You'd Better Shape Up At Camp Hammond, Ladies

 

As my interest in collecting comic books started to wane sometime around the mid-1990s, I found myself beginning to "taper off" the habit of steadfastly sticking with a complete run of a series and instead shifting to a more selective posture in reading new comics, giving a new series a fair chance to hold my attention before cutting it loose when that threshold was reached. No regrets since; in fact, I sometimes wonder if that should have been the way to enjoy a comics habit all along. :) Twenty-five years later, however, I've surprisingly found myself giving a second glance to those books that were dropped from my reading list, a number of them having long since been forgotten but are now proving to be interesting to revisit after unbagging and turning their pages once more. It's something of a mixed bag (heh) laying eyes on them again, since I was hardly expecting them to have any more staying power with me than they did before; yet having diverted from collecting to reminiscing in written form via the PPC, I've found that my perspective has changed quite a lot in the decades since, which makes these old issues virtually new again to the eye. Consequently, for at least a few of these series I've found myself more appreciative of both story and art in certain respects--something which became more apparent as this Easter egg hunt took me from the late 1990s and into the 2000s when Marvel would get its second wind.

Here, then, is a brief rundown of a selection of those books which had a limited run (for Marvel and even more so for myself) as opposed to their mainstream series--and since the notion for this retrospective occurred alphabetically as I was thumbing through the top of my comics shelves, we start with those books which spun off from one of Marvel's most successful franchises. (Synopses are edited from various sources.)

---

Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective - September 1993 (4-issue series, monthly)
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Issue(s) Collected: #s 1-4

Synopsis: The sequel to "Citizen Kang" guest-stars Thunderstrike, US Agent, and War Machine (with other Avengers dealt in as needed). Terminatrix, who deposed Kang, attempts to expand Chronopolis beyond Kang's seven-millennium boundaries, and discovers a shocking secret about time.

"Citizen Kang" was a crossover event taking place in a number of annuals prior to this series, an event I also collected mostly because I was collecting annuals at the time but otherwise failed to make an impression on me beyond its loose reference to the Orson Welles film. I was intrigued by the fact that Terminatrix is portrayed as both a more-than-a capable adversary while also written as someone who may have bitten off more than she can chew in assuming the role of Kang for all intents and purposes.

The Last Avengers Story - November 1995 (2-issue series, monthly)
Writer: Peter David
Issue(s) Collected: #1
PPC Review

Synopsis: When Ultron slaughters the future heroes, an elderly Hank Pym must assemble all the crimefighters he can to re-earn the name Avengers. But can the daughter of She-Hulk, a blind Hawkeye, an aged Human Torch and the mutant called Cannonball defeat the villains that killed the Earth's Mightiest Heroes? An Alternaverse tale revealing the final fate of the Avengers.

Well, putting a word like "alternaverse" up front practically screams "imaginary story," so as tempting as it may be to skip ahead to what would be considered the last Avengers story to be told, perhaps it would be more accurate to title it "A Last Avengers Story." That said, it makes sense that at some point inactive (or, in this case, retired) Avengers would inevitably have to avenge the collective killings of their own group--in this case, a team of lackadaisical heroes who had long since fallen off the public grid, wiped out by an attack in the form of a sudden and massive detonation. And as elder former members are put on notice that they're next, David, in the form of an intrusive reporter, asks a pointed question: "Are the bad guys winning, Doctor [Pym]? Was it all useless?"

Ultraforce/Avengers - Fall of 1995 (sequel to Avengers/Ultraforce, Oct. 1995)
Writer: Warren Ellis
Issue(s) Collected: #1

Synopsis: Loki and the Grandmaster engage in a contest to determine who will take custody of the Infinity Gems, with Loki's champions being Ultraforce and the Grandmaster choosing the Avengers.

This crossover event between Malibu Comics and Marvel Comics throws everything but the kitchen sink into this story. I happened to catch the second part of it, which featured absolutely stunning art by George Perez--though I never got around to picking up either its prelude issue or Part 1 (which switched the two teams around in its title), written by Glenn Herdling (you'll be seeing his name again in a moment) with art by Angel Medina and M.C. Wyman--but there's so much to keep track of in Part 2 (though compellingly, I must say) that I imagine when it's all put together it must be quite the story.

And I couldn't very well leave out Perez's wraparound cover to Part 1:

Avengers Unplugged - Oct. 1995 (6-issue series, bimonthly)
Writers: Glenn Herdling; Mike Lackey
Issue(s) Collected: #s 1-2

Synopsis: A brief run of Avengers tales featuring diverse groupings of team members in stories which tended to expand on those presented in the main book.

I'm frankly surprised I didn't keep up with this book, as it nicely supplemented the main title in a way that didn't seem like overkill (à la the Spider-Man spinoffs). (I was probably miffed that these stories weren't being told in the regular title, just like I felt in the case of Spider-Man. Guess I would have made a poor "idea man" for Marvel's growth aspirations.) The noteworthy tale featured here involves Monica Rambeau, sent to attack the son of Captain Marvel by the Controller--followed by a decision to change her on-duty name to "Photon" (more on that in a moment), which wasn't at all to my liking.

Avengers Forever - Dec. 1998 (12-issue series, went bimonthly following Issue 10)
Writers: Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern
Issue(s) Collected: #s 1-12
PPC Review

Synopsis: A team of Avengers from disparate timelines fights to safeguard the future from Immortus, the Lord of Time.

One problem I had with Avengers Forever was its complexity in combination with the difficulty of a four-week gap in issues. (Eight weeks toward the end--probably the worst time you could think of for things coming to a head and putting it all together.) I think the story being presented in a graphic novel format would have made for better reading (though with quite the price tag, and a whopping 276 page count).

Avengers Infinity - September 2000 (4 issues, monthly)
Writer: Roger Stern
Issue(s) Collected: #1

Synopsis: Thor, Photon, Tigra, Moondragon, Starfox and Quasar battle the humanoid automaton Servitors, and, later, their colossal masters (which is an understatement), a challenge they nor even Eternity have ever faced before.

With Stern at the helm, it's no surprise that this story features strong attention paid to Monica Rambeau as she mulls over a return to the Avengers. As for the "Infinites," from which this series title borrows its more marketable (albeit completely unrelated) name, they make the Celestials seem like ants, if that. For whatever reason, this series didn't grab me, despite the ripples it creates in the destruction of the Rigellians and a new race of all-powerful beings--but there's welcome character interplay, and its ending contains a nice dedication to Mark Gruenwald, who had died four years prior.

Avengers: Celestial Quest - Nov. 2001 (8 issues, monthly)
Writer: Steve Englehart
Issue(s) Collected: #s 1-8

Synopsis: When Thanos decides to hunt down and kill fragments of the former Avenger called Mantis, the heroes head for Tamal, the Cotati homeworld, to save Mantis's son Sequoia (aka Quoi) from the Titan.

Englehart's follow-up to the birth of Quoi, the son of the Celestial Madonna (Mantis), who has spent his formative years in the company of his Cotati father ("the Swordsman").  Having reached maturation as the Messiah, Quoi is now targeted for death by Thanos. If it hadn't been for Englehart's adept hand at writing Avengers stories, I probably wouldn't have stuck it out with the entire series, since it took forever to find out why Thanos was going to such lengths to kill Quoi.  What does he gain from it? It can't be his old standby of pleasing Death, since it's made clear fairly early that he's broken with "her." Yet Englehart's reason boils down to nothing except why this character is so often plugged into a story as an antagonist: killing is "what he does," flimsy justification for an eight-issue series. (Quoi also has a cameo as part of the Avengers team which is obliterated in the opening pages of The Last Avengers Story--not exactly the destiny that Englehart had in mind for him.)

Avengers/Thunderbolts - May 2004 (6 issues, monthly)
Writers: Kurt Busiek; Fabian Nicieza
Issue(s) Collected: #s 1, 3-6 (#2 missed)

Synopsis: The villains-turned-would-be-heroes known as the Thunderbolts are back--but which side of the law are they on this time? If they're up to their old villainous ways, the Avengers are determined to find out about it, and stop them before they get started. But which side is Hawkeye on?

Both Busiek and Nicieza, as usual, script a good and character-driven story--and since I'm a fan of both teams, each with their own different styles, it wasn't a hard choice to become engaged in this series, particularly since Hawkeye receives a good deal of attention (as he should), and his defense of the T-Bolts is as strong as ever.

Avengers: The Initiative - June 2007 (35 issues, monthly)
Writers: Dan Slott; Christos Gage
Issue(s) Collected: #s 1-6, 14, 20-21

Synopsis: In the aftermath of the Civil War, the pro-registration side stands victorious and has launched the Fifty State Initiative which calls for one S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsored superhero team for each state. At Camp Hammond in Stamford, CT, Yellowjacket, War Machine, She-Hulk, Justice and Gauntlet train the heroes of tomorrow for the conflicts of today. But as the recruits fall in, who will graduate, who will flunk out--and who will die?

I'll admit there was some curiosity on my part to see how the much-touted fifty-state Initiative concept would be implemented, and if it would be sustainable. Yet the series' focus was on the initiates, under the supervision of a few Avengers (some of whom were fast-forwarded into positions of authority as heroes whose reputations as Avengers should precede them) which made it and its successor, Avengers Academy, follow too closely in the steps of New Mutants for my preference. I picked it up now and then to see how it was doing, but still no joy. "Who will graduate? Who will flunk out?" I'm afraid that was Marvel's pitch, rather than a reflection of my own sentiments.

Avengers/Invaders - July 2008 (12 issues, monthly - 2-month lapse, issues 5 and 9)
Writer: Jim Krueger
Issue(s) Collected: Initially dropped after #8; eventually read remaining issues
PPC Review

Synopsis: The greatest super-team of World War II is transported from the battlefields of the Second World War to a future they never imagined. Confronted by a world they barely recognize, the Invaders will have to show Earth's Mightiest Heroes just what kind of power, courage, and sheer determination it took to defeat the forces of unrelenting evil in the twentieth century--something they may just have to do it again in the twenty-first.

For the PPC review of this series I was obliged to pick it up again from the point I stopped buying it (mostly likely due to the publishing gap about two-thirds of the way through) and read the final four issues. All in all, another series that would have benefited from a graphic novel approach, particularly since it takes place after the death of Captain America following the events of Civil War and when super-hero registration has become a way of life--developments which would not sit well with the individuals comprising the Invaders.

Avengers Prime - Aug. 2010 (5 issues, bimonthly)
Writer: Brian Bendis
Issue(s) Collected: #s 1-2

Synopsis: They were friends, brothers and teammates through all of Marvel's greatest adventures, but recent events turned them into the bitterest of enemies. In the wake of the Siege of Asgard, Thor, Iron Man and Steve Rogers are brought together on the same side once more, but must learn to trust each other in order to deal with a threat which is tearing their world apart.

Avengers Prime taps the "big 3" members of the team to address a crisis, though the outlook isn't hopeful given the fact their relationship with each other has been strained in the aftermath of the Siege crossover event. Almost immediately, however, it pivots to a conflict in the nine realms which Asgard once ruled, at which point I quickly lost interest.

Avengers Academy - Aug. 2010 (39 issues, monthly)
Writer: Christos Gage
Issue(s) Collected: #s 1-2

Synopsis: Reptil... Veil... Finesse... Hazmat... Mettle... Striker... Will they be the next generation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, or the greatest threat to the Marvel Universe? The instructors at Avengers Academy hope to steer these super-powered and highly-troubled teens in the right direction, but twists and turns abound.

The spiel that Pym gives to the newly-arrived trainees at Camp Hammond and those arriving at Avengers Academy can almost be rotated between the two as far as what is expected of those being trained and the shoes they have to fill. At the time that probably wasn't lost on me then, either, as I ended up giving this series the heave-ho even sooner.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade - Sept. 2010 (9 issues, bimonthly)
Writer: Allan Heinberg
Issue(s) Collected: Read online

Synopsis: With his reality-altering powers spiraling out of his control, Young Avenger Wiccan sets out to find the one person who may be able to help him--the Scarlet Witch, the woman purported to be his mother, who finally resurfaces following M-Day. But as Billy Kaplan embarks on this quest, he finds himself pitted against the Avengers, the X-Men--and even his teammates.

I should mention here that I was thoroughly taken with Heinberg's book, with every intention of completing the series; yet reading the issue exclusively online, I simply neglected to re-engage with it following issue #2 (which had only just been made available). An excellent read all around, with quite a twist--Wanda's upcoming marriage to Dr. Doom, a development which would pave the way to her memory being restored.

With other such gems on my shelves to draw from (Mutant X, anyone?), the PPC will be bringing more of these series to light in future posts.