This comic was not only my first US Avengers comic but it was also the first time I had “meet” the Squadron Sinister who I had absolutely no idea were meant to be a pastiche / tribute? to the Justice League of America, so for an 11/12 year old it was quite an exciting comic to have with so many characters to read about. Unfortunately, like many things from my distant childhood the memory of picking this issue up are for the most part lost to me with my recall being limited to seeing this comic on a spinner rack on a trip with my parents and brother to our then home town (a town we were shortly to leave) around March/April 1971.
The above illo (from issue 85 ) shows a more detailed picture of some of the Squadron members. So above are Lady Lark (Black Canary), Hawkeye (Green Arrow), Tom Thumb (possibly meant to be the Atom?) and American Eagle (Hawkman) .Other characters like Doctor Spectrum (Green Lantern) , Nighthawk (Batman), Hyperion (Superman) and the Whizzer (The Flash) also appear in this tale at some point.
This issue, "Brain-Child to the Dark Tower came...!" while not being “rocket science” is quite a confusing tale to recount as it spans at least 3 issues (84,85 and 86) with different versions of the Squadron characters from different dimensions/worlds being involved so it is probably best to try to summarise the story with the pages below drawn by the wonderful Sal Buscema (story by Roy Thomas). But basically the baddy in this tale “Brain -Child” is a child genius (Arnold) that had been working with the Squadron but he is bitter at the world because he's not accepted due to his deformity and as a result he deicides he is going to destroy it. It takes the combined powers of the Avengers and the Squadron to fight past his tricks and traps and put a stop to him and in the end he is reverted to a normal child with no memory of his “ big-headed” past. Looking back with adult eyes this reads more like a tale that I would associate with DCs JLA , which was perhaps Roy’s intention.
I lost my original copy of Avengers issue 86 many years ago but I found this replacement copy in the back issue section of a Brighton comic shop (Dave's) on a recent holiday weekend trip. As soon as I saw the cover I was immediately taken back to the time I first saw that image of American Eagle (I though he was pretty cool back then) . It was a great bargain as I got the comic and a wee trip back "home" all for a measly £4.
I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly he...
Following on from my last post featuring some of my favourite Marvel comic book covers from 1973, I thought I would show some of DC's ...
Nearly a half-century on I still consider 1973 to be the year that cemented my destiny in becoming a lifetime comic book fan. It was a yea...
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ReplyDeleteAlways good when another old 'pal' rejoins the ranks, eh, McS? I don't think I ever saw the original issues of this 3-parter, but I'll likely have reprints of it in my Avengers Marvel Masterworks volumes and maybe even elsewhere. It's pretty safe to say that if they were reprinted in Avengers weekly, I'd have read them back then, but I don't recall much about them. Like you, I'd never have twigged that they were Marvel alternate universe versions of DC heroes.
ReplyDeleteThey were certainly reprinted in Avengers weekly (when it incorporated Conan) around issue 135 - 140 or so. I only had issue 86 at the time picking up issue 85 years later. I still have a couple of Avengers US comics that I need to track down that I originally had and hope to pick them up on my next trip down south.
ReplyDeleteWords cannot express how much these early Avengers issues mean to me. I was fully enamored with Marvel by the time this fresh take on the Squadron Sinister appeared. Nighthawk became a fave when he showed up later in Defenders. I was in the perfect position to fully grok Roy's intent with this clever effort to include the JLA into the Marvel Universe. It's proven to be highly successful.
ReplyDeleteThis was really the start of my interest in Marvel as their comics had started to become more regularly available in my area which was fortunate as it was a pretty creative time for them.
DeleteThe title is from Robert Browning's poem 'Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came'.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware of that or that poem Colin . Although I have limited knowledge of Brownings work I may read this as what I have read of his work I have enjoyed.
ReplyDelete