Anon88
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2020
I've finished the first 100 or so of The Defenders, and as a whole am surprised at how good it was. I went into it figuring it was just a middling B list title at best, but now I actually think I liked it more than the Avengers books that were coming out around the same time. The characterization is very consistent in between runs despite there not being a long term writer and the stories might not always be good, but they are always fun.
Englehart's run is short, but fun. It introduces Valkyrie, who turns into a great character given time, as well as Nighthawk, who starts as a lame Batman rip off, but really grows on you. Its crown jewel is the Avenger/Defenders war, which is just an excuse for the two teams to fight. It's totally fun to read, but nothing mind-blowing.
Gerber wrote the next large chuck of the series and his is the peak. It's weird and silly, but in a good way. Everything he wrote reminded me of old 1950s Sci-Fi novels and shows which give it a completely different feel compared to basically every other superhero comic to ever come out. If you only read one part of The Defenders, I would say his run is the part to do. The whole thing is amazing, and it's very hard for me to choose just one part to say was his best.
There's a short Conway run in between Gerber and Kraft, which is fine but basically just continues the Gerber stuff. Kraft's run is fun and has some highpoints, like having Hellcat join up with the team, which was a great idea, as well as having pretty fun stories like Defenders for a Day and the Lunktik arc, which starts off strong but spirals into a very complicated story that kind of feels like it overstayed it welcome.
Hannigan's run is a decline compared to what came before, but I still enjoyed it. A bit of a side note, but for some weird reason, current Marvel editor, Tom Brevoort, has a whole section of his personal blog crapping all over this part of Defenders for some reason. Anyway, the Asgard storyline which starts the run off is the peak and, although there are some memorable moments, like the Hulk storyline where he saves a whale and then the whale takes him to a boat where he chimps out. Not really the best story telling, but it does make you laugh.
I'm not sure how good of a job I'm doing describing the comics. Despite not having A-list writers or A-list characters, The Defenders seems to be worth reading solely based on the oddball stories. I would recommend it to people who are sick of by-the-number-genic superhero comics and want something like them, but with a more original feel. Now here's a image of hulk eating beans because I found it funny.
Englehart's run is short, but fun. It introduces Valkyrie, who turns into a great character given time, as well as Nighthawk, who starts as a lame Batman rip off, but really grows on you. Its crown jewel is the Avenger/Defenders war, which is just an excuse for the two teams to fight. It's totally fun to read, but nothing mind-blowing.
Gerber wrote the next large chuck of the series and his is the peak. It's weird and silly, but in a good way. Everything he wrote reminded me of old 1950s Sci-Fi novels and shows which give it a completely different feel compared to basically every other superhero comic to ever come out. If you only read one part of The Defenders, I would say his run is the part to do. The whole thing is amazing, and it's very hard for me to choose just one part to say was his best.
There's a short Conway run in between Gerber and Kraft, which is fine but basically just continues the Gerber stuff. Kraft's run is fun and has some highpoints, like having Hellcat join up with the team, which was a great idea, as well as having pretty fun stories like Defenders for a Day and the Lunktik arc, which starts off strong but spirals into a very complicated story that kind of feels like it overstayed it welcome.
Hannigan's run is a decline compared to what came before, but I still enjoyed it. A bit of a side note, but for some weird reason, current Marvel editor, Tom Brevoort, has a whole section of his personal blog crapping all over this part of Defenders for some reason. Anyway, the Asgard storyline which starts the run off is the peak and, although there are some memorable moments, like the Hulk storyline where he saves a whale and then the whale takes him to a boat where he chimps out. Not really the best story telling, but it does make you laugh.
I'm not sure how good of a job I'm doing describing the comics. Despite not having A-list writers or A-list characters, The Defenders seems to be worth reading solely based on the oddball stories. I would recommend it to people who are sick of by-the-number-genic superhero comics and want something like them, but with a more original feel. Now here's a image of hulk eating beans because I found it funny.
