A Foreword of sorts ...

The American comic book industry arrived quietly during the 1930s the offspring of the pulp magazines and the newspaper comic-strips. By the end of the decade two future industry giants were beginning to raise their heads above the rest; DC and MARVEL.

   

In 1961 the industry was revolutionised largely through a plethora of characters created at Marvel Comics by the like of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Bill Everett with a range of titles including Spiderman and the Fantastic Four.

Throughout the early sixties Marvel added to their stable of successes and 1963 included the launch of two team based teams in their own titles; The Uncanny X-Men and … The Mighty Avengers.

Similar in design to DC’s Justice League of America, The Avengers was a team of existing heroes that banded together to defend the public from threats that might have challenged individual heroes. The Avengers starting line-up comprised Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Ant-man and the Wasp. Captain America soon replaced the Hulk. Over time the title, like the team itself, experienced good times and bad, often living in the shadow of flagship tiles like Spiderman and the Fantastic Four and later the fan-favourite X-Men with each having multiple animated TV series and life action motion pictures. 

However in the 2000s The Avengers franchise has come into its own receiving rave reviews, topping the sales charts, two animated movies, an on-going animated television series and in May 2012, 49 years after their debut, Marvel’s The Avengers hits the big screen with the likes of Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, Robert Downey Jnr as Tony Stark / Iron Man, and Chris Evans as Captain America.

So, the time seems right to have a look back at the History of the Avengers.