Okay, a god, a demon, a spy and two mutants walk into... some of the strangest scenarios of the '70s! It's gods vs. heroes in the City of Angels! With mad scientists, Russian super-spies and guest-stars from Marvel's western and horror eras! Plus: the secrets of the Black Widow! Featuring Hawkeye! Collects Champions #1-11.
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If you thought the Defenders were an oddly matched superteam in the 1970s, the Champions had them beat. Start with a Greek demi-god (Hercules), a Russian ex-agent (the Black Widow), two Ex-men (Angel and Iceman), and a guy with a blazing skull riding a motorcycle (Ghost Rider), and you had the Champions, a short-lived Marvel creation from 1975. Thrown together when the Greek god of the dead, Pluto, attacks the UCLA campus, the Champions decided to become a "team of the people," funded by the Worthington fortune and a rare superhero team based on the West Coast. In their first 11 issues (they only lasted 17 total), the Champions face a scientist in an exo-skeleton suit, discover secrets about the Widow's past, and meet Black Goliath, Hawkeye, and the Two-Gun Kid picking up a storyline from the Avengers. The Champions were written and conceived by Tony Isabella and penciled by Don Heck, then the reins passed to writer Bill Mantlo and artists George Tuska, Bob Hall, and--starting with issue 11--future superstar John Byrne. --David Horiuchi
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good move by Marvel,
By Babytoxie (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Champions Classic, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
They say you can't judge a book by its cover... sometimes that can even be true about the book's first page. If I were to have judged the CHAMPIONS CLASSIC VOLUME 1 trade paperback solely by the first page of the first issue, I'd have put it back on the shelf. Thankfully, my curiosity got the better of me, resulting in my enjoying yet another gem in this age of quirky Marvel reprints.
This trade paperback collects issues #1- 11 of the ill-fated 1975 series that is often referred to in jest, if at all. Just look at that crazy team roster: Hercules, the Angel, Iceman, Black Widow, and Ghost Rider... what could possibly bring these characters together? Well, the answer is more interesting than you may think - in fact, their origin, which takes up the first 3 issues of this series, is pretty good storytelling. In short, all of our heroes are present at UCLA campus for various reasons, at the same time that harpies, Amazons, and Cerberus raid the campus searching for the golden age Marvel heroine Venus. Following this, Pluto, Ares, and Hippolyta arrive with an offer that Hercules and Venus can't refuse... but refuse they do, with help from the other heroes. After another adventure featuring mental hospital patients used as unwilling test subjects to recreate the super-soldier serum, the Angel (aka Warren Worthington III) realizes that, instead of attending UCLA, he'd rather form a team that will "champion" the ordinary man. As for Hercules, Black Widow, and Ghost Rider's reasons for joining - that's not so clear, but thank goodness they did or this'd be one boring team. Now bankrolled by Worthington's inheritance, the Champions encounter Hawkeye, the Two-Gun Kid, and Black Goliath, while finding time to battle Rampage, the Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, the Griffin, Darkstar, and even Stilt-Man. Maybe this isn't the most stellar list of villains, but it's certainly a nice break from more established characters that are seen everywhere else. The stories are by a handful of writers, including Tony Isabella, Bill Mantlo, and Chris Claremont, who work effectively enough to keep the book on track. Early pencils were handled off and on by Don Heck, who was never the most stellar of Marvel's artists. Sure, he was dependable, but dependable and good are two different things; in fact, my earlier reference to the "first page" concerns Heck's work - sketchy, flat, and mundane, and normally not something that would encourage me to go any further into the book. If it's the first page of the first issue, do something with it! The arrival of George Tuska raises the artistic bar considerably - his mid-transformation Ghost Rider is especially creepy, and he perfectly depicts the rage of Hercules. Bob Hall pencils a couple of stories, and John Byrne shows up for his run with issue #11, which is unfortunately the end of the book; however, you shouldn't despair, because there's a CHAMPIONS CLASSIC VOLUME 2 on the way which will collect the remaining issues and showcase more of Byrne's work. Marvel's reprinting of this doomed series surprised me initially, but by the time I finished the book, I saw the appeal. So let's all raise a glass to the Champions... we hardly knew ya!
3.0 out of 5 stars
A generic review for a generic comic,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Champions Classic, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
When I think of the Champions, the words that come to mind are "okay", "ehh", and "generic." If you ever had a group of heroes whose stories had so little impact, this would be them. They are the prime example of the generic super-team, and a cookie-cutter mentality. The characters really don't blend together well, or even seem plausible, and considering the history of their creation it's not surprising why.
When the Champions was first proposed in 1975, creator Tony Isabella wanted it to be a sort of buddy superhero comic between Iceman and The Angel. But Editor Len Wein disagreed and stated that every group comic needed at least 5 members. One of which who was strong, one had to be a woman, and at least one who had his own comic. Hence the additions, Hercules was the strong guy, Black Widow (recently having left Daredevil) was the female, and Ghost Rider was one of the few unattached superheroes with their own comic. The series does hold some nostalgic appeal however, for those who grew up in the 70's era comics. Being generic, pretty much every comic cliché' of that time was in it. It certainly took me back to the old comics and brought back feelings of the old times, and joy I remember from reading them. However for those younger readers, who didn't grow up reading the 70's era comics, you might want to give it a miss. It was written at the level of its key demographic, namely 12 year old boys, and the dialogue and situations do not go above that. If you really want to look at old school comics, they don't get more generic than this. In short, it's a fun old comic, but contains nothing ground-breaking or of interest, beyond people beating each other up and yelling out ridiculous amounts of dialogue while in mid air.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Marvel's mid-70s alternative superhero team,
By Cultural Production (Los Angeles, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Champions Classic, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
The Champions Classic, vol. 1 collects issues #1-11 of The Champions, originally published between 1975-77. Like the other Classics editions published by Marvel, the production quality is fairly good: low-gloss paper, bright colors, a solid binding. There is no bonus content save for a reproduction of unused cover art for issue #7.
The collection features four self-contained stories, two of which are short, one-issue narratives. These shorter stories (one written by Chris Claremont, the other by Bill Mantlo) are simple, no frills heroes-battle-villains pieces--and, for what they are, they're pretty good. The longer stories, however, written by Tony Isabella and Bill Mantlo, are more convoluted, involving nonsensical premises and silly plot twists. As for the art, George Tuska, Bob Hall, and a young John Byrne (with Bob Layton on inks) contribute solid pencils. Don Heck's work, on the other hand, would be considered bad by most standards. Readers who grew up on Marvel comics in the 1970s will likely find some nostalgic pleasure in this collection. Younger readers will almost certainly be bored. Most of the other Classics editions would be better buys.
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