When it comes to legendary names in the world of comics, Paul Levitz is one that stands out among the crowd. The man was a stalwart of DC Comics, working there for over 35 years in a variety of roles, including writer, editor, and president. The fact that this esteemed icon has made his way to the House of Ideas is a very big deal, even more when he’s writing an Avengers comic set in the earliest days of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Working alongside another comics icon, artist Alan Davis, Levitz has written what feels like an immediate classic in Avengers: War Across Time #1. The first issue is a glowing tribute to the work of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, as the Avengers find themselves up against an overpowering Hulk with Kang the Conqueror working his machinations in the background. Avengers: War Across Time #1 is a definite throwback to an entirely different time in comics, and Levitz and Davis are easily capable of recreating an era sixty years gone.
Removed from current storylines, but still placed in the overall Marvel continuity, Avengers: War Across Time #1 finds two masters at the top of their game. While I don’t get all of the allusions and references to the earliest issues of Avengers, Avengers: War Across Time #1 makes me want to go back and find all the Easter Eggs they throw at us and read the classic issues that this book is set between. It’s a lot of fun in the Merry Marvel Way.
Thor! Iron Man! Captain America! Giant-Man & the Wasp! The classic Avengers against the Hulk on the streets of New York! It’s the beginning of a showdown with Kang the Conqueror that will span the centuries! Eisner Hall of Famer Paul Levitz makes his Marvel debut (unless you count a letter in Amazing Adventures #5) teamed with acclaimed artist Alan Davis!
