The Avengers were barely a team when they lost their first member. In their second issue, an alien shape-shifter called the Space Phantom slipped into the group one hero at a time, stealing each one's form and sending the original to Limbo. He started with the Hulk. Thor, Iron Man and the newly enlarged Giant-Man were quick to believe their volatile teammate had turned on them, and when the real Hulk came back and understood what they thought of him, he left. One issue in, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had already cost their new super-team a founder.
It's a small story with a long tail. Decades later the Space Phantoms were revealed as agents of Immortus, the far-future version of Kang the Conqueror, so the villain who first split the Avengers turns out to be the opening move of the time-travel saga that has run through the title ever since.
Kirby's cover is all motion: the Phantom tearing free of the Hulk's green bulk mid-lunge, Thor's hammer whirling overhead, and a gold-armored Iron Man braced for impact. Turn the slab over and the back cover holds a period gem, a Famous Artists Schools ad promising that Norman Rockwell and his colleagues would teach you to draw by mail.
This copy is graded CGC 2.5 (Good+) with off-white to white pages. It's an honestly worn, complete copy of the second Avengers comic with bright cover color.
CGC certification #4788512013. Ships fully insured in a Gemini graded-comic mailer within one business day.'
The Avengers were barely a team when they lost their first member. In their second issue, an alien shape-shifter called the Space Phantom slipped into the group one hero at a time, stealing each one's form and sending the original to Limbo. He started with the Hulk. Thor, Iron Man and the newly enlarged Giant-Man were quick to believe their volatile teammate had turned on them, and when the real Hulk came back and understood what they thought of him, he left. One issue in, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had already cost their new super-team a founder.
It's a small story with a long tail. Decades later the Space Phantoms were revealed as agents of Immortus, the far-future version of Kang the Conqueror, so the villain who first split the Avengers turns out to be the opening move of the time-travel saga that has run through the title ever since.
Kirby's cover is all motion: the Phantom tearing free of the Hulk's green bulk mid-lunge, Thor's hammer whirling overhead, and a gold-armored Iron Man braced for impact. Turn the slab over and the back cover holds a period gem, a Famous Artists Schools ad promising that Norman Rockwell and his colleagues would teach you to draw by mail.
This copy is graded CGC 2.5 (Good+) with off-white to white pages. It's an honestly worn, complete copy of the second Avengers comic with bright cover color.
CGC certification #4788512013. Ships fully insured in a Gemini graded-comic mailer within one business day.'
