Avengers: Celestial Madonna [Paperback]

Steve Englehart (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785108262
• ISBN-13: 978-0785108269
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steve Englehart

Born in Indianapolis, he went to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. He studied Psychology because people fascinated him, but in getting his B.A. he learned that psychology didn't describe real people, so he became a writer.

Living the Young Creator's life in New York, he got to be drinking buddies with an editorial assistant at Marvel Comics. One night the e.a. called to say he was going on vacation for six weeks; would Steve like to fill in for him on staff? Steve would, and once in the door at what was then a very small operation, he got a shot at writing a comic. It was a failing series called Captain America -- but six months later it had become Marvel's leading seller, and Steve had all the work he could handle. He became Marvel's lead writer, adding The Hulk, The Avengers, Thor, Dr. Strange, and half a dozen other series. Then he was hired away by DC Comics to be their lead writer and revamp their core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern). He did, but also wrote a solo Batman series that readers dubbed the "definitive" version and broke the long-standing barrier between comics readers and the mass market. All comics films since Batman in 1989 stem from that.

After Batman he traveled around Europe for a year and wrote his first novel, The Point Man. Since then he's designed video games for Atari, Activision, Electronic Arts, and others. He's written animation for Street Fighter and G.I. Joe. He's written mid-grade books for Avon, including the DNAgers series, and Countdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright brothers selected by NASA as the basis for their school programs on the invention of the aeroplane. And he's written more comics, like Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer, which led to the San Diego Comic-Con calling him "comics' most successful writer, having had more hits with more characters at more companies than anyone else in comics history." He created The Night Man, which became a live-action television series.

Most recently, The Point Man has engendered a series of novels from Tor, beginning with The Long Man.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome from cover to cover. buy this., June 5, 2002

By 

terrz "terrz" (u.s.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avengers: Celestial Madonna (Paperback)

This tpb collects Avengers Volume 1 issues 129-135 as well as Giant Sized Avengers issues 2-4. It is filled with origins tales (The Kree, The Cotati, Moondragon, Mantis, The Vision, The Original Human Torch, etc.), and a few good brawls. As another reviewer noted, there are many plot threads going on throughout, but they all converge at the end to form a cohesive whole. There are better Avengers tales out there, but this trade reeks of Marvel History and is necessary for any true Avengers fan. 5...

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable and Nostalgic Trip, April 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Avengers: Celestial Madonna (Paperback)

An excellent and nostalgic trip though Avengers past, with stories by Eaglehart and beatiful artwork by Sal Buscema. While centering around the enigmatic character of Mantis, there are numerous pearls in this collection such as the origin of the Vision (and his relationship to a certain fiery android from the Golden Age), as well as origin tales of Moondragon and Mantis. The collection also includes the death of a certain sword-wielding Avenger. The story lines wander and converge, yet in the end all come together in an issue including the weddings of not one, but two Avenger's couples. Numerous villians appear, the central being Kang which of course means lots of cosmic time travelling tales. All in all, an excellent and enjoyable collection for Avengers' fans..

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't Get Your Hopes Up, November 11, 2003

By 

A. Spieldenner "aspield" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Avengers: Celestial Madonna (Paperback)

I love the character Mantis (featured on the cover). She was different from the average girlfriend-motif superhero in comics at the time. She could beat up the most powerful Avenger, and still flirt with the whole team. She was confusing and conflicted, and still came through when she was needed. I thought I was going to love this collection.

It was ok.

The stories in this collection are difficult to come by (I had been trying for years). It's a great price to be able to read these stories. But, like other collections of older works, comics from the 40s-70s were meant as disposable monthlies, so the writing tends to be overly expository and a bit contrived. The art is cool though.

Pick it up if you're interested in older Avengers stories. This particular collection holds up better and is more consistent than some of the other Marvel trades of 'classic' works. If you're looking for stories where Mantis gets more action, you'll have to, like me, try to find earlier appearances of the character (unless Marvel decides to put them together).