Review by Ian Keogh

1981 was a transitional year for The Avengers as David Michelinie delivered his final contributions before a succession of writers produced material ranging from poor to average with a single exception. The saving grace might otherwise be decent art, but a series used to several years of John Byrne and George Pérez in recent memory is poorly served by Alan Kupperberg, and Gene Colan editorially forced to discard his trademark layouts and squash his art into small rectangular or square panels. He’s obviously dispirited (sample art). As noted in Jim Salicrup’s introduction, Don Newton is more at home with single characters, but Salicrup neglects to comment on whether the Yellow Claw is in any way a palatable character these days.

That accounts for roughly two-thirds of the content, so think very carefully before paying a premium price for this now out of print hardcover collection.

Just as Avengers Masterworks 19 was irreparably dragged down by a single story, this volume is elevated by the inclusion of Chris Claremont and Michael Golden setting that mistake right. There’s 38 pages of sumptuous art as Claremont features a battle with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and new introduction Rogue, before addressing exactly what was wrong with the story of Ms. Marvel’s marriage. As shown in Golden’s sample art, it’s surprisingly no holds barred in pointing out the deficiencies of the earlier plot in a powerful scene.

The final five issues see the return of Jim Shooter as writer. Given his achievements reprinted in Masterworks 16 and 17, this might be seen as something to celebrate, but don’t get your hopes up. Although subsequently contributing the occasional plot, Shooter stopped writing the Avengers when he became Marvel’s Editor in Chief, but according to the introduction saw returning to the title as providing the template for how he wanted Marvel’s comics to look. It’s a strange case of not seeing the wood for the trees, as prioritising storytelling clarity over all other aspects removed the sheer verve and impact that established Marvel. Shooter’s plots have life, but he strangles it with characters constantly explaining themselves, and as drawn by a neutered Colan, Kupperberg and Bob Hall they lack spirit.

Shooter inducts Tigra into the team and returns Hank Pym as Yellowjacket, so setting up a plot still making for very uncomfortable reading many years later. Pym is highly strung because he’s keen to prove himself, which results in bullying behaviour toward his wife, the Wasp, culminating in him hitting her. What’s meant to address mental breakdown, which was a brave move, is scuppered by the sensationalism, Hall’s poor art and unconvincing dialogue. Janet Pym drawn in her underwear much of the time hardly helps. Pym is expelled from the Avengers, and the subsequent story is better for having people comment on what’s happened.

Manipulative men is somewhat the theme of this collection, ended with Shooter’s best story returning the Molecule Man. It’s far too wordy, but Shooter makes good use of an idiot able to do anything, the Silver Surfer drops by, and Alan Weiss provides better art than anyone other than Golden. It’s not a masterpiece, but is creative, and at least shows hints of the Shooter who previously wrote The Avengers.

Maybe Shooter just needed some time to work his way back into the feature. We’ll see in Avengers Masterworks 21.