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Topic: Avengers Questions for JB Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Harri Jokinen
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Posted: 06 July 2025 at 4:45pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply

I was thinking back to your late-80s Avengers run on the two titles, and how they seem to have very distinct identities. The main title seemed very plot-driven, even to the degree of there not being a set Avengers team. Meanwhile, the West Coast title seemed very character-driven, especially with everything that happened around Wanda. Was this distinction between plot-driven and character-driven intentional, and was it important to have thetwo titles have a different feel? 

I have a very soft spot for that WCA-run. The reunion between Magneto and his kids is one of my fav Marvel-moments, because I feel all three of them had gotten derailed in the previous years to different degrees. Quicksilver especially had been either mishandled or in limbo for close to 20 years at that point. In fact, all the stories in the 70s and 80s that seemed to treat him with dignity had one thing in common: your name in the credits. So, I wanted to ask if you had a special affection for Pietro and Wanda, or was it just a case of being a professional? 

While at it, I thought I’d also ask about Tigra. I’m not sure if you've ever shared your opinion on her on this board. Did you have any affinity for that character, since she was one of the first you worked on for Marvel? Or was she just carried over to your WCA-team from the previous run?



Edited by Harri Jokinen on 07 July 2025 at 11:10pm
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John Byrne
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Posted: 06 July 2025 at 6:32pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply

1. AWC was more character drven because they were characters I actually controlled. Mostly, I had no home titles to appease.

2. A great fondness for Wanda since her first appearance.

3. Never did find a proper hook for Tigra.

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Harri Jokinen
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Posted: 06 July 2025 at 6:40pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

Thanks for the answers!
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Houston Mitchell
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Posted: 06 July 2025 at 11:28pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply

JB,

   Happy birthday! Did you have a favorite Avengers lineup from any point in their history?


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John Byrne
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Posted: 07 July 2025 at 12:14pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply

The original, I guess, for purely sentimental reasons.
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Michael Penn
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Posted: 07 July 2025 at 12:53pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply

Even though Captain America missed being an original Avenger by that much, I can't much think of the team without him. When it was reduced to Cap, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed those issues -- it wouldn't have been my ideal lineup, but the stories and relationships, all very entertaining.
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John Byrne
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Posted: 07 July 2025 at 1:18pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply

When I speak of the original Avengers, I include Cap. Issue 4 was a seminal moment in my young life. (More than sixty years ago!)
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Wallace Sellars
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Posted: 07 July 2025 at 2:58pm | IP Logged | 8 post reply

I really enjoyed the Avengers lineup in this issue of THE INCREDIBLE HULK.

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Andrew Bitner
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Posted: 07 July 2025 at 3:21pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

Very much enjoyed AWC. It was a terrific book, with characters who were free to do pretty much anything without ripples carrying over to other titles. 
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Jason K Fulton
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Posted: 07 July 2025 at 5:38pm | IP Logged | 10 post reply

This thread reminded me of something I read a few weeks back. Was going through an old MODERN MASTERS volume (JB had one, but I was reviewing the issue on Walt Simonson), and I hadn't realized that the reason Walt left the Avengers around issue #300 was that it was becoming impossible to navigate the stories he wanted to do versus the stories that editorial wouldn't let him do because of the activity in the 'home' titles. Not something I ever imagined was part of the job when I was reading comics as a kid!
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John Byrne
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Posted: 07 July 2025 at 6:13pm | IP Logged | 11 post reply

At some point readers, writers and editors started getting hung up on stories taking place at fixed moments in time. So anything in THE AVENGERS had to square with the home titles. A footnote saying “This happens before MIGHTY THOR #_____” was not sufficient.
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Peter Hicks
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Posted: 07 July 2025 at 10:20pm | IP Logged | 12 post reply

I loved JB’s Avengers West Coast, and only recently learned that there is also an annual by JB that I totally missed.
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