The Avengers #88
Published and © by Marvel, May 1971
Title: “The Summons of Psyklop”
Synopsis: The Avengers battle an ancient entity who is attempting to harness the power of the Hulk to awaken dark gods.
Writer (plot): Harlan Ellison
Writer (script): Roy Thomas
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Jim Mooney
Review: Wow. This issue is … a lot. Harlan Ellison – acerbic legend and writer of many speculative-fiction classics – drops by the Marvel Universe for a two-part story and unloads an entire bag of concepts and plot devices. There’s voodoo and teleportation and shrinking rays and Lovecraftian dark gods and a forgotten subterranean race and and and … . Whew. The story also features cameos, flashbacks and crosses over with another title. Again, it’s a lot. And not everything works, especially as happenstance seems to be the main connective tissue. Still, props for trying something epic (and the early Sal Buscema art is quite nice!)
Grade: B
Second opinion: “Worth reading.” – Adrian P. Snowdon, FantaCo’s Chronicle’s Series Annual #1, 1983 … “Buscema’s work was solid, unobtrusive, dependable, but rarely (if ever) providing any kind of imaginative leap in design or interpretation of the material he was working on.” – Pierre Comtois, “Marvel Comics in the 1970s: An Issue By Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon: Expanded Edition,” 2021
Cool factor: The reach of this one is epic.
Not-so-cool factor: Its grasp? Not so good.
Notable: First appearance of Psyklop. … Guest-starring the Falcon, with cameo appearances by Mr. Fantastic and Professor X. … Story continues in The Incredible Hulk #140.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 1/- British variant of this issue, as well as a 1994 J.C. Penney reprint. … According to MyComicShop.com, there is also a National Diamond variant.
Character quotable: “I can’t help feeling that more than just another voodoo ceremony was going on in that bayou.” – Captain America, a man with a hunch
Editor’s note: This review was written Feb. 9, 2026.
