The Demi-God Must DIE!

Marvel's Champions Classic v.2 hit the shelves today, and to those of you who were around when I was freaking out about Volume One last June, it should come as no surprise that I'm going to go ahead and declare it to be the single greatest trade paperback of all time.

I could go on at length about the pure joy contained in this thing--and I probably will, given the daily update schedule I'm working with here--but all you really need to know is that it includes the world's most ridiculous super-team going up against Swarm and MODOK back-to-back in stories that only Bill "The Thrill" Mantlo could bring.

But since I talk about Mantlo pretty much all the time, I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that this thing includes Jim Shooter and George Tuska's Avengers #163, an issue containing nothing but Hercules and Iron Man beating the living hell out of each other.

Admittedly, this was probably a lot more exciting when Iron Man wasn't beating up other super-heroes every day, but this? This is beautiful.


















And the weird thing is, I'm pretty sure that's exactly how Civil War's going to end.

You're welcome.

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BONUS FEATURE: Subtlety Is Not Their Strong Point

Remember a few months ago, when I wrote a column for Prism detailing the slightly homoerotic subtext inherent in a team with a biker, a bare-chested Greek gentleman in a skirt, and "two confused young men?"



Sometimes, they write themselves.