Issue(s): Avengers #41, Avengers #42
Cover Date: Jun-Jul 67
Title: "Let sleeping dragons lie!" / "The plan-- and the power!"
Credits:
Roy Thomas - Writer
John Buscema - Penciler
George Roussos - Inker

Review/plot:
Ladies and gentlemen, John Buscema has arrived on the Avengers. He's still getting warmed up, but it's a big improvement over Heck.

Henry Pym has acquired guardianship of Dragon Man on the recommendation of Reed Richards. But Diablo is back as well, and he causes a distraction by turning a building into gold so that he can reassert his control over Dragon Man.

Pym's costume keeps getting miscolored. The blue bits are colored as if they are flesh. Either that or Goliath keeps ripping his suit. The Avengers in the gym head off to investigate the gold building, but Hercules isn't interested and he stays behind. Diablo and Dragon Man make short work of the remaining Avengers, and Goliath and the Wasp are captured.

Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch convince Hercules to join them this time, and they get info on Diablo's lair from the Fantastic Four and head after them. Meanwhile, Pym has agreed to work for Diablo since Janet is menaced by Dragon Man. Diablo wants Hank's help to create an army of Dragon Men.

Hercules engages Dragon Man, and after Pym understands that Janet is safe, he stops fighting the other Avengers and they all fight Diablo. But it's Captain America who shows up just in time to defeat Diablo before he can trigger an explosion that would kill Wasp.

Dragon Man was an excellent choice for Buscema's debut. He uses the size of the creature to really depict the power and brutality in these battles.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 2

Chronological Placement Considerations: When Quicksilver tries to call the Fantastic Four for help with Diablo, he first receives a recorded message saying they are on vacation, but later he is able to connect with them. So this needs to take place after FF #64. These events also continue to take place simultaneously with Tales Of Suspense #88-91.

It's pretty cool to have all these events going on at once.

References:

• The FF fought Dragon Man in Fantastic Four #35 and again in Fantastic Four #47.
  
• The FF's vacation was interrupted by the Sinister Sentry in Fantastic Four #64.
  
• Captain America stopped working with the Red Skull and was cleared of any wrong doing after the events of Tales Of Suspense #91.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Marvel Triple Action #33, Marvel Triple Action #34

John Buscema started his comics career at Timely in 1948, though not on any superhero comics. He spent most of the 1950s and early 1960s doing movie adaptations for Dell/Gold Key(including a Hercules movie or two)and some stories for Atlas/Marvel.

By the Zestful Zither of Zeus is totally becoming my new catchphrase.

The FIRST big John BUSCEMA Cover in Title is a much more celebrated event at my house than it is at Marvel these dyas.. I remember my brother bringing this beauty home and my eye immediately resonating to this new art style and allowing a full embrace of my inner AVENGERS fan.. Big John separated Marvel from the Pack at the Comic rack every month with his strong Iconic and irreverent illustrations. In my mind he was the FIRST Artist to actually capture the posture of the Superhero when not fighting as if they were straining to control the vast power they possessed.

Love Big John. I found it strange at the time that Pym was no doing research on the side and then it is Never mentioned again! (This was later explained but it seemed odd at the time).

With John Buscema taking over, I particularly enjoyed the improvement in the action scenes, which have more clarity and power than Don Heck's. Of course, it's an overall improvement, but this stands out for me because Heck's action scenes were sometimes so unclear that I couldn't tell who was doing what or what had just happened.