The Avengers Kree/Skrull War

 

Of course, I read this storyline in the 70's when it came out, but the originals are long gone these days and I always dug this tale, so I had to pick this reprint up when I saw it, especially as it has some of my fave super-hero artwork from Neil Adams included (along with the Buscema's), expertly inked by Tom Palmer.

The Skrulls are, as any Marvel-lover knows, the shape-shifting aliens that first appeared in the pages of the Fantastic Four and soon spread throughout the Marvel universe while the Krees, the Skrulls arch-foes, are the species who spawned Marvel's own Captain Marvel (his Kree name is actually Mar-Vell!). The Avengers - and the Earth itself - gets caught in these two planets' interstellar war, as we learn more about the two species' backgrounds and how the Earth became a battleground planet for them.

Naturally, being Marvel, there are many interwoven threads, including a bit of history and special appearances by the Inhumans, along with a bigoted politician (so many of the 60's and 70's Marvel stories were allegories for the Civil Rights movement), the return of Ant-Man, cameos from the Fantastic Four as well as an assortment of other 1940's super-heroes and Rick Jones realized his potential and saves the universe (with a little help from Kree's Intelligence Supreme)!

It's a terrific storyline by Roy Thomas and Neil Adam's artwork in particular is pretty damn stellar (it certainly blew my teenaged, high-school-art-student-mind!). I know that this has been compiled before, but it is certainly one of Marvel Comics' high points!