Tuesday, January 5, 2010

1983 – Marvel Special Editions

In 1983, Marvel launched a series of prints using the then high-quality Baxter paper under the label of "Special Editions".

Even by today’s standards, these reprints are exceptional and can be found rather cheaply in back issues bins. In most cases, these Special Editions included new wrap-around covers as well as pins by some of the best 1980s talents.

I fondly recall picking up the X-Men Classics and re-reading those wonderful Neal Adams issues featuring the Sentinels, Sauron, and the Savage Land.

In some cases, these reprints weren’t complete and some new material was inserted to bridge the story. See the following list for complete details: http://www.freewebs.com/marvelreprints/mv_edition.txt.

1983
Doctor Strange/Silver Dagger Special Edition #1
- Reprinting Doctor Strange #1-2, 4-5

Warlock Special Edition #1-6
- Reprinting Strange Tales #178-181 and Warlock #9-15, Marvel Team-Up #55, Avengers Annual #7, and Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2.

X-Men Classics #1-3
- Reprinting #57-63 by Roy Thomas and Neal Adams.

X-Men Special Edition #1
-  Reprinting: Giant-Size X-Men #1 by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum and featuring an original 10 page Kitty/Illyana story.

Starlord Special Edition #1
Reprinting Marvel Preview #11 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Terry Austin.

Moon Knight Special Edition #1-3
- Reprinting Backup features in The Rampaging Hulk! #13-15,17-18,20, by Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz.

Conan the Barbarian #1
- Reprinting Savage Tales #2,3 by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith

1984
Captain America Special Edition #1-3
- Reprinting Captain America #110-113 featuring art from the legendary Steranko.

Doctor Strange Classics #1-4
- Reprinting Strange Tales #130-141, featuring art from Steve Ditko and outstanding wrap-around covers by John Byrne.

Elektra Saga #1-4
- Reprinting Daredevil #168,174-181,190 (Bizarre Adventures #28), by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson.

Fantastic Four Special Edition #1
- Reprinting Fantastic Four Annual #1 by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.


Kree-Skrull War Special Edition #1-2
- Reprinting Avengers #93-97 by Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, and John Buscema.

Micronauts Special Edition #1-5
Reprint: Micronauts #1-12 by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden

Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #1-2
Reprinting Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #1-5, by Steranko.

Phoenix: The Untold Story #1
- Reprinting The Uncanny X-Men #137 by John Byrne and Chris Claremont with unpublished alternate ending.

Spider-Man and Daredevil Special Edition #1
- Reprinting Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #26-28 by Frank Miller.

1985
Life of Captain Marvel #1-5
- Reprinting Iron Man #55 and Captain Marvel #25-34 by Jim Starlin.




4 comments:

  1. I am a sucker for a reprint. Sometimes, I will buy reprints in trade format, even when I have the original issues. I love how much classic material is currently being reprinted by both Marvel and DC. I was around when these Special Editions came out, but I didn't remember the Dr. Strange Classics. I just looked up the covers on comics.org. Those are really cool Byrne covers! I think he was channeling his inner Ditko. :)

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  2. love that sienkiewicz cover!

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  3. I'd buy the Kree-Skrull SE for the wraparound cover alone.

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  4. Love the reprints because I can read them without having to worry about ruining my comic books.

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