MTA #s 1-4 starred the FF in reprints, issue #5 started the Avengers run.
MTA #5 was Avengers #10
MTA #6 thru #24 reprinted Avengers #12 thru #30
GS MTA #1 reprinted Avengers #31
GS MTA #2 reprinted Avengers #32
MTA #25 thru #36 reprinted Avengers #33 thru #44
GS MTA #3 reprinted Avengers Annual #1
MTA #37 thru #44 reprinted Avengers #45 thru #52
MTA #45 reprinted Uncanny X-Men #45
MTA #46 thru #47 reprinted Avengers #53 thru #54
Marvel Super Action #1-13 reprinted Captain America #100 thru 112 (I didn't
verify this, but I'm almost nearly certain - it was Steranko, and it was
pretty good).
MSA #14 thru #15 reprinted Avengers #55 thru #56
MSA #16 & 17 reprinted Avengers Annual #2
MSA #18 thru #37 reprinted Avengers #57 thru #76
and that's when the wonderful world of Avengers reprints ended.
These issues covered many incredible stories, such as the great
Hawkeye/Cap/Wanda/Pietro team, the intro of Hercules, the intro of Black
Panther, the intro of Ultron, the wedding of Hank & Jan, the intro of the
Vision, and so many other exciting and mind-boggling adventures. Too bad it
ended at Avengers #76. Fortunately, the Neal Adams Kree/Skrull War was
reprinted later (Avengers: The Kree/Skrull War #1 and #2). I've got every
issue since #100, but I'm missing those between 76 and 93 (94?).
Well, there's the bibliography...
While I've mentioned MTA and other Avengers reprints ina few of my posts before, I think it'd be a great idea to add a note about them on the web page--if only so folks know where they can get the scoop on olden-days Avengers. As my collection is hundreds of miles away, I can't really verify specific issue numbers and such; but...
The principal Avengers reprint book is the awkwardly titled Marvel Triple Action, which started out with three or more featured characters in action--I think the early issues starred FF-related characters. At any rate, early in MTA's run, the series switched to sequentially reprinting old Avengers stories. I'm not sure which issue this began in or which issue of Avengers they began the reprinting with--the oldest I remember for sure is issue 10, where the team first battled Immortus (who would later pretty much destroy Wanda and Vision after John Byrne started pulling their collective strings in WCA). Oddly enough, the weird MTA title stuck for years. The reprints stretched from circa Avengers 10 into at least the 50s--mostly Roy Thomas stories with art by Don Heck and, later, John Buscema.
MTA was replaced by Marvel Super Action--I can't recall if MSA was a retitled MTA or something entirely new; at any rate, it took over the Avengers reprints and took then into the 60s, maybe beyond-- I can't recall. All told, MTA and MSA affordably recap most of the Avengers' early years--including the introductions of Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, Bill Foster, Hercules, Black Panther, Vision and Black Knight to the series--not to mention Hank Pym's debuts as Goliath and Yellowjacket respectively, plus the beginning of Hawkeye's Goliath stint. There's also the birth of Ultron, a new Masters of Evil (II) and many other goodies to be savored in these conveniently cheap mags. Fine comics, men. Forgotten gems of the 70s, and a great time capsule of the Avengers as they were long ago. Recommended.
Some may be turned off by the rather stiff, scratchy Don Heck art, but hey--it was a different era, style-wise, and Don was Marvel's number-3 man after Jack and Steve. He may not have had Kirby's energy, Ditko's vision or the same degree of technical polish as either of them, but he turned out competent drawings consistently--which is more than we can say for the Avengers' various post-Epting artists. In the process, he logged impressive runs on Avengers and Iron Man (he was the character's original artist, though Jack Kirby designed him and Steve Ditko later redesigned him). Of course, as Iron Man's founding artist, he was also responsible for co-creating the Black Widow and Hawkeye--and that alone should earn him the undying admiration of most Avengers fans...
To recap, MTA and MSA reprint most of the Avengers stories from the first 60-odd issues or so. You can also find high-quality reprints of Avengers 1-30 in three volumes of the Marvel Masterworks hardcover series--a bit more pricey than MTA/MSA, but still way cheaper than the originals. Recaps of Avengers history can also be found in such books as Marvel Universe, Marvel Saga and the excellent Avengers Log one-shot. Avengers Annuals 3-5 also feature reprints of early Avengers stories, as does Avengers 150. Plus, there's the silver-bordered, glossy paper reprinting of Avengers # 1 (Marvel Milestone Edition). There have also been two Marvel indexes to the Avengers series, with synopses of every issue up to a certain point--the first index (a squarebound project) lasted seven issues, I think, before its premature and unscheduled termination. More recently, a new six-issue Avengers Index series covered most of the series to date (a wraparound cover from one issue of it figures prominently on the Avengers Assemble page).
Note: Avengers Annual 2 (a neat little peach of a story) is reprinted over two issues of MSA. Avengers 30-31 (or thereabouts) are reprinted not in MTA but in Giant-Size Marvel Triple Action 1-2. (Its title actually made sense since each over-sized issue featured reprints of Daredevil, Doc Strange *and* the Avengers).
Anyone who can do so is welcome to flesh out my hazy recollections...
-Sean