Book: 1872: Warzones! (issues #1-4) by Gerry Duggan with illustrations by Nik Virella, color by Lee Loughridge and letters by VC's Clayton Cowles
Includes stories: - The Avengers #80 by Roy Thomas with illustration by John Buscema, ink by Tom Palmer and letters by Sam Rosen
- Marvel Comics Presents #170 by Alan Cowsill with illustration by Jimmy Chung, inks by Martin Griffiths, color by Frank Lopez and letters by Pat Prentice
Edition: Trade Paperback
Rating: 5 stars
Review:
Westerns are not my usual genre but I figured you couldn't go wrong with an Avengers story. And I was so right, 1872 was amazing.
The story begins with Red Wolf traveling to the city of Timely to blow up the dam but he was caught by Mayor Wilson Fisk's minions. Thanks to a tip off from journalist Ben Urich, Sheriff Steve Rogers was just in time to stop them from lynching Red Wolf. Sheriff Rogers was not going to let them take the law into their own hands just because it's something the Mayor wanted done.
With Red Wolf in jail awaiting a fair trial, Sheriff Rogers got a better understanding as to why he had wanted to blow up the dam. It was preventing his people from having access to water and he was just trying to do something to fix the problem.
However, it didn't go over well with Mayor Fisk that Red Wolf was still alive, he had wanted him dealt with immediately. With Sheriff Rogers not stepping aside to let him handle the situation, Fisk sent in his four lackeys to complete the job.
Tony Stark may have been a tad drunk (okay he was completely drunk) but even in his inebriated state he wasn't going to let Fisk's lackeys surprise Rogers. Thanks to a timely rendition by Tony, Steve wasn't caught off guard but they did find themselves having to go up against the four murderers.
It didn't end well for Fisk's men and things were becoming worse because Fisk's boss Governor Roxxon sent in another group of highly trained killers (Bullseye, Elektra, Doc Ock and Grizzly) to finish the job of killing Red Wolf as well as Sheriff Rogers.
Natasha Barnes was angry that Steve was risking his life to protect Red Wolf. She had lost her husband James (who was also Steve's deputy) when he went out to stop a lynching. It was reported that he had been "scalped" but Steve thought otherwise. As he told Natasha "nothing happens in Timely without Fisk's blessing" which gave her pause to really think about it.
In taking Red Wolf to see the judge, it became apparent to Steve that he wasn't going to get a fair trial not with the Judge intimidated by Fisk. And adding to their troubles, they were attacked by the new group of killers. Sheriff Rogers and Red Wolf had to take on the killers and things were going well until the unthinkable happened.
Sheriff Rogers is a man of integrity, he was trying to fight the evil and corruption that had been festering in the town but he couldn't do it alone. However, many of the townspeople were too afraid to stand up and fight but things changed and the town was either going to have to rally together to fight Mayor Fisk or continue to live in fear.
Red Wolf, Natasha and Dr. Bruce Banner had a plan to take down Fisk and to destroy the dam. They received some additional help from Tony and one of his latest inventions. Even with these heroes and a few others townspeople fighting back, the corrupt Mayor Fisk was doing everything he could to keep control of the town.
As someone who is not a big fan of westerns, I thought 1872 was a great read. This was a well-written and intense story that showed that regardless of the setting, the Avengers will always be heroes. It was interesting to see how some of the other characters from Vision to Carol Danvers were shown. This was a unexpected hit for me and the ending left me wanting to read more stories in this universe especially since it looks like some surprising things were about to start happening.
Discussion Questions:
1. What did you like best about the story?
To be honest everything from the writing to the characterizations were perfect. These characters are not going to sit around and let bad things continue to happen without doing something about it.
2. What didn't you like about it?
There was actually nothing I didn't like about this story, it was really good.
3. Before you read the book, what was your thoughts or opinions of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark being able to stop the villains? After reading the book are your thoughts still the same?
I'm so used to Captain America and Iron Man always figuring out a way to win I didn't think the outcome would be any different. However, after reading the book, my opinion changed because there were quite a few odds that were stacked against them. Yes they fought but it was by no way an easy win.
4. Did the illustrations work with or against the story?
I thought it artwork was great and it worked so well with the story because it had a scratchy old-timey look to it that complimented it perfectly.
5. Do you think this was an original story or something you have seen numerous times?
1872 was an interesting story there were elements of the story that I have seen before but overall it felt like an original story. Although, the struggle of good vs evil never feels old especially not when it's within a really good story.
6. What did you think of the additional stories that were included in this book?
I thought The Avengers #80 and Marvel Comics Presents #170 were both good and now I'm interested in reading Avengers #81. I want to see if Goliath, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Red Wolf were going to stop evil business man Cornelius Van Lunt who is responsible for the murder of Red Wolf's parents.
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