of it, but not enough that I’m going to go searching for these issues.

Regret buying?  No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again?  Yes

Rating: Fine

Avengers Forever 1-3

This is one of those series that I keep starting and never finishing.  I go for the Carlos Pacheco art, and leave because of the dense story.  It’s time travel at its most confusing, and not in a good way.  But I’m really enjoying it this time around.  (Really need to make sure I’m not sleepy when I read it, though).  

It’s another Kurt Busiek Avengers special.  Between this and JLA/Avengers, there should be no doubt that he knows everything there is to know about Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.  His knowledge of their history runs deep.  And this series lets him make use of all of it, pulling from every corner of Avengers lore.

But as with JLA/Avengers, the art is the best part of this series.  This is apex Pacheco, to borrow a term from The Ringer’s Rewatchables podcast.  Simply beautiful.  It’s a day of small but stunning panels of Captain America.  This one’s also in issue 2, as he holds up a crushing mass of antagonists.  It’s a tiny corner of the page, but has always staying in my mind.

I also love his Kang one-handing massive guns.

Steve Oliff’s work also merits notice.  Despite the complexity of the pencils, his colors ensure that the focus of each panel is always clear.  (Something that stands out in in stark contrast to the colors in JLA/Avengers, now that I look back at it for comparison).