Avengers West Coast #69 Page 13 By Paul Ryan (John Walker-USAgent)

West Coast Avengers was an odd title. Today (and for some time in both Marvel and DC publishing) you see an over saturation of the brand. In the 90's there were scores of "X" titles and in recent years it seems as if if there were an untold number of Avengers (and even JLA) teams and offshoots. In the mid 80's the Avengers brand was only big enough to spin off one title.

It seems weird now as the world has grown so small that there even needed to be a geographic distinction for the two squads. So threats east of the Mississippi were addressed by the Whackos? Yet it was a fun title that had some great moments that yielded more than just the Annual bi-coastal Avengers company mixer.

This issue is one of those moments. The grudge match.

The brutal fight between two hothead Avengers. The old loose cannon Hawkeye vs the new loose cannon USAgent. I didn't know who to root for since I was always a fan of both but for some reason I could feel the frustration from John Walker and thought Hawkeye could use his clock cleaned.

Paul Ryan is known for a few achievements in the comics world including the longest run on Fantastic Four outside of Jack Kirby, one of only two people (David Michelinie) to work on both the Superman and Spider-Man wedding issues, and a very long and storied run on the international Phantom strip. He also did about 2 years on Avengers both flagship and West Coast. This issue is one of those classic Marvel moments that has always stuck with me.

Avengers West Coast #69
April, 1991

"Grudge Match!".
Writer: Roy & Dann Thomas