READING THE CLASSICS: AVENGERS WEST COAST #49

 

Published on October 1st, 1989

    Wait. That's it? While reviewing the last issue, I noted that so many things were happening that this storyline would last forever. Maybe the editor thought the same thing and told John Byrne to wrap it up. This isn't the last issue of "Vision Quest." There's still one more issue in the "Vision Quest" trade paperback, although a lot of these threads probably did continue for some time. The main story/mystery pretty much ends in this issue, and boy is it underwhelming. The scientists behind everything were controlled by a mutant gene/parasite thing that's been around since the beginning of time. It's not even that I don't comprehend everything, it's just that it's such a lame reveal that's it not really worth going into. Suffice to say, the Great Lakes Avengers show up and one of them disarms the big machine that turned Wanda evil (and She Hulk evil in this issue). So everything goes back to normal and that's the end. We never get to see what that Starfox Eternal guy was up to with Nebula, so who the fuck knows what that was all about. Neither do we get more of what the woman in the homeless shelter in Denver had to do with anything. We do get a bit with Tygra attacking Dr. Pym out in California. Seriously, though, why did anyone think WandaVision on Disney+ was based on this? Because Vision and Scarlet Witch are in both? Literally nothing in this comic has anything to do with that show. I'm baffled. I was actually enjoying this book until this big, lame duck of an ending. It was a good set up. Maybe it's because John Byrne is a writer/artist and typically they're not as good at writing. I don't know...maybe the big wrap-up in #50 will be epic and awesome. Sigh. *

READING THE CLASSICS: AVENGERS WEST COAST #48

 Published on September 1st, 1989

    This is the 7th part of "Vision Quest" and they're introducing new characters and plots into. How long is this thing? Like a hundred issues? It's definitely different than comics these days, which don't really seem to have epic, long stories that take their time and feed off of things that happened years ago that you're just kind of supposed to know. It's certainly a lot easier reading comic books now since it's easy to just look things up online if you're completely lost. Granted, I read comic books before the internet and I lived to tell the tale. The one thing I like about this storyline is that it's intriguing. It's a big mystery but it's at least a little bit different than the usual, bad-guys-try-to-take-over-the-world-and-the-superheroes-fight-them plot. So in this issue, Wanda has been "assimiliated" by a bunch of scientist/businessmen types. This basically means that she's been turned evil...and now she's been brainwashed to think mutants should rule and destroy humanity. Captain America and She Hulk have come to investigate and end up getting in a fight with Wanda. Hawkeye and the Great Lakes Avengers decide to join the fray so they head out to get involved. There's also a lot more. Too much, actually. This book excels at rewarding it's readers. Meaning if you've read this book since #1 you're loyal and thus understand everything and will probably love it more. Since I've never read this book until this storyline and don't much about the history of the Avengers, it's like a slow drip of information to learn that can often feel frustrating. For some reason, the Eternals show up in this issue. Eros, aka Starfox, is on some alien planet trying to find Nebula, Thanos' daughter. That's just one page out of the blue. What the fuck is that all about? Maybe John Byrne was just adding things so they couldn't fire him because he had too many plates spinning in the air. "Fire me and you'll never find out what that stuff with Starfox was all about!" Then there's a scene at a shelter in Denver where some woman is sad after reading the newspaper headline: "Avengers Confirm Vision is Not Torch." That's also one random page. What the hell is that all about? We also get The Wasp talking to the old scientist that created The Torch. There's also a bunch of pages featuring the evolution of organisms on Earth. Yep. Well the ultimate point to this issue is that Wanda is now evil...which is kind of how the TV show WandaVision played out. I still don't see how that show was even loosely based on this, though. But there's still time. After all, the way this is going, this plot could run another ten years. ***

READING THE CLASSICS: AVENGERS WEST COAST #47

 Published on August 1st, 1989

     This storyline is certainly a slow burn. I'm not sure modern comics could handle something this type of long form storytelling. These days, the big superhero books keep rebooting to #1 and constantly have new creators at the helm. This storyline is also not exactly fan friendly, nor action packed. Maybe that's why it's memorable. I am intrigued and interested in the unfolding plot, which is a good thing and what good comics are supposed to do. I'm also just waiting for the big reveals to come and be disappointing. Either way, in this issue the mysterious villains and their mysterious, yet-to-be-revealed plot goes into action  when they capture Wanda and throw her in a cell that starts to fill with black ooze. But the east coast Avengers find out about this and we see Captain America and She Hulk running from Avengers mansion to the rescue. Black Panther also shows up on the west coast to install a computer program. And Tygra tries to fuck the U.S. Agent. And Wanda's twins keep disappearing. This is all kind of more of a soap opera than an action vehicle. I'm taking a wild guess but I bet kids that read comic books in 1989 weren't enthralled by this book. I'm still wondering why WandaVision was supposedly sort of based on this storyline. And I'm still wondering why Marvel hasn't published a Wanda & Vision comic book to jump on the bandwagon of that super popular TV show. Deep thoughts. **1/2

READING THE CLASSICS: THE WEST COAST AVENGERS #46

 Published on July 10th, 1989

     The first comic book that I have a vivid memory of buying is The Amazing Spider-Man #361. It wasn't the first comic book I bought, but I remember it for a number of reasons. It came out on a Wednesday, but I do remember buying comics when they used to come out on Fridays. Anyway, that issue was the first full appearance of Carnage and was obviously a popular book because it was sold out when I went to Comic Universe at Bazaar (this was before the shop moved to a larger location in the building). The shop used to put some of the new books in the window to show off to passing customers and they had one of the ASM issues up there so I asked if I could get it and I could so I bought it. Glad I did, as that book on Ebay is for sale from $250 up to a few thousand bucks (it cost $1) these days, and I still own it. I was thinking of this because I was kind of wondering if I was reading comics when The West Coast Avengers' "Vision Quest" was going on. I probably wasn't yet, though I never did read any Avengers books back then for whatever reason (I remember reading all the Image books when they started in '92...and I used to read The Punisher, Darkhawk, and Sleepwalker from Marvel). I doubt I would have enjoyed The West Coast Avengers back then anyway. While this particular issue, #46, is kind of silly, a lot of it is pretty adult and soap opera-ish (Hawkeye and Mockingbird argue about their divorce in this issue). This issue also doesn't really have much to do with the "Vision Quest" storyline, either, save for the last page where Wanda gets a letter from some scientist about getting Vision's old memories back. The rest of the book has Hawkeye and Mockingbird going to Milwaukee to check out a new superhero team, The Great Lakes Avengers. I guess this new team is supposed to be so dumb it's funny. Otherwise, I'm not entirely sure what the point of their existence is. The one interesting part of this issue is when Mockingbird says to Hawkeye: "I got mixed up with The Phantom Rider because he drugged me, used me, and when you found out, did you react like a husband whose wife has been assaulted? No!!" I wonder when that happened? Also it's noted that The Phantom Rider jumped to his death. Sounds like it was an interesting issue. More interesting than this one. **

READING THE CLASSICS: THE WEST COAST AVENGERS #45

Published on June 1st, 1989

     WandaVision, on Disney+, just ended on Friday. It was 9 episodes. It was wildly popular, so I'm assuming a second season or movie will eventually show up. Right now, the only plans with the characters include Scarlett Witch starring in the next Dr. Strange movie (Vision died again in the TV show). So far, I'm not exactly sure why some have noted that WandaVision was based on the "Vision Quest" storyline in The West Coast Avengers. In WandaVision, Wanda is so upset at Vision's death that she creates a fake, perfect suburban life where she's married to Vision and has two kids. Their life is also like a sitcom, so most of the episodes mimic classic sitcoms like Malcolm in the Middle and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Eventually Angela Harkness, a witch, shows up to steal Wanda's power and by the last episode it just turns into a typical Marvel action movie spectacle. It was a really good show, though. And while "Vision Quest" isn't anything like it so far, it's at least intriguing. It's also, as I've noted before, convoluted. In this issue we get the backstory of Wonder Man. His backstory is so convoluted that it sounds like it's been going on in various comic book issues for thirty years (and it probably was). Wonder Man was a rich inventor type like Tony Stark...but hated Tony Stark so he decided to get turned into a superhero by Baron Zemo. Zemo said this transformation would kill him in a week without an antidote that only Zemo had. So Wonder Man was Zemo's slave. He eventually died then was brought back to life by Ant Man. It gets even more confusing. When he was brought back to life, the lab used his brainwave patterns. Those patterns were then used by Ultron to create Vision. Oh, yes, it gets even more complicated. Wonder Man's "mad brother Eric called upon the power of the voodoo houngan known as The Black Talon" to restore him back to life but turned him into a mindless zombie. Jesus Christ. This is really fucking complicated, right? And do we really even need to know all of this? Well he's not a mindless zombie anymore. And The Vision is back, albeit when The West Coast Avengers finally brought him back to life as a non-killing terminator like he was last issue, he's not 100% like he was and Wanda is all pissed off. Also...her and Vision's twins are missing again. And the new member of the team, the U.S. Agent, ends the issue talking to pictures of his parents. I guess this means he's batshit crazy? I can't really imagine a kid reading/enjoying this issue. I guess if that kid was like a prodigy or something. The mystery behind everything is compelling, though, so I hope the big reveal is actually worth waiting for. **1/2