Avengers: Red Zone [Hardcover]

Geoff Johns (Author), Olivier Coipel (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 2010

When the Red Skull infiltrates the United States government, he authorizes a biological weapon to be released from the peaks of Mount Rushmore, and it is up the Avengers to contain it! Under the direction of creators Geoff Johns and Olivier Coipel, the Avengers face a threat unlike any they've ever faced - then they take on the Red Skull himself! Collects Avengers (1998) #65-70.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (May 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785144668
• ISBN-13: 978-0785144663
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #727,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Geoff Johns originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in Media Arts and Film. He began his comics career creating and writing Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. for DC Comics.

His first comic assignment led to a critically acclaimed run on the The Flash and JSA for DC Comics. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and imaginative writers in comic books today, working on titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, The Flash: Rebirth, Superman: Secret Origin, Action Comics, Adventure Comics, Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid. Geoff received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 as well as the CBG Writer of the Year 2003 thru 2005 and 2007 and 2008 and CBG Best Comic Book Series for JSA 2001 thru 2005. Geoff penned the acclaimed "Legion" episode of SMALLVILLE. He also served as a writer for the fourth season of ROBOT CHICKEN. Geoff is currently working on film projects with Warner Brothers to be announced soon.

Geoff recently became a New York Times Bestselling author with the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac with art by Gary Frank among many others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Avengers Story, May 21, 2010

By 

Kevin Kropp (WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Avengers: Red Zone (Hardcover)

Review of Avengers: Red Zone
This hardcover collects the entire Red Zone story that ran through issues 65-70 of Avengers.
First off, I was very excited to read this book, the idea of reading a modern classic of the Avengers made me downright giddy. The reason for this was that I started reading comics because of the Avengers. I started reading around issue 500 when the Avengers were in the midst of being disassembled. For me, it seems like ever since I started to read comics Marvel has been ringing all their titles through the meat grinder, changing up this "status quo" or killing off a big character. There have been numerous events (Avengers Disassembled, House of M, Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, Death of Captain America, X-Men: Messiah Complex etc.) which throw all of our heroes into tough situations that change the way the Marvel Universe is shaped. Even titles such as New Avengers were different as it seemed like the New Avengers were always butting heads with authority figures. To me, this book seemed simpler (or maybe classic). It was just heroes being heroes, trying to help save the day. In this book the Avengers are THE premier super hero team; this is shown by their UN status and their direct involvement with the CDC, military units, and even the President of the United States. This team featured the likes of Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Jack of Hearts, Warbird, and many others. One interesting thing about this book is that every single character featured in this Avenger Roster has gone through significant change since this story was first published. It was neat to read this book and see what these characters were like several years ago.
The story itself is good. A bio-agent is launched from Mt. Rushmore and is killing everything that it infects. The Avengers spilt up, with some going into the infected area to investigate, while others help with finding a cure and helping the American Government contain the outbreak. Throw in a few twists and turns and you have a pretty solid story. The story was wrote by Geoff Johns, who is now one of the most popular writers in comics because of his work on DC titles such as Green Lantern. One of his best strengths as a writer is his characterization. The way he handles his characters are spot on and it shows throughout this book. There are some great character moments.
The art is handled by Oliver Coipel for all the issues reprinted in this book. Coipel draws super heroes really well and it shows, for the most part. However there are some moments where it looks like he rushed a certain page here or there and as a result it doesn't look as good as the rest of the pages but thankfully, it's very little.
Overall this is a very good book that I read all the way though in one sitting. The story is good, the art is good, and the hardcover format is a nice touch. I'd recommend this to anyone who is a fan of superhero stories or, like me, started reading comics after this story was originally published. It was a real treat to go back and see how the Avengers were, arguably, at their peak as a superhero team.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Solid Avengers Action, August 19, 2010

By 

Comics Fan "Comics Fan" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avengers: Red Zone (Hardcover)

Collecting Avengers #65-70, "Avengers: Red Zone" is a solid effort by writer Geoff Johns to write a blockbuster Avengers story. He has large shoes to fill as he follow Kurt Busiek's classic run on the Avengers. I do believe that many of the characters in this arc are there to fill up space, but the writer has absolutely nailed the characterizations of Captain America and Black Panther. The pacing for the story is terrible and you find yourself wondering at times, "When will something happen?" If you want action you are going to have to wait until the last issue of the series.

Olivier Coipel is a legendary artist by today's standards but his art on this book looks like is going through a transitional phase of sorts. His pencils aren't as precise and bold as they are on books like "House of M" and "Siege". Solid effort though.