Avemgers

Avengers 287-289, 291, 294, 295-299

Well.  At least that’s over.  A slog of a night, powering through the rest of my 80’s Avengers.  Roger Stern shares story credit with Ralph Macchio in 287, and then rides off into the sunset.  Ralph Macchio goes a few issues before Walt Simonson takes over in a more permanent capacity.

There’s little to be said about these issues.  John Buscema continues to draw it with solid consistency.  Simonson doesn’t come close to the heights he had just reached on Thor - Doctor Druid continues to be a mistake, and to make matters worse, he’s paired up with yet another Kang story.  I have yet to read an engaging story involving this guy. (Kang. I've never read Doctor Druid before or after this, thank God.  Avengers Forever came the closest, and was at its best when Kang wasn’t on the page.  The concept of a time travelling conqueror constantly scheming with and against alternate versions of himself is promising, but no one has successfully utilized it yet.  The entire thing was a snoozefest, exemplified by the Executive Committee of the Council of Cross-time Kangs.  Talk about a warning sign that the arc might not be the most action packed.

"Kang Smurf, don't forget to smurf your Kang at smurf o'clock."

The other storylines dealt with Heavy Metal, a team of evil robots/androids (blech), Marrina turning in a leviathan (could not care less), and an Inferno tie-in (by this point, even the Avengers themselves have given up.  Everyone’s quit the team, and the reader is left with Jarvis fighting possessed cars and half of the Fantastic Four facing off against Nanny and Orphan-Maker.  I can’t imagine how much lower things can get, and college-me clearly agreed.  I can’t believe he let it get this bad before quitting the title.)

Never have I been so happy to not have a contiguous string of issues.  Less crap to read.  None of these are making it back into the longbox.  And what’s up with Cathy and Randy?  They only appear in the background of this single panel, never to be seen again.  

Not the first time Randy's had this feedback.

Regret buying? Yes

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Boring

Looking back at the Roger Stern Avengers, it hovered around Fine and Okay most of the time.  It suffered from the Al Milgrom art at the beginning before stabilizing with Buscema.  The stories were basically replacement level before ending with the huge one-two punch of the Siege of Avengers Mansion and the Avengers vs the gods of Olympus.  Not as good as I would have expected from such a well-known run, but not without its merits.