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BY SEAN MCQUAID The Avengers (ongoing series) Writer: Bob Harras; Penciller: Steve Epting; Inker/colourist: Tom Palmer

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS NOW, THAT alliterative battle cry has rung through the pages of comicdom. Hokey as all-get-out? Admittedly. Cornily inspirational? Undeniably. Timeless? Apparently. The Avengers have been assembling for over three decades, remaining both a comic book institution anda wellspring of storytelling. Even today, the book is among the finest series produced by Marvel Comics.

Of course, it hasn't always been that way. Any decades-long ongoing series has its share of creative droughts, and there have been some truly bad periods over the years. The creative teams who produce comics vary from year to year, and the large, fluid cast of the Avengers makes the book particularly varied in its content, for better or for worse. Thankfully, the last couple of years have seen a change for the better in the series, as a crack creative team has given the book renewed direction and, as a result, renewed popularity. We are in the midst of the latest Avengers renaissance, perhaps the first since the days of Jim Shooter and his contemporaries in the 1970's.

The Avengers have a certain prestigious status in comic books in that they are the last great super hero team-- that is, a team composed of a cross-section of characters from its company’s continuity, a representative slice of the heroic community with a certain amount of history and prestige behind them. The only comparable entities are the Justice League (whose history is much more checkered and dubious in spots) and the Fantastic Four (who predate the Avengers but aren't long for this world and are, like the X-Men, a more Static and insular group of characters). As classic Avengers writer Roy Thomas long believed, the Avengers are the spiritual heirs of comics’ first super-team: DC’s Justice Society of America. Like the JSA, the Avengers are a group with a proud heroic tradition, with a membership reflective of the crime fighting community-- ranging from veterans like Captain America to rookies like Thunderstrike, and from godlike beings such as Hercules to Ordinary mortals like the Black Knight.

One of the defining traits of the Avengers has been its varied and shifting cast, the one "espect in which the group differs from all the

how far they should go in pursuit of justice (whether they should

Sort: of super-her Fo hak follow :

Black Widow, Sersi, the Black Knight, Doctor Pym (a.k.a. Giant-Man 1),

become as ruthless as Harras has Quicksilver, and the increasingly darker . Thunderstrike, along with menaces they face), and reintroduced both unofficial (honourary) the team’s intermittent < 2 members Deathcry, war with the Gatherers, © h aracterization Magdalene, and the new

a team of adventurers from destroyed alternate realities who claim the Avengers are somehow responsible for the destruction of their timelines-- and of realities yet to be destroyed. Harras has reintroduced both characterization and direction to the book, making the Avengers a suspenseful and mildly addictive ongoing series.

Harras is ably aided and abetted by artists Steve Epting and Tom Palmer. Rookie Epting produces drawings that are very sparse,

and direction to the book, making the Avengers a suspenseful and mildly addictive ongoing series.

Swordsman. That’s the roster at this writing, though major changes are reportedly ahead.

Inactive members (Avengers not currently working with the team

the group, some of them serving as reservists or back-up members): Thor, the Hulk, the Wasp, Hawkeye, the Black Panther, Mantis, the Beast, Moondragon, Binary, She-Hulk, Starfox, Tigra, the Thing, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Firebird, Doctor Druid, the Invisible Woman, Gilgamesh,

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but who remain allies of .

Quasar, the original Human Torch, Machine Man, Stingray (an honourary member of sorts), the Living Lightning, Darkhawk, and active reservists the Falcon, Captain Marvel II, and Spider-Man.

Former members (Avengers who resigned altogether, with no probable intention of returning to service at present): lron Man, the Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, War Machine, Moon Knight, USAgent, Rage, Sandman, and Spider-Woman II.

Incapacitated members (Avengers who are indefinitely out of action): Hellcat (insane) and Jocasta (dismantled),

Deceased members: the original Swordsman, Mockingbird, Mister Fantastic, and honourary members Captain Marvel |, the original Whizzer, and Marrina.

Time-displaced members (Avengers who are native to and/or currently active in other time periods): The Two-Gun Kid, Charlie-27, Nikki, Martnex, Yondu, Starhawk |, Starhawk Il, Major Victory, and Yellowjacket II (all of whom, coincidentally, were honourary members).

Unofficial associates: Rick Jones (former honourary member), Demolition Man (one- time honourary member), Ant-Man II, Giant Man Il, Red Wolf, Paladin, the Shroud, and Agatha Harkness.

Staff: Edwin Jarvis (butler and chief of staff), Peggy Carter (communications), Michael O’Brien (security), Fabian Stankowicz (inventor/technician), Zachary Moonhunter (pilot), Keith Kincaid (physician), and Donna Maria Puentes (receptionist). Past staff include John Jameson, Genji Odashu, Arnold Roth, Inger Sullivan, Gilbert Vaughn, Talia Kruma, Robert Frank Jr., M’Daka, Bill Foster; Scott Lang, Walter Newell, Diane Newell, and a variety of others.

For amore complete story on the Avengers (including most of the above folks), | recommend the Avengers Log, on sale now. It’s avery comprehensive summary of the history of the Avengers and the individuals connected to it (the only conspicuous omissions being Bill Foster/Giant Man Il, the new Swordsman, Deathcry, and Magdalene), and makes a great reference guide and artwork sampler for veteran fans and new readers alike.