Marvel 1975.12 - Avengers #142

Avengers #142

Title: Go West, Young Gods!

Writer: Steve Englehart

Artist: George Perez

Avengers: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Moondragon, Beast, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Hawkeye

Villain: Kang, Squadron Supreme (Hyperion, Golden Archer, Doctor Spectrum, Lady Lark, Whizzer)

Guests: Patsy Walker, Immortus. Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt, Ghost Rider, Ringo Kid

Last month George Perez drew his first issue for the Avengers. The artwork was good, but this is the issue in which he really shines. Every page and every panel is a work of art. At the same time, George Perez began to draw the art for the Fantastic Four. He's the best artist for super-hero teams that Marvel has ever had. The peak of his artistic career for Marvel, in my personal opinion, was his work on "The Infinity Gauntlet" in 1991. However, I consider his best ever artwork to have been drawn for the "Wonder Woman" relaunch in 1987, which he also wrote. As a staunch Marvel fan I don't review DC comics, but maybe I can make an exception for the Wonder Woman stories. One day.

This comic has two stories that run in parallel. Thor and Moondragon are in the 19th Century, while the other Avengers are prisoners of the Squadron Supreme in the present day (1975). Let's deal with the latter story first, because it's the smaller story, occupying only two pages in the comic.

Don't you just love the way that the word "Meanwhile" is plastered in the top left corner of this picture? When I was a young child my mother used to read my comics to check what I was reading. That's good parenting. She was never a big Marvel fan like me, but she always used to comment on the word "Meanwhile". It was a typical Marvel word that's hardly ever used in everyday speech. Was it used as frequently in DC? I don't know.

But look at that beautiful full-page panel! Thank you, George Perez. I just wish it were possible for me to have that picture without the text bubbles as a poster. Look at the detail of the smaller characters and the dynamics of the larger characters. It's stunning.

Patsy Walker used to be married to Buzz Baxter, but now they're divorced, and they're on opposite sides. Patsy supports the Avengers, while Buzz works for Hugh Jones and is allied with the Squadron Supreme.

This two-page interlude is just a reminder of what's happening to the main team, while Thor and Moondragon are in 1873. Just look at the beautiful splash page above when the heroes of the past and present meet. The cover at the top of the post was drawn by a different artist, Gil Kane. It was common for covers to be drawn by different artists. Don't get me wrong, Gil Kane is a good artist, but he's not in the same league as George Perez.

There are several inaccuracies in the cover picture, but don't blame Gil Kane. In the 1970's it was customary for the covers to be drawn about three months before the story itself, based on advance information from the writer. The information given to the artist was vague, and it was common for the writer to change his mind about details by the time he wrote the script. The inaccuracies are:

  (1) Hawkeye doesn't use his costume in the past.
  (2) Iron Man isn't in the past.
  (3) The wild west heroes don't want to shoot the Avengers.

The wild-west heroes are all characters from the Marvel western comics which were popular in the 1950's and 1960's. The comics continued into the 1970's as reprints. The ghostly character is called Night Rider in the story, but I refer to him as Ghost Rider. That was his name when he first appeared in February 1967. When the comics were reprinted in 1974 he was renamed Night Rider to avoid confusion with the 1970's character with the same name. Marvel wanted to make sure that fans didn't pick up the wrong comic in the store. Really! Did Marvel think the fans were so stupid? As far as I'm concerned, his name will always be Ghost Rider.

The western heroes tell the Avengers that they know Hawkeye. He's staying in the office of Matt Hawk, the Two-Gun Kid's secret identity. Hawkeye tells Thor and Moondragon that while he was travelling through time to look for the Black Knight in the 12th Century, he encountered Kang in an in-between world. They battled, and they fell out of the time flow into 1873. Kang has decided to conquer the Earth in the 19th Century. Hawkeye is standing against him, now calling himself the Hawkeye Kid. There were so many Kids in the 19th Century. Or was it just Marvel?

Kang has hired bandits to rob a train transporting uranium. Thor and Moondragon travel with the wild-west heroes to stop them. That's yet another beautifully drawn page. George Perez was skilled with both large panels and small panels. The page layout is incredible.

The heroes stop the robbery and prepare to confront Kang next issue.