6) What is your favorite Avengers comic or storyline?
Nick: Gotta go with The Ultimates by Millar and Hitch, though I’d throw Civil War an honorable mention, even if it is more of a Marvel Universe story than an Avengers one. Ultimates gives a great origin story for the team and clearly influenced the direction the films wound up taking. It also gave us a radically reimagined Thor that I hope to one day see transitioned onto the big screen, in the form of a character whose Asgardian origins are somewhat in doubt in the eyes of both his teammates and the public at large.
Greg: Embarrassingly enough, I haven’t read many Avengers comics. Due to that lack of diversity in my mental library, I’ll have to go with Ultimates by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. This book did a great job of introducing newcomers to the Avengers, and it did so by both paying tribute to the past and modernizing the concepts and characters. It’s a fun, fast read with some great art work.
Todd: Why, I do believe I just wrote about my absolute favorite Avengers story.
Tim: Oh, jeez. This is where I’m just going to rattle off favorite stories without being able to pick one, isn’t it?
Todd Weber paid tribute to “Ultron Unlimited” in his recent Weber Has (Special) Issues: The Greatest Ultron Story Ever Told. And he wasn’t lying, it’s a dandy. Short of nominating the entirety of that Busiek/Perez tour-de-force as one continuous storyline, I’d like to also give some love to their second Avengers/Thunderbolts team-up which pitted both teams against a repowered Count Nefaria. It’s largely been forgotten, and that’s a shame.
Along similar lines, “The Korvac Saga.” It’s Jim Shooter’s crowning achievement, playing on his favorite pet theme: the tension between omnipotence and benevolence. I first read this several years ago, getting increasingly sunburned and drunk, alone, on the beach. It made for a great afternoon and I can’t imagine there being a better way of experiencing “The Korvac Saga.” Highest possible recommendation.
“Under Siege,” the definitive AVENGERS story of the ‘80s, and arguably of all time. Despite its bombastic billing, it’s a remarkably intimate and grounded story, hitting the emotional beats like none other. Roger Stern and John Buscema were at the peak of their powers here.
Honorable mention to “Operation: Galactic Storm.” If you’re a fan of escalating cosmic stakes and political intrigue, check out this diamond in the rough. It’s a 19-part crossover, but that’s positively tame by today’s standards, and cohesively bound together by some TIGHT plotting for such a collaborative effort. Spiritual successor to the “Kree/Skrull War” (which, yeah, I guess you should also read).
Russell: That’s a tough one, but I have to give it to Brian Michael Bendis’s New Avengers: Breakout. I read Avengers Disassembled and then House of M which got me interested in continuing on with the X-Men and Avengers story after the event. I hadn’t read either in a long time before that but then I remembered why I fell in love with them all over again. It was a great time of rediscovery for me. I still go back and re-read that story from time to time.
7) What creative team would you like to see take a stab at the Avengers and why?
Nick: This answer is pretty predictable for anyone who’s followed our Hard-Traveling Fanboys columns, but I’ll go with Geoff Johns on the scripts and Esad Ribic on art. Johns has shown an ability to juggle an ensemble cast with his work on Green Lantern and various DC events, as well as the New 52 Justice League title. Ribic, meanwhile, is simply the best artist going in comics today for my money. His work on Secret Wars thus far only strengthens my desire to see him take on Marvel’s premier title.
Greg: Call me crazy, but I’d love to see the classic creative team of Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire put together a comedic mini-series starring some of the Avengers’ also-rans, preferably headed by Ant-Man. It would be a fun alternative to the world-ending stakes that come with most Avengers tales.
On the serious side, sign me up for DC stalwarts Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis getting an extended run on the title. Sure, they’ve both done Avengers work (together, no less) in the past, but this is a far different Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis than those of a dozen years ago. A good two-or-three-year run with the Avengers could produce some classic comics.
Todd: Hmm, that’s a tough one. I think I’d like to see Geoff Johns return to the Avengers, but with Gary Frank or Ivan Reis on art duties (and NO JACK OF HEARTS allowed). Johns has come a long, long way as a writer since his last tour on “Avengers”, and Frank and Reis are outstanding storytellers who work well with Johns and would craft terrific Avengers stories.
I just wish Avengers would revert back to one team. I don’t know which one to buy anymore, so I usually don’t.
Tim: Well, I sort of answered this question in my PTB Comics Draft pitches (cheap plug). Joss Whedon and Alan Davis on the mothership, Busiek and Perez reunited on a sister series. In fairness, the former was more of a shameless cash grab than a reflection of my purest heart’s desire as a fan. Honestly, if there was a way for Busiek and Perez to just do AVENGERS until the end of time, I think I’d be satisfied with that.
In the spirit of giving a more original response: Mark Waid and John Romita, Jr. Busiek and Waid are neck-and-neck for me when it comes to greatest of all-time pure superhero writers, so it’s mind-boggling that Waid has never gotten a proper run on Marvel’s premiere superhero team (he wrote the last three issues of volume 1 before the Heroes Reborn reboot and that was it). Far from losing his touch (as old school creators are wont to do), Waid’s contemporary projects are as fresh and exciting as ever. At the same time, I’d love to see Romita, Jr. cut loose on a team book again. I thoroughly enjoyed his UNCANNY X-MEN (both stints), while his THOR in the late ‘90s really opened my eyes to the epic scope and grandeur he’s capable of packing into his pencils. I might’ve passed him over if not for the rejuvenating effect that SUPERMAN has had on his career. Man’s still got it. A Waid/Romita combo on AVENGERS sounds damned triumphant and is a can’t-miss prospect.
Russell: Greg Rucka and Esad Ribic would make for an interesting pairing and possibly an amazing story. Rucka has handled big casts before and I love his sci-fi, espionage style. And Ribic’s style is just epic and tremendous. Perfectly suited for a large team dynamic. Just look at what he’s doing in Secret Wars right now.
