AVENGERS:
WEST
COAST AVENGERS- LOST IN SPACE-TIME (Marvel,
2012; Hardcover)
Collects
West
Coast Avengers
(Vol.
2) Nos. 17-24, Fantastic
Four
No. 19,
and Doctor
Strange
No.
53 (cover
dates October,
1963; June, 1982; February-
September, 1987)
Writers:
Steve Englehart, Stan Lee (Fantastic
Four
No. 19), and Roger Stern (Doctor
Strange No.
53).
Artists:
Pencilers- Al Milgrom, Jack Kirby (Fantastic
Four
No. 19), and Marshall Rogers (Doctor
Strange No.
53); Inkers- Joe Sinnott (Nos. 17-21), Dick Ayers (Fantastic
Four
No. 19), Terry Austin (Dr.
Strange No.
53), and others (Nos. 22-24).
Steve
Englehart was on a roll with this title. What were once merely
entertaining, serviceable superhero stories have blossomed into a
full bore centuries spanning epic lasting 8 issues. There is no way
that this could be done today, as endless company wide crossovers
would interrupt the flow of this title. Most titles lose steam along
the way, but Englehart was like a locomotive here. Slow to start, but
once things got cooking he was impossible to stop.
I
always smile when people refer to Brian Michael Bendis as the
greatest Avengers writer of all time. Roger Stern, Roy Thomas, Steve
Englehart...these are the cats who wrote the classics. Englehart's
character development is worlds beyond anything that Bendis did, and
he did it with greater efficiency. Hank Pym's growing despondency and
thoughts of suicide, the growing arrogance of Wonder Man's new-found
confidence, the increasing friction between he and Iron Man,
Hawkeye's progression from unlikable upstart to guiding light for the
team when the chips are down...these are all real, organic character
developments, done within the confines of the story, and done without
the sacrifice of action or fun. No snarky dialogue, no condescending
attitude toward superheroes...in short, just great comic book
writing.
The
gist- The West Coast Avengers head to Albuquerque to find
Firebird and offer her membership on the team. Once there, they run
into a dead end...and four supervillains named Sunstroke (who looks
exactly like Stingray with different colors), Gila, Butte, and
Cactus. Yes, Cactus. As in a walking, talking humanoid Cactus. The
villains flee but Iron Man manages to track them down to their cave
hideout, where they find their leader, Dominus. Dominus is from the
same alien race as Lucifer (Silver Age villain), and he traps the
team in Doctor Doom's malfunctioning time machine. It sends them
backwards in time but cannot return to the present. All of this
occurs in one issue. Bendis would have milked that for an
entire trade paperback and then launched it into a company wide
crossover spanning 50 issues.
Englehart
certainly knows his Marvel continuity. In the Lost In Space-Time
mega-arc he refers to his classic '70s run and includes characters
steeped in Marvel lore like the Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid, the
Ghost/Night/Phantom Rider, and Rama-Tut. The team ends up jumping
backward in time a few times trying to repair their broken time
machine. They go all the way back to ancient Egypt to enlist the help
of Rama-Tut, who traveled thousands of years back in time himself.
This is another nod to Englehart's '70s run, as
Rama-Tut/Kang/Immortus all figured into the classic Celestial
Madonna arc.
The
ranks of the team swell with the addition of La Espirita (formerly
Firebird), Doctor Pym, and Moon Knight. Doctor Pym is a horrible
character name and idea, and he dresses like the Phantom Stranger.
God awful. Englehart created the shrinking things other than himself
aspect to Pym's power, something which is utilized to this day. There
is an interesting development with Moon Knight's weapons, with
Englehart inserting a continuity porn aspect to them which diehards
will love.
 |
| Note Doctor Pym's costume in panel 2. Looks just like the Phantom Stranger.
I
love how the story keeps splitting into an extra part with each
issue, culminating with 8 parts in the final issue. The splash page
for part two has two panels, and it increases by one panel for each
subsequent issue. The story continually adds layers and grows more
complex but Englehart didn't miss a beat. The guy was juggling
plotlines like plates and didn't break a single one. I'm even betting
he didn't need a “creative retreat” to pull this off.
The
Fantastic
Four and Doctor Strange
issues are included as a sort of
bonus because both of these issues intersect with the events of the
West Coast Avengers
Rama-Tut/ ancient Egypt time travel adventure. Very cool and very
fun. The Roger Stern-penned Doctor
Strange issue is a treat, with
artwork by the team of Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin. Of course
the Stan Lee/ Jack Kirby Fantastic
Four are great. It was fun to re-read that one
again.
This
was a great read, the best run of this title thus far. I am looking
forward to the next hardcover, which I already have in queue.
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.
The
OCD zone- The late, lamented Marvel Premiere Classic line
was sort of a junior Masterworks line. Classic material
presented in hardcover with nice paper and sewn binding at a much
lower MSRP.
Extras: None.
Linework
and Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. The restoration is
excellent throughout the book.
Paper
rating: 5 out of 5. Heavyweight thick coated stock paper with a
slight sheen.
Binding
rating: 5 out of 5. Sewn binding. The book lays completely flat
because the casing is not glued square to the spine, allowing for a
good deal of flex.
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