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The Defenders Omnibus
The Defenders Omnibus, Vol. 2
Collected - in complete - in this Omnibus edition, we present Steve Gerber's definitive Defenders run! Using The Defenders' unlikely cast of misfits, Gerber turned Marvel's "non-team" into a locus of innovation by deconstructing genre conventions and adding a healthy dose of absurdity. From the Elf With a Gun to Bambi and the Bozos, each storyline is a challenging critique of the era's culture, while the Headmen Saga is one of the high points in Gerber's celebrated career. They're stories that inspired a generation of creators and changed the course of comics history. This volume also boasts artwork by the stellar team of Sal Buscema and Klaus Janson and is topped off with the classic Defenders/Howard the Duck Marvel Treasury Edition.
Collects Defenders (1972) #20-41, Defenders Annual (1976) #1, Giant-Size (1974) #3-5, Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #6-7, Marvel Treasury Edition (1974) #12; material from Mystery Tales (1952) #21, World of Fantasy (1956) #11, Tales of Suspense (1959) #9.
Collects Defenders (1972) #20-41, Defenders Annual (1976) #1, Giant-Size (1974) #3-5, Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #6-7, Marvel Treasury Edition (1974) #12; material from Mystery Tales (1952) #21, World of Fantasy (1956) #11, Tales of Suspense (1959) #9.
704 pages, Hardcover
Published July 11, 2023
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31 people want to read
About the author
Steve Gerber
639 books66 followersSteve Gerber graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in communications and took a job in advertising. To keep himself sane, he wrote bizarre short stories such as "Elves Against Hitler," "Conversion in a Terminal Subway," and "...And the Birds Hummed Dirges!" He noticed acquaintance Roy Thomas working at Marvel, and Thomas sent him Marvel's standard writing test, dialoguing Daredevil art. He was soon made a regular on Daredevil and Sub-Mariner, and the newly created Man-Thing, the latter of which pegged him as having a strong personal style--intellectual, introspective, and literary. In one issue, he introduced an anthropomorphic duck into a horror fantasy, because he wanted something weird and incongruous, and Thomas made the character, named for Gerber's childhood friend Howard, fall to his apparent death in the following issue. Fans were outraged, and the character was revived in a new and deeply personal series. Gerber said in interview that the joke of Howard the Duck is that "there is no joke." The series was existential and dealt with the necessities of life, such as finding employment to pay the rent. Such unusual fare for comicbooks also informed his writing on The Defenders. Other works included Morbius, the Lving Vampire, The Son of Satan, Tales of the Zombie, The Living Mummy, Marvel Two-in-One, Guardians of the Galaxy, Shanna the She-Devil, and Crazy Magazine for Marvel, and Mister Miracle, Metal Men,
The Phantom Zone
, and The Immortal Doctor Fate for DC. Gerber eventually lost a lawsuit for control of Howard the Duck when he was defending artist Gene Colan's claim of delayed paychecks for the series, which was less important to him personally because he had a staff job and Colan did not.
He left comics for animation in the early 1980s, working mainly with Ruby-Spears, creating Thundarr the Barbarian with Alex Toth and Jack Kirby and episodes of The Puppy's Further Adventures, and Marvel Productions, where he was story editor on multiple Marvel series including Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers. He continued to dabble in comics, mainly for Eclipse, including the graphic novel Stewart the Rat, the two-part horror story "Role Model: Caring, Sharing, and Helping Others," and the seven-issue Destroyer Duck with Jack Kirby, which began as a fundraiser for Gerber's lawsuit.
In the early 1990s, he returned to Marvel with Foolkiller, a ten-issue limited series featuring a new version of a villain he had used in The Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown, who communicated with a previous version of the character through internet bulletin boards. An early internet adopter himself, he wrote two chapters of BBSs for Dummies with Beth Woods Slick, with whom he also wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Contagion." During this period, he also wrote The Sensational She-Hulk and Cloak and Dagger for Marvel, Cybernary and WildC.A.T.s for Image, and Sludge and Exiles for the writer-driven Malibu Ultraverse, and Nevada for DC's mature readers Vertigo line.
In 2002, he returned to the Howard the Duck character for Marvel's mature readers MAX line, and for DC created Hard Time with Mary Skrenes, with whom he had co-created the cult hit Omega the Unknown for Marvel. Their ending for Omega the Unknown remains a secret that Skrenes plans to take to the grave if Marvel refuses to publish it. Suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ("idiopathic" meaning of unknown origin despite having been a heavy smoker much of his life), he was on a waiting list for a double lung transplant. His final work was the Doctor Fate story arc, "More Pain Comics," for DC Comics'
He left comics for animation in the early 1980s, working mainly with Ruby-Spears, creating Thundarr the Barbarian with Alex Toth and Jack Kirby and episodes of The Puppy's Further Adventures, and Marvel Productions, where he was story editor on multiple Marvel series including Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers. He continued to dabble in comics, mainly for Eclipse, including the graphic novel Stewart the Rat, the two-part horror story "Role Model: Caring, Sharing, and Helping Others," and the seven-issue Destroyer Duck with Jack Kirby, which began as a fundraiser for Gerber's lawsuit.
In the early 1990s, he returned to Marvel with Foolkiller, a ten-issue limited series featuring a new version of a villain he had used in The Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown, who communicated with a previous version of the character through internet bulletin boards. An early internet adopter himself, he wrote two chapters of BBSs for Dummies with Beth Woods Slick, with whom he also wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Contagion." During this period, he also wrote The Sensational She-Hulk and Cloak and Dagger for Marvel, Cybernary and WildC.A.T.s for Image, and Sludge and Exiles for the writer-driven Malibu Ultraverse, and Nevada for DC's mature readers Vertigo line.
In 2002, he returned to the Howard the Duck character for Marvel's mature readers MAX line, and for DC created Hard Time with Mary Skrenes, with whom he had co-created the cult hit Omega the Unknown for Marvel. Their ending for Omega the Unknown remains a secret that Skrenes plans to take to the grave if Marvel refuses to publish it. Suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ("idiopathic" meaning of unknown origin despite having been a heavy smoker much of his life), he was on a waiting list for a double lung transplant. His final work was the Doctor Fate story arc, "More Pain Comics," for DC Comics'
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 11, 2023
(Zero spoiler review) 3.5/5
I really should bump this up to four. I want to... in a way, I need to. After having read a few disappointing runs whilst I was also reading The Defenders, it highlighted to me the stark differences between the comics industry of the last century and this one. That despite my occasional perturbance at the 'cheesiness' of said silver/bronze age books, you can absolutely and undoubtedly smell the sincerity, the quality, the care literally oozing off the page. Despite having a number of quibbles with this book, one thing I can't quibble over is the fact that comics were in such a better state in the preceding millennium. With an adequate although not quite exceptional Defenders run able to stand head and shoulders above almost everything that came out in the last couple of decades.
Like I said, I wanted to score this higher, I wanted to enjoy it just that little bit more. Gerber had more writing talent in his index finger than most modern writers combined, and the long standing art team of Sal Buscema and Klaus Jansen was a joy to behold...
Valkyrie was the star here and rightfully so. Hulk remains a disappointing passenger in this team, and really should have been axed a long time ago. If they had lost the Hulk, kept Namor, and maybe nixed a couple of the cheesier moments, most of my gripes would have melted away and I would be singing this books praises.
So whilst my three stars may not look particularly impressive, there is a hell of a lot to like here. And as a signpost to the better days of comics, there is a hell of a lot to love as well. 3.5/5
OmniBen.
I really should bump this up to four. I want to... in a way, I need to. After having read a few disappointing runs whilst I was also reading The Defenders, it highlighted to me the stark differences between the comics industry of the last century and this one. That despite my occasional perturbance at the 'cheesiness' of said silver/bronze age books, you can absolutely and undoubtedly smell the sincerity, the quality, the care literally oozing off the page. Despite having a number of quibbles with this book, one thing I can't quibble over is the fact that comics were in such a better state in the preceding millennium. With an adequate although not quite exceptional Defenders run able to stand head and shoulders above almost everything that came out in the last couple of decades.
Like I said, I wanted to score this higher, I wanted to enjoy it just that little bit more. Gerber had more writing talent in his index finger than most modern writers combined, and the long standing art team of Sal Buscema and Klaus Jansen was a joy to behold...
Valkyrie was the star here and rightfully so. Hulk remains a disappointing passenger in this team, and really should have been axed a long time ago. If they had lost the Hulk, kept Namor, and maybe nixed a couple of the cheesier moments, most of my gripes would have melted away and I would be singing this books praises.
So whilst my three stars may not look particularly impressive, there is a hell of a lot to like here. And as a signpost to the better days of comics, there is a hell of a lot to love as well. 3.5/5
OmniBen.
October 30, 2023
Steve Gerber's run of The Defenders (all contained within) is entirely a triumph, proving that there are 70s comics that are still terrific today. The characterization is top-notch, particularly for Valkyrie, who gets some real development here, from the discovery of her (Barbara's) origins to time spent in jail. Her husband, Jack Norris, is a real surprise and Nighthawk gets some terrific screentime too. Then we get a collection of guest-stars and short-timers who help to define the "C" list of heroes in the '70s. The Red Guardian that joins the Defenders is another real joy.
Most of arcs are 5 or so issues, a real treat at the time, and they're almost all very memorable: The Sons of the Serpent, The Guardians of the Galaxy, The Headmen. (The last are a particularly fine addition to the Marvel universe and really define the weirdness of the Defenders.)
This is overall a terrific volume, likely one of the best of the entire run, and kudos to Marvel for their careful mapping of this volume, including critical entries like The Marvel Two-in-Ones and less critical but fun ones, like the Howard the Duck special.
Most of arcs are 5 or so issues, a real treat at the time, and they're almost all very memorable: The Sons of the Serpent, The Guardians of the Galaxy, The Headmen. (The last are a particularly fine addition to the Marvel universe and really define the weirdness of the Defenders.)
This is overall a terrific volume, likely one of the best of the entire run, and kudos to Marvel for their careful mapping of this volume, including critical entries like The Marvel Two-in-Ones and less critical but fun ones, like the Howard the Duck special.
August 28, 2023
Brilliantly bonkers from start to finish.
In short, it's a must read.
In short, it's a must read.
December 5, 2024
3.5⭐️
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews