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While looking through my comics recently, my eyes fell upon this one, which I remembered buying four or five years ago - or so it seemed. Turns out it was actually 14 years back, in 2001 - time flies, eh? It's a cracking little comicbook featuring three titanic tales, the first two sort of leading up to the formation of MARVEL's 'non-team', The DEFENDERS, and the third being their actual first 'official' adventure. Well worth having, I assure you.
So, while you're pondering whether to track one down on eBay (assuming you don't already have it), here's a plethora of pictures to show you just what you're missing! Feast your eyes, frantic one! ("HULK like pretty pictures!")
And if you're interested in reading what FOOM mag #19 had to say about The Defenders, then click here, effendi.
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And below is the original cover of MARVEL FEATURE #1, wherein the dynamic Defenders made their 'first' appearance.
8 comments:
Can't say I'm too impressed with the art on the reprint cover (Erik Larsen?), but those Marie Severin pages are lovely-always thought she was one of the most underrated Silver Age artists.
Not in my house, DD. I rate her very highly. I think the cover is by Larsen - I thought it was okay, but I'd have preferred to see the one from their original appearance in Marvel Feature #1.
Am I right, Kid, that 'The Day Of The Defenders' was the story in Rampage weekly No.1 rather than a reprint of Defenders No.1 - and then Defenders No.1 was in Rampage No.2 ?
If I recall correctly, CJ, 'Day of...' was published in MWOM, so I suspect that Rampage published Defenders #1. I don't have those issues at hand to check (although I've got them somewhere), but it's always possible that Rampage #1 reprinted the earlier MWOM tale again. I'll get back to you on that when I find them.
I had Sub-Mariner #22, #34, and #35, which were later reprinted in an Essentials volume as the precursors to the Defenders.
As I recall, the original concept was that they were not a team, just individuals thrown together to deal with a crisis. In Defenders #4, Namor said that they had no official members. Later, though, they seemed to be just as much a team as the Avengers, with their own HQ and a designated leader. The change may have come about during the Englehart-Buscema run.
I didn't really mind them evolving into a formal team, especially since the "Avengers/Defenders clash" arc created a logical reason for it. But what annoyed me was that Marvel pretentiously continued to refer to them as a "non-team" long after that term no longer applied to them.
-TC
I always regarded the 'non-team' label as a gimmick, TC. If it looks like a team, acts like a team, and talks like a team - it's a team. In my book anyway.
It didn't include Sub-Mariner #34-35, which featured Hulk, Subbie, and the Silver Surfer as a proto-Defenders team taking on The Avengers (Thor, Goliath II, Iron Man)?
And it had AMAZING Sal Buscema art!
Bummer!
On the positive side, Britt, it looks like the three stories they DID print were from the original negs, and not recoloured stats. Maybe they'll release a mag with all the related proto-stories one day.
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