Writer: Paul Levitz
Cover Artist: Alan Davis
Penciller: Alan Davis
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Reviewer: Carl Bryan

“No way you weirdos are going to get in!” – Willie Lumpkin (Postman for the Fantastic Four) to the Avengers

Synopsis:
It’s Classic Avengers! Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Giant-Man, and Wasp! The original Avengers invade the Baxter Building and break the barriers between worlds! Will Willie Lumpkin unleash a dangerous menace? Can Thor lose Mjolnir? Will Eisner Hall of Famer Paul Levitz and X-Men artist Alan Davis return us to a classic heroes adventure complete with art and script!

Positives:
Paul Levitz continues to take us back to an age where the dialogue is campy, and the writers write to a fourth-grade audience. The script beats us over the head with Iron Man, saying, “I’ve never met a circuit my armor couldn’t unscramble.” Wasp quickly replies “After you finish, can you fix my hairdryer on the fritz?” We then get a reference to Emily Post…
Regarding being an homage or even sexist and “dumbed down”, I must say Levitz returns us to a “simpler” time in comic writing. However, given the deep scripts and the evolution of comics, it is painful to read this! This comic is for a specific demographic.
Levitz is true to form for that age of writing as the script describes what we are seeing and provides very stiff dialogue from each character while they are battling. I list this under positives as it is hard to write this way, but Levitz has taken the reader back in time.

Positives 2.0
Alan Davis does a wonderful job with his art team in providing that early era look of the heroes. The pencils are not sharp like a Todd McFarlane comic, but more like a coloring book you may pick up from a Dollar store. Again, everything about this comic is retro, but a bit uncomfortable considering the growth we as readers have experienced in comics!

Negatives:
This era was big on Wasp being a bit more “brash” in her commentary that centered on flirtatious. However, the men were very sexist in that era of writing.
Peter Parker appears but is very much milk toast in his few frames.
How can someone in the crowd mention “The Beatles”? Well…I guess Kang has us in the 1960s.

Final Thoughts:

I like the insertion of Sindri as he is a game changer for Thor as he had a hand in creating Mjolnir and can weld the hammer. However, just in two issues, I am ready for this group of Avengers to get an update in both art and personality. I loved my intro to comics, and for some, they may wish to go down memory lane. But for now, Kang needs to get on with a time jump!

6/10