Avengers #90 And the Stream of Consciousness.

Spoiler: This cover references
the LAST PAGE of the comic!

Avengers #90 is a Silver Age Super Hero comic. In fact it's probably one of the most Silver Age Super Hero comics I've ever read. A lot of people try and describe what makes a Silver Age comic. They usually use words like "Goofy" or "Silly" or even "Unrealistic", and I think that's missing the point, really.

Silver Age Super Hero comics had a certain style of writing to them which for various reasons is very stream-of-consciousness. Reading a lot of old DC and Marvel comics is like reading an Axe Cop story. Things flow from one idea to the next without even a sign of how the ideas connected in the writer's mind. Things travel from point to point at breakneck speed, and if you don't keep up you'll be completely freaking lost.

This can be the most glorious thing ever, or it can be horrible.

So, before we talk more about the origins of this writing style, and the differences between Marvel and DC let's take a little looksee at Avengers #90.

80 Page Christmas: The Sandman.

I recently bought a horrible, horrible condition copy of Marvel Team-Up #1. This issue featured the Human Torch and Spider-Man and of course the villain was THE SANDMAN!

This issue (which was drawn by Ross Andru and written by Roy Thomas) is important because it was the first comic to show the Sandman's potential as a nice guy -- or at least not a completely evil guy. The issue is mostly a chase, with Human Torch and Spidey chasing through the city after the Sandman. But when they found him? Well, it turned out he was visiting his sickly mother for Christmas! Awww!!

There won't be enough left of you to fill a pillbox hat.

So Hasbro's been putting out some nifty action figure two-packs as part of its Marvel Universe line - and in each two-pack, they include a comic reprint.  One of the latest is Quicksilver and Wonder Man, which comes with a reprint of Avengers West Coast #60, written by Roy and Dann Thomas, with art by Paul Ryan and Danny Bulanadi.  While it does feature both Pietro and Simon pretty prominently, it occurs in the middle of a story where Magneto has turned the Scarlet Witch evil, and also Immortus is doing something confusing because that is all Immortus ever does.  It's a little hard to pick up, even for a seasoned Marvel Zombie like myself - and for an extra dose of kid-unfriendliness, JFK gets shot three pages in!

But the most notable thing is that the first page features...

More Unstable Molecules

So, scanner's busted.  That means no Nightwatch for a little while.  It also means that my content will have to be from Marvel's digital comics, which I can make screen captures of - and today, that means more Unstable Molecules!  Today's installment comes from 1975's Fantastic Four #164, written by Roy Thomas, with pencils by George Perez, inks by Joe Sinnott, and colours by Petra Goldberg.  Johnny Storm's off on a date, and he's wearing this, possibly because Annihilus punched him in the head too many times:

You can't talk about "winning combos" ever again, Johnny..

Gut-wrenching embarrassment.

Everybody loves Magneto.  He's universally recognized as the X-Men's greatest foe, even if he's a member sometimes.  He's in basically every X-themed cartoon and video game, he was played by Ian McKellen for three movies, and now he's killing Nazis and looking badass doing it in X-Men: First Class.  But before Chris Claremont revitalized him in the late '70s, he had some rough years.  He fought Captain America, and recruited a new highly-generic, albeit charmingly Jack Kirby-y, Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  He fought the Defenders and turned into a baby.  He was in an incredibly embarrassing episode of the '70s Fantastic Four cartoon, where Reed Richards defeated him with a wooden gun.  Here's a taste:

And there's this, where Magneto's mad at a flunky, and...well, I'll let this panel speak for itself.

(Avengers #47, written by Roy Thomas, art by John Buscema and George Tuska)