Snakes In The Grass!

These are two of my all-time favorite comic books. Underneath the Marie Severin cover above we find an Avengers team drawn by veteran inker Frank Giacoia. Apparently Giacoia didn't like to pencil, but preferred what he considered the less onerous task of inking.

But as the page above showcases, he's pretty dang good.  With Sam Grainger on inks his is a very handsome issue with some nifty panel designs. But when it comes to artwork the next issue is the absolute gem.

If you waterboarded me and forced me to pick only one cover as my favorite this one might be it. Outstanding and dramatic composition by John Buscema with sterling inks by Tom Palmer. If I could only have one art team they are the team. The Avengers have never (and I include George Perez in this) looked better than when Buscema and Palmer busted out for an amazing sequence of comics.

Now I haven't said much about the story so far. But in this one we meet for the first time Monica Lynne, the lady who will become a romantic interest for the Black Panther. The story stars the Panther as he takes on a new incarnation of the Sons of the Serpent. The story revolves around to TV hosts, one white and one black  but both vituperative and more than willing to stoke the racial animus which percolates at all times in American society. Roy Thomas says quite a bit and says it quite well about the power of mass media to move attitudes and form opinion. Something we need to pay more attention to even in our own time. Oh the Avengers win, but you knew that.

Note: This post originally appeared at Rip Jagger's Other Dojo. 

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