Reprints Avengers #181-187, plus one page from X-men #125.
Written by David Michelinie, Steven Grant, Mark Gruenwald, Chris Claremont (one page)
Drawn by John Byrne.
Inked by Brett Breeding, Gene Day, Dan Green, Klaus Janson, "Diverse Hands", Terry Austin (one page).
Summary:
All of the current Avengers are called to the Avengers' Mansion. The team's Government liaison, Henry Peter Gyrich tells them that it's time to form a new team. If they want to regain their Government Security Clearance (and the legal protection that it affords), they will need to reduce the team to 7 members. Some of the Avengers are not happy with the new lineup.
Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch encounter a mysterious toymaker from Eastern Europe named Django Maximoff, who claims to be their father. They don't believe him, but they think he may be able to answer questions about their mysterious past. They accompany him to Transia, where Scarlet Witch meets the sorcerer Modred The Mystic. He lures her to Wundagore Mountain, where he intends for her to be possessed by the demon Ch'Thon! Quicksilver has to summon the Avengers for help.
At the same time, the Avengers are called in to stop Carl "Crusher" Creel, AKA the Absorbing Man, when he goes on a rampage in New York Harbor. An epic battle ensues!
Review:
A reprint of this story was published 20 years ago, titled Avengers: The Yesterday Quest. But that tpb reprinted only part of the story. Nights of Wundagore includes Avengers #181-184, never reprinted until now.
Story:
An excellent story. There are three writers credited, so I'm not sure who gets credit for what. I never cared much for Quicksilver but he's a sympathetic character in this story. That's the ultimate tribute to the creative team. He and Scarlet Witch had been around for 15 years at this point, so it was about time they got a more complete "origin" story. In case anyone reads this who hasn't read the stories, I won't reveal the identity of their true parents.
I'll admit that I'm a bit biased here, since this is the Avengers team I grew up with. Beast and Wonderman palling around in New York City, Vision and Scarlet Witch as a happily married couple, Captain America and Iron Man still close friends. An all around great team.
And there's a reference here to the (then) contemporaneous drinking problems Tony Stark was having in Iron Man's solo series. Yay for continuity!
Henry Peter Gyrich's presence here also adds a nice element of realism to the story. If the Avengers existed in our world, they would likely be subject to the treatment given by the U.S. Government here. It helps that Gyrich works for the National Security Council (NSC) instead of some made-up agency that only exists in the Marvel Universe.
But the highlight for me is the battle with the Absorbing Man. He is treated like an A-list threat in this story, absorbing the turbines of a ship and turning into a metallic giant. He's a favorite villain of mine, but I don't ever remember him being this deadly. Classic stuff, one of the best comic book fights of all time!
Art:
John Byrne's pencils are the only constant here, and his art is great as it usually was in the late 70s/early 80s. His work here serves as a nice companion piece to his X-men run, since it features Beast (a former X-Man), plus Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who got their starts as X-Men adversaries. If the book has any weakness, it's that Byrne is inked by several different inkers. This results in an inconsistent look, but it didn't make me enjoy the book any less. Gene Day, Dan Green, Bret Breeding and Klaus Janson were some of Marvel's top inkers when these stories were first published, so that helps as well.
Extras:
One page from X-Men #125 that reveals some information about the parents of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
Low does it look?
It looks great, no weird re-coloring job on this tpb. Check out these scans from the book:
If you enjoy Bronze Age Avengers stories, or John Byrne's 70s art, you should pick up Avengers: Nights Of Wundagore. It's lots of fun, especially the battle with the Absorbing Man.
My rating:
4 Sals!
Summary:
All of the current Avengers are called to the Avengers' Mansion. The team's Government liaison, Henry Peter Gyrich tells them that it's time to form a new team. If they want to regain their Government Security Clearance (and the legal protection that it affords), they will need to reduce the team to 7 members. Some of the Avengers are not happy with the new lineup.
Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch encounter a mysterious toymaker from Eastern Europe named Django Maximoff, who claims to be their father. They don't believe him, but they think he may be able to answer questions about their mysterious past. They accompany him to Transia, where Scarlet Witch meets the sorcerer Modred The Mystic. He lures her to Wundagore Mountain, where he intends for her to be possessed by the demon Ch'Thon! Quicksilver has to summon the Avengers for help.
At the same time, the Avengers are called in to stop Carl "Crusher" Creel, AKA the Absorbing Man, when he goes on a rampage in New York Harbor. An epic battle ensues!
Review:
A reprint of this story was published 20 years ago, titled Avengers: The Yesterday Quest. But that tpb reprinted only part of the story. Nights of Wundagore includes Avengers #181-184, never reprinted until now.
Story:
An excellent story. There are three writers credited, so I'm not sure who gets credit for what. I never cared much for Quicksilver but he's a sympathetic character in this story. That's the ultimate tribute to the creative team. He and Scarlet Witch had been around for 15 years at this point, so it was about time they got a more complete "origin" story. In case anyone reads this who hasn't read the stories, I won't reveal the identity of their true parents.
I'll admit that I'm a bit biased here, since this is the Avengers team I grew up with. Beast and Wonderman palling around in New York City, Vision and Scarlet Witch as a happily married couple, Captain America and Iron Man still close friends. An all around great team.
And there's a reference here to the (then) contemporaneous drinking problems Tony Stark was having in Iron Man's solo series. Yay for continuity!
Henry Peter Gyrich's presence here also adds a nice element of realism to the story. If the Avengers existed in our world, they would likely be subject to the treatment given by the U.S. Government here. It helps that Gyrich works for the National Security Council (NSC) instead of some made-up agency that only exists in the Marvel Universe.
But the highlight for me is the battle with the Absorbing Man. He is treated like an A-list threat in this story, absorbing the turbines of a ship and turning into a metallic giant. He's a favorite villain of mine, but I don't ever remember him being this deadly. Classic stuff, one of the best comic book fights of all time!
Art:
John Byrne's pencils are the only constant here, and his art is great as it usually was in the late 70s/early 80s. His work here serves as a nice companion piece to his X-men run, since it features Beast (a former X-Man), plus Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who got their starts as X-Men adversaries. If the book has any weakness, it's that Byrne is inked by several different inkers. This results in an inconsistent look, but it didn't make me enjoy the book any less. Gene Day, Dan Green, Bret Breeding and Klaus Janson were some of Marvel's top inkers when these stories were first published, so that helps as well.
Extras:
One page from X-Men #125 that reveals some information about the parents of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
Low does it look?
It looks great, no weird re-coloring job on this tpb. Check out these scans from the book:
Absorbing Man tangles with the Avengers!
Modred takes out Captain America
If you enjoy Bronze Age Avengers stories, or John Byrne's 70s art, you should pick up Avengers: Nights Of Wundagore. It's lots of fun, especially the battle with the Absorbing Man.
My rating:
4 Sals!
