A Brief Preface

I honestly don't remember where my obsession with Acts of Vengeance began.  If I had to guess, I'd blame my grandma.  

Back in the late 1980's, my father's parents lived in Long Beach, WA, about two hours from my hometown.  It's a wonderful little beach community, but I really only remember two things outside of the beach house: Marsh's and the comic rack at the local grocery store.  

Every time we visited, my grandmother would treat me to a comic off the single rotating rack in the front corner of the grocery store.  I was primarily interested in Heathcliff, He-Man and those weird Ghostbusters comics.  

Somewhere along the way, though, I became hooked on the superheroes.  I specifically remember getting getting the Deadly Foes of Spider-Man miniseries at that grocery store.  And, even though I can't remember when, I suspect that this grocery store was where I first discovered Acts of Vengeance.

As far as I can tell, it began with Captain America #366.  It's one of the few issues of my collection that I clearly purchased back in 1990.  I don't know why my nine-year-old self decided to pick up this issue in particular.  (Maybe because the cover is awesome.)  The story almost certainly didn't make any sense, considering it is smack in the middle of a massive crossover, but I must have enjoyed it.  At the very least, I had to find out what happened next.  

I spend the next decade (or so) tracking down all the crossovers, tie-ins and parodies.  I took a brief break from the world of comic collecting for a brief period, then came roaring back with a passion in 2003.  

Recently, I began reading and rereading the major Marvel events in chronological order.  (Why, yes, I am a huge nerd...how did you know?)  I also tracked down reviews and information about each crossover as I went.  The site dedicated to Secret Wars II was especially enlightening.   However, when it came time to re-read Acts of Vengeance, I discovered that there was no online repository of knowledge singularly dedicated to my favorite crossover.  Sure, there's your Marvel wiki and your Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe, but these only provide the briefest of explanations.  There's not even a reliable chronology!  

So, I've decided to take it upon myself to fill this niche that perhaps only I think needs to be filled.  Much like the indispensable Not Blog X, I will take an issue by issue look at the entire crossover from beginning to end.  But first...what is this whole Acts of Vengeance thing anyway?    

More to come.