The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 964: West Coast Avengers Annual #1, 1986

When I was entering all the pertinent data on yesterday's comic, I realized that I only bought it a couple of years ago. I can't imagine what I must have thought was going on when I read today's comic back in 1986 when I got it. Or, for that matter, why I didn't pick up the Avengers Annual at the same time.

Ah well.

Today's comic is sooooo much better than yesterday's. Steve Englehart has a nice handle on the Avengers, and Mark Bright is a very gifted visual storyteller. Check out his run on Quantum and Woody if you don't believe me. As the Avengers run from the government, the question on all of their minds is who has betrayed them. Unfortunately, that cover leaves little to the imagination, so there's not really any surprise when Quicksilver reveals himself, and then tries to kill both teams. It's interesting. When I first read it, I wondered why Quicksilver had become such a dick. I mean, he's never been the most personable of the Marvel characters (a trait he shares with Alpha Flight's Northstar), but to completely reverse directions and threaten his comrades with death? And to hold such prejudices against the Vision when he himself is a victim of them due to his nature as a mutant? Not that members of minority groups are somehow exempt from prejudicial attitudes, but given his experiences, you'd think Quicksilver's definition of what constitutes life might be a bit more broad than the average.

Reading it now, I'm struck by how this is an example of the events of someone's life piling up until that person breaks. What we have here is a young man dealing with a remarkable amount of pressure, a remarkable amount of change, and, most likely, a pre-existing mental illness. It wasn't something that was talked about much back in the 80s, but there's definitely an undercurrent of psychological distress playing out here. I still think Quicksilver's a dick, but now I understand that perhaps some of that comes from an inability to properly process everything that goes on around him. I have similar troubles, and all I do is teach. This guy is involved in grand cosmic adventures on a regular basis. I probably would have fallen apart too.

To be continued.