Marvel has recently released a hardbound collection of West Coast Avengers #17-23, all seven parts of Steve Englehart's "Lost in Space-Time" romp. The WCA go back in time via a broken Dr. Doom Time Machine and visit the old west, the Sands of Egypt, and interact (or not) with the FF visit to Pharaoh Rama-Tut from FF #19 and Dr. Strange #54. The hitch is, they can't come forward in time, and must somehow send an S.O.S. to the present for help in rescuing them. Hilarity ensues.
The volume is being sold on discount through some retailers for about $21.68 or so.
Does anyone know if this is a good collection or not? That is, worth investing in, or is the story satisfying?
Any comments? (Yes, it does include the infamous Mockingbird-Ghost Rider rape and vengence that leads to the break-up of Mockingbird and Hawkeye's marriage. The volume also includes a reprinting of both silver age revisits... that is, FF#19 and Dr. Strange #54.)
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By "good collection" do you mean "is the story worth reading"? I remember the early Englehart/Milgrom run on WCA as being solid Bronze Age fun (but I haven't read it since it came out). I don't know that I'd spend $20 on it -- but then again, I don't need to.
Er, it was actually $21.68 plus shipping.
Did you feel the story was satisfying? Did you feel you got your money's worth back in the day?
As I recall, the original issues were priced at about a buck a piece... so does a triple price seem out of line to you?
I remember feeling like I got my money's worth at the time. I can't swear that I'd feel the same way if I re-read them today -- but it was the mid '80's, so it wasn't as though I couldn't tell the difference between good, great and cr@p. At the time, I thought this was the comic book equivalent of a popcorn movie. It entertained me, and I didn't want my money back.
Steve Englehart writing anything is worthwhile but I really liked his West Coast Avengers. It was one of the best 80s Marvel titles.
I enjoyed West Coast Avengers too, but I'm far too cheap to pay over $20 for one HC collection of the series. I would think the back issues are cheap, and not exactly rare.
With a little research, I found that Marvel has released 3 other WCA hardcovers, and another one is on tap for this summer:
West Coast Avengers Assemble - collecting West Coast Avengers #1-4 Avengers #250, Iron Man Annual #7, material from Avengers West Coast #100, material from Avengers #239, #243-244, #246.
West Coast Avengers - Family Ties - collecting West Coast Avengers #1-9 and Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1-2
West Coast Avengers - Sins of the Past - collecting West Coast Avengers #10-16, West Coast Avengers Annual #1, and Avengers Annual #15
and coming in July,
West Coast Avengers - Zodiac Attack - collecting West Coast Avengers #25-30, West Coast Avengers Annual #2, and Avengers Annual #16
As far as I know, none of these are in tpb, just hardcovers.
While we're talking about Englehart (again), I wish DC would reprint his 80s Green Lantern run.
I read it as a subscriber and didn't much like it ... most of the blame for that lies in Milgrom's sub-par art. From action to costumes to emotional expressions, he just couldn't offer the quality other artists were doing at the time.
The story didn't much click with me and seemed very "old school" for the time -- I'd compare it to a 1972ish story out of FF with WCA acting as stand ins.
But be aware, this is me speaking from a fuzzy memory.