That was pretty crazy how Spider-Man gave Thanos a fruit pie and they became best friends and flew off in the Thanos copter. Was not expecting endgame to end like that.
Zalachai I know, right? I guess it just shows how powerful a good fruit filled pastry can be. And I loved how the Thanos copter had his grinning face on the front. It made me giggle.
Chris officially confirmed as the strongest man in the universe. Look at him, killed Thanos and took his prize. We're all at mercy of his gauntlet now.
He’s kinda like nostalgia critics format but not unbearable like Doug Walker is AND this guy knows how to make a set and be endearing And the whole gochapon thing is super oldschool
Kurt Busiek was always one of my favorite comics writers. More for Thunderbolts and Astro City than for Avengers but I still loved all his stuff. There are so many writers who seem to hate comics and superheroes and want to tear down everything long-time heroes stand for, so it's great that such a talented writer holds the medium, its history and its symbols in such reverence. Best of all, back when I graduated high school and wanted to know how to become a better writer, Busiek replied to a random email I sent by attaching portions of an unpublished interview where he explained his path through university and into comics. It was my first interaction with someone I admired (long before Twitter made that easy) and informed my academic career. Twenty years later I still haven't written a comic book, but I have had 13 novels published :).
6:03 OMG, Geroge Perez's is just awesome!!!!! His choices here, such as, Cap's eyebrows being visiable or the incorporation of Ironmans older helmet design with newer elements, even his use of heavy lines on Tonys armor and Thors cape. I love how clean it is and think Perez easily in the top 5 greatest, then his volume of work is massive and he has created (or his version of characters, recreations if you will) a ridiculous amount of beloved characters.
When Roger Stern had the Masters of Evil invade Avengers mansion, that was the best Avengers story ever. When Cap found a destroyed photo of his mother in his footlocker in the aftermath, that was the best scene in Avengers history.
A friend of mine recommended me to read Kurt Busiek's Avengers (1998-2002) about two years ago. I remembered it was hard for me to start since it was really... eh... old school (and I've read Peter David's Hulk) but after overcoming that, I found his ideas and narrative really good. I liked how he challenged the strongest team in MU with problems that they can't solve with fists: Racism and media attack (tribune of understanding); megalomania (most of Hank Pym's stories); the famous Captain America's quote "so was Poland"; and of course my favorite part, the relationship between Scarlet-Witch and Vision.
How about a profile on the Legion of Superheroes? They were such an influential series and have featured brilliant art by all time greats like Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell
I'm relatively new to your channel; and it is truly superb. I'm finding life a bit of a slog (at the moment) and watching your back catalogue has really lifted my spirits. Lovely authentic attitude, no hatred, full of love for the medium and a beautiful delivery style. Thank you, I'll be a patron from now on. Keep doing what you are doing and remember you are a bloody marvellous gent.
Definitely the greatest Avengers writer imho. That first arc is such a love letter. He wrote the best Kang story ever and gave us the badass Damocles base.
I never understood why people were so connected to the permanent death of a character named “Phoenix.” I always thought the name was intended as foreshadowing.
I think, for me, most of that connection was how emotionally impactful X-Men #137 was. Even knowing it was a rushed response to an editorial mandate, it made sense, and I didn't want that story to be undone.
1:10 THANK YOU👏👏 Hickman's New Avengers, Avengers and Time runs out and Secret Wars were what git me into comics, especially Marvel. His world-building, characterization (T'Challa and Namor), and action are fantastic! Sadly, after his run ended and ANAD Marvel began, I dropped out.
Kurt Busiek pulled me back into comics at a time when I had given them up for what I thought was good. I came upon a comic book shop that was going out of business and picked up Astro City #1 for ten cents. It impressed me so much I went out and found a comic shop that wasn't going out of business and got the rest of the series.
Kurt Busiek is a great writer, my favorite being Conan, also he is such a nice guy. He reviewed my art portfolio 12 years ago and he tried to get me a job in the comic book industry, to which I regretfully never followed up on.
Those Hostess Twinkies have taken down the most power villains back in the day. You would think they would be standard issue in any hero's utility belt.
@@rickyg.4004 thats why batman keeps his in a pouch lined with lead, keeps it protected and supes doesnt know where hes got it stashed. He eats them while hiding in the shadows so nobody sees him
Hi Chris, fantastic video as always. I've been meaning to mention the small but interesting comicbook industry here in South Africa, but it looks like they beat me to it! That fan art at the end also mentions Comic Con Africa, which was the first time the event ever came to our continent last year.
_Untold Tales of Spider-Man_ is still my favorite comic series. I'd love it if Kurt was assigned to the ASM series but with how Marvel ignores continuity now, I'd see Kurt facing a lot of editorial changes.
Kurt Busiek, because of this run on Avengers, PLUS the work on Marvels, PLUS the work on JLA/Avengers (I absolutely LOVE that thing), is definitely one of my all-time top 5 favorite comic book writers for any company. PERIOD. (Plus Chris, you get props for the issue of Badger #10 on the rack back there behind you. Mike Baron---when he was in his right mind----is another one of those top 5. And just because.....it's BADGER.)
Even better is Steve Englehart's run on West Coast Avengers. He changed the marriges of Hawkeye/Mockingbird and Vision/ Scarlett Witch. Tigress became very flirty. He gave Wonder Man and Hank Pym their confidence back. Pym had new slightly different powers and made good use of his scientific background. There is a great long long time travel storyline. This run is underrated. I think it was up there with Justice League International and Uncanny X-Men. i almost forgot. Scarlet Witch's pregnancy led to the House of M; 20 years later.
I wanna check that out. It get's a bit confusing especially with the first two volumes and the reverse names. Back in the day I started West Coast Avengers with that horrendous John Byrne Master Pandemonium storyline with Scarlet Witch's children.
@@paulrose3439 Bendis is overrated. I can't remember the storylines for the New Avengers. I remember some of the team members. the only work i like is Alias. His starts with good ideas but they don't go anywhere. I forgot who wrote The Mighty Avengers (Dan Slott?). Janet die in the Skull Invasion. Pym became the new Wasp. That was a good series.
Woah! I had no idea Kurt wrote for Marvel. I was introduced to him via his AMAZING😍😍😍😍😍 Conan the Barbarian comics. Seriously, he single handedly made that character relevant in our modern day!
You should really check out his breakout hit Marvels. Not only does it have fantastic painted art by Alex Ross (this series was also the start of this justly revered artist's mainstream success) but it really retells a lot of famous Marvel stories from the civilian perspective. Also, Busiek wrote an epilogue to this series several years later that closes out one unresolved thread from the second issue.
Great video, I din't read that much of Kurt Busiek, but the little I read of his run is fantastic. However I'm tired of youtube algorithm who any time I watch something comics related suggest me hacks who complain aboot comics that not share their political believe.
The TH-cam algorithm sucks. I counter it by clicking on some video about Drag Race to even it out.
5 ปีที่แล้ว +6
There are a few good channels i follow, which keeps my algorithm in check. If you are interested, you might want to check out comic pop, comics island, professor thorgi or nerdsync. All of those have a positive attitude and even when I fall asleep, there's no gator negativity on my yt the next morning. And of course comic tropes is always golden.
Yeah, anyone that complains about comics creators constantly screaming about how much they hate conservatives is lame. I mean these are clearly layered and nuanced stories that only fine intellectuals can handle. I mean, could you image a right wing writer like Chuck Dixon writing a comic about a left-wing character like Green Arrow and left wing people liking it? That's impossible! It could never happen. Because people on the right are so much more intolerant then those on the left.
@@cheeseburger12 You'r comparaison will be valida, if that was something who happen. Except is not, 100% of political video who complain aboot comics are right wing oriented. So please stop spreading lie and buy a personality.
Correction: Perez was Avengers artist in the mid-late 70s not the early 70s. Avengers Forever is one of the greatest Avengers stories ever but I've never been much of a fan of Busiek's run on the main title. I don't think it's bad, and I do think it had an important role in re-establishing the series after a very poor preceding era, but it's just a bit meh. I think you missed a trick here as surely the most significant thing here is that the run is very obviously a re-run of the classic Shooter/Michelinie era that even utilised one of the artists from that period (whereas Avengers Forever was obviously far more closely tied to the Engelhart period -and to a lesser extent the Roy Thomas years). The re-establishment of the title's fundamental iconography (Avengers Mansion, Government Liaison, Quinjets, their classic roster of villains, etc), with the occasional twist, is something that should've been key to this video IMO. The period does only ever feel like a re-run to me -putting the house back in order but feeling a bit empty and derivative as if painted by numbers. I would also add that the claim that the Avengers has a poor record with diversity is a terrible slander. Firstly the affirmative action themed storyline with Falcon (which the ham fisted Triathlon one was obviously a tribute to) was a pretty good one that not only approached a topical subject at the time but one that raised questions about and got to the heart of what the Avengers are. There are 2 sides to that in Avengers history -one the dog refuge for wayward superhumans (such as in the original Old Order Changeth story and at its most extreme in Bendis's run) and the other as the elite , 'professional' super team -Earth's Mightiest Heroes (which Busiek clearly subscribes to in his run). Falcon was characterized well in this period and the notion that not all superheroes are suited to being an Avenger was a good theme for the title to deal with (one which many subsequent writers might have done well to heed...). Secondly you are talking about a title which featured the Black Panther as what I'm pretty sure must be the first black character as a regular on the roster of a major superhero team. Not only that but one of their periodic antagonists in the early years were the white supremacist Sons of the Serpent. Avengers 73-74 which features the Panther battling them and has him take off his mask on TV, revealing himself to be black to the public, is a classic syoryline of the civil rights era.
I remember Marvel printed an alternate version of vol. 3, issue 1 with just George Perez's pencils (and letters), which blew me away. I learned more about comic book pencilling/storytelling from reading through that issue (giant sized with like every Avenger ever, by the way) than any class could have hoped to provide (unless maybe it were taught by Perez himself). These "unwrapped" editions have become far more popular since but it was a big deal at the time. On top of that, it was a fun and very Avengersy story after the whole Onslaught/Heroes Reborn thing ran its course.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving Kurt Busiek his due! I evangelize his series Astro City on a regular basis and he doesn't get enough credit for his turn of the century Marvel work. He's also the writer I credit for taking Carol Danvers out of mothballs (though she didn't hit her stride until the 2010s). James Robinson rightly called him "the Martin Scorsese of comics."
Kurt Busiek's run on Avengers was a fantastic antidote to the GUNS, BOOBS, GUNS, excess of the early 90's. His run was fun and played with the characters in a truly interesting way. His Ultron Unlimited story was freaking fantastic.
Deconstruction isn’t a synonym of “grim and gritty”. It just means looking at meanings and consequences of established working principles. Deconstruction doesn’t have to be grim or pessimistic any more than criticism has to be negative or disparaging. By that same token, the grim gritty boom that followed watchman wasn’t deconstruction, and didn’t bother to understand what Moore was actually doing, it was just the same old unexamined good-and-evil-solved-by-violence with sex and extravagant death added as a pretension to maturity. Astro City is *absolutely* a deconstruction of comics, entirely because it looks seriously at how good people as real human beings would have to organize their lives around the reality of living with (or being) super heroes. The concept behind spider man being a teenage kid with teenage problems is deconstruction of the lantern-jawed cowboy-hero trope. Being optimistic and having heart doesn’t change that. Watchman has tons of heart, that’s why it actually hurts when things go wrong and good doesn’t win and villains don’t realize what they are.
Great show once again, and on Kurt Busiek, didn’t actually check his Avengers run, will be on the lookout now...keep up the stellar work. Peace. Wayne. London
Busiek is awesome. I love continuity in comics in general and was a big fan of the Thunderbolts. I know Bendis is more popular but I like Busiek better.
Its been years since I've seen Kurt Busiek or Scott McCloud. I lived in N. Reading mass., I published a fanzine The X-Maniacs. It was 2 maybe 3 issues with their work which I sent copies of to Marvel. When I saw Stan Lee, he remembered it cause they had it posted around the Marvel bullpen. Kurt's writing was great then too.
"Why Kurt Busiek is a great writer" Just a suggestion for a possible alternate title for this video. Seriously, I love Kurt Busiek's stuff. I don't believe I've ever read a bad story written by Busiek.
This was great! I hope you get to an episode about Astro City someday - it's one of my favorite stories that uses a lot of super hero tropes to great effect to tell compelling human stories.
Busiek gets these characters in a way most writers just don't. One of my favorite super hero writers, thanks for the video. Galactic Storm is pretty good if given a chance, some chapters are way better than others but it's overall a fun space adventure with a meaningful conclusion especially for Tony and Cap. The Gatherers storyline was great too. The Crossing, of course, is an unmitigated disaster.
Probably biased because I started reading Avengers in the early 90s, but the Bob Harras/Steve Epting run was by no means floundering or going through the motions. Not with the long running Gatherers arc or the intrigue with the Kree, Hera's plans for Hercules and more. It's a shame that era is mostly remembered for the matching leather jackets, but those were solid stories steeped in continuity. Once we get to the Crossing/Avengers TimeSlide days, things went from bad to worse, I'll grant you that. And the Busiek/Perez run was gold, no argument there.
I've just watched your Alan Moore vision before this one, and now I want to see something like that includes both deconstruction and reconstruction. Like, let us dial Marvel back some years, before literally everyone has been an Avenger and sliding timescale, soft rebooted universes and when magic still felt more magical, no "where I come from they're one and the same" stuff. You have Wolverine, an amnesiac guy who has seen some of the worst of humanity, has no connections and is hated by most for being a mutant. That would certainly lead to the down path. Then you have (a humbled) Thor and Hercules, literal god heroes and living legends, not just supposed to be able endure more than most physically and mentally and be held to higher standards, but they actually can because they're not mere mortals. Would be nice to see what sort of mechanics would develop with that approach.
Kurt Busiek's run on Avengers is what got me into Marvel's greatest team book. You nailed his strong points with his love of comic lore and reconstructing the comic world after the dark period the 80's & early 90's. IMO, I honestly feel that writers post-Busiek's run have been unable to come close. Bendis did a few noteworthy things like bringing Luke Cage and co-created Jessica Jones to prominence. Yet his writing, especially on team books, comes up short in terms of making character dialog unique or staying true to continuity. He tries to add his spin on things and they either end up being forced or insulting to fans and the characters they love. It's weird that the Big Two find themselves in the same quagmire they were in the 90's. Going back to tired tropes that do more harm than good and allowing creators or editors to run amok. Aside from A-Force and Mark Waid's brief run (warts and all), many Avengers titles feel stale and uninteresting. A lot of writers, including Jason Aaron, come off as arrogant and do things that upset me (his take on She-Hulk being #1) or bore me (the introduction of Blade). To me, they lack the heart and drive that defined Busiek's run. A lot of this can be laid on the feet of the corporate entities that own The Big Two. Yet the people working inside Marvel and DC need to take responsibility for their actions.
Excellent video! This makes me realize Kurt molded a lot my Early Marvel Experience. I started with the Onslaught Saga and I loved Kurt’s run! I love starting off deciding a new roster after the ultimate super roster! It’s sad to hear he had mercury Poisoning. Also sad the Kang War was unfortunate enough to happen during 9/11. Forever War is great I need to get the TPB. I was really was spoiled by his love of continuity. It’s missing in the last couple decades. His Avengers vs Justice League was Brilliant. He knew how to make Thor epic, and give interesting personality to Carol Danvers. Kurt is my Quintessential Avengers writer, and I only like Hickmans Avenger writing as much. And Triatholon and Silverclaw are underrated. Silverclaw has a cool power and I love her being Family with Jarvis. And it’s funny how he was decades ahead of predicting the SJW trend with Triathlon. But he had interesting powers, more finesse then raw might. Really Kurt was the best Jarvis Writer. And I forgot Sokovia was a different country then Slornia because I haven’t read it in a while and thought hey did just pluck out that awesome comic arch. Love the Ultron and Count Nefaria terrifying might. We need him back he really understood and loved the characters and history! I didn’t realize Marvels and Avengers Forever were his Babies! Love his stuff!
In my opinion Kurt Busiek is easily the best Avengers writer of the 21st century, the best of the 90s, and in the conversation for the best ever. Busiek, perhaps more than any other comic book writer I've experienced, is able to tap into that rich tapestry of history, lore and continuity in a way that delights the most dedicated of fans, while letting his writing remain easily accessible to newcomers. And for a book like the Avengers which to me in itself has always (with a few brief interruptions) kind of felt like a celebration of Marvel's history and lore (at least until the Bendis-era), that's an especially important quality for a writer to have.
What about Jim Shooter! His run on Avengers is among the best, especially his Korvac Saga, which I consider to be among the best comic stories of all time!
Maybe if Perez hadn't dropped out of the Korvac Saga midway through or even if the last few parts had a better artist than Dave Wenzel. Most of the artists Shooter had on his second run weren't that good either.
I never read Avengers regularly until this run. Just a great story with great Perez art. I wished Triathalon lasted longer, though. Anyway, excellent retrospective!
Kurt's run was great because he was able to bring in what was good about the 70-80's runs by Stern, Shooter, and Englehart, and still made his own stamp on the title. Personally, I'm not mad about Triathlon at all... both Kurt and Dave Micheline were satirizing affirmative action and Kurt added a satire of Scientology. Also, Kurt added Silverclaw!
Thanks for the spoiler😣😣 I liked the Thunderbolts and the whole idea behind it. I love his Astro City books too. I think your set and whole set up is just great, maybe a seat so you can relax a bit while speaking,, just not for these late ones. Anyway, thank you for keeping us informed and interested in our choice of reading medium. (Still waiting for The Generic Comic Book episode) 🤓
I actually really liked the Operation Galactic Storm cross over, but yeah aside from that I had no interest in 90's area Avengers, it still amazes me to this day that the MCU is raking in big bucks on what was a C level property in the 90's compared to the X-men comic juggernaut.
Other than the leather jackets and usage of black widow, I think bob harras run is underrated. I think a troupe busiek run was fixing mistakes or unpopular deaths by other writers. I believe he reversed the deaths of hellcat, wonder man, and marina. He made mz marvel aka war bird and hank pym stronger characters. Was not a fan of silver claw or triathlon despite busiek trying to add people of color to the avengers.
I agree about Bob Harras. I also really like Operation Galactic Storm. I feel like a lot of comics get unfairly judged for being from the 90's. Busiek really is the go-to guy if you need something fixed. There aren't many comics writers who know the history of comics as well as he does. He's very hit and miss when it comes to adding new characters though.
Ultron Unlimited is the last Ultron story I remember liking prior to the Return of Hank Pym story in Uncanny Avengers. Busiek was blessed to have Perez as his collaborator during his run. There's a scene in that story that made me wish Marvel had stuck with the electronic shield, where Cap turns it into a staff and uses it to kick some Ultrons. I actually prefer the Avengers when the Big Three only show up occasionally, like during Roy Thomas' run when the team consisted of Giant-Man, the Wasp, Hawkeye, Black Panther and the Vision.
That was pretty crazy how Spider-Man gave Thanos a fruit pie and they became best friends and flew off in the Thanos copter. Was not expecting endgame to end like that.
Zalachai I know, right? I guess it just shows how powerful a good fruit filled pastry can be. And I loved how the Thanos copter had his grinning face on the front. It made me giggle.
Thanks for spoiling the movie!
Thanos looks at the fruit pie, "this puts a smile on my face"
Zalachai those movies are kids comedies, so I would not be surprised if that happens even though I know it doesn't.
Every Hostess ad in the 70s and 80s ended the same way.
Chris officially confirmed as the strongest man in the universe. Look at him, killed Thanos and took his prize. We're all at mercy of his gauntlet now.
What if he pulls a Norman Osborn and erases himself with the gauntlet?
Yeah, but I think he might be the nicest guy in the universe as well. So maybe it's not that terrible after all.
*"Stopping Thanos with a Hostess Fruit Pie".* That's your Infinity Weapon right there.
i clearly heard Hostess FUR pie, way to go!
Some of the strangest adverts ever published in American comics.
I love how early TH-cam era your videos seem to be. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the intro or lack lavish editing but it's so relaxing.
I agree! There is something old school about Comic Tropes
He’s kinda like nostalgia critics format but not unbearable like Doug Walker is AND this guy knows how to make a set and be endearing
And the whole gochapon thing is super oldschool
What do you mean by "lack lavish?"
@@marsupius I mean that it's not super fancy.
Feels like one of the less anoying TGWTG guys
Kurt Busiek was always one of my favorite comics writers. More for Thunderbolts and Astro City than for Avengers but I still loved all his stuff. There are so many writers who seem to hate comics and superheroes and want to tear down everything long-time heroes stand for, so it's great that such a talented writer holds the medium, its history and its symbols in such reverence.
Best of all, back when I graduated high school and wanted to know how to become a better writer, Busiek replied to a random email I sent by attaching portions of an unpublished interview where he explained his path through university and into comics. It was my first interaction with someone I admired (long before Twitter made that easy) and informed my academic career. Twenty years later I still haven't written a comic book, but I have had 13 novels published :).
If the Avengers legitimately beat Thanos with a Hostess Fruit Pie, it would make Endgame the greatest movie ever.
6:03 OMG, Geroge Perez's is just awesome!!!!! His choices here, such as, Cap's eyebrows being visiable or the incorporation of Ironmans older helmet design with newer elements, even his use of heavy lines on Tonys armor and Thors cape. I love how clean it is and think Perez easily in the top 5 greatest, then his volume of work is massive and he has created (or his version of characters, recreations if you will) a ridiculous amount of beloved characters.
I can draw better than George Perez.
@@jephloebsucks I couldn't hear you. You have a pouch strapped over your mouth.
Kurt Busiek is a great writer overall. His stuff is gold.
When Roger Stern had the Masters of Evil invade Avengers mansion, that was the best Avengers story ever. When Cap found a destroyed photo of his mother in his footlocker in the aftermath, that was the best scene in Avengers history.
A friend of mine recommended me to read Kurt Busiek's Avengers (1998-2002) about two years ago. I remembered it was hard for me to start since it was really... eh... old school (and I've read Peter David's Hulk) but after overcoming that, I found his ideas and narrative really good. I liked how he challenged the strongest team in MU with problems that they can't solve with fists: Racism and media attack (tribune of understanding); megalomania (most of Hank Pym's stories); the famous Captain America's quote "so was Poland"; and of course my favorite part, the relationship between Scarlet-Witch and Vision.
How about a profile on the Legion of Superheroes? They were such an influential series and have featured brilliant art by all time greats like Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell
I second that and how about a video on Elliot S! Maggin's run on Superman.
Would love his thoughts on the Great Darkness Saga
@@ItsButterBean1020 that would be a great choice.
The Kang Dynasty is one of my favorite comics storylines. I wonder if the MCU might pick it up in a future movie arc.
You didn’t talk about my favorite Avengers Story by him and just my all time favorite avengers story, Kang Dynasty
I don't even like Kang but yeah, that story was fantastic.
That Justice League/Avengers book is one of my favorites.
How about an analysis of The Squadron Supreme 12 issue mini series from the mid eighties? They were Marvel's Justice League and it was very good.
I'm relatively new to your channel; and it is truly superb. I'm finding life a bit of a slog (at the moment) and watching your back catalogue has really lifted my spirits. Lovely authentic attitude, no hatred, full of love for the medium and a beautiful delivery style. Thank you, I'll be a patron from now on. Keep doing what you are doing and remember you are a bloody marvellous gent.
Chris is the Hostess Fruit Pie of people.
Thanks for featuring my art!
Definitely the greatest Avengers writer imho. That first arc is such a love letter. He wrote the best Kang story ever and gave us the badass Damocles base.
I never understood why people were so connected to the permanent death of a character named “Phoenix.” I always thought the name was intended as foreshadowing.
I think, for me, most of that connection was how emotionally impactful X-Men #137 was. Even knowing it was a rushed response to an editorial mandate, it made sense, and I didn't want that story to be undone.
1:10 THANK YOU👏👏 Hickman's New Avengers, Avengers and Time runs out and Secret Wars were what git me into comics, especially Marvel. His world-building, characterization (T'Challa and Namor), and action are fantastic! Sadly, after his run ended and ANAD Marvel began, I dropped out.
Kurt Busiek pulled me back into comics at a time when I had given them up for what I thought was good. I came upon a comic book shop that was going out of business and picked up Astro City #1 for ten cents. It impressed me so much I went out and found a comic shop that wasn't going out of business and got the rest of the series.
Great video. I've always loved his work. His writing in Conan for Dark Horse is easily one of my favorite runs on a comic ever.
God, I love Mr. Busiek's work. His run on the Avengers is one of my favorites. And I am a big fan of Thunderbolts and Astro City.
Nice history of Kurt Busiek's work. I LOVE his work over the years.....
I have his 90s Avengers run in a 5 volume hc set, great stuff and another excellent video.
Kurt Busiek is a great writer, my favorite being Conan, also he is such a nice guy. He reviewed my art portfolio 12 years ago and he tried to get me a job in the comic book industry, to which I regretfully never followed up on.
Those Hostess Twinkies have taken down the most power villains back in the day. You would think they would be standard issue in any hero's utility belt.
Actually, they are. The true conundrum is making those scrumptious little snack cakes last during a super heroic adventure against the forces of evil!
@@rickyg.4004 thats why batman keeps his in a pouch lined with lead, keeps it protected and supes doesnt know where hes got it stashed. He eats them while hiding in the shadows so nobody sees him
As great as Busiek is, I feel his run wouldn't have been as memorable with Perez on art. He immediately elevated it to a "must buy"!
Hi Chris, fantastic video as always. I've been meaning to mention the small but interesting comicbook industry here in South Africa, but it looks like they beat me to it! That fan art at the end also mentions Comic Con Africa, which was the first time the event ever came to our continent last year.
_Untold Tales of Spider-Man_ is still my favorite comic series. I'd love it if Kurt was assigned to the ASM series but with how Marvel ignores continuity now, I'd see Kurt facing a lot of editorial changes.
Kurt Busiek, because of this run on Avengers, PLUS the work on Marvels, PLUS the work on JLA/Avengers (I absolutely LOVE that thing), is definitely one of my all-time top 5 favorite comic book writers for any company. PERIOD. (Plus Chris, you get props for the issue of Badger #10 on the rack back there behind you. Mike Baron---when he was in his right mind----is another one of those top 5. And just because.....it's BADGER.)
Even better is Steve Englehart's run on West Coast Avengers. He changed the marriges of Hawkeye/Mockingbird and Vision/ Scarlett Witch. Tigress became very flirty. He gave Wonder Man and Hank Pym their confidence back. Pym had new slightly different powers and made good use of his scientific background. There is a great long long time travel storyline. This run is underrated. I think it was up there with Justice League International and Uncanny X-Men.
i almost forgot. Scarlet Witch's pregnancy led to the House of M; 20 years later.
Steve Englehart all the way for best writer on the Avengers (main book and West Coast). Bendis doesn't get anywhere near his imagination.
I wanna check that out. It get's a bit confusing especially with the first two volumes and the reverse names. Back in the day I started West Coast Avengers with that horrendous John Byrne Master Pandemonium storyline with Scarlet Witch's children.
@@paulrose3439 Bendis is overrated. I can't remember the storylines for the New Avengers. I remember some of the team members. the only work i like is Alias. His starts with good ideas but they don't go anywhere. I forgot who wrote The Mighty Avengers (Dan Slott?). Janet die in the Skull Invasion. Pym became the new Wasp. That was a good series.
Bendis is a garbage writer who like to piggyback off of other writers story or ideas.
Love this! The first comic I ever bought was by Busiek, JLofA 231, the last pre Crisis teamup with the JSA.
Still one of the best comic channels week in and week out! Thank you for the great content.
The Busiek/Perez run is what got me into comics. I love the run and it along with the original young Avengers run are still my favorite
I gotta say I'm a Hickman Stan, love his marvel work, great long-form storytelling.
Great video(as always)
Love Kurt Busiek!!almost everything he did,especially Avengers Forever!cheers from Greece!🇬🇷
Woah! I had no idea Kurt wrote for Marvel. I was introduced to him via his AMAZING😍😍😍😍😍 Conan the Barbarian comics. Seriously, he single handedly made that character relevant in our modern day!
You should really check out his breakout hit Marvels. Not only does it have fantastic painted art by Alex Ross (this series was also the start of this justly revered artist's mainstream success) but it really retells a lot of famous Marvel stories from the civilian perspective. Also, Busiek wrote an epilogue to this series several years later that closes out one unresolved thread from the second issue.
A wonderful episode about Kurt Busiek’s Avengers run which I did not know about. And, touché with incorporating Thanos Gauntlet into your arm!
Did you ever cover Astro City? I thought Busiek did a great job with that.
And he's not done with it yet. He's shifted to the graphic novel format and we MAY be seeing a live action series soon.
@@johnathonhaney8291 The Confessor/ Altar Boy story was great! :)
Great video, I din't read that much of Kurt Busiek, but the little I read of his run is fantastic.
However I'm tired of youtube algorithm who any time I watch something comics related suggest me hacks who complain aboot comics that not share their political believe.
The TH-cam algorithm sucks. I counter it by clicking on some video about Drag Race to even it out.
There are a few good channels i follow, which keeps my algorithm in check. If you are interested, you might want to check out comic pop, comics island, professor thorgi or nerdsync. All of those have a positive attitude and even when I fall asleep, there's no gator negativity on my yt the next morning.
And of course comic tropes is always golden.
*cough* diversity and comics *cough*
Yeah, anyone that complains about comics creators constantly screaming about how much they hate conservatives is lame. I mean these are clearly layered and nuanced stories that only fine intellectuals can handle. I mean, could you image a right wing writer like Chuck Dixon writing a comic about a left-wing character like Green Arrow and left wing people liking it? That's impossible! It could never happen. Because people on the right are so much more intolerant then those on the left.
@@cheeseburger12 You'r comparaison will be valida, if that was something who happen.
Except is not, 100% of political video who complain aboot comics are right wing oriented.
So please stop spreading lie and buy a personality.
Correction: Perez was Avengers artist in the mid-late 70s not the early 70s.
Avengers Forever is one of the greatest Avengers stories ever but I've never been much of a fan of Busiek's run on the main title. I don't think it's bad, and I do think it had an important role in re-establishing the series after a very poor preceding era, but it's just a bit meh.
I think you missed a trick here as surely the most significant thing here is that the run is very obviously a re-run of the classic Shooter/Michelinie era that even utilised one of the artists from that period (whereas Avengers Forever was obviously far more closely tied to the Engelhart period -and to a lesser extent the Roy Thomas years).
The re-establishment of the title's fundamental iconography (Avengers Mansion, Government Liaison, Quinjets, their classic roster of villains, etc), with the occasional twist, is something that should've been key to this video IMO.
The period does only ever feel like a re-run to me -putting the house back in order but feeling a bit empty and derivative as if painted by numbers.
I would also add that the claim that the Avengers has a poor record with diversity is a terrible slander.
Firstly the affirmative action themed storyline with Falcon (which the ham fisted Triathlon one was obviously a tribute to) was a pretty good one that not only approached a topical subject at the time but one that raised questions about and got to the heart of what the Avengers are.
There are 2 sides to that in Avengers history -one the dog refuge for wayward superhumans (such as in the original Old Order Changeth story and at its most extreme in Bendis's run) and the other as the elite , 'professional' super team -Earth's Mightiest Heroes (which Busiek clearly subscribes to in his run).
Falcon was characterized well in this period and the notion that not all superheroes are suited to being an Avenger was a good theme for the title to deal with (one which many subsequent writers might have done well to heed...).
Secondly you are talking about a title which featured the Black Panther as what I'm pretty sure must be the first black character as a regular on the roster of a major superhero team. Not only that but one of their periodic antagonists in the early years were the white supremacist Sons of the Serpent. Avengers 73-74 which features the Panther battling them and has him take off his mask on TV, revealing himself to be black to the public, is a classic syoryline of the civil rights era.
I compare Kurt Busiek and George Perez Run on Avengers to Grant Morrison and Howard Porter Run on Justice League
I remember Marvel printed an alternate version of vol. 3, issue 1 with just George Perez's pencils (and letters), which blew me away. I learned more about comic book pencilling/storytelling from reading through that issue (giant sized with like every Avenger ever, by the way) than any class could have hoped to provide (unless maybe it were taught by Perez himself). These "unwrapped" editions have become far more popular since but it was a big deal at the time.
On top of that, it was a fun and very Avengersy story after the whole Onslaught/Heroes Reborn thing ran its course.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving Kurt Busiek his due! I evangelize his series Astro City on a regular basis and he doesn't get enough credit for his turn of the century Marvel work. He's also the writer I credit for taking Carol Danvers out of mothballs (though she didn't hit her stride until the 2010s). James Robinson rightly called him "the Martin Scorsese of comics."
Keep up the great work. Love this show brother!
This was awesome, Busiek’s run got me into comics and is a classic
Kurt Busiek's run on Avengers was a fantastic antidote to the GUNS, BOOBS, GUNS, excess of the early 90's. His run was fun and played with the characters in a truly interesting way. His Ultron Unlimited story was freaking fantastic.
Wait, the Hostess Fruit pie comics are part of the MCU now? Who needs the XMen!
Kurt Busiek's Thunderbolts is my favorite marvel related story arc of all time.
Deconstruction isn’t a synonym of “grim and gritty”. It just means looking at meanings and consequences of established working principles. Deconstruction doesn’t have to be grim or pessimistic any more than criticism has to be negative or disparaging. By that same token, the grim gritty boom that followed watchman wasn’t deconstruction, and didn’t bother to understand what Moore was actually doing, it was just the same old unexamined good-and-evil-solved-by-violence with sex and extravagant death added as a pretension to maturity.
Astro City is *absolutely* a deconstruction of comics, entirely because it looks seriously at how good people as real human beings would have to organize their lives around the reality of living with (or being) super heroes. The concept behind spider man being a teenage kid with teenage problems is deconstruction of the lantern-jawed cowboy-hero trope. Being optimistic and having heart doesn’t change that. Watchman has tons of heart, that’s why it actually hurts when things go wrong and good doesn’t win and villains don’t realize what they are.
Well said
Great show once again, and on Kurt Busiek, didn’t actually check his Avengers run, will be on the lookout now...keep up the stellar work. Peace. Wayne. London
Just discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago and have already watched almost every episode. Great stuff. You should do a Daniel Clowes episode.
Busiek is awesome. I love continuity in comics in general and was a big fan of the Thunderbolts. I know Bendis is more popular but I like Busiek better.
Loved it at 15:37 when you realized you still had the gauntlet on, lol!
Its been years since I've seen Kurt Busiek or Scott McCloud. I lived in N. Reading mass., I published a fanzine The X-Maniacs. It was 2 maybe 3 issues with their work which I sent copies of to Marvel. When I saw Stan Lee, he remembered it cause they had it posted around the Marvel bullpen. Kurt's writing was great then too.
I think he just called out every Bob Harras Avengers storyline.
"Why Kurt Busiek is a great writer"
Just a suggestion for a possible alternate title for this video. Seriously, I love Kurt Busiek's stuff. I don't believe I've ever read a bad story written by Busiek.
Never read the Justice League story "Who Is Paragon?," huh?
Busiek's run was the one I begin with. Amazing.
Roger Stern’s “Kang the Conqueror” and “Masters of Evil” stories were my favourite Avengers issues.
I liked Namor in the Avengers a lot more than Namor as an X-Man.
Dang Chris you always cheer me up
This was great! I hope you get to an episode about Astro City someday - it's one of my favorite stories that uses a lot of super hero tropes to great effect to tell compelling human stories.
Busiek gets these characters in a way most writers just don't. One of my favorite super hero writers, thanks for the video.
Galactic Storm is pretty good if given a chance, some chapters are way better than others but it's overall a fun space adventure with a meaningful conclusion especially for Tony and Cap. The Gatherers storyline was great too. The Crossing, of course, is an unmitigated disaster.
We all love the show and glad it's still going!
Spidey and The Not Ready For Prime Time Players. I loved that one!
Another great episode! Thanks again for all of your work!
Man, feels like every time I go on TH-cam you have a new video up! Great stuff!
Probably biased because I started reading Avengers in the early 90s, but the Bob Harras/Steve Epting run was by no means floundering or going through the motions. Not with the long running Gatherers arc or the intrigue with the Kree, Hera's plans for Hercules and more. It's a shame that era is mostly remembered for the matching leather jackets, but those were solid stories steeped in continuity. Once we get to the Crossing/Avengers TimeSlide days, things went from bad to worse, I'll grant you that. And the Busiek/Perez run was gold, no argument there.
Only good story from the Harras era IMO wasn't written by him. Len Kaminski did a three part horror tale "Fear The Reaper", which I still love.
Astro city is wonderful. Absolutely one of my favorite comics.
Great breakdown of Busiek run, and love that spinner rack! Had that issue of Badger.
Ultron is my Waifu
Precious boi
Hes thicc af, especially during the Hank Pym Harem arc where he was dressed up as the Scarlet Centurion. Definitely best boy
@@aliendude2875 ultron is a 🅱lessed 🅱🅾i
Wi-fi-fu?
I've just watched your Alan Moore vision before this one, and now I want to see something like that includes both deconstruction and reconstruction. Like, let us dial Marvel back some years, before literally everyone has been an Avenger and sliding timescale, soft rebooted universes and when magic still felt more magical, no "where I come from they're one and the same" stuff. You have Wolverine, an amnesiac guy who has seen some of the worst of humanity, has no connections and is hated by most for being a mutant. That would certainly lead to the down path. Then you have (a humbled) Thor and Hercules, literal god heroes and living legends, not just supposed to be able endure more than most physically and mentally and be held to higher standards, but they actually can because they're not mere mortals. Would be nice to see what sort of mechanics would develop with that approach.
Great writer in general. Love his Conan run at Dark Horse
13:50 That's affirmative action represented in comic form.
8:13 that was Mockingbird/Bobbi Morse/Hawkeye's wife, not Scarlet witch.
Should have mentioned Busieks awesome 13 issue run on Thor post Civil War.
You're channel is so enjoyable. I love it so much
This is a great overview. Now I have to get back to my reread of Astro City! The corgi storyline is my favorite.
Kurt busick is one of my all time favorite writers I love his thunderbolts and avengers stories as well as astro city the atumnlands and marvels
Kurt Busiek's run on Avengers is what got me into Marvel's greatest team book. You nailed his strong points with his love of comic lore and reconstructing the comic world after the dark period the 80's & early 90's. IMO, I honestly feel that writers post-Busiek's run have been unable to come close. Bendis did a few noteworthy things like bringing Luke Cage and co-created Jessica Jones to prominence. Yet his writing, especially on team books, comes up short in terms of making character dialog unique or staying true to continuity. He tries to add his spin on things and they either end up being forced or insulting to fans and the characters they love.
It's weird that the Big Two find themselves in the same quagmire they were in the 90's. Going back to tired tropes that do more harm than good and allowing creators or editors to run amok. Aside from A-Force and Mark Waid's brief run (warts and all), many Avengers titles feel stale and uninteresting. A lot of writers, including Jason Aaron, come off as arrogant and do things that upset me (his take on She-Hulk being #1) or bore me (the introduction of Blade). To me, they lack the heart and drive that defined Busiek's run. A lot of this can be laid on the feet of the corporate entities that own The Big Two. Yet the people working inside Marvel and DC need to take responsibility for their actions.
I love this run on Avengers. I would love for you to do a video on Claremont's F4 run which was also around this time!
Love you videos should do one on road to perdition and all the comics in the series.
The Busiek\ Perez run on the Avengers was nothing short of excellent!
Excellent video! This makes me realize Kurt molded a lot my Early Marvel Experience. I started with the Onslaught Saga and I loved Kurt’s run! I love starting off deciding a new roster after the ultimate super roster! It’s sad to hear he had mercury Poisoning. Also sad the Kang War was unfortunate enough to happen during 9/11.
Forever War is great I need to get the TPB. I was really was spoiled by his love of continuity. It’s missing in the last couple decades.
His Avengers vs Justice League was Brilliant. He knew how to make Thor epic, and give interesting personality to Carol Danvers.
Kurt is my Quintessential Avengers writer, and I only like Hickmans Avenger writing as much.
And Triatholon and Silverclaw are underrated. Silverclaw has a cool power and I love her being Family with Jarvis. And it’s funny how he was decades ahead of predicting the SJW trend with Triathlon. But he had interesting powers, more finesse then raw might. Really Kurt was the best Jarvis Writer. And I forgot Sokovia was a different country then Slornia because I haven’t read it in a while and thought hey did just pluck out that awesome comic arch. Love the Ultron and Count Nefaria terrifying might.
We need him back he really understood and loved the characters and history! I didn’t realize Marvels and Avengers Forever were his Babies! Love his stuff!
Damn. I keep catching you at the weirdest times
In my opinion Kurt Busiek is easily the best Avengers writer of the 21st century, the best of the 90s, and in the conversation for the best ever. Busiek, perhaps more than any other comic book writer I've experienced, is able to tap into that rich tapestry of history, lore and continuity in a way that delights the most dedicated of fans, while letting his writing remain easily accessible to newcomers. And for a book like the Avengers which to me in itself has always (with a few brief interruptions) kind of felt like a celebration of Marvel's history and lore (at least until the Bendis-era), that's an especially important quality for a writer to have.
Wouldn't mind if you did something on the Stern run.
What about Jim Shooter!
His run on Avengers is among the best, especially his Korvac Saga, which I consider to be among the best comic stories of all time!
Maybe if Perez hadn't dropped out of the Korvac Saga midway through or even if the last few parts had a better artist than Dave Wenzel. Most of the artists Shooter had on his second run weren't that good either.
I never read Avengers regularly until this run. Just a great story with great Perez art. I wished Triathalon lasted longer, though. Anyway, excellent retrospective!
And considering the creative director of the avengers game said he's been reading Kurt Busieks avengers work bodes well for the story of the game.
Kurt's run was great because he was able to bring in what was good about the 70-80's runs by Stern, Shooter, and Englehart, and still made his own stamp on the title. Personally, I'm not mad about Triathlon at all... both Kurt and Dave Micheline were satirizing affirmative action and Kurt added a satire of Scientology. Also, Kurt added Silverclaw!
Off topic, have you reviewed 'The 'Nam'?
I really enjoy your videos, great work!
Love the Thanos glove
Great work as always
Thanks for the spoiler😣😣
I liked the Thunderbolts and the whole idea behind it. I love his Astro City books too.
I think your set and whole set up is just great, maybe a seat so you can relax a bit while speaking,, just not for these late ones.
Anyway, thank you for keeping us informed and interested in our choice of reading medium.
(Still waiting for The Generic Comic Book episode) 🤓
I actually really liked the Operation Galactic Storm cross over, but yeah aside from that I had no interest in 90's area Avengers, it still amazes me to this day that the MCU is raking in big bucks on what was a C level property in the 90's compared to the X-men comic juggernaut.
It must have been that real fruit filling (Apple or Cherry) and that light, tender crust. Delicious!
Other than the leather jackets and usage of black widow, I think bob harras run is underrated.
I think a troupe busiek run was fixing mistakes or unpopular deaths by other writers. I believe he reversed the deaths of hellcat, wonder man, and marina. He made mz marvel aka war bird and hank pym stronger characters.
Was not a fan of silver claw or triathlon despite busiek trying to add people of color to the avengers.
I agree about Bob Harras. I also really like Operation Galactic Storm. I feel like a lot of comics get unfairly judged for being from the 90's.
Busiek really is the go-to guy if you need something fixed. There aren't many comics writers who know the history of comics as well as he does. He's very hit and miss when it comes to adding new characters though.
Ultron Unlimited is the last Ultron story I remember liking prior to the Return of Hank Pym story in Uncanny Avengers. Busiek was blessed to have Perez as his collaborator during his run. There's a scene in that story that made me wish Marvel had stuck with the electronic shield, where Cap turns it into a staff and uses it to kick some Ultrons. I actually prefer the Avengers when the Big Three only show up occasionally, like during Roy Thomas' run when the team consisted of Giant-Man, the Wasp, Hawkeye, Black Panther and the Vision.
My son wants you to bring back the toon Chris that walks through the comic pages. I agree :-)