Let's face it, Marvel has done a lot of things wrong in recent years. Like a ship adrift, they've thrown creative teams at various books in hopes that something would work. An awful lot didn't. Which brings us to Avengers. When Marvel re-started the book a couple of years ago, they actually set up what most fans considered the ultimate "dream team" for the book. Writer Kurt Busiek had shown a gift for getting inside traditional superheroes with the landmark "Marvels" series. Artist George Perez was certainly in his element rendering countless supercharacters in exacting detail. While the pairing perhaps hasn't yet completely lived up to my expectations (but then, what does?), it certainly sent the book to the top of the sales list. But...
The reason that I'm picking Avengers 327 as my pick of the week has nothing to do with any of that.

This issue of Avengers is billed as a "100 Page Monster"! Actually, only the first 22 pages are new material. The remainder of the issue is reprints of stories that relate to the current storyline in some way. The cost for all of this is a paltry $2.99! Now some of you may be saying "Hey! Isn't Avengers normally $1.99? Why should I pay another buck for reprinted material?" Shame of you! Not only is this is class material, but it represents something that the comic book business has been sorely lacking lately: A bargain! After the 22 pages of new story, the book is rounded out with another 64 pages of material, bringing the total page count to a whopping 86. This figures out to less that 3 and 1/2 cents a page. Normally you pay $1.99 for 22 pages which comes to 9 cents a page. I don't know about you, but I had almost forgotten the thrill of holding a nice thick comic in my hands.

Now, all of this would be a moot point if the material was garbage. The stories include a two part tale pencilled by George Perez during his first run on the series back in 1976, "The Day The Strangers Came" which was the first Avengers story writen by Kurt Busiek and the story "Five Dooms To Save Tomorrow" by Roy Thomas and Harlan Ellison. While these story are not classics (although the Thomas/Ellison story comes close), they are certainly solid enough to warrent another read by old fan, and they're unquestionably a treat for anyone who hasn't read them.
$2.99! For 86 pages of story! Folks, we need more of this. Both of the major publishers has a back catalog of great stories that deserve another printing for the fans who weren't around for them the first time. With sales lagging at their lowest point is years, a good entertainment value for a cheap price might bring a few curious new readers. You owe it to yourself to pick up not only a copy of this for yourself, but pick up a copy for your nephew who hasn't yet discovered how much fun comics can be.