The Avengers #191
Published and © by Marvel, January 1980
Title: “Back to the Stone Age!”
Synopsis: After losing a battle to the Grey Gargoyle, the Avengers must regroup before tracking him down for a rematch.
Writer (plot): Roger Stern
Writer (script): David Michelinie
Penciler: John Byrne
Inker: Dan Green
Review: When taking in a John-Byrne-drawn, superteam comic from the Bronze Age, it’s hard not to expect the complex stories regularly found from his signature work on X-Men. But that is not this. Instead of Chris Claremont’s tapestry of subplots and rich characterization, Byrne’s run on The Avengers was often handled by a rotating committee of writers. The result here is a simple fight fest against a B-list villain, the Grey Gargoyle, along with the whiff of a brewing subplot involving the love life of Vision and the Scarlet Witch. It’s still fine fun, but falls short of perhaps unfair expectations.
Grade: B
Cool factor: It’s John Byrne drawing the Avengers. That’s always pretty cool.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, the is a 12p British variant of this issue. … According to MyComicShop.com, there is also a Mark Jewelers variant.
Character quotable: “Thank you for freeing me from my petrous prison, Avengers. Now the Grey Gargoyle shall show his gratitude — by destroying you all!” – The Grey Gargoyle, verbose fan of first-person POV
Editor’s note: This review was written May 11, 2022.
