The Avengers #152

Name: The Avengers #152
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Oct 1976 · Marvel · 0.30 USD

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“Nightmare in New Orleans!”

★ 1st appearance — Black Talon★ 1st appearance — Damballah

About this Issue

Avengers #152 marks the first appearance of Samuel Barone as Black Talon — a New Orleans-based voodoo cult leader who would go on to bedevil the Avengers, the Vision and Scarlet Witch, and even She-Hulk across decades of Marvel storytelling. It also serves as the effective handoff point between the celebrated Steve Englehart era and Gerry Conway's solo run: Englehart supplied the plot, Conway the script, making it a document of one of the more turbulent editorial transitions in Bronze Age Marvel. Beyond its villain debut, the issue opens a multi-part arc wrestling with the Vision's identity — his brain patterns derived from Wonder Man — by forcing the two characters to occupy the same space for the first time since that origin was established, an emotional tension that writers would mine for years. The Scarlet Witch's decision to leave the team at the issue's close, spurred by her battle with the supernatural, also seeds the long-running exploration of her hex powers as genuine magic rather than random probability manipulation.

In "Nightmare in New Orleans!", the Avengers journey to the bayou city to confront the enigmatic Black Talon, joined by the unexpected return of Wonder Man—whose revival shakes the team to its core. Written by Steve Englehart and Gerry Conway, with dynamic art by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott, this 1976 issue blends supernatural intrigue with the emotional weight of a fallen hero’s return, all under Jack Kirby’s striking cover.

writer Steve Englehart · writer Gerry Conway · artist John Buscema · artist, inker Joe Sinnott · colorist P. Goldberg · letterer John Costanza · cover Jack Kirby, Dan Adkins

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $8

CGC 9.8 · 37 in census $283

CGC 9.6 · 45 in census $113

CGC 9.4 · 39 in census $61

CGC 9.2 · 15 in census $48

CGC 9.0 · 15 in census $41*

CGC 8.5 · 13 in census $33*

Show all 17 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 10 in census $30*

CGC 7.5 · 7 in census $27*

CGC 7.0 · 3 in census $25*

CGC 6.5 · 3 in census $25

CGC 6.0 · 5 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 5.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 none in existence

CGC 4.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 none in existence

CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 ▾ $399–$455 2 listings

CGC 9.8 $399 CGC 9.8 $455

CGC 9.6 ▾ $200–$235 2 listings

CGC 9.6 $200 CGC 9.6 $235

CBCS 9.2 $70 1 listing Raw — MINT $29.99 1 listing Raw — NM- $39.99 1 listing Raw — VG+ $14.99 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $13.5–$40 5 listings

Raw / ungraded $13.5 Raw / ungraded $14.9 Raw / ungraded $16.99 Raw / ungraded $25.08 Raw / ungraded $40

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History

Avengers #152 was written by Gerry Conway from an uncredited plot by Steve Englehart — the last creative fingerprint Englehart would leave on the title before departing Marvel entirely following an editorial dispute with Conway, who had briefly assumed the editor-in-chief role in March 1976. Conway held that EIC post for only about a month and a half before being succeeded by Archie Goodwin; his name as editor of record first appears on this very issue. John Buscema penciled (with Joe Sinnott on inks) and Jack Kirby — then newly returned to Marvel — supplied the cover, inked by Dan Adkins. The on-sale date was July 1976, for the October cover date.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Black Talon (Samuel David Barone), a New Orleans voodoo priest and cult leader; created by writer Gerry Conway and penciler John Buscema.
Also the first appearance of the demon Damballah (shadow only) in this issue, summoned by Black Talon to augment his power against the Scarlet Witch.
Written by Gerry Conway (script) from a plot by Steve Englehart; penciled by John Buscema; inked by Joe Sinnott; cover by Jack Kirby and Dan Adkins.
Story title: 'Nightmare in New Orleans!' — the Avengers travel to the Louisiana bayou after tracking Wonder Man's mysterious resurrection to a voodoo ritual site.
Marvel used the term 'zuvembie' instead of 'zombie' throughout the story, as the Comics Code Authority had banned the word 'zombie' at the time; the term derives from a Robert E. Howard short story published in Weird Tales in 1938.
The Scarlet Witch departs the Avengers at the issue's end, motivated by the battle with Black Talon and Wonder Man's return, to independently explore the mystical nature of her hex powers — a story thread continued in subsequent issues.
This issue represents the final plotted contribution of Steve Englehart to the Avengers title; from Avengers #153 onward, Gerry Conway was the sole writer.
Collected in: Avengers: The Private War of Dr. Doom, Avengers Epic Collection: The Final Threat (2013), and Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 16 (2016).