Avengers: Absolute Vision, Book 2 - Softcover

Roger Stern

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0785185356 ISBN 13: 9780785185352

Publisher: Marvel Enterprises, 2014

Synopsis

THE VISION takes command! As many of Earth's Mightiest are whisked away to fight in the Secret Wars, the newly assertive synthezoid seizes the chair. He has changes in store when the heroes return, not least his idea for a new team of Avengers on the West Coast. But there are Dire Wraiths and demons to deal with back East, not to mention an army of Hulks and Thanos' monstrous minions the Blood Brothers! Hercules and Black Knight return to the fold, while Starfox discovers an uncanny connection to the Eternals just in time to face the menace of Maelstrom. But as Vision's true plan unfolds, are even two teams of Avengers enough to handle one of their own?

COLLECTING: AVENGERS (1963) #242-254, AVENGERS ANNUAL #13

About this title

About the Author:

Roger Stern wrote well-received runs of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, Doctor Strange, and, of course, the Avengers. He also launched West Coast Avengers, just one of his many contributions to the franchise. At DC Comics, Stern was a core Superman writer in the post-Crisis era. Stern later returned to Marvel and once again wrote Spider-Man, among other titles.

Allen Milgrom is a writer, penciller, inker and editor. He is known for his run as artist on the Guardians of the Galaxy in Marvel Presents; for his long involvement on Spectacular Spider-Man; and for his artistry on both Avengers and West Coast Avengers. For DC, Milgrom co-created Firestorm, currently featured on the Flash television series.

Bob Hall penciled the Avengers, Champions, and other Marvel titles, and helped launch West Coast Avengers. For DC, he wrote and drew Batman: DOA and I, Joker; and for Valiant Comics, he worked on Shadowman and Timewalker.
 
Steve Ditko is a renowned artist and storyteller, who prefers to let his work speak for itself. It speaks very well indeed. At Marvel, Ditko co-created Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. At Charlton Comics, he co-created Captain Atom, and created the Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) and The Question. At DC, he created The Creeper, Hawk and Dove, and Shade the Changing Man. And for his own projects, Ditko created Mr. A.

John Byrne has worked continuously as both writer and artist since 1975. After his initial Marvel debut on Iron Fist, Byrne moved on to the X-Men for a run that is still regarded as one of the title's finest. He followed that success with an equally famed stint on Fantastic Four. In 1986, Byrne revamped DC's flagship hero, Superman. In the 21st century, Byrne revived his Next Men series and created the recent miniseries Trio, The High Ways, Cold War, and Doomsday.1.

Review:

"After Secret Wars, the Vision -- who had been severely injured during a crossover with the Fantastic Four* -- recovered and asked to be made leader of the Avengers. He made some sweeping changes, including the installation of a second Avengers team, leading to the West Coast Avengers. As it turned out, all of these moves were part of an overall plan to take over the world for its own protection. Naturally, the Avengers took issue with this and had to take on their own teammate." -- Brian Cronin
*[collected in Avengers: Absolute Vision Book 1 -- ISBN-10: 0785185348]

"[Roger Stern is] one of the best writers to have worked in the business. When he wrote the Avengers, everything he wrote was great ... [Stern's] focus on characterization not only makes his books more interesting, but they are more relatable and closer to the way books are written today, rather than the fight fests they were in the 70′s and 80′s." -- Thomas Morrison

"Roger Stern's brilliant run on the title kicks into high gear with his long gestating Absolute Vision storyline. There is no reason to not own this material, folks. Stern is on the Mount Rushmore of great Avengers writers, alongside Roy Thomas, Kurt Busiek, and Steve Englehart." -- Kris Shaw

"Stern's magnum opus has to be his run on Avengers. Stern's Avengers are a showcase in how a team book should work and evolve. Its membership flowing organically from adventure to adventure, while making sure the nature of the action was determined by the individual characters' personalities and the way they'd interact with one another." -- Jef Willemsen

"The pace never let up in this stretch. Stern did a fantastic job of pacing all the events and of depicting the Vision's paranoia and descent into monomania. The concern of other members, especially the Scarlet Witch, provided a compelling emotional backdrop. Milgrom did his usual strong, clean work, but departed after the 250th issue. Bob Hall stepped in to handle art on the final few issues of the Vision story, bringing it to a strong close. Also of note was art from the legendary Steve Ditko, with John Byrne on inks, in the Annual. Overall, a highly recommended read." -- Brian C. Poole

"Roger Stern is probably the greatest Avengers writer ever ... the book has never been as great as when he was the regular writer for that title. It was so compelling." -- Juan Meyer

About this edition

• Publisher: Marvel Enterprises
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0785185356
• ISBN 13: 9780785185352
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 392
• Illustrator: Al Milgrom, Carmine Infantino, Ian Akin, Brian Garvey, Bob Hall, Steve Ditko