The Vengers (comic series)

## Summary

***The Vengers*** is a comic book series published by **Bros Comics**, and created by writer and illustrator **Sam Bates**. It debuted with ***The Vengers* #1 ("The Vengers Against the Skull Lord")** in May 2022 and has continued to sporadically release issues ever since. Currently there are six published issues, and it is unknown if the series will continue to go on or if it will be cancelled following ***The Vengers* #6 ("The Vengers...Defeated?")**.

*The Vengers* features an eponymous five-man superhero team consisting of **the Echo**, **Buckethead**, **Butterfly-Man**, **En the War Mage**, and **the Arachnid**. They consistently team up with other characters, sometimes from other Bros Comics titles, including **Candice the Benevolent**, **Thumb-Boy**, and **Eeay**. The team has an array of villains, with notable nemeses being **Baron Von Gloom**, **Commander Zorgalorg**, and **Le Duran**.

*The Vengers* comic title is not to be confused with the spin-off television program, ***The Vengers Animated Series*** **(TVAS)**, which takes place in a separate universe from that of Bros' comics.

## History

### Origins

The Vengers as characters were first created by Sam Bates following the events of a Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) game, where similar characters were featured, in April 2022. Bates decided to make a one-off low quality comic book remixing the D&D characters as classic superheroes. Following the success of the first issue, released in May 2022, Bates decided to keep the series going. *The Vengers* #2 came out the following month, with #3 being released in early August.

### Reimagining *The Vengers*

Around the time of *The Vengers #3* came the beginning of a shift in the style of *The Vengers*. Having now tied himself down as the consistent writer and artist of an ongoing comic series with no end in sight, Bates decided to begin adjusting the book to fit more his personal tastes as something he would like to read. He began putting in more effort towards the visual style of the art, injecting more of his technical skill as a practicing artist, as well as creating more of a unique tone of writing rooted in his own sense of humor as well 1960s Marvel comics and the work of Stan Lee. *The Vengers* #4 featured this new more sophisticated house style and formula, and was a huge success.

### The Late Period

With the new more developed writing and art styles in place, it would take Bates much more time to produce an individual Vengers book than before, and thus production slowed following the release of *The Vengers* #4 in early October 2022, however this only ended up building more hype for issues #5 and #6, which was apt as both ended up being much more landmark events in the series than prior installments. *The Vengers* #5 was released in late March 2023, and was a groundbreaking success, receiving major praise from critics and fans alike. It additionally featured a section called 'the Boisterous Bros Checklist', where summaries of fictional other Bros comic books 'on sale now' were listed, expanding the Bros universe and making it feel much more lived in. Fittingly, at this time a fan column was introduced as well, where Bates would reply to letters from the fans with his trademark sense of sardonicism and wit. *The Vengers* #6 was released in August 2023 and was the biggest success of the series, selling more copies than the past two issues combined. It also received high critical praise.

### The Future...?

Sam Bates graduated high school in June 2023, and has stated that for all intents and purposes *The Vengers* #6 is the end of the series due to the demands of college. He has, however, stated that the notion of a seventh Vengers book coming out over one of his summer breaks is quite possible, and left the ending of issue #6 ambiguous for this very reason. It is speculated that the plot of a potential seventh book could possibly be a return of Baron Von Gloom, a team-up with Captain Bonanza, or a new villain altogether. Whatever the case, time will tell.

## Publication History

*The Vengers* #1 ("The Vengers Against the Skull Lord") (May 2022)

*The Vengers* #2 ("The Calling of En!") (June 2022)

*The Vengers* #3 ("Misinformation") (August 2022)

*The Vengers* #4 ("Save a Prayer") (October 2022)

*The Vengers* #5 ("Invasion of the Zorgoths!") (March 2023)

*The Vengers* #6 ("The Vengers...Defeated?") (August 2023)