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BRONZE AGE MARVEL GIANTS & REPRINTS ISSUE!

FEARSOME FRIGHT-FEST! Dr. Strange! Dracula! Man-Thing! Conan! Werewolf! Chillers! Monsters! & more

SUPERHERO GRAB-BAG! Daredevil! Spidey! Avengers! Defenders! FF! Thor! X-Men old and new! & more

Volume 1, Number 86 February 2016 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST John Romita, Sr. (Artwork originally appeared as the cover of Giant-Size Marvel Triple Action #1.) COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore PROOFREADER Rob Smentek Stephan Friedt Michael Gallagher Grand Comics Database Heritage Comics Auctions Tony Isabella Rob Kelly David Anthony Kraft James Heath Lantz Chris Marshall Al Milgrom Barry Pearl Carl Potts Ken Quattro Jim Salicrup Anthony Snyder Roger Stern Linda Sunshine Roy Thomas John Trumbull Irene Vartanoff Len Wein

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BACK SEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 FLASHBACK: The House of Recycled Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Bullpen veterans recall the tales behind the Marvel’s Bronze Age reprint titles, with a mega-index of superhero and adventure titles BACK IN PRINT: X-Men Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 A look at the reprint years of Marvel’s Mighty Mutants FLASHBACK: When Giants Ruled the Spin Racks! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 An in-depth look at Marvel’s Giant-Size project of the 1970s FANTASY COVER GALLERY: The Marvel Giant-Sizes That Weren’t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Make-believe Marvel covers, including Giant-Size Giant-Man and Giant-Size Warlock FLASHBACK: The Other Marvel Team-Up: Fireside and Marvel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 With bombastic Stan Lee intros, these collected editions brought Marvel to the masses BACK IN PRINT: Following Fireside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 The post-Simon & Schuster Marvel collected editions FLASHBACK: Marvel’s Bronze Age Reprint Paperbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 The birth of the “mini-Masterworks” BACK IN PRINT: Marvel Digests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 From ALF to Spider-Man, Marvel’s mini-editions BACK IN PRINT: Marvel Special Edition Reprints, 1982 to 1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85 A deluxe presentation for Marvel Silver and Bronze Age classics BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 Reader reactions

BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 118 Edgewood Avenue NE, Concord, NC 28025. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Six-issue subscriptions: $67 Standard US, $85 Canada, $104 Surface International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by John Romita, Sr. Avengers, Dr. Strange, Daredevil, and related characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2016 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING. Marvel Bronze Age Giants and Reprints

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Ads for Marvel Giants TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

SPECIAL THANKS Neal Adams Richard J. Arndt Mark Arnold Terry Austin Al Bigley Eliot R. Brown Rich Buckler Bob Budiansky Sal Buscema Kurt Busiek Jarrod Buttery Nick Caputo Lex Carson Paty Cockrum Gerry Conway Stephen Curiel Tom DeFalco Jo Duffy Scott Edelman Kayla Ellingsworth Steve Englehart John S. Eury Andrew Farago Danny Fingeroth Irving Forbush

Almost as soon as its Universe had started, Marvel began reprinting some of its earliest stories for fans that had missed the low-key launches. Appropriately, the granddaddy of the modern reprint titles was Marvel Tales. Marvel can trace its origins to Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), featuring the debut of the Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, and others. The title changed to Marvel Mystery Comics with issue #2 (Dec. 1939) and to Marvel Tales with issue #93 (Aug. 1949). Marvel—originally Timely, and then Atlas— ended its longest-running series with issue #159 (Aug. 1957). Resurrecting the name, Marvel Tales #1 (1964) was a 72-page Annual reprinting the first appearances of Spider-Man, the Hulk, Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Sgt. Fury, Iron Man, and Thor. (The first appearance of the FF had been reprinted previously in Fantastic Four Annual #1, 1963.) A year later, Marvel Tales #2—another giant Annual—reprinted the origins of the X-Men, Avengers, Dr. Strange, and more. In 1966, Marvel Tales became a bimonthly title, reprinting Spider-Man, Thor, Human Torch, and Ant-Man stories. It alternated with Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics, which reprinted Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, and Hulk adventures. Fantasy Masterpieces also debuted, reprinting fantasy stories and WWII superheroes. Tales of Asgard #1 (Oct. 1968) collected and reprinted the first ten of the backup stories from Journey into Mystery.

Jarrod Buttery

All covers TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc., except Planet of the Apes TM & © 20th Century Fox.

THE FLOODGATES OPEN In 1968, Marvel’s publisher—Martin Goodman—sold the company. Finding a new distributor, Marvel was no longer constrained to publishing eight titles per month. Not only could Marvel publish as many comics as it liked, but there was a warehouse of previous material to draw upon—and not just superheroes. Romance comics were revived with My Love #1 (Sept. 1969) and Our Love Story #1 (Oct. 1969). Both titles presented new material, but after six issues each, both included reprinted stories from the ’50s and ’60s from such long-defunct titles as Teen-Age Romance, Lovers, and Love Romances. By 1973, both books featured reprints only—both often reprinting stories (and covers!) from earlier in their runs. In just one example, My Love #34 (May 1975) simply reused the cover and one of the stories from issue #16 (Mar. 1972). Regardless, the artwork was almost universally beautiful. With John Romita, Sr. and John Buscema handling many of the issues, one could expect nothing less. One would be hard-pressed to dispute that it’s Gwen Stacy on the cover to Our Love Story #11 (June 1971), Natasha Romanoff on My Love #6 (July 1970), and Janet Van Dyne on My Love #24 (July 1973). There is, however, no truth to the rumor that Michael Eury modelled for the cover of My Love #11 (May 1971). The late ’60s also saw a few rare comics for kids. Peter the Little Pest #1 (Nov. 1969) reworked strips from Melvin the Monster (Atlas Comics, 1956)— itself an imitation of Dennis the Menace (who first appeared in 1951). Homer the Happy Ghost #1 (Nov. 1969) didn’t even bother renaming the character from the 1955 series. If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, Casper the Friendly Ghost should have been delighted. Alongside romance and humor, Westerns surged back onto the stands toward the end of the ’60s. Mighty Marvel Western #1 (Oct. 1968) collected reprints from the Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid, and Kid Colt Outlaw. Rawhide Kid was in continuous publication but the others were on hiatus at the time. After a 20-month break, Kid Colt Outlaw returned to the stands with issue #140 (Nov. 1969), containing a couple of new stories, but becoming a full-reprint title two issues later (except for issue #201, Dec. 1975). Maintaining its status as a 64-page book, Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics was renamed as Marvel’s Greatest Comics with issue #23 (Oct. 1969). The title eventually became a standard 32-page comic, reprinting Fantastic Four stories until its cancellation in 1981.

1970 The reprint books of the time never credited a reprint editor. Stewardship is usually attributed to Stan Lee, and then Roy Thomas. As the superhero, Western, and romance reprints continued, Thomas recalls of the era, “Yes, the reprints were increasingly on something resembling ‘automatic pilot’… although in the early

Marvel Bronze Age Giants and Reprints

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Moonlighting Maids of Marvel? (top) Hey, is that the bombastic Black Widow belting out a ballad on the Buscema/Romita cover of My Love #6? (middle) A groovy Gwen Stacy doppelganger on Jazzy Johnny’s Our Love Story #11 cover. (bottom) Nice day for a Wasp wedding? Romita cover to My Love #24. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

days of Fantasy Masterpieces, Stan selected the material (including which Golden Age stories to reprint) himself … and I suspect [Martin] Goodman took an interest in the earliest ones, because he wanted to enforce his claim on Cap, Torch, and Sub-Mariner … also on other things like the name ‘Marvel’ (hence reprints of Black Marvel and Marvel Boy, though I’d have wanted to reprint the latter myself when I found B&W Photostats of them). After a while, I chose the Golden Age material, including the All Winners Squad reprints, the reprints in the Human Torch reprint book, occasionally others.” One of the Marvel Age’s earliest titles, Sgt. Fury, debuted before Avengers or X-Men, with a May 1963 cover date. Issue #80 (Sept. 1970) started reprinting stories. With #121 (Sept. 1974) it became an all-reprint book. Nevertheless, Sgt. Fury outlasted almost all the other reprint titles. In comparison, Ka-Zar #1 (Aug. 1970) was the first of only three issues, reprinting encounters with Daredevil, Spider-Man, and the X-Men—and including some inventory stories featuring Hercules and the Angel. But 1970 was the year of the Westerns. Ringo Kid #1 (Jan. 1970) commenced reprints of the eponymous cowboy from the 1950s. After a 27-month holiday, Two-Gun Kid returned as a reprint title with issue #93 (July 1970). Interestingly, issues #99–103 featured stories of the 1950s Kid (Clay Harder) retouched in the outfit of the 1960s character (Matt Hawk). Western Gunfighters #1 (Aug. 1970) told new stories of the original Ghost Rider (Carter Slade) alongside various Western reprints. It was in this series that Carter met his end, whereupon his less-honorable brother, Lincoln, adopted the mantle (issue #7, Jan. 1972). Western Gunfighters became an all-reprint title with issue #8. Also beginning with an August 1970 cover date, Rawhide Kid started including reprinted stories with issue #79. Issue #86 (Apr. 1971) reprinted the story from issue #17 (Aug. 1960) describing how Johnny Bart became the Rawhide Kid to avenge the shooting death of his Uncle Ben. The title became all reprints with issue #116 (Oct. 1973). Outlaw Kid #1 (Aug. 1970) initiated reprints of that character’s 1950s exploits. But it wasn’t just cowboys. The first—and perhaps the best—of Marvel’s “horror” reprints appeared with Where Monsters Dwell #1 (Jan. 1970). Issue #6 (Nov. 1970) reprints the first appearance of “Groot! The Monster from Planet X!” and issue #21 (May 1973) reprints “Fin Fang Foom!” Issue #38 (Oct. 1975)—the final issue—reprints “No Human Can Beat Me!” featuring a green, savage, fin-headed, dragon4 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Bronze Age Giants and Reprints

like alien conqueror single-handedly besting Earth’s greatest combatants. Where Creatures Roam #1 (July 1970) and Fear #1 (Nov. 1970) followed in the same vein, reprinting Marvelous 1960s monster/fantasy stories from Lee/Kirby/Ditko/Heck. Perhaps realizing that the well had been visited too often, Where Creatures Roam lasted eight issues. Fear #10 (Oct. 1972) began publishing original Man-Thing stories while continuing short horror backup tales. The Muck Monster was replaced with the Living Vampire, Morbius, in issue #20 (Feb. 1974), who headlined all-new tales until the final issue #31 (Dec. 1975). The period was also right for some original horror. Tower of Shadows #1 (Sept. 1969) is as beautiful a book as you will ever find, featuring original work by Jim Steranko, John Romita, and John Buscema. Issues #6–9 contained increasing amounts of reprints. Tower of Shadows King-Size Special #1 (Dec. 1971) reprinted some of the series’ finest stories. Chamber of Darkness #1 (Oct. 1969) followed a similar pattern, commencing with original material but gradually ceding to reprints. We can imagine that someone found random issues of Little Lennie, Little Lizzie, and Li’l Willie from the 1940s. And that’s probably how we got Li’l Kids #1 (July 1970).

THE WAREHOUSE After Thomas, Irene Vartanoff became Marvel’s reprint editor. Irene grew up reading DC comics and penned numerous fan letters. She was invited to DC’s offices and took the DC tour many times. After graduating college she approached DC for a job, but [editor] “Julie Schwartz broke my heart by telling me to go home and get married.” However, a couple of years later, Roy Thomas—whom she had met several times—needed a new Gal Friday. “I started in April 1974,” Vartanoff tells BACK ISSUE. “I was not Roy’s secretary—Roy needed someone who could handle all the art and story submission correspondence that had piled up on his assistant’s desk, and proofread the reprints, and do anything else editorially anyone came up with. At the time, we had a huge lineup of comics and not enough people to write, draw, or edit them. We’d hire anyone who came to us with a fan background, because there was no time to train anyone.” We may never know who chose each individual story to be reprinted, but Tony Isabella conducted some research for his blog (reprinted— appropriately—in BACK ISSUE #79, Apr. 2015). Isabella found that the most likely suspect was Tony Mortellaro. Vartanoff supports this: “Tony Mortellaro was the reprint production manager and had an office down the hall in production.

Back in the Saddle Again (left) Ringo Kid #1 (Jan. 1970) helped kick off Marvel’s Bronze Age reprint series. Cover by Joe Maneely. (right) A gaggle of gunslingers in Western Gunfighters #1 (Aug. 1970). Cover by Dick Ayers. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

He was also in charge of the warehouse. Like some other redoubtable individuals of the older generation at Marvel, he was not a personality that one questioned. That’s why I have no idea on what basis the old horror comics were chosen. He merely delivered them to be proofread, already pasted up. When he encountered a serious family health situation and sol brodsky had to resign, I boldly went to Sol Brodsky and told him I wanted that job. I got it, and then fairly © Marvel. soon after, Sol, Barry Kaplan (the controller), and I took a tour of the Marvel warehouse and they asked me to clean it up and inventory it. “It was a mess. The brown paper envelopes containing original art sent back to Marvel were in piles on the floor or in leaning shipping crates. The warehouse itself was merely a room in an industrial building. We got in new lighting (the building was so old that it was wired for DC lighting, not AC), and new shelving, and I hired various people who were interns or otherwise employed at Marvel to work extra hours there with me to sort through everything and put the artwork in new envelopes. I have no idea if the envelopes we used did anything more to preserve the original art than the brown paper wrappers had, but at least now there was some order out of the chaos. And I did the inventory. In an un-air-conditioned building during the summer of 1976. Not much fun.” Thomas contributes: “Tony Mortellaro has been dead for some years now. He had his whole family engaged in pasting up material, and I think that at some stage Goodman or someone decided he was feathering his own nest too much … that may have been when he had to leave. I don’t know the ins and outs of it, really. There may well have been a ‘serious family health situation’… I just don’t recall knowing about it.”

Shame on You, Zabu! The Marie Severin/John Verpoorten cover of Ka-Zar #1 (Aug. 1970) has become infamous among fandom for its hidden expletive. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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MARVEL BRONZE AGE SUPERHERO AND ADVENTURE SERIES REPRINT INDEX 1970–1986 [Editor’s note: The sheer volume of reprint series published by Mighty Marvel during the Bronze Age prohibits their indexes from appearing in a single issue of BACK ISSUE, even an extra-sized edition like this one. Joltin’ Jarrod Buttery has indexed them all, however, and those non-superhero and adventure Marvel reprint titles’ indexes will be serialized in future issues, beginning in BI #92 with the horror anthologies.] ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #1 Oct. 1975 Cover artists: Rich Buckler and Joe Sinnott Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “Planet of the Apes” from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #1 (Aug. 1974) ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #2 Nov. 1975 Cover artists: Rich Buckler and Dan Adkins Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “World of Captive Humans” from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #2 (Oct. 1974) ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #3 Dec. 1975 Cover artists: Ron Wilson and Vince Colletta Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “Manhunt!” from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #3 (Dec. 1974) ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #4 Feb. 1976 Cover artists: Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “Trial” from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #4 (Jan. 1975) ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #5 Apr. 1976 Cover artists: Rich Buckler and Klaus Janson Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “Into the Forbidden Zone” from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #5 (Feb. 1975) ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #6 June 1976 Cover artists: Jim Starlin and Klaus Janson Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “The Secret” from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #6 (Mar. 1975)

ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #7 Aug. 1976 Cover artists: Michael Nasser (Netzer) and Klaus Janson Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “Beneath the Planet of the Apes” from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #7 (Apr. 1975) ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #8 Sept. 1976 Cover artists: Gil Kane and Mike Esposito Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “Enslaved!” from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #7 (Apr. 1975) ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #9 Oct. 1976 Cover artist: Alfredo Alcala Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “The Warhead Messiah” from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #8 (May 1975) ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #10 Nov. 1976 Cover artists: Paty Anderson and Klaus Janson Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “Children of the Bomb” condensed from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #9 and 10 (June and July 1975) ADVENTURES ON THE PLANET OF THE APES #11 Dec. 1976 Cover artist: unknown Editor: Tony Isabella Reprints: • “The Hell of Holocaust” condensed from Planet of the Apes (magazine) #10 and 11 (July and Aug. 1975) AMAZING ADVENTURES AMAZING ADVENTURES #1 Dec. 1979 Cover artists: Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • X-Men in “X-Men [Part 1]” from X-Men #1 (Sept. 1963) • Professor X in “A Man Called … X” from X-Men #38 (Nov. 1967) AMAZING ADVENTURES #2 Jan. 1980 Cover artists: Bob Budiansky and Danny Villamonte Editor: Danny Fingeroth Special features: Beast and Cyclops pinups by Jack Kirby Reprints: • X-Men in “X-Men [Part 2]” from X-Men #1 (Sept. 1963) • Cyclops in “Lonely are the Hunted” from X-Men #39 (Dec. 1967)

AMAZING ADVENTURES #3 Feb. 1980 Cover artists: Bob Budiansky and Mike Esposito Editor: Danny Fingeroth Special feature: Marvel Girl pinup by Jack Kirby Reprints: • X-Men in “No One Can Stop the Vanisher! [Part 1]” from X-Men #2 (Nov. 1963) • Cyclops in “The First Evil Mutant” from X-Men #40 (Jan. 1968) AMAZING ADVENTURES #4 Mar. 1980 Cover artists: Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • X-Men in “No One Can Stop the Vanisher! [Part 2]” from X-Men #2 (Nov. 1963) • Cyclops in “The Living Diamond!” from X-Men #41 (Feb. 1968) AMAZING ADVENTURES #5 Apr. 1980 Cover artists: Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • X-Men in “Beware of … the Blob! [Part 1]” from X-Men #3 (Jan. 1964) • Cyclops in “The End … or the Beginning?” from X-Men #42 (Mar. 1968) AMAZING ADVENTURES #6 May 1980 Cover artists: John Byrne and Joe Rubinstein Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • X-Men in “Beware of … the Blob! [Part 2]” from X-Men #3 (Jan. 1964) • Cyclops in “Call Him … Cyclops” from X-Men #43 (Apr. 1968) AMAZING ADVENTURES #7 June 1980 Cover artists: Jack Kirby and George Roussos Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • X-Men in “The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants! [Part 1]” from X-Men #4 (Mar. 1964) • Iceman in “The Iceman Cometh!” from X-Men #44 (May 1968) AMAZING ADVENTURES #8 July 1980 Cover artist: Al Milgrom Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • X-Men in “The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants! [Part 2]” from X-Men #4 (Mar. 1964) • Cyclops and Iceman in “And The Mob Cried ... Vengeance!” from X-Men #45 (June 1968) AMAZING ADVENTURES #9 Aug. 1980 Cover artists: John Byrne and Al Milgrom

Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • X-Men in “Trapped: One X-Man! [Part 1]” from X-Men #5 (May 1964) • Cyclops and Iceman in “…And Then There Were Two” from X-Men #46 (July 1968) AMAZING ADVENTURES #10 Sept. 1980 Cover artists: Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman, with Marie Severin (alterations) Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • X-Men in “Trapped: One X-Man! [Part 2]” from X-Men #5 (May 1964) • Iceman in “I, the Iceman” from X-Men #47 (Aug. 1968) AMAZING ADVENTURES #11 Oct. 1980 Cover artist: Al Milgrom Editor: Danny Fingeroth Special features: X-Men/Fantastic Four/ Mad Thinker’s Awesome Android pinup by Jack Kirby; X-Men/ Spider-Man pinup by Dan Adkins Reprints: • X-Men in “Sub-Mariner Joins the Evil Mutants [Part 1]” from X-Men #6 (July 1964) • Beast in “Yours Truly the Beast” from X-Men #48 (Sept. 1968) AMAZING ADVENTURES #12 Nov. 1980 Cover artists: Jack Kirby and Chic Stone Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • X-Men in “Sub-Mariner! Joins the Evil Mutants [Part 2]” from X-Men #6 (July 1964) • Nick Fury in “Today Earth Died” from Strange Tales #168 (May 1968) AMAZING ADVENTURES #13 Dec. 1980 Cover artists: Jack Kirby and Chic Stone Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • X-Men in “The Return of the Blob” from X-Men #7 (Sept. 1964) AMAZING ADVENTURES #14 Jan. 1981 Cover artists: Jack Kirby and Chic Stone Editor: Danny Fingeroth Special features: Iceman vs. Magneto and Angel pinups by Werner Roth Reprints: • X-Men in “The Uncanny Threat of … Unus the Untouchable!” from X-Men #8 (Nov. 1964) FANTASY MASTERPIECES FANTASY MASTERPIECES #1 Dec. 1979 Cover artists: John Buscema and Joe Sinnott Editor: Danny Fingeroth Reprints: • Silver Surfer in “The Origin of the Silver Surfer!” from Silver Surfer #1 (Aug. 1968)

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. except Planet of the Apes TM & © 20th Century Fox.

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Nowadays, they are household names in animated cartoons, video games, films, and, of course, comic books. Today one cannot walk into their local comic shop or peruse online vendors without seeing an X or a mutant in a Marvel title. Yet in the past, before becoming All-New, All-Different, and Uncanny during the epic stories of Len Wein, Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, and John Byrne, the X-Men relived past adventures in their own series. This article will look at the reprint years of X-Men and the reasons for the title’s change in direction before and after the strangest superheroes of all traveled through time through their old tales for 27 issues. by

MUTANT HISTORY X

James Heath Lantz

X-caping Cancellation Before the “new” X-Men, Bronze Age readers discovered the “old” X-Men when the series went all-reprint beginning with X-Men #67 (Dec. 1970). Cover by Marie Severin and Joe Sinnott. The double-sized mag originally reprinted two issues of X-Men but was cut back to a regular-sized title with issue #71, then reprinting only one X-Men tale. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

To understand the reasons for X-Men becoming a reprint book, it helps to get to know some of the title’s history. Stan Lee approached Marvel publisher Martin Goodman with an idea for a series called The Mutants. Fearing people would not know what a mutant was, Goodman suggested a title change. Lee then got to work with artist Jack Kirby and later Werner Roth (who began his run under the pseudonym Jay Gavin, named for both of his sons) on X-Men, a series Lee later said was “an anti-bigotry story to show there’s good in every person.” X-Men followed the adventures of five teenaged students and their teacher, Professor Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X, from Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. The eye-laser-blasting Cyclops, the agile Beast with prehensile toes, the winged Angel, the frozen Iceman, and the telekinetic and telepathic Marvel Girl are mutants—beings born with superhuman abilities and gifts. The paralyzed Professor X uses his powerful mutant mind to train the young group, whom he calls X-Men for the X-gene that gives them their powers, to defend humanity in spite of the fear and hatred toward homo-superior, as mutants are later called. The X-Men face the likes of magnetism master Magneto, the unmovable Blob, the leaping Toad, the unstoppable Juggernaut (Xavier’s stepbrother), and the mutanthunting giant robots called the Sentinels. The team and Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants even encounter a mutant (though technically he could be considered a hybrid) from the Golden Age of Comics— Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner—in X-Men #6 (July 1964). The Lee/Kirby team had an impressive track record with such books as Fantastic Four, Thor, and Avengers. Yet while it had a cult following, X-Men failed to capture the imaginations of many readers in spite of the sagas giving audiences the first appearances of such mainstays in the mutant mythos as Professor X, Magneto, and Cyclops. On the beginnings of the comic book, Roy Thomas later surmised the following in a panel on the Silver and Bronze Age X-Men on June 11, 2000, transcribed in Alter Ego #24: “One of the reasons it wasn’t as big in the early ’60s is because its time really hadn’t come yet. It was before the age of the teenaged superhero. Nor was the ‘outcast’ thing quite as big earlier. Remember, ’63 was the Kennedy years. But by the late ’60s, with Vietnam and civil rights and all that, the idea of the outsider as the hero came in big.” The final Stan Lee issue, which was drawn by Werner Roth, was X-Men #19 (Apr. 1966). While Roth stayed on the book for some time, Lee handed over writing duties to Roy Thomas. Thomas, who would have extensive cycles on Avengers and Conan the Barbarian, would have two runs on the book—#20–43 (May 1966–Apr. 1968) and #55–64 (Apr. 1969–Jan. 1970) and #66 (Mar. 1970)—with Gary Friedrich (Ghost Rider), Arnold Drake (Doom Patrol), and Dennis O’Neil (Batman) penning some tales as well. Jim Steranko, who also designed the cover logo for the series, Don Heck, George Tuska, and Ross Andru were among the names of creators who had provided visuals for the mutant mayhem in the pages of X-Men. Most of Roy Thomas’ second outing of X-Men tales had him paired with artist Neal Adams, who had followed Jim Steranko’s advice to come work for Marvel after his stint on DC Comics’ Deadman had ended in 1969. Adams drew #56–63 of Thomas’ tales and plotted Dennis O’Neil’s fill-in dialogue for issue #65 (Feb. 1970). Sal Buscema would provide images for the last Roy Thomas tale. It featured

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Lex Carson

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc., except Conan TM & © Conan LLC. and Doc Savage TM & © Condé Nast.

In the spring of 1974, Marvel launched a new series of Giant-Size comics. The House of Ideas had long published larger-sized Annuals (a.k.a. King-Size Specials) since the 1960s, and briefly made all of their comics 25-cent Giants in 1971, but this Giant-Size vision was even more ambitious. The project, launched in 1974, would publish Giant-Size titles on a “regular basis,” with both new and reprinted materials. One needs to look at a number of perspectives to fully analyze the Giant-Size era. This article will look at the publishing and editorial perspective, the creative influences and events, and, of course, the fan’s perspective. Going into the project, Roy Thomas recalls the momentum that began their publication: “The Giant-Size idea was Stan’s [Lee] as publisher … to increase revenue—at least, I don’t assume it came from Al Landau after he took over the job as president of Marvel when Stan relinquished it after a year or so. It seemed to make sense to try to produce more of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Conan, and other top-selling characters and genres. It was hoped that having a different-sized, quarterly title wouldn’t take away from the regular titles.” But … would the concept work? Plans were announced in Marvel Comics fanzine Friends of Ol’ Marvel, commonly referred to as FOOM. In late 1973, FOOM #4 (Winter 1973) discussed Marvel’s recent 20% increase in price, from 20 to 25 cents. This negative news was offset in the magazines “Far-Out Fanfare and Infoomation” section with some positive information: “Two new, adventure filled, 35-cent Marvel color comics will be on our newsstand in the next couple of months, and though they will cost more, we think you will find them worthwhile.” Later, the section proposed other larger attractions to come: “More and better over-sized magazines are in the planning stages, and this spring you can look for a monthly supergiant-sized comic that will rock you right out of your tree.” The tree-shaking began with the publication of two “Giant” 35-cent comics with Giant-Size Super Stars #1 (May 1974) featuring the Fantastic Four, followed in May with Giant-Size Super-Heroes #1 (June 1974) featuring Spider-Man, and Giant-Size Chillers #1 (June 1974) featuring Count Dracula. As explained in an announcement section at the time, Marvel planned to produce three monthly rotating features with a 35-cent format. This was imitative of NBC’s Mystery Movie series that aired in a somewhat non-traditional format of 90 minutes. At this time, NBC rotated its series between Columbo, McMillan & Wife, and McCloud. Marvel planned to counter with a similar rotation of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and Conan the Barbarian. At least that was the proposed plan.

THE GROWING PAINS OF A GIANT The best-laid publication productions of mice and Marvel soon went awry. A proposed and announced 35-cent Giant-Size Conan was never produced in that format. In its place was to be a 35-cent Giant-Size Super-Teams featuring the Defenders. This issue was also one that was never published in this format. The only other 35-cent Giant-Size book produced by Marvel at this time was Giant-Size Creatures #1 (July 1974) featuring Werewolf by Night, before Mighty Marvel decided to go with an even larger format. In May 1974, Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Roy Thomas published “An Awesome Apologia From Our Erudite Editor,” which proclaimed Marvel would produce a “brand-new line of 60-cent, one-hundred-page extravaganzas,” which would include Super-Giant Conan, Super-Giant Avengers, and Super-Giant Spider-Man Team-Up books. Thomas explains his thoughts and role as editor to BACK ISSUE: “Just a few years earlier, when Martin Goodman flirted for a month or so with the extra-size comic, it was decided that the 36-page comic was a better package than a 48-page or larger one. Most of the creators knew I liked the larger comics and wanted to get rid of the smaller one. While Goodman’s plan would at least have made our comics, like DC’s, only available at a higher price, this later move merely pitted the two sizes against each other.” Marvel’s proposed 100-page comics would be imitative of DC Comics’ 100-Page Super Spectacular format that was published in the early to mid-1970s. This particular 100-page format quickly became DC’s standard for “Giant” comics. [Editor’s note: Marvelites, do yourselves a favor a grab a copy of BI #81, surveying DC’s Bronze Age Giants and

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Although Conan no longer appears in Marvel Comics, Robert E. Howard’s creation, Conan the Barbarian, became a top seller for Marvel in the 1970s and was a part of the company’s merchandizing as well. Writer Roy Thomas’ collaborations on Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian with artists Barry Smith and John Buscema were awardwinning and became an enduring piece of comicdom. Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian #1 was first published as a bimonthly beginning in July 1970, with an October cover date. Sales on Conan slowly but steadily rose. The title went monthly with Conan #20 (Nov. 1972) and became one of Marvel’s most popular series. Thomas explains the phenomenon: “Conan kind of sneaked up on Marvel … although Stan and I knew it, and the people who wanted to merchandize Marvel characters knew it.” Marvel definitely knew they wanted Conan to be a big part of its Giant-Size offerings. Thomas wrote an all-new 26-page Conan tale for Giant-Size Conan #1 (Sept. 1974), which was enhanced by Gil Kane artwork. Kane and Thomas followed this collaboration with three 30-page stories in issues #2–4. Kane drew three Giant-Size Conan covers, with Jack Kirby and John Romita, Sr. putting together the final one in Giant-Size Conan #5.

On Second Thought… (top) Editor Roy Thomas explains Marvel’s Giant-Size format changes in his editorial in Giant-Size Spider-Man #1. (bottom right) This house ad touts Spidey as the star of issue #2 of Giant-Size Super-Stars, but (bottom left) that Spidey issue became Giant-Size Super-Heroes #1. Cover by Gil Kane and John Romita, Sr. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

roy thomas Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

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The publication of the horror comics was also a big part of Marvel’s sales at this time. Dracula and other creatures of the night appeared in regular titles, as well as black-and-white magazines such as Dracula Lives!, (left) John Romita’s Vampire Tales, and Monsters Unleashed. This naturally led to the Giant-Size publication of Giant-Size Dracula cover rough for the and Giant-Size Werewolf. Marvel B&W editor Tony Isabella Spidey/Dracula recalls the dynamic between Marvel’s magazine formats and the emerging Giant-Size books: “We did prepare co-starring vehicle a lot of Shang-Chi and Dracula material for the blackGiant-Size Spider-Man and-white magazines, though Marv [Wolfman, writer and editor] would have been handling the latter. #1 (July 1974). I can’t recall if any Shang-Chi stories originally intended Courtesy of Al Bigley for the black-and-white mags ended up seeing print in the color comics first. However, some commissioned (www.albigley.com). by me, and some by Marv, ended up in some Giant(right) Its Size books.” During this time, Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu was published form. Marvel’s premier seller in the emerging martial-arts TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. craze. Shang-Chi appeared in his own regular Marvel comic book, in British weeklies, and in the black-andwhite magazine Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. [Editor’s note: BACK ISSUE #88 will explore Bronze Age Comic Magazines, including Deadly Hands.] The character, the son of the insidious mastermind Fu Manchu, was co-created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin in Special Marvel Edition #15 (Dec. 1973). Shang-Chi quickly ascended to his own regular self-titled publication (taking over Special Marvel Edition and assuming its numbering), and began a signature run with writer Doug Moench and artist Paul Gulacy. Tony Isabella recalls his part in the production: “I did commission two new eight-page Shang-Chi stories for the British weeklies I was editing. I was concerned we’d run out of material when we started reprinting Master of Kung Fu in the [UK’s] Avengers weekly. These stories eventually saw print in a Giant-Size tony isabella Master of Kung Fu.”

Terrifying Team-Up

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NEW STORIES AND NEW CHARACTERS Tony Isabella is more remembered for his writing rather than his editing at Marvel Comics. One of Marvel’s most unheralded Bullpenners, his body of work remains extensive. A vivid example is his collaboration with artist Don Perlin on Giant-Size Creatures #1 (July 1974), where Marvel readers were introduced to an enduring character: Tigra the Were-Woman. Isabella recalls, “Roy [Thomas] asked me to write Giant-Size Creatures #1, which was to be a quarterly book featuring Werewolf by Night. Since I felt the first issue of even a character’s second title should be something special, I decided to reinvent Greer Nelson as Tigra.” Greer Nelson, originally called the Cat, the creation of Linda Fite, Marie Severin, and Wally Wood, was a feminist superhero adorned with yellow uniform and functional claws. She saw four issues of publication in Marvel’s 1972–1973 Claws of the Cat. The Cat is reprised today, somewhat, with Patsy Walker adorning the traditional costume as the self-styled Hellcat. [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #17 and 46 for more about the Cat/Tigra, including a Bruce Timm Tigra cover on #17.] Isabella continues, “While Claws of the Cat had been a flop, I never liked seeing Marvel characters go to waste.” True to form, Isabella transformed Greer into a superpowered tiger-woman. “This worked out rather well for Greer. I love how she has become a major player in the Marvel Universe,” Tony modestly states. (Tigra has been named to the “100 Sexiest Women in Comics.”) However, Isabella has never liked his character portrayed as a “cowardly slut.” He counts her as one of his greatest accomplishments: “Along with Black Lightning and Misty Knight, Tigra remains one of my proudest comic creations. She is one of the relatively few characters I’d like to write again.” Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins launched a new super-team in Giant-Size Invaders #1 (June 1975). The World War II adventures of the Invaders began by detailing their creation in 1941, although the nucleus of this team—Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and the original

Rough Stuff by Kane (left) Gil Kane’s cover preliminary for 1975’s Giant-Size Daredevil #1, and the published cover, with Kane inked by Frank Giacoia. (right) Kane’s cover rough for Giant-Size Spider-Man #5 (July 1975), and the published version, with Tom Palmer inks. Cover prelims courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

liked me, but we never worked ‘together.’ Rather, we were pros who did our assignments. He did do a lot of covers for me and everyone else. I was always glad to have him on my covers.” Kane’s often-iconic covers have left a lasting impact upon the Marvel Universe.

BE THAT AS IT MAY BE (AND PROBABLY NEVER WAS) So much has been said and speculated about Marvel’s Giant-Size books that it is hard for a fan, and even a researcher, to separate fact from fiction. Time takes from us great creators like Gil Kane, Dave Cockrum, and John Buscema, just to name a few. Memory for the surviving creators of the Giant-Size era also becomes a bit hazy at times. Tony Isabella muses, “I’ve done so much over the past four decades that I can’t remember every detail. And to think I used to wonder why some of the older guys I worked with couldn’t remember every detail of their careers.” Tony does recall the setting, though: “It was an age of suits telling Marvel we had to make more money for the corporation and Marvel editors responding by green-lighting as many new books as they and the writers could think of. While we were always coming up with new concepts for titles, the order from above is what spurred all those new titles.” New concepts from this active period of Marvel’s Bronze Age included Rich Buckler’s Deathlok, Isabella’s Champions and Black Goliath, and Roy Thomas’ and Isabella’s Super-Villain Team-Up. Which new features and characters would appear in Giant-Size formats?

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Which would not? Buckler confirms that his Deathlok character was not planned for the Giant-Size format. But Super-Villain Team-Up was, starting with two issues of Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up before spinning off into a regular-sized series. Champions is a title that some fans assume was to debut in a Giant-Size format. If that is correct, its creator, Tony Isabella, doesn’t remember it that way. “Launching Champions as a Giant-Size comic might have been discussed at some time … or something I requested once the concept was changed from ‘Route 66 with two superheroes’ to a somewhat more traditional super-team,” Isabella says. “However, as my plot for the premiere issue was for a regular-size comic, I don’t think it went beyond a brief discussion.” That “brief discussion” appeared to take place again in the fanzine Comic Reader #117 (Apr. 1975). However, Comic Reader #118 (May 1975) detailed how Champions and other new Marvel #1s would actually be produced: “Future first issues will include The Inhumans to be written by Doug Moench and drawn by George Pérez; Starhawk and the Guardians of the Galaxy; and that new Tony Isabellascripted title mentioned last time, The Champions. It’s a new super-team consisting of the Angel, Iceman, the Black Widow, Hercules, the Ghost Rider, and the Black Goliath. It is to be drawn by Don Heck.” The same treatment appeared to go for Isabella’s new hero Black Goliath, who got his own solo series around this time period. “Black Goliath was not discussed as a Giant-Size comic,” says Isabella, “though, now that

GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #1 Aug. 1974 Cover artists: Rich Buckler and John Romita, Sr. Editor: Roy Thomas New story: • The Avengers in “Nuklo—the Invader That Time Forgot” Reprints: • Golden Age Human Torch in “The Ray of Madness” from Human Torch #33 (Nov. 1948) • The Wasp in “The Magician and the Maiden” from Tales to Astonish #58 (Aug. 1964) GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #2 Nov. 1974 Cover artists: Ron Wilson and Frank Giacoia, with John Romita, Sr. (alterations) Editor: Roy Thomas New story: • The Avengers in “Blast from the Past!” Reprints: • Fantastic Four in “Prisoners of the Pharaoh” from Fantastic Four #19 (Oct. 1964) GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #3 Feb. 1975 Cover artists: Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia Editor: Roy Thomas New story: • The Avengers in “…What Time Has Put Asunder!” Reprints: • The Avengers in “The Avengers Battle the Space Phantom” from Avengers #2 (Nov. 1963) GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #4 June 1975 Cover artists: Gil Kane and John Romita, Sr. Editor: Len Wein New story: • The Avengers in “…Let All Men Bring Together” Reprints: • Ant-Man in “Betrayed by the Ants!” from Tales to Astonish #38 (Dec. 1962) • Black Widow in “The Came … the Black Widow” from Amazing Adventures #1 (Aug. 1970) GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS #5 1975 Cover artists: John Buscema and George Roussos, with John Romita, Sr. (alterations) Editor: Len Wein Reprints: • The Avengers in “The Monstrous Plan of the Mandarin” from Avengers Annual #1 (1967)

GIANT-SIZE CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 1975 Cover artists: Gil Kane and Mike Esposito Editor: Len Wein Special feature: 1-page pinup Reprints: • Captain America in “Captain America” from Tales of Suspense #59 (Nov. 1964) • Captain America in “The Army of Assasins Strike!” from Tales of Suspense #60 (Dec. 1964) • Captain America in “The Strength of the Sumo!” from Tales of Suspense #61 (Jan. 1965) • Captain America in “Breakout in Cell Block 10!” from Tales of Suspense #62 (Feb. 1965) • Captain America in “The Origin of Captain America!” from Tales of Suspense #63 (Mar. 1965) GIANT-SIZE CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 1975 Cover artists: Ron Wilson and Frank Giacoia Editor: Len Wein Reprints: • Captain Marvel in “And a Child Shall Lead You!” from Captain Marvel #17 (Oct. 1969) • Captain Marvel in “The Hunter and the Holocaust!” from Captain Marvel #20 (June 1970) • Captain Marvel in “Here Comes the Hulk!” from Captain Marvel #21 (Aug. 1970) GIANT-SIZE CHILLERS #1 Feb. 1975 Cover artists: Ron Wilson and Mike Esposito Editor: Marv Wolfman Special feature: “Chilling Tales” 2-page framing sequence New stories: • “The Gravesend Gorgon” • “The Monster of Hedgwood Moor!” • “The Lagoon Creature of Rising Sun” • “The Fountain” • “The Borrowed Face!” • “Gilt-Edged Gnomes!” Reprints: • “The Girl Who Couldn’t Die” from Adventures into Terror #6 (Oct. 1951) • “From Out of the Past!” from Astonishing #49 (May 1956) • “Next Stop Eternity!” from Adventure into Mystery #3 (Sept. 1956) GIANT-SIZE CHILLERS #2 May 1975 Cover artists: Gil Kane and John Romita, Sr. Editor: Len Wein New stories: • “Treasure Hunt with Death!” • “The House on Brook Street” • “The Triple Cross”

Reprints: • “Let’s Face It!” from Astonishing #36 (Dec. 1954) • “The Couple Next Door!” from Mystic #25 (Dec. 1953) • “The Pit of Fear!” from Adventures into Weird Worlds #10 (Sept. 1952) • “The Watchers!” from Amazing Adventures #5 (Oct. 1961) • “Fight for Life!” from World of Suspense #3 (Aug. 1956) • “The Next World!” from World of Fantasy #12 (June 1958) • “I Love a Mermaid!” from Tales to Astonish #4 (July 1959) GIANT-SIZE CHILLERS #3 Aug. 1975 Cover artists: Ed Hannigan and Berni Wrightson Editor: Len Wein Special feature: “Chilling Tales” 2-page framing sequence New stories: • “[Death is a Typewriter]” Reprints: • “Gargoyle Every Night” from Chamber of Darkness #7 (Oct. 1970) • “The Warlock Tree!” from Chamber of Darkness #3 (Feb. 1970) • “Desert Scream!!” from Monsters on the Prowl #9 (Feb. 1971) • “The Moving Finger Writhes…!” from Tower of Shadows #3 (Jan. 1970) • “The Monster!” from Chamber of Darkness #4 (Apr. 1970) • “To Sneak … Perchance to Scream!” from Tower of Shadows #4 (Mar. 1970) • “One Little Indian!” from Tower of Shadows #4 (Mar. 1970) GIANT-SIZE CHILLERS FEATURING THE CURSE OF DRACULA #1 June 1974 Note: Series retitled Giant-Size Dracula with issue #2 Cover artist: John Romita, Sr. Editor: Roy Thomas Special feature: “Keeping Track of Drac!” 2-page text article by Marv Wolfman New story: • Dracula in “Night of the She-Demon” Reprints: • “Have You Seen a Huge, Black Vampire” from Mystic #25 (Dec. 1953) • “The Village Graveyard” from Adventures into Weird Worlds #4 (Spring 1952) GIANT-SIZE CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1 Sept. 1974 Cover artists: Gil Kane and Ernie Chan, with John Romita, Sr. (alterations) Editor: Roy Thomas

Special features: “Acheron: A Revisionary Theory” 2-page text feature; 2-page Acheron map; 2-page “Conan the Unconquered” text article by Roy Thomas New story: • Conan in “Hour of the Dragon” Reprints: • Conan in “The Twilight of the Grim Grey God!” from Conan the Barbarian #3 (Feb. 1971) GIANT-SIZE CONAN THE BARBARIAN #2 Dec. 1974 Cover artist: John Buscema, with John Romita, Sr. (alterations) Editor: Roy Thomas Special feature: “The Hyborian Age of Conan” 2-page map New story: • Conan in “Conan Bound!” Reprints: • Conan in “Zukala’s Daughter” from Conan the Barbarian #5 (May 1971) GIANT-SIZE CONAN THE BARBARIAN #3 Apr.1975 Cover artists: Gil Kane and Tom Palmer Editor: Roy Thomas New story: • Conan in “To Tarantia—and the Tower!” Reprints: • Conan in “Devil-Wings over Shadizar” from Conan the Barbarian #6 (June 1971) GIANT-SIZE CONAN THE BARBARIAN #4 June 1975 Cover artists: Gil Kane and Tom Palmer Editor: Roy Thomas New story: • Conan in “Swords of the South!” Reprints: • Conan in “The Lurker Within” from Conan the Barbarian #7 (July 1971) GIANT-SIZE CONAN THE BARBARIAN #5 1975 Cover artists: Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott, with John Romita, Sr. (alterations) Editor: Len Wein Reprints: • Conan in “A Sword Called … Stormbringer!” from Conan the Barbarian #14 (Mar. 1972) • Conan in “The Green Empress from Melnibone” from Conan the Barbarian #15 (May 1972) • Conan in “The Blood of the Dragon!” from Conan the Barbarian #12 (Dec. 1971)

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc., except Conan TM & © Conan LLC.

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As you read in the previous article, a handful of Marvel two-issue storylines were intended as single Giant-Size issues. And some Bronze Age Marvel debuts might have appeared under the Giant-Size banner if that 50-cent format hadn’t run out of steam. But here in BACK ISSUE land, we can pretend that Marvel’s beefiest books continued to face front! So enjoy these fantasy Giant-Size Marvels, their covers cannibalized, written, and art-directed by yours truly and designed by The Man’s best friend, Rich Fowlks. From the second appearance of the All-New, All-Different X-Men to a special treat for Tony Isabella—and ending with a title that usurps Giant-Size Man-Thing’s claim in infamy—these are…

Giant-Size logo, X-Men, Giant-Man, Human Torch, Hulk, Warlock, Him, and Ghost Rider TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Michael Eury

HOW IT ALL BEGAN…

Stephan

Simon & Schuster established its imprints of Fireside/ Touchstone in 1970 to publish trade paperback editions. Aimed at younger readers, Fireside was originally a division focused on diet, health, exercise, and self-help. Touchstone was focused on more serious non-fiction and popular fiction. The Fireside imprint continued until being retired in 2010 and Touchstone remained the only imprint for that area of interest. In 1974, Linda Sunshine, the person responsible for bringing about the Batman and Superman books from Crown [see BI #81], became the new Fireside editor. “I believed I could bring the same kind of bestseller to Fireside,” she tells BACK ISSUE. “I contacted Marvel and Stan Lee. Stan was just great to work with! We’d decide a Fredt theme and the Marvel staff would pull it together and send it to us. I don’t recall them ever missing a deadline.”Starting with the first book, Origins of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee would approve the contents, write the introductions, and hand it off to special projects manager Irene Vartanoff to pull it all together. Irene was known to many comic readers from her multiple appearances in the letters columns. Just like Roy Thomas and several others, she made the transition from fan to the comic-book profession. In a 2009 interview posted in Jacque Nodell’s blog devoted to linda sunshine romance comics, Sequential Crush, Irene described some of her transitions at Marvel: “I started with various editorial assistant tasks and then moved to being the reprint editor (an assistant editor role) and then into managing reprint production. Then came special projects coordination … I spent most of my career at Marvel in production, supervising a handful of employees and freelancers and teaming with people from other companies to produce joint projects. I did hardcover and paperback books, newspaper inserts, posters, Star Wars reprints, newspaper strips, and more. I also did the infamous cleanup and inventory of the Marvel art warehouse.” She further related in 2010 in her own blog Temporary Superheroine: “I got handed final due dates for multiple projects and it was up to me to figure out how to get all the balls in the air, keep them in the air, and then get the final product to press on time. There wasn’t any kind of training; someone on the 9th floor cut the deal, and we on the 6th floor got handed the job.” I asked Irene about the original process for putting the books together. “I did not retain any documents pertaining to the original lineup, or the breakdown of how much was obtainable through film we already had, and how much it would cost to get new film made,” Vartanoff says. “Someone with access to our film inventory (I was not in charge of it) must have done the P&L [profit and loss statement]—possibly [production

Titanic Tome A countertop display for Fireside Books’ premier Marvel edition, 1974’s Origins of Marvel Comics. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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From 1974–1979, Simon & Schuster’s Fireside Books filled fans’ bookshelves with Marvel classics and their minds with Marvel lore. In the early ’80s, a few other trade paperbacks trickled into the market in editions which some collectors might confuse with the Fireside books—yet these were not part of the Simon & Schuster library. Attracted by the success of Fireside’s “Marvel Origins” series, Ideals Publishing Corporation, a children’s book company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, signed a deal with Marvel Comics to produce a quartet of “Secret Story” full-color trade paperbacks (also published in hardcover) with headliners Captain America, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, and Spider-Man. At 68 pages each, the Ideals books weren’t as meaty as the Fireside volumes, but their $2.95 cover prices (for softcovers) were more agreeable to parents’ pocketbooks or their kids’ allowances. Standing in for the hyperbolic Stan Lee were David Anthony Kraft (who edited Cap, FF, and Hulk) and Roger Stern (editor of Spider-Man), who ably brought their young readers up to speed on the mythos of the Marvel Universe through carefully selected stories spanning generations, with text articles written by Dave and Roger that bridged the stories. Kraft tells

Michael Eury

BACK ISSUE, “I was [production manager] Sol Brodsky’s go-to guy for outside projects featuring Marvel characters,” which included a wide range of products such as custom comics produced for the Dallas Herald Tribune, pop-up books, and coloring books. His relationship with Brodsky was cemented by two factors: “I could produce the project and I could take a meeting,” Kraft laughs. The Ideals “Secret Story” line was assigned to Kraft, but he passed the Spider-Man volume on to Stern, who was enthusiastic about the project. The editors chose the reprints (see index), although Brodsky and other higher-ups vetted their selections. Kraft notes, “What was fun for me was to take many of the comics I had read as a kid and pick and choose what I thought made sense [for younger readers], then write copy in between them.” Kraft added creator biographies to the line and was involved with the evolution of their painted covers, although the passing decades have clouded his recollection of the cover artists’ credits. In addition to being released through the traditional book market, Kraft believes that these kid-friendly editions may also have been marketed directly to schools and libraries. These editions are relatively uncommon, commanding $35 apiece in NM- condition in the 2015 Overstreet Price Guide. Marvel Bronze Age Giants and Reprints

“Marvel Origins” Continues John Romita, Sr.’s rendition of the stars of Marvel’s first trade paperback, Mighty Marvel Team-Up Thrillers, as seen on its double-pagespread table of contents. © 1983 Marvel Comics Group.

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Michael Eury

As has been covered in this magazine on many occasions, a hallmark of the Bronze Age of Comics was its alternative formats for comic books. Throughout the 1970s, traditional newsstand distribution was netting declining numbers, and to attract new readers publishers experimented with releasing comic-book material in a variety of formats, including jumbosized treasury editions (see BACK ISSUE #61), black-and-white magazines (which we’ll examine in BI #88), and hardcover and trade-paperback reprint editions released to bookstores. Paperbacks were another method employed by comic publishers to get their characters and backlist into readers’ hands—literally—in a personal, fit-in-your-palm softcover format. The comics-to-paperback trend was certainly nothing new: the popular, and frequently expanding, libraries of Peanuts, Dennis the Menace, and MAD Magazine reprints in paperback form stretched back to the 1950s; joining Charles Schulz, Hank Ketcham, and Alfred E. Neuman on book spinner racks were paperbacks collecting other syndicated comics including The Addams Family, Nancy, Hazel, Andy Capp, and The Born Loser. Paperback editions reprinting superhero comics enjoyed a blip on the pop-culture radar in the mid-’60s during the decade’s famed camp superhero craze. Batman (lots of him!) and Superman, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and the Mighty Crusaders were among the caped crusaders whose earlier adventures were re-presented in paperbacks—in black and white, reformatted to a smaller size. In 1966–1967, Lancer Books brought the House of Ideas to paperback readers with a series of six “Collector’s Album” softcovers comprising the first Marvel paperback editions: The Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty Thor, The Fantastic Four Return, and Daredevil. And on their heels came two original novels from Bantam Books starring Marvel heroes: 1967’s The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker by legendary sci-fi and comics writer Otto Binder, and 1968’s Captain America: The Great Gold Steal by Ted White; both novels featured painted covers, a rarity during this era.

MARVEL POCKET COMICS A decade would pass before Marvel’s material would be repackaged in paperback editions. As chronicled elsewhere in this issue (as well as in BACK ISSUE #81), Fireside Books, an imprint of publishing powerhouse Simon & Schuster, began collecting Marvel material in trade-paperback form, starting with 1974’s Origins of Marvel Comics. Bolstered by the success of those trades, Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, brought the Marvel Universe to the paperback market in 1977. (Historically, Pocket Books was not simply a Simon & Schuster “division”—it was the United States’ first publisher of mass-market paperback editions, starting in 1939 and borrowing from European models that had begun even earlier. Pocket Books went through several owners until being acquired by Simon & Schuster in 1966. And it should not be confused with the “Pocket Books” Marvel reprint titles published in the United Kingdom, or with the more recent line of Pocket Books published by Marvel Comics itself.) Pocket Books’ Marvel series, consisting of ten titles released between September 1977 and September 1979, was branded as its “Pocket Comics” line but is also known as the “Stan Lee presents” line due to The Man’s signature being prefixed to each of its logos. They might also be called “Mini Marvel Masterworks,” as they reprinted material chronologically, rather than the random reprints usually appearing in comic paperbacks, and they did so in full-color, rather than the black and white of its Lancer predecessors. Overseen by Marvel’s production manager, Sol Brodsky, the editorial and production work on the Pocket Books line was handled by a variety of people whose names are familiar to longtime comics readers: Paty Cockrum, Jim Salicrup, Irene Vartanoff, Duffy Vohland, Andy Yanchus, and Nel Yomtov, among others.

All in Color for a Lot of Dimes The electrifying Steve Ditko cover to Pocket Books’ first Amazing Spider-Man volume, making pulse-pounding perils a hand-held experience in 1977. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Early Marvel Paperbacks (left) Lancer’s The Amazing Spider-Man, one of six Marvel “Collector’s Album” paperbacks published between 1966 and 1967. (right) Ted White’s Captain America: The Great Gold Steal, the second of two Silver Age paperbacks featuring original novels starring Marvel characters. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

The line launched with The Amazing Spider-Man, reprinting the Wall-Crawler’s first seven stories—his origin from Amazing Fantasy #15 and the first six issues of his own mag. They remained, as the cover blurb stated, “complete and unabridged,” even recycling one of Marvel’s most embarrassing bloopers, from the first Dr. Octopus adventure, where Doc Ock calls the Web-Spinner “Super-Man.” And wow, that cover—a sizzling Steve Ditko-drawn Spidey vs. Electro punch-fest, the bad guy’s crackling lightning contrasted by the cover’s stark black background! A cover so darn eye-catching, you don’t at first realize that Electro is not among the characters featured in the interior stories! But these are only minor quibbles about a book—and subsequent line—that elevated paperback comic-book reprints a notch. Instead of cannibalizing the original panels and rearranging them to adapt to the paperback format, as was the norm with comic-book reprints, Marvel’s Pocket Comics reprinted one full comic-book page per each paperback page, slightly expanding the space dividing panel tiers to fit the art to the taller dimensions of the paperback page. This creates the look of a mini-comic, but today, the aging eyes of the Pocket Books’ original readers may squint to read these palm-piloted classics. While the Pocket Books are faithful to their source material, in the first Incredible Hulk volume’s reprinting of Incredible Hulk #1, the Hulk is colored green instead of his original gray so as not to confuse the newbie reader.

Before and After, Part One The Gil Kane/Joe Sinnott cover art to Fantastic Four #143 (Feb. 1974) was reused as the paperback cover of Pocket Books’ 1977 Fantastic Four edition. In addition to the noticeable recoloring, #143’s stand-in FFer Medusa was replaced by FF founder Invisible Girl in the Pocket Books version. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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One of the most durable formats in comic-book history is that of the digest. Varying in size and thickness over the years, most modern-day comic-book digests are 4.875" x 6.5" in size and range anywhere from 68 to 300 pages, sometimes up to 1000! Practically every major comic-book publisher has tried the format, with differing levels of success. Archie Comics is the most successful digest publisher by far, with well over 1000 digests with various titles published since Archie Comics Digest debuted in 1973. Gold Key, Harvey, DC, and Fawcett (with Dennis the Menace) also had lengthy digest runs, but none of them publish digests today. The peak period for standard comic-book digests was roughly from Gold Key’s Walt Disney Comics Digest #1 (June 1968) to the end of the Harvey digests, which appeared in late 1994. Marvel Comics strangely decided to enter into the digest field in 1982, around the same time as DC was starting to get out of it. DC was completely done by 1986, the same year that Marvel increased its digest activity. Marvel had previously attempted to do a digest series in 1973, when the company was also getting into publishing black-and-white magazines. The Haunt of Horror appeared as a digest for two issues prior to being reworked into a magazine format in 1974. Gerry Conway served as editor. The two digest issues bear little in common with later Marvel digests as they featured lengthy text pieces with minimal artwork as opposed to regular comic-book reprints. They have more in common with other digest magazines published in 1973 such as Alfred Hitchcock Magazine, Ellery Queen, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Analog. Marvel’s initial entry to digests featuring comic-book reprints was due to a licensing acquisition. In 1981, Marvel acquired the lucrative Dennis the Menace comic-book license. Dennis was very successfully and continuously published from 1953–1980 by Standard, Pines, Hallden, Fawcett, and CBS, so Marvel felt it had a hot property on its hands. Marvel first became aware of the Dennis the Menace availability when the publisher acquired DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, the animation studio notable for The Pink Panther. DFE became Marvel Productions [see BACK ISSUE #59], and the final DFE project that they were finishing up was an animated Mother’s Day TV special entitled Dennis the Menace: Mayday for Mother. CBS had recently discontinued the Dennis the Menace comics titles in 1980, including the long-running Pocket Full of Fun! digest, ending with #50 (Mar. 1980). Since this title had a lengthy and profitable run since 1969, it was only natural that digests would continue in tandem with the new Dennis the Menace standard comic-book title from Marvel. Much hoopla was initially made about this acquisition, with articles appearing in The Comic Reader and Amazing Heroes touting the Menace’s arrival at Marvel. In all, six digest issues appeared: three of Dennis the Menace Comics Digest and three of The Very Best of Dennis the Menace (different from the CBS digest series). The major highlight of both of these series is the reprinting of some of the earliest Dennis tales, written by Fred Toole and drawn by Al Wiseman, the latter usually considered the top Dennis comic-book artist. Other reprints featured later artists Owen Fitzgerald, Frank Hill, and Bill Williams. Dennis creator Hank Ketcham did some of the covers, usually using reprinted comic-strip art. The Marvel Dennis the Menace comic-book series lasted only 13 issues and the entire enterprise was quickly and quietly shut down without much fanfare in late 1982. No editor was listed on the series, but stories were probably selected by Ketcham Enterprises. Special note must be made of the first issues of both series, as directmarket copies featured the DC logo and stated “The Biggest Little Buy in Comics,” instead of the Spider-Man head that usually graced the UPC box in Marvel direct-market copies. According to the 2010 Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide by Maggie Thompson, Brent Frankenhoff, and Peter Bickford, the emblem was placed on the cover in error by World Color Press. This makes perfect sense, as Marvel hadn’t previously had a digest with a UPC box and DC had been publishing digests regularly for over three years at that point. Tom DeFalco, at the time a Marvel editor, said this when asked about the error: “I can only assume it was a printer’s mistake. I don’t remember seeing this because I would have howled if I did.” Had Marvel waited a few years or had kept Dennis going a little longer, it might have garnered greater success when Marvel debuted its highly successful Star Comics line in 1984, a line featuring original characters and licensed properties with artists and writers coming in fresh from Harvey and Archie [see BI #77 for the Star Comics story].

Mark Arnold

Hand-Held Horrors Marvel’s first digest: The Haunt of Horror #1 (June 1973), a collection of mystery short stories, some of which feature illustrations from the likes of Walter Simonson, Mike Ploog, and Frank Brunner. Cover by Gray Morrow. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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J o h n Tr u m b u l l

Marvel Comics had journeyed through multiple worlds since 1961, but by 1982 it was dealing with uncharted territory: the direct sales market. As Steven Grant explained in Marvel’s first special edition reprint, “Earlier [in 1982], Marvel began considering new formats and methods of distribution for Marvel. The magazine EPIC was doing well, and editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, V.P. Michael Hobson, and direct sales manager Mike Friedrich were looking for projects to further explore these new markets. For such projects, they needed top-quality material that would attract a lot of attention.” One of these projects was a new series of reprints on Baxter paper. [Author’s note: See Back Issue #81 for information on DC’s deluxe reprint series.] Then-Marvel executive editor Tom DeFalco clarifies: “In those days, you could only read the old stories in reprints or by finding a store that sold back issues. A lot of comics were still being thrown away once they’d been read—an idea that seems like heresy today, but was quite common then. We would often sit around the Bullpen and discuss our favorite stories—stories that held some emotional significance to us— [that] deserved to be back in print in a nice format.” Marvel editor Al Milgrom described the format’s specifics in Warlock #1 (Dec. 1982): “With the recent astronomical growth of [the direct sales market], Marvel is able to do something we never could before, namely produce comics with a smaller print run, a higher cover price and much better production values. The paper quality and printing of these publications far surpasses the usual comics seen on newsstands. The color is much more vivid, the reproduction much sharper, truer to the original art.” As Milgrom remembers today, “Every year, Jim Shooter and the editors would get together and create the budget. And it wasn’t what you’d think. It wasn’t like, ‘Here’s what we’re going to be able to spend this year.’ It was more a matter of projecting what they were going to publish that year and then trying to figure out other things they might want to try to do in order to make the most possible money for the year, because the owners of Marvel wanted their earnings to go up every year. And so if the book sales weren’t increasing, or even if they were, they were always looking for other projects. ‘Well, shall we create six new titles this year? Should we do some reprints this year?’ And then they would ask for suggestions about what material they thought we could do.” As it turned out, a little-seen book by the popular X-Men team of Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Terry Austin would make the perfect test case.

STAR-LORD, THE SPECIAL EDITION #1 (Feb. 1982) As a science-fiction feature, Star-Lord had just missed its window. In 1977, Star Wars became a phenomenon for moviegoers and comic readers alike—but Marvel Preview #11’s revival of Star-Lord hit the stands three months before space opera became all the rage. Although the spacefaring Peter Quill is world-famous today thanks to 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie, he was an obscurity in 1977—and 1982. Penciler John Byrne admitted on his forum Byrnerobotics.com in 2008, “I’d not even heard of the character before Chris asked me to do it. And any interest I had kind of petered out four or five pages before the end of the story.” Consequently, Byrne declined to do any new artwork for the reprint. Penciler Michael Golden replaced Byrne for a new framing sequence, and Glynis Wein colored the entire story for the first time. Unfortunately, the new coloring, combined with the zip-a-tone effects from Marvel Preview #11, made Star-Lord’s art appear murky. Inker Terry Austin tells the full story: “Glynis was a wonderful colorist whose work I personally miss; she did the best job that she could. The tragedy was that [original editor] Archie Goodwin had the foresight to see that Marvel would want to reprint the job in color someday, so,

Interstellar Launch Marvel’s deluxe reprint line started with Star-Lord, The Special Edition #1 (Feb. 1982). Here’s its back cover, illustrated by Terry Austin, who also drew its front cover. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Steranko Showcases Jim Steraanko’s groundbreaking work on (left)) Nick Furyy, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and (right) Captain America received back-to-back two-issue Special Editions.

Beao / Wikimedia Commons.

artist Sienkiewicz was grateful: “I was glad I had a chance to cut my teeth on stories that were a bit more mature.” Editor Bob ght was reprinted because “Bill Budiansky says Moon Knig Sienkiewicz had become a fan-favorite artist in a few short years, and Marvel was trying to capitalize on that.” Although his art was more abstract by 1983, Sienkiewicz didn’t mind seeing his earlier work back in print. “Like any work that is done at the earlier portions of a career, one has to make peace with the growth and changes in style, abilities, and outlook that come with—if not maturity—then with simply getting older,” Sienkiewicz says. “Maturity and physical age are not synonymous. So I took it a s ‘ o f a p i e c e . ’ ” S i e n k i e w i c z p o i n t s o u t t h a t h e w a s n ’t t h e o n l y artistic breakthrough on Moon Knight: “It also happened to be the [Marvel] debut of Steve Oliff as colorist. So Moon Knight basically launched two careers at the same time.” Moon Knig ght Special Edition’s three issues included new wraparound covers with a seven-page portfolio of the series’ characters in the first issue. What was it like doing new pieces for a book he’d only just left in 1984? Sienkiewicz answers, “It was a version of old-home week. That’s a good way to put it.”

X-MEN CLASSICS #1–3 (Dec. 1983–Feb. 1984) As the Thomas/Adams/Palmer Kree–Skrull War had already been reprinted, naturally the trio’s 1969 X-Men run followed soon after. Once again, the emphasis was clearly on Neal Adams. The three-issue X-Men Classics did not include issues #56 (the climax of the Living Monolith storyy), 64 (the debut of Sunfire, with art by Don Heck and To om Palmer), 65 (the return of Professor X, where Adams’ art was retouched by others), or 66 (the Sal Buscema-drawn battle with the Hulk). To make everything fit into three double-sized books, the stories from both X-Men #59 and 61 were split between issues. New first pages were drawn by cover artists Mike Zeck and Tom Palmer to make the halves flow as smoothly as possible (confused yet, True Believers?). Today, neither of the reprint editors, Carl Potts and Ann Nocenti, can recall much about the decisions—and omissions—that went into X-Men Classics. Original writer Roy Thomas merely says, “Yeah, the X-Men reprints were raather poorly done, given the late day.” Fortunately, this run would see more complete reprintings in the years to come.

frank miller

YOU ENJOYED MICRONAUTS SPECIALIFEDITION #1–5 THIS PREVIEW, (Dec. 1983–Apr. 1984) CLICK THE LINK TO ORDER THIS PRINT DIGITAL Next was 1979’s MicronISSUE auts , bIN y w riter BOR ill M antlo anFORMAT! d artist Michael Golden. As Al Milgrom tells BACK ISSUE, “Bill was a trooper. He would do anything we asked him to do. He actually brought that to Mar vel. He said, ‘My daughter loves playing with these Micronauts toys. Maybe we should do a comic based on that.’ That was an interesting licensing job, because half the characters were based on the toys from Mego, and half of them were original characters that Bill created for the strip. [Author’s note: For an in-depth look at the Micronauts series, see BACK ISSUE #76.] Bob Budiansky edited the first issue, with Michael Higgins doing the remaining four. Budiansky clarifies, “Michael Higgins was my assistant editor at that time. It was common for reprint projects to be handled by assistant editors back then.”

A Dark Night in New York From the Heritage arcchives, cover art by Frank Miller for the one-shot Spider-Man and Daredevil Special Edition. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

88 • BACK ISSUE • Marvel Bronze Age Giants and Reprints

NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. #1–2 (Dec. 1983–Jan. 1984) Swinging ’60s spy action came via reprBACK ints of ISSUE Jim Ster#86 anko’s classic

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