Customer Reviews

Avengers West Coast Visionaries - John Byrne, Vol. 1: Vision Quest (Prelude to Avengers Disassembled)

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Before this 80's work- Byrne drew the Avengers in the late 70's, issues 181-191, with 189-191 being some of my all-time favorites. After his great work with DC's Man of Steel in the mid-80's, he returned to Marvel's Avengers in '89, this time with this west coast team.

Highlights here for me...
*Issues 43 & 44- Hawkeye & Mockingbird reunited. And the west coast team searches for & finds the Vision. I've never seen Vision quite like this! The team is in turmoil, and the government intervenes, bringing them a special new member. Features Hawkeye, Wonder Man, Hank Pym, Wasp, Tigra, Scarlet Witch & more.
*Issue 45- U.S. Agent & the new Vision. And Hawkeye quits the team?
*Issue 46- The Great Lakes Avengers. 'Nuff said!
*Issue 50- The *original* Human Torch! It's the return of a Golden Age great, and he actually joins the team.

I love Byrne's artistic vision, the Avengers in general, and especially the Avengers west coast team in the '80s. Here we get all three! This isn't usually considered his best work, but it *is* among my favorites. The clarity & consistency in his artistic vision never ceases to amaze me. In this paperback he touches on story points he previously visited in titles like Avengers & Fantastic Four. He especially, continually references the Invaders all throughout his career, and I actually appreciate these brief flashbacks.

Visually speaking, maybe the biggest standout feature here is the varied and/or inconsistent inking(!). It's amazing how the overall visual style of Byrne's run seems to change from issue to issue here. This might be the main reason why this isn't usually considered Byrne's best work, but I actually love these issues, in part, *because* of the various visual styles on display. I guess only Byrne & Machlan can say for sure why the visual style keeps changing all throughout this great '89 series.

Included in this volume:
*Issues #42 to #48 & #50- John Byrne writes & pencils; Mike Machlan inks
*Issue #49- John Byrne writes, pencils & inks

P.S. And check out this definitive career interview with Byrne: Modern Masters, Vol. 7: John Byrne. With great art & information, it's highly recommended!

I recently purchased this book hoping to get some further knowledge on older Avengers story arcs. And boy am I happy I did!

The way Byrne writes, and draws, these characters is fantastic. Hawkeye is just as angsty as ever, Scarlet Witch and Vision's relationship is written perfectly, AND...you get The Great Lakes Avengers!

I can't say enough good things about this book, and other reviewers have said plenty about its content. Just know that if you like the Avengers you should buy this and the follow up John Byrne Avengers West Coast book, Darker than Scarlet.

This story is good but incomplete. It tdeals with the first half of the Scarlet Witch's mental breakdown(issues 42-50). The premise of the graphic novel is that the Vision is missing and his team mates must find him. The story is good and the villains behind the kidnapping are unexpected.
The original 19 issue story arc (WCA 42-60) is basically Avengers Disassembled on a smaller scale. It details the different factors that drive the Scarlet Witch to become a blood thirsty anti-human villain and the person who is behind this.

This is a very good run, showcasing what makes the Avengers, the Avengers. John Byrne used to epitomize Marvel for most of us, this book made you forget which was the real Avengers book at the time. The seeds of Dissasembled begin here, we also have the creation of the GLA here. John's artwork is great as always, I cant wait for the 2nd one ( if they make on ) to come, that was where even better stories resided

great pick up

For some reason, a lot of Byrne's best work seems to come in short stints, such as his run on WCA. With this collection of Avengers: West Coast #42-50, Byrne took the ball and ran with in terms of tying up old storylines from past Avengers storylines and adding to them. The Vision pays the price from his attempt at taking over the world, the original Human Torch is brought back to life and the Scarlet Witch begins her descent into darkness.
Mind you, these were originally published in 1989...and life did exist BEFORE Brian Michael Bendis was writing Avengers titles.
Lots of sub-plots, from Hawkeye and Mockingbird's separation to Tigra's animalistic regression, but you don't need to have the entire Avengers catalogue at your side as reference because of the manditory recaps back in those days.
All in all, a good start to a good run.

In the late 80's, John Byrne returned to Marvel to offer his take on the West Coast Avengers. This is indeed a prelude to Avengers Disassembled, because the main focus of this series is the Scarlet Witch. It all begins with the Witch waking up to discover her husband, the Vision, has gone missing. It's not long until the rest of the team goes searching for him. This leads into a betrayal of the team, an ancient cabal abducting the Scarlet Witch, and the recurring disappearance of the Witch's children! Also included in this volume is the introduction of the Great Lakes Avengers. If you buy this collection, I highly recommend purchasing the next volume of the series, "Darker Than Scarlet"!

the picture is of the original issue cover, whats the trade cover look like? has anyone actually bought this and if so, is it in color or one of those hideous black and white newspaper print reprints marvel is releasing these days? i do not want to pay 17 dollars for something that looks photocopies and torn out of an old newspaper

ok he may have lost most of his skills in writing and drawing, but back then he was one of the greats of the comic world, he touched a comic and it was gold, from x-men to superman, F4 and his lesser known work on avengers west coast, nt his first time on an avengers title, but some of his best work.

the story reprints 42-50 of avengers west coast,it's a great run, and the characters are a little more oddball with the likes of tigra and others on the roster, but it's what makes it work, they are a cast of characters you can't help but love, from the rebel hawkeye to the fun tigra or the stoic vision.

The art is fantastic, byrnes art is alive, full of fun, he knows how to really make a comic seem like it's alive and moving, it's a shame his talent has went downhill, but don't let any of his recent work scare you away, in fact you can see some of his work on the cover or by searching for the issues online, checking the covers to see how well he could draw a scene.

I only hope they follow this up with a trade or two and finish byrnes run, it follows the further adventures of these characters and would go great with this trade, but never fear, you get a good complete story in this book, and if you want a fun adventure or looking for more avengers, then get this.