The Avengers West Coast & Force Works definitive collecting guide and reading order for comic books in omnibus, hardcover, and trade paperback format. Find every issue and appearance! Part of Crushing Krisis’s Crushing Comics. Last updated May 2023 with titles scheduled for release through August 2023.
The Avengers had the best kind of problem in the early 80s, whether your perspective was from within comic book continuity or behind the scenes: there were just too many darn Avengers!
The Avengers had gradually shifted its focus from Marvel’s major heroes who anchored their own books (like Iron Man and Captain America) to a roster of characters that needed a team book to thrive. That meant plenty of fan favorite characters would be left out during any given run.
The best solution was to follow a trend set by Spider-Man and just recently by Chris Claremont’s X-Men: launch a second Avengers book!
West Coast Avengers launched with Hawkeye as a central focus. He was chief amongst those team-based, fan-favorite characters, hot off of his own limited series. Hawkeye was initially joined by his wife, Mockingbird, Tigra, and West Coast natives Wonder Man and Rhodey Rhodes as Iron Man.
From a story perspective, the central conceit of the book was that America was a big country, and the NYC-based team couldn’t always be responsive to threats across the nation. In practice, it allowed writers like Steve Engelhart, John Byrne, and Roy Thomas to tell big stories that still focused on character history and personalities. Byrne, in particular, used it to dig deeply into the story of Scarlet Witch.
As comics became more entrenched in extreme, violent themes, the relative staid Avengers team was disassembled in favor of an Iron Man lead Force Works. (The in-continuity reason was the team’s standoff with the UN Security Council over happenings in Genosha in the “Blood Ties” crossover in the penultimate issue of the series.)
Despite a flashy launch with a pop-up cover, Force Works never caught fire like the similarly themed X-Force, and was cancelled as part of the line-wide removal of Avengers in 1996 as they headed off to the Heroes Reborn pocket universe in the wake of Onslaught.
- Avengers West Coast Bookshelf
- Reading Order
- West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4
- West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-46 & Annual 1-3
- Avengers West Coast (1989) #47-102 & Annual 4-8
- Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective (1993) #1-4
- USAgent (1993) #1-4
- Spider-Woman (1993) #1-4
- Scarlet Witch (1994) #1-4
- Hawkeye (1994) #1-4
- Force Works (1994) #1-22 & Ashcan Edition by Abnett & Lanning
- Century: Distant Sons (1996) #1
- West Coast Avengers (2018) #1-10 by Kelly Thompson
- 2020 Force Works (2020) #1-3 by Matthew Rosenberg
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Avengers West Coast Bookshelf
Omnibus oversize hardcovers
West Coast Avengers Omnibus, Vol. 1 (2013 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-0785167457)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4; Iron Man (1968) Annual 7; Avengers (1963) #250 & Annual 15; West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-16 & Annual 1; Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #1-2; material from Avengers (1963) #239, 243-244, 246; and material from Avengers West Coast (1989) #100.
West Coast Avengers Omnibus, Vol. 2 (2013 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-0785167471)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #17-41 & Annual 2-3, Avengers (1963) Annual 16, classic material from Fantastic Four (1961) #19 and Dr. Strange (1974) #53 (which intertwine with a time-travel arc in this collection).
Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302900571)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #42-46; Avengers West Coast (1989) #47-62 & Annual 4; and Avengers (1963) #305-318 & Annual 18.
Issues #63-102 & Annual 5-8 are not collected in this format, except for #101 as part of “Blood Ties.” See Guide to Avengers (1963) or Guide to Uncanny X-Men – The Crossover Era.
Force Works (1994) #1-15 & Ashcan Edition are not collected in this format.
Avengers: The Crossing Omnibus (2012 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-0785162032
Collects Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man (1996) #1, Avengers: The Crossing (1995) #1, Avengers: Timeslide (1996) #1, Avengers (1963) #390-395, Force Works (1994) #16-22, Iron Man (1968) #319-325, and War Machine (1994) #20-23.
Gwenpool Omnibus (2022 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302948207 / digital)
Collects Howard the Duck (2015B) #1-3 (back-up stories); Gwenpool [Holiday] Special 2016 (non-reprint material only), The Unbelievable Gwenpool (2016) #1-25, Gwenpool Holiday Special: Merry Mix-Up (2017) #1 (non-reprint material only), Rocket Raccoon and Groot (2016) #8-10, Champions (2016) #5, Edge of Venomverse (2017) #2, West Coast Avengers (2018) #1-10, Superior Spider-man (2018) #7-8, Gwenpool Strikes Back (2019) #1-5, and material from Secret Empire: Brave New World (2017) #1.
Epic Collection paperbacks
Epic Collection Vol. 1: How the West Was Won (2018 paperback, ISBN 978-1302914233 / 2021 paperback, ISBN 978-1302928193 / digital)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4; Iron Man (1968) Annual 7; Avengers (1963) #250; West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-7; The Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #1-2; and Wonder Man (1986) #1.
Epic Collection Vol. 2: Lost In Space-Time (2019 paperback, ISBN 978-1302919719 / 2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950583 / digital)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #8-24 & Annual 1 and Avengers (1963) Annual 15.
Epic Collection Vol. 3: Tales to Astonish (2020 paperback, ISBN 978-1302923167 / digital)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #25-37 & Annual 2, Avengers (1963) Annual 16, and Marvel Graphic Novel (1982) No. 27 – Emperor Doom.
Epic Collection Vol. 4: Vision Quest (2020 paperback, ISBN 978-1302927424 / digital)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #38-46 & Annual 3, Avengers West Coast (1989) #47-52 & Annual 4, and material from Avengers Spotlight (1989) #23.
Epic Collection Vol. 5: Darker than Scarlet (2021 paperback, ISBN 978-1302931988 / digital)
Collects (1989) #53-64 & Annual 5; Avengers (1963) #311-313, and material from Avengers (1963) Annual 19 and
What The–?! (1988) #6.
Epic Collection Vol. 6: California Screaming (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302951016 / digital)
Collects (1989) #65-82 & Annual 6.
Epic Collection Vol. 7-9: Not yet solicited, but will collect (1989) #83-102 & Annual 7-8, and likely also Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective (1993) #1-4, USAgent (1993) #1-4, Spider-Woman (1993) #1-4, and Scarlet Witch (1994) #1-4, and maybe Hawkeye (1994) #1-4.
Avengers West Coast Reading Order
West Cost Avengers (1984) #1-4
in omnibus…
West Coast Avengers Omnibus, Vol. 1 (2013 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-0785167457)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4; Iron Man (1968) Annual 7; Avengers (1963) #250 & Annual 15; West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-16 & Annual 1; Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #1-2; material from Avengers (1963) #239, 243-244, 246; and material from Avengers West Coast (1989) #100.
by single issue or storyline…
#1-4: How the West Was Won (Epic Collection Vol. 1) (2018 paperback, ISBN 978-1302914233 / 2021 paperback, ISBN 978-1302928193 / digital)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4; Iron Man (1968) Annual 7; Avengers (1963) #250; West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-7; The Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #1-2; and Wonder Man (1986) #1.
#1-4: West Coast Avengers Assemble (ISBN 0785162232)
Collect the 1984West Coast Avengers four-issue limited series plus the issues surrounding the launch of the West Coast Avengers – Avengers #250, Iron Man Annual 7, as well as excerpts from Avengers #239, 243-244, & 246 and Avengers West Coast (1989) #100. Also available in hardcover and below in Omnibus, Vol. 1.
Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1-4
This 1982 mini-series also acts as a pre-cursor to some of the themes in West Coast Avengers, though it is not a direct prequel to the series. Also collects Giant-Size Avengers #4
West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-46 & Annual 1-3
The early issues of this series are often also collected along with Hawkeye’s solo material; see Guide to Hawkeye for more information.
in omnibus…
#1-16 & Annual 1: West Coast Avengers Omnibus, Vol. 1 (2013 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-0785167457)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4; Iron Man (1968) Annual 7; Avengers (1963) #250 & Annual 15; West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-16 & Annual 1; Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #1-2; material from Avengers (1963) #239, 243-244, 246; and material from Avengers West Coast (1989) #100.
#17-41 & Annual 2-3: West Coast Avengers Omnibus, Vol. 2 (2013 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-0785167471)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #17-41 & Annual 2-3, Avengers (1963) Annual 16, classic material from Fantastic Four (1961) #19 and Dr. Strange (1974) #53 (which intertwine with a time-travel arc in this collection).
#42-46: Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302900571)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #42-46; Avengers West Coast (1989) #47-62 & Annual 4; and Avengers (1963) #305-318 & Annual 18.
as collected by single issue or storyline…
#1-7: How the West Was Won (Epic Collection Vol. 1) (2018 paperback, ISBN 978-1302914233 / 2021 paperback, ISBN 978-1302928193 / digital)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4; Iron Man (1968) Annual 7; Avengers (1963) #250; West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-7; The Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #1-2; and Wonder Man (1986) #1.
#1-9: West Coast Avengers: Family Ties (ISBN 078516216X)
Also collects the first two-issues of a year-long The Vision and The Scarlet Witch maxi-series. That series, in turn is collected in a TPB that includes West Coast Avengers #2. Also available as a Marvel Premier Classic hardcover (ISBN 0785155007)
Avengers: Vision & The Scarlet Witch – A Year in the Life
Collects the 12-issue maxi-series that ran alongside West Coast Avengers, as well as WCA #2.
#8-24 & Annual 1: Lost In Space-Time (2019 paperback, ISBN 978-1302919719 / 2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950583 / digital)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #8-24 & Annual 1 and Avengers (1963) Annual 15.
#10-16 & Annual 1: West Coast Avengers: Sins of the Past (2011 hardcover, ISBN 978-0785159001 / 2o14 paperback, ISBN 978-0785167495 / digital)
Originally issued as a “Marvel Premiere Classic” hardcover. Also collects Avengers Annual (1963) 15.
#15: Women of Marvel, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785127089)
This Tigra-centric issue is collected alongside Avengers #83, Spider-Woman #10, Uncanny X-Men #168, 189, 201 & 218, Vision and the Scarlet Witch #12, and lead stories from Strange Tales (1987) #10-11.
#17-24: West Coast Avengers: Lost in Space and Time (ISBN 0785162216)
Marvel Premier Classic HC. Also collects Fantastic Four (1961) 19 & Dr. Strange (1974) 53.
#21: Avengers: The Many Faces of Henry Pym (ISBN 0785162062)
Collects key issues of Dr. Henry Pym, who has been Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, and even The Wasp! Collects Tales of Suspense (1959) #27, #35, and #49; Avengers (1963) #28 and #59-60; West Coast Avengers (1985) #21; Avengers Annual 2001; and Secret Invasion Requiem.
#25-30: West Coast Avengers: Zodiac Attack
Marvel Premier Classic HC. Also collects Annual 2 and Avengers Annual 16. Also available in hardcover (ISBN 0785162534).
#25-37 & Annual 2: Tales to Astonish (Epic Collection Vol. 3) (2020 paperback, ISBN 978-1302923167 / digital)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #25-37 & Annual 2, Avengers (1963) Annual 16, and Marvel Graphic Novel (1982) No. 27 – Emperor Doom.
#38-46: Vision Quest (Epic Collection Vol. 4) (2020 paperback, ISBN 978-1302927424 / digital)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #38-46 & Annual 3, Avengers West Coast (1989) #47-52 & Annual 4, and material from Avengers Spotlight (1989) #23.
#42-50: Vision Quest (ISBN 0785117741)
Doubles as John Byrne Visionaries, Vol. 1. Collects the story as it continues to the retitled series, staring in issue #47. Reprinted in 2015.
Avengers West Coast (1989) #47-102 & Annual 4-8
in omnibus…
#47-62 & Annual 4: Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus (2016 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302900571)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #42-46; Avengers West Coast (1989) #47-62 & Annual 4; and Avengers (1963) #305-318 & Annual 18.
as collected by single issue or storyline…
#47-52 & Annual 4: Vision Quest (Epic Collection Vol. 4) (2020 paperback, ISBN 978-1302927424 / digital)
Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #38-46 & Annual 3, Avengers West Coast (1989) #47-52 & Annual 4, and material from Avengers Spotlight (1989) #23.
#51-57: Darker Than Scarlet (ISBN 0785130276)
Doubles as John Byrne Visionaries, Vol. 2. Also collects #60-62.
#53-64 & Annual 5: Darker than Scarlet (Epic Collection Vol. 5) (2021 paperback, ISBN 978-1302931988 / digital)
Also collects Avengers (1963) #311-313, and material from Avengers (1963) Annual 19 and What The–?! (1988) #6.
#53-55: Acts of Vengeance Omnibus Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785144641)
Collects issues from around the Marvel Universe that participated in the villain-centric Acts of Vengeance theme. From the Avengers Universe that included Avengers #311-313 and Annual 19, Avengers Spotlight (1989) #26-29, Avengers West Coast (1989) #53-55, Captain America (1968) #365-367, Iron Man (1968) #251-252, and Thor (1966) #411-413.
#56 & Annual 4: Atlantis Attacks Omnibus Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785144922)
Presents the Marvel-wide Atlantis Attacks event in chronological order, which includes excerpting back-up stories into their own separate sequence. Collects Silver Surfer Annual #2, Iron Man Annual #10, Marvel Comics Presents #26, Uncanny X-Men Annual #13, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #23, Punisher Annual #2, Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #9, Daredevil Annual #4, Avengers Annual #18, New Mutants #76, Annual #5, X-Factor Annual #4, Web of Spider-Man Annual #5, Avengers West Coast (1989)#56, Annual #4, Thor Annual #14, and Fantastic Four Annual #22.
#58-59: Along Came a Spider-Woman (2o12 paperback, ISBN 978-0785162322 / digital)
Also collects issues #63-75.
#60-62: Collected in Darker Than Scarlet, above. Issue #61 also collected in Legion of the Unliving.
#63-75: in Along Came a Spider-Woman, above.
#65-82 & Annual 6: California Screaming (Epic Collection Vol. 6) (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302951016 / digital)
#80-82: Avengers Epic Collection: Operation Galactic Storm (Epic Vol. 22)
Collects the entire space crossover epic from Avengers (1963) #345-347, Avengers West Coast #80-82, Quasar #32-36, Wonder Man (1991) #7-9, Iron Man (1968) #278-279, Thor (1966) #445-446, and material from Captain America (1968) #398-400
Galactic Storm was previously collected in a pair of trade paperbacks…
#80-81: Avengers: Galactic Storm, Vol. 1 (ISBN 0785120440)
Collects the first half of the crossover from Avengers #345-346, Avengers West Coast (1989) #80-81, Captain America (1968) #398-399, Iron Man (1968) #278, Quasar (1989) #32-33, Thor (1966) #445, and Wonder Man (1991) #7-8.
#82: Avengers: Galactic Storm, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785120459)
Collects the second half of the crossover from Avengers #347, Avengers West Coast (1989) #82, Captain America (1968) #400-401, Iron Man (1968) #279, Quasar (1989) #34-36, Thor (1966) #446, Wonder Man (1991) #9, and What If…? (1989) #55-56.
#83-88: Not collected
#89-91 & Annual 8: Avengers: Ultron Unbound (2015 paperback, ISBN 978-0785192695 / digital)
Also collects Vision (1994) #1-4. This is an early placement of Annual 8, which should fall after #95 in reading order.
#92-100 & 102: Avengers: The Death of Mockingbird
Collects Avengers West Coast #92-100 & 102; Spider-Woman (1993) #1-4; and material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #143-144
After #95 & Annual 8: U.S. Agent #1-4
After #97: Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1-4: Avengers: The Big Three
Collects Captain America (1968) #176; Avengers (1963) #150-151, 215-216, 224; Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1-4; Avengers (1998) #21; and Thor (1998) #81
#101: Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties Hardcover (ISBN 0785101039)
Collects Avengers #368-369, Avengers West Coast #101, X-Men #26, Uncanny X-Men #307, & Black Knight: Exodus. Previously available in an out-of-print softcover sans the Black Knight one-shot as Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties (ISBN 0785101039).
Spider-Woman #1-4: Collected above with Death of Mockingbird
Scarlet Witch #1-4: Scarlet Witch by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Collects Scarlet Witch #1-4 plus supplemental material, including Avengers Origins: Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver and material from Marvel Team-Up #125, Solo Avengers #5, Marvel Comics Presents #60-63 & 143-144, and Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch.
#102: Collected above with Death of Mockingbird. The core cast continues in Force Works.
Hawkeye, Vol. 2 #1-4: Hawkeye: Earth’s Mightiest Marksmen
Collects Hawkeye (1994)# 1-4; Hawkeye: Earth’s Mightiest Marksman; and material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #159-161
Force Works (1994) #1-22 & Ashcan Edition
and Century: Distant Sons (1996) #1 (Jul 1995 – Apr 1994)
Force worked for New Mutants when they changed from a 100-issue, 80s-flavored, X-Men spinoff team to the more aggressive X-Force in 1991, so why not try it on The Avengers’ own spinoff?
Force Works was meant to be a more proactive version of the West Coast Avengers, but at this relatively late stage in the 90s comics boom it just came off as extreme with its weird outfits, overeager inks, and added fifth-color printing.
Still, this book has its high points – notably, as an early Marvel Comics collaboration between Guardians of the Galaxy masterminds Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning.
#1-15: Avengers/Iron Man: Force Works (2016 paperback, ISBN 978-1302900564 / digital)
Collects Force Works (1994) #1-11, 12, 13-15, & Ashcan Edition; Century: Distant Sons (1996) #1; and material from Iron Man/Force Works Collectors’ Preview (1994).
#6-7: Iron Man / War Machine: Hands of the Mandarin (2013 paperback, ISBN 78-0785184287 / digital)
Collects the Hands of the Mandarin crossover from War Machine (1994) #8-10, Iron Man (1968) #310-312, Force Works (1994) #6-7, and material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #169-172.
#16-22: Avengers: The Crossing Omnibus (2012 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-0785162032
Collects Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man (1996) #1, Avengers: The Crossing (1995) #1, Avengers: Timeslide (1996) #1, Avengers (1963) #390-395, Force Works (1994) #16-22, Iron Man (1968) #319-325, and War Machine (1994) #20-23.
After the conclusion of Force Works Iron Man and Scarlet Witch briefly appeared in Avengers (1963) while it wound down during the Onslaught linewide crossover. Afterwards they both moved on to the Heroes Reborn universe. Jessica Drew reappears as Spider-Woman in the Heroes Reborn universe. War Machine next appears in the 1998 post-Reborn relaunch of Iron Man. US Agent does not appear in another ongoing for some time, though he makes sporadic appearances in Thunderbolts (1997) and has his own 2001 limited series.
Marvel Fresh Start:
West Coast Avengers (2016) #1-10
Launched by the superstar team of Kelly Thompson and Stefano Caselli, this run is an extension of Kelly Thompson’s Hawkeye (2017) starring Kate Bishop. This new iteration of the west coast team is a play on mockumentaries like This Is Spinal Tap or The Office. The mostly-youthful lineup includes Clint Barton, Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Quentin Quire, & Gwenpool.
#1-4: Vol. 1: Best Coast (2018 paperback, ISBN 978-1302913458 / digital)
Also collects a key Kate Bishop story from Young Avengers Presents (2008) #6 and Gwenpool’s ongoing debut from
The Unbelievable Gwenpool (2016) #1
#5-10: Vol. 2: City of Angels (2019 paperback, ISBN 978-1302913465 / digital)
Force Works 2020 (2020) #1-3 [AKA 2020 Force Works] by Matthew Rosenberg (Feb – Aug 2020)
Though this title was a tie-in to the Iron Man 2020 mini-event driven by Dan Slott’s series of the same name, this brief Force Works reunion stands fine as its own read (though it actually feels more like the West Coast team due to the presence of Mockingbird alongside USAgent War Machine). See Guide to Iron Man – Tony Stark for more context and other collection options.
#1-3: Iron Man 2020: Robot Revolution – Force Works (2020 paperback, ISBN 978-1302925536 / digital)
Collects 2020 Force Works (2020) #1-3, 2020 Machine Man (2020) #1-2, 2020 Iron Age (2020) #1
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