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Sunday, March 17, 2024

Favourite comics: Avengers #94 - Neal Adams, John Buscema, Tom Palmer & Roy Thomas

Without doubt one of my all-time favourite comic series is Marvels “Kree–Skrull War" which was published over 9 issues of the Avengers (#89-97) from June 1971 to March 1972. However, it would not be until June 1976 when I first became aware of this comic classic when I purchased the UK “Avengers” weekly comic #148 which reprinted the first part of “Avengers” # 93 ("This Beachhead Earth"). Sadly, I had missed the the first part of the Kree-Skrull War series as I had cancelled my UK Avengers subscription some months earlier. The US "Avengers" #94 (cover above by Neal Adams) is not the best issue in this excellent series (it’s still a belter) but it was the first US issue of this story arc (and the first US Avenger back issue) that I purchased in 1979 from Glasgow’s “Listen” record store for around £1.25p. The story arc, which was written by Roy Thomas, featured art from some of comics’ all-time greats including Sal Buscema, Tom Palmer, John Buscema, and Neal Adams. This issue alone features the triple talents of Tom Palmer (inks) John Buscema and Neal Adams - Enjoy.
Above: UK Avengers # 148 – this was the last issue of the comic which then merged with the Mighty World of Marvel from #199 and continued the Avenger series .
Next up: Avengers #96 where Neal Adams ramps up the art to a ridiculous degree. This was the first back-issue I felt I had to save up to purchase (from AKA comics in Glasgow around 1982) .I am ignoring #95 (for now) as I have not yet managed to purchase this issue (but it’s on my radar)!

8 comments:

  1. I picked up the trade softcover collection of the Kree/Srull War a while back, and it's a great read. It is interesting to read the forward by Roy Thomas and the afterword by Neal Adams, which glosses over what by all accounts became a fractious relationship as Neal missed deadlines and rewrote some of Roy's narrative. Roy gave more in-depth insight into the issues in the recent Neal Adams memorial issue of Alter-Ego (it may have been Back Issue). Whatever the truth of the matter it is a good yarn, told by masters of their craft.
    I took a quick peek at the reprint of issue #96 and you're right - Adams art is awesome in that issue.

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  2. Hi Ian , I remember reading somewhere about Neal Adams messing about with Roy's story, luckily it worked out ok though. Yeah issue 96 contains some of Adams best art . I will need to look out that interview thanks for the info.

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  3. Now I'm confused. I just noticed this post in my blog list. Apparently it was posted one day ago, yet it wasn't showing in my blog list yesterday. Anyway, I have all of this epic in my Avengers Masterworks volumes, as well as the start of it all - Avengers #89. Nice piccies. I also saw subsequent issues reprinted in UK weeklies back in the '70s. Am I old or what?!

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  4. I just have all but 1 of the Neal Adams originals. and the last John Buscema issue . We are both old Kid. This comic is over 50 years old, the UK reprints around 48 years ago, where did the time go!!?

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  5. The Avengers & The Savage Sword of Conan was a strange merger - the pages of Planet Of The Apes would have seemed like a more natural fit for Conan. Anyway The Avengers & SSOC was the first merger of two Marvel UK weeklies but plenty more were to follow.

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  6. Like yourself I thought mergng the Avengers and Conan was a strange move Colin. Similarly , POTA and Dracula seemed a strange one to me as well.

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  7. This is only the greatest story Marvel ever told. Thats clearly a bit bias, but I love this sprawling saga and the Adams art made it even more special since he did so little for Marvel.

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  8. I must be bias as well Rip as I love this story. The little Adams did for Marvel is of such a high standard that I don't mind the lack of quantity.

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