TODAY'S BREATHER  
AVENGERS ORIGINS: VISION ONE-SHOT

Yes I purchased a comic book. I know, 
when will I ever grow up... 

I know this  is ‘supposed’ to be my ‘political’ blog, it’s also a blog about my opinion on items that irk, rile, anger and simply bug me. But sometimes you need to escape, sometimes you need a little levity.  I mean how much Cain and Newt can one person take. So here’s a little pop culture. The other day I purchased a comic book and I am happy to report I had a really enjoyable time.

In the years since my obsession with comics ended, the amount of books I’ve purchased have been few and far between. I follow the genre, mostly thru the Internet. I drop by Jim Henley’s or Forbidden Planet, but mostly for nostalgia purposes, and to check out the comic statues (which are a lot better now then when I was a kid). And now that Marvel has shown Hollywood have to make real films out of their characters, it’ll keep me involved till who knows what’s next. But buying a comic book for $3.99 or more, very rarely.  I’m still getting over when the cover price went up to a 35¢.

That said, I did buy a comic book and gosh O’mighty I really liked it. I picked up Marvel Comic’s AVENGERS ORIGINS: VISION ONE-SHOT #1. And thoroughly enjoyed looking back at one of my favorite characters. This ‘new’ retelling of Roy Thomas’ and John Buscema’s classic creation,  is beautifully written and visualized in today’s more illustrative style. While the original issues are stilled fused into my brain cells, I was surprisingly pleased with this retelling. Easily taking me back to the glory days of Marvel and why I loved them so much as a kid.

In the late 1960’s Marvel Comics transformed the medium. Every book seemed to get better with each succeeding issue. The original twelve monthly titles that were published by The House of Ideas, had helped the medium’s resurgence. I know that DC Comics began the comics resurgence with their retelling of The Flash, but it was the genius of Stan Lee and his talented core of artists which helped the Marvel take over the genre. And when Roy Thomas arrived he helped Marvel’s Comics grow into much richer and more realistic characters, transforming a child’s reading material into a more adult medium. One of his characters, an android, a ‘synthezoid’ possibly had more humanity then all the so-called human superheroes combined.  

The Vision whose debut occurred in The Avengers #57 (Oct. 1968), forever cemented my feelings for the Marvel Comic Book.

Years later I still keep up with the characters, mostly by seeing items on the Internet. It’s been interesting watching the evolution of the genre especially in recent years. How different the medium and the audience has become.

But with each new generation of talents that replace the old standard bearers, a new generation of heroes or shall we say different versions of classic heroes have altered the heroes of my youth. The best attempts like Captain America’s revitalization helped make a tired character into what can now be considered one the best in the industry. To sad tricks like ending Spiderman’s marriage to Mary Jane which did nothing but alienate the readers. 

That said, watching what the talents at Marvel have done to The Vision could be considered a crime. Taking an amazing concept and practically throwing it away.

Personally none of the talents associated with this tale was familiar to me (except for cover artist Marko Djurdjevic). So it was really enjoyable to discover a refreshing take on tale that began a half century ago, told by the talents of today. The issue written by Kyle Higgins & Alec Siegel, with art by (interior) Stephane Perger truly demonstrate their love of the character, and their talents in the medium. And truly showcase why The Vision was and is an amazing character that should be around today. Exceptional work, and highly recommended.

Just one man’s opinion.

© Neil Feigeles, Neilizms, Monday, December 5, 2011