VOLUME 1 1963 - 1968
COMICS INDEX
VOLUME 1 1963 - 1967
COMICS INDEX LEONIDAS FRAGIAS
The Arts & Charts Index to the Avengers The format and design of this book is based on George Olshevsky's Marvel Index series and Murray Ward's DC Index series. Their books have a beautiful layout which was an inspiration for me. The Official Marvel Index is a series of comic books released by Marvel Comics which featured synopses of several Marvel series. The books were largely compiled by George Olshevsky and featured detailed information on each issue in a particular series, including writer and artist credits, characters who appeared in the issue, and a story synopsis. The Official Marvel Index was preceded by the Marvel Comics Index (also compiled by Olshevsky) and distributed by Pacific Comics Distributors sporadically from 1976-1982. These books were magazinesized as opposed to comic-sized. The first Official Marvel Index titles were published in 1985, and produced regularly through August 1988. A similar series of indices was published for DC Comics. The Official DC Index was released by Independent Comics Group (an imprint of Eclipse Comics) from 1985–1988. The books were edited by Murray Ward. The data for this book is taken from various sources. I fill the gap of the missing data, since I have the complete collection of DC and Marvel comics from the 1930s to the present. Also I made some corrections, when the data is wrong. The book series cover the silver age (the 1960s), the bronze age (from 1970 to 1985), and part of the modern age (post-1986) of Marvel Comics. This is my favorite era, when it comes to comics. Many thanks to DarkMark, George Olshevsky, Murray Ward, Mark Waid and Mike Tiefenbacher among others. Leonidas Fragias
THE AVENGERS COMICS INDEX Volume 1, 2018. Published by Arts & Charts. Editor: Leonidas Fragias, Writers: Various. The "Avengers" is trademark of Marvel Comics Inc. All art and cover reproductions Š2018 Marvel Comics Inc.
Avengers #1 "The Coming of the Avengers " The strongest heroes of Earth must unite as one force to stop the evil halfbrother of Thor, Loki. Date: September 1963 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #2 "The Space Phantom " An alien invader called the Space Phantom can steal any identity. He aims to put the Avengers against each other, paving the way for his people to invade the Earth! Date: November 1963 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #3 "The Avengers meet Sub-Mariner!' " Being too much of a threat to be left to his own devices, the Avengers start a search for the Hulk. He manages to evade them by escaping into the Atlantic Ocean. Where he finds a most unlikely ally, the Sub-mariner! Date: January 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #4 "Captain America Joins...The Avengers! " Captain America has returned! He joins the Avengers as Prince Namor once again tries to defeat them with his imperial soldiers. Date: March 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #5
Avengers #6
"The Invasion of The Lava Men! " After battling the Hulk and his disappearance in New York. The Avengers disband to return to their personal lives. However this break is a short one as the Lava Men have finally decided to invade the surface world!
"The Mighty Avengers Meet The Masters Of Evil! " Baron Zemo assembles a team consisting of the most powerful villains; the Black Knight, the Melter, and Radioactive Man. Their objective is to destroy Captain America and the Avengers!
Date: May 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Date: July 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #7
Avengers #8
"Their Darkest Hour " Odin banishes the Enchantress and the Executioner to Earth for their attempt on Thors life. They soon seek an ally to lead them and that man is Zemo!
"Kang, The Conqueror " A man from the future has come to the 20th century to take over the Earth in the name of Kang the conqueror! Armed with powerful weapons from the future he may succeed as the Avengers are taken hostage!
Date: August 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Date: September 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #9
Avengers #10
"The Coming Of The...Wonder Man! " Zemo has returned from his imprisonment between dimensions. With the aid of the Enchantress and the Executioner, he seeks retribution on Captain America and the Avengers by creating Wonder Man!
"The Avengers Break Up! " Immortus attacks the Avengers and forces them to tackle opponents oneon-one without any teamwork.
Date: October 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Date: November 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #11 "Spider-Man! " Kang sends a replica of Spider-Man back in time to infiltrate the Avengers and destroy them. Date: December 1964 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #12 "This Hostage Earth! " The Mole Man prepares another attack on the surface world. Date: January 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #13
Avengers #14
"The Castle of Count Nefaria! " Count Nefaria plans to lure the Avengers into his castle and make them enemies of the U.S.
"Even Avengers Can Die! " While searching for a particularly skilled doctor to save the Wasp's life, The Avengers stumble upon an intergalactic war about to take place on Earth.
Date: February 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Date: March 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #15
Avengers #16
"Now, By My Hand, Shall Die a Villain! " The Avengers battle the Masters of Evil. Captain America must face an old enemy, Baron Zemo, one-on-one in South America.
"The Old Order Changeth! " Giant Man, Wasp and Iron Man all intend to leave the Avengers, but first they must find suitable replacements.
Date: April 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Date: May 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #17 "Four Against the Minotaur! " The Avengers search for the Hulk, but are tricked into a trap by the Mole Man. They soon find themselves in the pit of the Minotaur. Can this new team find a way to work together and overcome this giant beast? Date: June 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #18 "When The Commissar Commands! " Communists are terrorizing a small puppet state and the Avengers receive a call asking for their assistance to liberate them. When they arrive, they find it is a trap and the titanic Commissar seems to be their match. Can they find out how to defeat this invincible giant? Date: July 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #19
Avengers #20
"The Coming of... The Swordsman! " The Swordsman attempts to force the Avengers into accepting his joining the group and becoming their leader by luring Captain America into a trap.
"Vengeance Is Ours! " The Swordsman has become a member of the Avengers, but his secret plan might spell doom for the whole group.
Date: August 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Date: September 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #21
Avengers #22
"The Bitter Taste of Defeat " While the new members of the Avengers continue to clash, the Enchantress enlists the help of Power Man to set up the Avengers as menaces to society.
"The Road Back " With the Avengers disbanded, the heroes try to make their way through the world as normal citizens. But Captain America hasn't given up hope.
Date: October 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Date: November 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #23
Avengers #24
"Once an Avenger... " After Cap leaves the team, the Avengers are left reeling. They must face Kang, who tries to defeat them in order to win the heart of a princess.
"From The Ashes of Defeat! " The Avengers are forced into an unlikely alliance as Kangs' forces attempt a desperate gambit.
Date: December 1965 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Date: January 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #25
Avengers #26
"Enter...Dr. Doom! " The Avengers are used as bait by the nefarious Doctor Doom as Wanda and Pietro receive a summons from a long lost relative calling them to Latveria.
"The Voice of the Wasp! " The Avengers learn that a weapon to flood the city is in Attuma's possesion. They set out to find the device, but Hawkeye does not heed the call of 'Avengers Assemble'.
Date: February 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Date: March 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #27
Avengers #28
"Four Against the Floodtide! " As Hawkeye attempts to learn the location of his fellow Avengers, he is ambushed by the Beetle. With his teammates pushed to the brink fighting Attuma, can he make it to them in time?
"Among Us Walks a Goliath! " The Wasp is missing, and the Avengers are on the trail. Pym joins them but with a new moniker...Goliath!
Date: April 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Date: May 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #29 "This Power Unleashed! " The Black Widow comes back to America to defeat the Avengers by recruiting the Swordsman and Power Man. Date: June 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Don Heck
Avengers #30 "Frenzy in a Far-Off Land! " Distraught at his inability to change size, Goliath leaves for South America seeking the aid of a former colleague, where he is caught in a power struggle. Back in New York, Hawkeye scuffles with a couple of returning villains and reconnects with an old flame. Date: July 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
Avengers #31 "Never Bug a Giant! " Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch retreat to their home country in an attempt to restore their failing powers. In the meantime, the remaining Avengers travel to The Forbidden Realm in search of Goliath and discover a power that threatens to destroy the earth! Date: August 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Don Heck
Avengers #32 "The Sign of the Serpent! " A faction preaching xenophobia appears on the scene and is menacing the nation. Can the Avengers stop the hate or will they be convinced to join the cause? Date: September 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Don Heck
Avengers #33
Avengers #34
"To Smash a Serpent " Captain America has been captured by the Serpents and his life is threatened unless the Avengers endorse the powerful new group. Hank and the gang will need a brilliant plan to set things right.
"The Living Laser! " Scorned by a woman, the Living Laser intends to use his discovery of lasers to display his power. When he falls for Janet van Dyke, he seeks to destroy the Avengers to gain her affection.
Date: October 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Don Heck
Date: November 1966 Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Don Heck
Avengers #35
Avengers #36
"The Light That Failed! " The Living Laser intends to take over a country to show power, in hopes of impressing The Wasp enough to fall in love with him.
"The Ultroids Attack! " The Avengers are taken to a mysterious spaceship where the inhabitants hope to absorb superhuman powers in order to conquer the universe.
Date: December 1966 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Don Heck
Date: January 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Don Heck
Avengers #37
Avengers #38
"To Conquer a Colossus! " Ixar absorbs the power of the Ultroids. Do the Avengers have the power to save them?
"In Our Midst...An Immortal! " Hercules falls under the Enchantress's spell and attacks the Avengers when they are at their weakest.
Date: February 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Gil Kane
Date: March 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #39 "The Torment...and the Triumph! " The Black Widow is portrayed by the media to be traitor of the US as a downtrodden Hawkeye heads out to find clues and stumbles into one of the Mad Thinker's traps. Together, will a trio of supervillains, the Mad Thinker predicts he can achieve victory over Earth's mightiest heroes. Date: April 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #40 "Suddenly...the Sub-Mariner! " Captain America sneaks away from the Red Skull to warn the Avengers of the Cosmic Cube's power. As the group sets out to find the Cube, minus Wanda and Pietro, they run into Namor attacking a sub installation. Date: May 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Don Heck
Avengers #41 "Let Sleeping Dragons Lie! " After Goliath receives the statue of Dragon Man to study, Diablo makes his move to recover his once loyal creature. Date: June 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #42 "The Plan --- And the Power! " With the Wasp as the helpless prisoner of Diablo and the Dragon Man, Goliath turns on his partners and attempts to stop them from attacking their enemy. Hercules, braves the caverns and a showdown with Dragonman to rescue Pym's beloved. Date: July 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #43
Avengers #44
"Color Him...the Red Guardian! " Hawkeye finds out The Black Widow's whereabouts, and brings a restless Hercules along with him. What will happen once the duo is behind the bamboo curtain.
"The Valiant Also Die! " The Avengers head to a secret installation behind the Red Curtain to find their missing comrades. Once there, the Red symbols of two nations come face to face.
Date: August 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Date: September 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: Vincent Colletta Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers Annual #1
Avengers #45
"The Monstrous Master Plan of the Mandarin! " The Mandarin assembles a deadly cast of villains to carry out his sinister plans. Iron Man and Thor become aware of something amiss and rejoin their Avenger counterparts in preparation for the upcoming battle.
"Blitzkrieg in Central Park! " The Super-Adaptoid learns of Captain America's survival from their first encounter and intends to battle the Star Spangled Avenger at the Avengers Day ceremony.
Date: September 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: Don Heck
Date: October 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: Don Heck Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #46 "The Agony and the Anthill! " Whirlwind attacks Hank and Jan and uses one of Hank's own chemicals to shrink the pair down to ant size. When they are placed into an ant hill without any means of communicating with the insects, death looms large over their heads. Date: November 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #47 "Magneto Walks the Earth! " Magneto finds a way back to Earth where he begins his plan to reform the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Date: December 1967 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #48
Avengers #49
"The Black Knight Lives Again! " The original Black Knight's nephew dawns his uncle's persona in attempt to help rid the world of Magneto by enlisting the Avengers' aid.
"Mine is the Power! " Hercules battles another God on Olympus, while on Earth Quicksilver allies himself Magneto and prepares to deliver a message to the U.N.
Date: January 1968 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: George Tuska Cover Artist: John Buscema
Date: February 1968 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #50 "To Tame a Titan! " The Avengers encounter a warship under attack and lend aid. Hercules arrives on the scene and does battle with Typhon. Date: March 1968 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #51 "In the Clutches of...the Collector! " The Collector pulls the remaining trio of Avengers into his headquarters. With Thor under an obedience potion, he is ordered to find Iron Man and bring him to the Collector. Date: April 1968 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #52
Avengers #53
"Death Calls for the Arch-Heroes! " The Black Panther arrives at the Avengers HQ only to be framed for the murder of the Avengers. When he finds the man who did attempt to murder the trio, he finds out that things may not be as they appear.
"In Battle Joined! " Angel reaches the Avengers and delivers news about Quicksilver and Magneto's whereabouts. Magneto is ready for the teams arrival and prepares to have the X-Men destroy the Avengers for him.
Date: May 1968 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Date: June 1968 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #54 "...And Deliver Us From--The Masters of Evil! " The Black Knight attempts to make it to the Avengers headquarters to warn them of a traitor in their midst. When he is unable to deliver the information, the Masters of Evil take the heroes by surprise. Date: July 1968 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
Avengers #55 "Mayhem Over Manhattan! " The Avengers are trapped inside of an H-Bomb that is intended to be dropped on the Empire State Building. Jarvis manages to escape and relates the location of the bomb to a mysterious ally. Also, the true identity of the Crimson Cowl is revealed. Date: August 1968 Writer: Roy Thomas Artist: John Buscema Cover Artist: John Buscema
VOLUME 1 1963 - 1968
An Explanation of the Comics Index In this series, we examine every issue of every DC and Marvel comic book of the silver and the bronze age and also provide you with a color reproduction of the comic’s cover, a complete listing of the creative people involved in producing the comic, a summary of what happened in each adventure, and various other information. All comics indexed in a series will run in serial order, beginning with the first issue or the earliest issue that features the series being indexed. Each of the index entries is as self-explanatory as possible. Some of the criteria we used to create an index entry are provided below. Cover Credits It usually takes many people to produce a comic book cover, from conception and design through coloring and production, and it is impossible to credit them all. The Artist, responsible for the basic execution of the cover, does the lion’s share of the work. If more than one artist works on a cover, some usually pencil and the others usually ink. Records of artists and letterers are sometimes unavailable, particularly for covers that appeared many years ago, so the identities of some cover artists and letterers are the best guesses that the indexers and DC’s and Marvel's current editors and art staff can make. Credits other than Artist or Artists and Letterer appear where known. Story Information Story titles are given as they appear on the title pages, not as on the covers or in coming attractions. When a story lacks a title or title page (a rare occurrence), a note to this effect appears as a Comment. Story credits are taken from the credits as published. As with cover credits, it is impossible to credit everybody who worked on a story, but whenever additional information is available, it appears in the Index. If the published credits in a story are incorrect, the Index corrects them wherever possible.
Chronology A time line for all of DC’s and Marvel's comics that allows proper chronological ordering of the appearances of every DC and Marvel character is far from complete. Nevertheless, some appearances are known to precede or follow others. Whenever chronological information is known reliably but is not obvious from the continuity of the stories, it is noted in parentheses. “First appearance” accompanies a character’s listing when the comic is the earliest one in which the character appears. A first appearance is not necessarily a character’s chronologically earliest appearance, which might occur, for example, in an origin flashback first told many years later. As a general rule, in the case of feature characters who are members of a team but who also appear in their own features or comics, issue-by-issue chronological notations for these characters are made in the indexes to their own features, not in the index to the team feature. For instance, Superman’s chronology is noted in The Superman Index, not in The Justice League of America Index. A casual reading of a few Plot Synopses will make it abundantly clear that a whole month does not usually pass for the characters in between monthly issues of a comic. Many issues begin hours or even minutes after the previous month’s story. Consequently, a character who has had his own feature for ten years will not have aged ten years in the time it took for those comics to come out. As for trying to determine in what year a given adventure takes place, there’s no conclusive answer. Specific dates that appear in stories, as well as mention of current events and popular culture, depictions of contemporary fashions, and usage of contemporary slang, are all what is known as Topical References. These are specific details added by a writer or artist to a story to make it seem current at the time the story is being published. They are not necessarily indicators of when — what year or even what decade — a story took place.