cap_ironman | Comics question.

Steve and Tony going on dates are in the Trades 7 & 8 if that helps any.

That helps a LOT actually. IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

I think almost all of MA:A is collected in trades - my local Barnes & Noble has them shelved in the YA/kids section instead of with the other comics/graphic novels, though, so you may want to check both places if you're looking in a chain bookstore rather than a comics store.

Which characters are you interested in? (other than Steve & Tony, obviously) If you want the early/classic line up (Steve, Tony, Hank, Jan, and Thor), Marvel's released hardbound collections of the early Silver Age stuff, and all five characters show up a decent amount in volume three, as well (also all out in hardbound trades). If you really want to do some hardcore catching up on backcanon, Marvel sells DVDs that have pretty much all the Avengers comics from 1963 to 2005 (from the team being formed through "Disassembled," so several hundred issues) for about $40, but they don't have everything. There was a lot of Hawkeye content in the West Coast Avengers title, for example, which isn't on the disk.

If you're more interested in the Bendis era additions to the team (Luke Cage, Jessica Drew, etc.) then you should check out the first 2-3 volumes of New Avengers, ask Muccamukk to rec you good solo-title Luke Cage content, and then skip ahead to the New/Secret/Adjectiveless Avengers stuff currently being published - basically, everything after the end of the Siege crossover event. Just skip the Civil War/Secret Invasion/Siege stuff. All you need to know is that all the superheroes fought each other over ~plot device~, Steve died, aliens invaded and were defeated, Tony killed himself with ~plot device~ and then got better, but doesn't remember any of this, Cap came back to life, and then there was a big battle at Thor's place and Loki turned himself from an adult villain to an adorable small child with magic, the end.

The first volume of New Avengers, btw, has the bagel conversation and a general amount of Steve and Tony acting married. The scene in this icon, as well as a dramatic scene of Tony giving Steve mouth to mouth at the risk of his own life are in Avengers: Red Zone, which is Volume 3, issues 65-70.

Oooh I did not think to check there, I just looked in the regular comics/graphic novels section and saw a sad lack. Thanks for the tip!

Other characters... I like Ms. Marvel, Bucky, Spidey, Hawkeye, and most of the X-Men (I know there's crossover there) a lot. And that explanation of what comes after Civil War is v. useful– I'm familiar with that canon but kind of at sea after it, so thank you!

Mm the infamous bagel scene.

Edited 2011-12-30 01:50 (UTC)

If you want some Cap and Bucky, conveniently Brubaker just wrote a run of a flashback comic called "Captain America and Bucky" which is just what it says on the tin. Now available in collected format!

I was just about to rec that, but couldn't remember if it was out in trade yet. Seconding the rec.

I'm not sure it has the full run or just the first half but... yep. It's out there to be had!

I almost impulse bought a winter soldier trade today, actually. XD

If you really like Bucky, you might want to look for the Captain America: Winter Soldier trade as well. It's the storyline that brings him back from the dead. (He's also the main character in current/Brubaker-written Captain America from issue 26 through about issue 50-something/whenever they started renumbering it at 500, but there's some potentially squicky stuff involving female characters being imprisoned and brainwashed and pregnancies-ending-terribly in there, so you might want to skip it)

ETA: And if you like Spiderman, you definitely want to read early New Avengers, because he features prominently.

Edited 2011-12-30 02:36 (UTC)

The dvds have sold out, sadly, and now cost ridiculous $$$. However, almost all of their contents are available with a Marvel Digital Unlimited subscription, which costs $10 for a month. So if you're ready to spend a month gorging on back canon, it's a great deal! (Otherwise, wait until a Marvel movie is coming out - they always have subscription sales then)

Edited 2011-12-30 02:18 (UTC)

I actually rather liked most of Dark Reign. The point of that event seemed to revolve around having various heroes (frequently teenagers) punch Norman Osborn in the mouth, which I found immensely satisfying. So I'd rec all of the Post-Secret Invasion New Avengers run. However, it doesn't have Steve or Tony in it until after Steve comes back (after which there's quite a bit of muddy continuity and some deeply fantastic hugging).

I really liked Captain America Vol 3, which is at least partly out in trade. I think the first Cap one is called "Serve and Protect" and is quite excellent. There's some nice Steve/Tony moments in that arc as well, when Steve loses his shield and Tony turns over heaven and earth to find it. The Captain America: Man out of Time trade is by the same author.

I know it's not to all tastes, but I also really liked the start of Captain America Vol Four, with the 9/11 stuff. I thought it was very well done. The volumes takes a left hand turn into Deeply Unfortunate when Chuck Dixon takes it over though, so don't read past the first seven issues.

For Iron Man, the Extremis Arc is an excellent place to start. I'm also immensely fond of the Silver Age stuff from the '60s, Tales of Suspense era. You can get all that in black and white pulp trades called Marvel Essentials: Iron Man. They're usually pretty cheap.

Steve loses his shield and Tony turns over heaven and earth to find it.

I love that part. And the admittedly-stupid "vibranium cancer" thing that follows it, just because Steve looks so sad and concerned about his shield (and because Tony's "evil hands" gesture when he explains the vibranium cancer is so funny).

I think most of that is in later issues though, like after the first trade.

I never was quite sure what Waid as on when he came up with the cancer plot. But, eh, comicbook science. What can you do?

B&N can back order most of the MA:A stuff for you. Check out New Avengers: Breakout (ISBN 0785114793), Avengers: Red Zone (9780785110996), Avengers Prime (9780785147251). Prime is set in the aftermath of Civil War and Siege so it's not as happy and fluffy as it could be, but it's still a good, satisfying read and then there's a hug. Also, Steve protecting naked Tony, and them making suggestive banter at one another, followed by male bonding with Thor.

MA summaries (... this got carried away):

Avengers vol 1 (0785123067): The Avengers get "fired" by the military in favor of robots, ends about as well as you'd imagine. Logan uses reverse psychology on Hulk to make him beat the Abomination. Steve sees himself in a movie and critiques the writing. Baron Zemo attacks and kidnaps Cap. The Abomination gets loose again.

Good moments: Steve and Tony whispering to each other in the movie theatre. ("For the record, I didn't say that." "What did you say?" "I can't say with ladies present." ) They get a dramatic entrance scene. And Steve and Jan may or may not oil Tony. Tony and Steve apparently had a "Paris Adventure" of which Tony saved pictures and I don't know why I haven't written porn for that yet. Note to self.

Avengers vol 2 (9780785135548): Loki shows up and starts the Wrecking Crew. Bruce finds new villains in the desert (and Tony and Peter apparently play video games together). The Juggernaut loots a South American temple

Good moments: Hug 'n fly. Tony gets poisoned and Cap is concerned. Cap drags a stunned Tony away from a fight.

Avengers vol. 3 (0785123083): MODOC mind controls the Avengers. Morgan Le Fay uses video games to make people worship her. Cultists use snake venom to enslave Bruce and Tony. An alien planet falls in love with Earth.

Great moments: Tony's mythological knowledge really is terrible, he doesn't even know who Morgan Le Fay was. Steve gives Tony his shield to use during his joust.

Avengers vol 4 (9780785135562): Jan gets mind controlled, there are giant ants, Ant-Man appears. The Avengers protect a village from raiders. Then they protect an Irish town from walking trees and have some Thor appreciation time. Kang the Conqueror shows up and time gets rewritten so Cap wakes up in the 1950s.

Great moments: This is the one where Tony goes on about Thursdays being weird for them. "Thor does not get lost."

Avengers vol 5 (9780785125303): Hawkeye shows up. Vision shows up. Hercules makes an appearance and they have to fight Cerberus. Quicksilver's backstory is explained.

Great moments: Tony apparently knows when people put trackers anywhere on Cap's body. Food for thought. Iron Man carries Cap into battle. Peter is a snarky bastard and Cap snarks right back. Cap apparently speaks Greek. Steve and Tony spend a lot of time standing next to each other, and Cap urges Tony to be careful in one scene.

Avengers vol 6 (9780785129820): Jan's father disappears and she and Spidey investigate. Hank appears in this issue. Black Widow is sent to spy on Tony Stark (she thinks he's cute). Sabretooth attacks people in the jungles of Wakanda, we learn Storm's past with Black Panther. Cap rallies the reserve Avengers to save the others when they get captured by the Collector.

Great Moments: Tony says "I think I'm in love" and he's supposed to be talking about Natasha, but it's worth pointing out that he's staring at Cap when he says it. Superhero baseball game. For serious. Cap and Tony tag team the Avengers Assemble line.

Avengers vol. 7 (9780785129837): The team starts losing their tempers and turning on each other. (DUDE THE THERAPY SESSIONS ALONE ARE WORTH READING THIS VOLUME) Iron Man, Wolverine and Giant Girl get body snatched. Aliens arrive on Earth fleeing Galactus. The Avengers go to the State Fair, Hulk has a pig. Steve and Tony battle tiny aliens, have a date, and then fight spammers.

Great moments: Steve and Tony play b-ball and have witty banter and are ALL OVER each other.

Avengers vol 8 (9780785139844): The avengers try to recruit Luke Cage (his mother thinks it would be rude to refuse). There's a ghost tree or something, I don't remember this chapter. Odin shows up to introduce Thor to his fiance but Thor is dating Storm and the fiance has a crush on Peter. Tigra makes her first appearance, spying on the Avengers. Tony and Luke have a fishing competition and accidentally piss off Namor.

Great Moments: Peter tells Thor's fiance his name is Tony Stark. Odin is awesome. Tigra is adorable. Steve and Tony have a date in the park. Steve lets Tony play with his shield. (Not a euphemism, sadly)

Avengers vol 9 (9780785138327): The Avengers get audited by the IRS. Ka-Zar shows up to help fight dinosaurs. Time-traveling Nick Fury teams up with time traveling Hulk, Tigra and Peter. A bunch of the Avengers get signed up for an online dating service with increasingly bizarre results.

Great Moments: Steve and Tony don't really interact in this volume. The IRS thing is hilarious.

Avengers vol. 10 (9780785138334): Tigra frees the genie (not a euphemism) and the genie hates Bruce Banner. Captain America's friends from the past get brought to the present and the two teams clash. Cap has the chance to go home and really thinks about it before the choice is taken away. The Avengers supervise a class trip that ends badly. Rhino calls Spider-Man to help foil an army base robbery.

Great moments: Cap and Tony do not interact in this volume. All of Tigra's ex-boyfriends are apparently criminals now. The children think Spider-Man is weird. Tony's "cabin" is a mansion. Tigra is really bad at the whole three wishes thing.

Triple Threat (9780785133209): A Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man team up. Hilarious and totally worth it, even though Cap does not appear at all.

Black Widow and the Avengers (9780785133247): One of the longer ongoing adventures. Features Nova, Silver Surfer and Diablo. Steve and Tony talk on comms a lot, but not much interaction otherwise.

Marvel Adventures Avengers: Thor (9780785145615): Worth mentioning just because there's a panel where Steve is watching Tony spar with a stupidly adoring look on his face.

Marvel Adventures Avengers: Iron Man (9780785133254): Features the Avengers taking on Magneto, some of the Black Widow backstory. Vision gets his own storyline. Cap and Sue chase Deadpool around the city. This one has the scene where Steve has a crush on Sue so Tony decides they need to spar. They may stand suggestively close to each other at one point.

(just a comic, not collected)The Iron Man/Captain America 1998 annual: Cap and Tony fight Modok and have philosophical differences but will always be friends. This is why there are screen caps of them wearing leis all over the place.

Oh my gosh this is a thing of beauty and answers all my questions about MA. Thank you so much!

It got longer than I had intended, but there you go! ^_^

Ultimates is less depressing and more aggravating in my opinion, since everyone is just kind of horrible to each other, but there are some good moments, like Steve sitting with Tony when his medication makes him puke. 616 has much more general friendship moments, even after Civil War.

Hello! Seconding everyone's recs, here, MA is really stupidly adorable. If you want to get into the Classic 616 continuity, I (also a relative n00b to comics) found the various update minis really helpful. They summarize the early Avengers years, skip the sillier bits and non-build up fights, and add a LOT of characterization. They're collected in the following trades:

Captain America: Man Out Of Time - This is the latest Cap-centric update of how Cap was frozen and unfrozen and has gorgeous visuals and story, plus amazing Tony and Bucky interactions (present and flashback).
http://www.amazon.com/Captain-America-Man-Out-Time/dp/0785151281

Avengers: The Origin - This is the story of the original 5 team-up, that is Tony, Hank, Jan, Thor and Hulk. No Steve here, but a quite some focus on Hank/Jan and Tony and well, it's the start of the team!
http://www.amazon.com/Avengers-Origin-Joe-Casey/dp/0785143564

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - The Avengers finally find Cap, the old team 'disbands' but Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver join Cap to form the incarnation known as "Cap's Kooky Quartet". Has quite a few nice Steve and Tony moments.
http://www.amazon.com/Avengers-Earths-Mightiest-Joe-Casey/dp/0785114386

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes II - Next part to the above, it deals with Hank/Jan, Hank's breakdown, the Hank/Jan marriage. Also has Vision and Black Panther. Slightly less Steve & Tony (though they still have a few really good scenes) but very awesome for the rest of the Avengers.
http://www.amazon.com/Avengers-Earths-Mightiest-Heroes-II/dp/0785118519/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin - This is a pretty good update of early Iron Man canon and Iron Man/Mandarin feud.
http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Man-Mandarin-Joe-Casey/dp/0785126228

Iron Age - Very recent mini where Tony has to stop the world from being destroyed by the Phoenix, using time-travel shenanigans. For me, it was one of the most enjoyable bits of recent Iron Man canon.
http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Age-Christos-Gage/dp/0785152695/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1

Errr.... wow, this got long. Anyway, hope that helps. ^_^;

Seconding the Iron Age! A lot of good Tony stuff, resolves some things left over from Civil War and is just a generally good read.

Also, google Marvel Digital and find the link to their free digital titles (I don't know how to find them otherwise, their website's hard to navigate for that). Last time I saw, a good chunk of the MA: Avengers stuff was available, as well as a whole slew of goodies.

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