Add to favoritesNobody’s favorite series, but I’m an absolute sucker for B & C-Level teams. Unfortunately, the tail end of the series got sucked up into The Crossing, a uh, truly classic Marvel crossover, but for this map, it’s kept to a minimum. There are a few artist rotations throughout, but at least Abnett & Lanning stay on for the whole run.
Force Works:
Avengers West Coast 102
Force Works Ashcan (see notes below)
Force Works 1–5
Marvel Comics Presents 169–170 (“In the Hands of the Mandarin”, Parts 1 & 2)
Force Works 6
Marvel Comics Presents 169 (“Century”)
Marvel Comics Presents 170 (“Suzi”)
War Machine 9
Marvel Comics Presents 171 (“War Machine”/”Recorder”)
Iron Man 311
Force Works 7
Marvel Comics Presents 172 (“US Agent”/”Scarlet Witch”)
War Machine 10
Iron Man 312
Force Works 8–12
War Machine 15 (“Brothers in Arms”, Part 2)
Iron Man 317 (“Brothers in Arms”, Part 3)
Force Works 13–18
Century: Distant Sons
Force Works 19
War Machine 22
Force Works 20–22
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Notes:
You could always just start with FW #1, but that last issue of AWC is also written by Abnett & Lanning and does a good job of setting up FW.
The undersized Force Works Ashcan comic poses a bit of a problem, as 1) it’s a good 1/4 smaller in size than a regular comic and 2) it’s a mix of prequel and teaser for the upcoming series. The story in the ashcan actually takes place during FW #1, but you really can’t slip it in there without throwing everything off. I plan on creating a pocket for the ashcan on the inside back cover I can slip it into, but I’ve seen it simply bound before FW #1.
FW #19->WM #22->FW #20 is one long story beat, so not including WM there would make for pretty choppy reading.
If you choose to include the “Brothers in Arms” backup story arc, you will need to get a hold of two copies of FW #12, as the last page of the main story and of the backup share the same page (due to it being a flip book).
Extras to include: Cover and interview from Marvel Age #132, and the Iron Man & Force Works Collectors Preview, which is actually pretty substantial.
The Scarlet Witch 4 issue mini while not crucial is also by Abnett & Lanning and could slip in the front or back of the book (events take place before AWC 102). You could also include the Scarlet Witch story from MCP 143-144 which isn’t by A&L so I’m not including but these would go before the SW mini.
My book will also include the shorts from the back of Iron Man 307-310 and War Machine 8 as this shows Mandarin gathering his rings and leads into the Hands of the Mandarin storyline. These fit after MCP 170 and before Force Works 6. They are only a couple of pages each so they don’t take up much room.
If you add the SW mini, you’re definitely going to want to split this into 2 volumes. I would have added them if the book got thick enough to do so, but I was trying to keep it to one volume. For a 2-volumer, I would also toss in the Spider-Woman and Hawkeye/USAgent stories from MCPs 159-161 & 166-168.