Customer Reviews

Agents of Atlas (Marvel Comics, New Avengers)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

During the 1950's, Atlas Comics (a name that Martin Goodman's pre-Marvel comic book line was known as) published many comics primarily in the genres of Westerns, Romance, Monsters and Horror. A few attempts were made to produce Adventure-type comics with recurring and mostly forgettable characters, like Venus, the villainous Yellow Claw, Marvel Boy and a female version of the Sub-Mariner, named Namora.

In the late 70s - Marvel did a one-shot comic featuring these forgotten characters plus a faux 50's type hero (3D Man) as well as 2 characters from Horror/Monster stories, Gorilla Man and M-11, the human robot (I can't make this stuff up!). The team was presented as sorta of a secret Avengers-type team that was soon forgotten.

Forgotten by most, but not writer Jeff Parker. Parker somehow convinced Marvel to allow him to do a six issue mini-series more or less flowing out of the events depicted in this esoteric comic. The series was very aptly named Agents Of Atlas.

Typically, second-banana or obscure characters from the pre-modern era are revived for a modern audience by discarding much of the silly and off-beat aspects of their earlier incarnation. Parker, however, embraces their past and makes it work in a contemporary setting, without abandoning the simpler almost nonsensical 50s style. It's a smash up of genres, pulp action hero mixed with spies and intrigues, camp monsters and a liberal dose of cheesy science fiction. Unbelievably, it works. Its not a deep, angst-filled exploration of anything, but a decent fun story that entertains and entertains without insult.

Leonard Kirk's artwork is not ground-breaking, but is more than adequate to match the needs of Parker's story-telling. It is at once very contemporary, yet at the same time very evocative of the peculiar style of 50ish comics.

Marvel outdid itself on this package, giving it all the extras that reminds one of the 2-disc Special Edition DVD of a favorite movie.

Recommended.

In 1978, I was blown away by What If? #9, in which the "1950s Avengers" raced to save President Eisenhower from the clutches of the evil Yellow Claw. While I was already well-versed in the standard Marvel heroes of the time, I had never heard of such Golden Age characters as Human Robot, Gorilla Man, Venus, and Marvel Boy. They made quite an impression on me (also thanks to story editor Roy Thomas' copious footnotes) and when they turned up briefly in Kurt Busiek's AVENGERS FOREVER, I was thrilled. So now we come to 2008, and I finally pick up the hardcover collection of AGENTS OF ATLAS, which brings these formerly-alternate-timeline characters into the standard Marvel Universe of today, and what a treat it is.

Other reviewers here have adequately summarized the plot. I'll just join in by saying it was a wholly entertaining read. This is the first work by Jeff Parker that I've read, and I can say that I'm willing to try more. Thankfully, the story doesn't overdo the "we're so cool" factor of many team books. This is a true group of outcasts, and they act like it. Sure, I may be biased by my prior exposure to these characters, but this is an excellent follow-up to their original appearance, and Parker made it easy for me to love this story. Leonard Kirk's artwork is exceptional - seriously, he's THE perfect choice for this title. It's very realistic work with excellent layouts, and his character designs are superb. So like I said: 30 years, and the wait was definitely worth it.

Most of all, I have to give Marvel a thumbs-up for including not only What If? #9, but solo appearances from various Golden Age comics. All this extra material tops the book out at a thick 256 pages, and when you consider the price, that's a steal of a deal. I have relentlessly bashed Marvel in the past for their outrageous trade paperback prices, but this gives me hope that they will even things out with their hardcovers.

This is a fine example of how amazingly fun and literate revisionist comic books can be. Granted, the characters here were originally little more than filler-fluff, even in the way too filler-fluffy Fifties, as the collection readily shows in the reprints of their initial appearances. But together they make a solid team with interesting characterization and fabulous dialogue, easily on par with the best Avengers and JLA stories of recent years. I truly hope Marvel decides to do more Agents stories; there's a rich backstory now that could develop and produce more fun comics. This is a sterling collection with enhancing and intriguing extras; all in all, a great package and highly recommended.

The Agents Of Atlas trade paperback was a very enjoyable read. If you enjoy things in the same vein as Project Superpowers, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, or The Twelve, then I am sure you will most likely find this story very entertaining.
This is a handsome, extras filled package by marvel in both Hardcover or Soft cover.

The story centers on an odd group of superheroes from Marvel Comics "Atlas" years, the late 40s and 50s. The story is about Jimmy Woo, 50s spy and now aging Shield agent who is involved in a mysterious operation that goes awry and leaves him for dead. But unknown to everyone else including Shield, Jimmy was once the leader of an unlikely team of heroes that answered directly to Eisenhower. The team included Marvel Boy, Venus the Goddess of love, M-11 the Human Robot, and Ken Hale the Gorilla Man. In trying to uncover what happened to Jimmy Woo and his ill fated mission, the team is once again revived. Also revived is their old enemy The Yellow Claw. Over the course of the story all the individual characters origins are revisited in entertaining detail. Some characters are the same; some discover revelations about themselves that they had not counted on nor the reader for that matter.

Writer Jeff Parker weaves a wonderful yarn and has really done his homework on these great obscure characters. The story he tells spans from the post war days of Namor and cousin Namora in 1947 through the 50s, and up to present day. Leonard Kirks art is enjoyable and easy on the eyes.

The trade paperback reprints Agents of Atlas issues 1-6 and has some nice extras. Plenty of text that goes in depth about the stories origins, how the project was developed and profiles on the individual characters in the story. It also includes reprints of the first appearances of the characters in the story. Reprinting Yellow Claw #1 (1956) Menace #11 (1954) Venus #1 (1948) Marvel Mystery Comics #82 (1947) Marvel Boy #1 (1950) Men's Adventures #26 (1954) and What If #9 (1978, the first time the characters were shown as a team). There are also interviews with the creators and character design art.

It may not be for very young readers as the character Venus does go topless (albeit tastefully drawn) for the first half of the story and that may not please some parents. But it is a very fun story full of action, plot twists, humor and suprises with some nice art that I really enjoyed. It has entertaining characters, and was just a fun, lighthearted action story. With the dark tone of comics being rather dominant lately, this was a pleasant and welcomed change of pace. I highly recommend this one.

This book may have been more interesting if not wrapped so tightly in the Marvel Universe; most of these characters predated Marvel Comics, after all. Most of the characters here were first published by the pre-Marvel Atals Comics, run are a combination of superhero, horror, and sci-fi characters. The characters were strong enough to carry the story on their own, and the inclusion of Marvel staples like SHIELD and Wakanda just kind of muddy the water a bit.

The story follows a high-ranking government agent and his reunion with the team of extraordinary heroes that he led decades before. The heroes face off against another bygone character; the villainous Yellow Claw.

The art is top-notch, and a couple of the characters get much deserved face-lifts. The plot was OK, and the dialog was annoyingly hip. In many ways this book was no more impressive than anything else on the shelves now, but the dynamic between an amnesiac secret agent, a robot, a talking gorilla, a goddess, an Atlantean monarch, and a guy from Uranus is just kooky and charming.

The reveal was pretty well telegraphed by the middle of the story, but its still a fun read. Reprints of the original stories featuring these characters was one of the main motivators for getting this book, and do not disappoint; which is why I gave this book four stars instead of three.

I LOVED the original mini-series and was thrilled to hear that the compilation would include hard-to-find golden age tales featuring the main characters. Marvel has a hot property on its hands with Agents of Atlas. Here's hoping this is just the start--both of the reprints and of the new adventures.

I had next to no knowledge of these characters going into this book and came away pleasantly surprised. The plot was intriguing and the dialogue was very good. Jeff Parker really did a good job here. The art by Leonard Kirk was very good. All these characters were easily identifiable. My only real problem with the book was the pretty convoluted villain with a history that was pretty dense. I think these characters could grow to be popular I just don't know if they'll ever get the chance. But, if you want a fun book with a couple twists, this is it.

Almost a classic on its own merit. I got the vibe of something like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen from it. The original appearances of the heroes given in the back were a great addition too. IMO the only thing holding this book back from being a true "A lister" like Watchmen or Dark Knight would be the art, and also its not the most original idea (heck it was done before years ago before Parker revisited it). It was still real fun though, but yeah the art just wasn't top quality. It was fine, but not what this comic deserved. I would also suggest that you read the backup history stories first; someone suggested I do it that way, so I did and I think it worked out well. I also feel that this comic would be too expensive without them, the asking price of $25 for 6 issues would be lame without them, so im glad the extra resources were there. The story itself I recommend highly, and id like to see where else team Atlas goes. I would have given it 4 stars. BUT... The soft cover novel version that I bought had soem major issues.

I like the story, why 3 stars not 4? Well my graphic novel has a HUGE ERROR! Marvel is too big of a company to let this by to market. I am really disappointed in Marvel for selling me this book in this editorial shape, unless its a rare error only I have, (but i doubt that). I can't recommend buying the soft cover to anyone if this is a common misprint in all issues, or at least my print run? I don't see anyone else mention this, so maybe I have a rare comic? But this error hurt my impression and the presentation of the comic.
I have the soft cover graphic novel. $24.99. When you get to issue #5 and "Ken's case file" and the group is in the old shipyard, the comic REPEATS itself. Im not saying one or two pages, i mean 12 WHOLE PAGES! they just misprinted or something, I read the first 12 pages of issue #5 then bam the same 12 pages again.... I had to go back and do a double take. Then i compared them to see if they were different at all. Was it done on purpose I said? By the time I realized it was just the worst mistake Ive ever seen in a graphic novel, it had taken me out of the story. I mean it really takes you out of the experience! That is an inexcusable error, and really hurts the professional feel of the book. Feels second rate. I know its not the stories fault, but as a novel i just can't recommend it with an error like that. Buy a different version and you'll love it though, or again maybe my issue is the only one that has this horrible error? I hope so. But it just feels like such a cheap print job for such an expensive comic. I'd be interested to hear from others if they had similar mistakes in their novels!?

I picked up Agents of Atlas after seeing an ad for the series in an issue of Spider-Man.

The story is probably one of the best I have read in years. Don't get me wrong, it's not Watchmen or V for Vendetta. It's not supposed to be. The story is just plain fun and intriguing. Each character feels truly alive and unique. It's what comics used to be about and should be about: ADVENTURE.

Jeff Parker is one of those authors that really understands comic books. He understands what comics should be about. Each issue is it's own little adventure, piecing the team together, till they make their final showdown with the Yellow Claw.

What's great about this collection in particular though is that besides the six issues from the main story, it also comes with a lot of stuff about the way the comic came about and how the characters were designed. In addition, it also has has the original issues in which each character from the team appeared.

A very retro, awesome book.

The hardcover collection of the first Agents of Atlas miniseries IS the comic book deal of the year. Jam packed with extras, this volume contains the first appearance stories of all the team members (some obscure stuff from the 50s never reprinted before), as well as the WHAT IF tale from the 70s that inspired the modern team. The Agents of Atlas story is pretty dang good too, and should appeal to old school, continuity-crazy Marvel fans looking for a fun read.