Avengers of the 80s

Now THAT’s what I call Avengers! A humble homage to some childhood heroes.

One of the first Marvel series that I read was the Avengers run by Roger Stern, John Buscema and Tom Palmer, and this was the line-up. The Wasp was a smart and dynamic chairwoman, with Captain America sometimes advising her. The powerhouses were Hercules and The Submariner, plus the Black Knight as resident scientist, and Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) who would go on to lead the team next.

The most famous arcs from that team were “Under Siege" and "Assault on Olympus”, which were great adventure stories. Buscema’s dynamic figures and compositions were wonderful, and the excellent inking / finishing by Tom Palmer always left everything looking like it was shiny and vibrating with energy.

It’s funny that this line-up is somewhat unusual once you know more about the publishing history of the Avengers. But for me, those guys will always be like a bunch of old friends. Those were the days!