Jessica Drew gets her place in the spotlight for her 50th ANNIVERSARY…
Marvel Comics later this year will be publishing the first-ever Spider-Woman Omnibus, collecting the entire original Bronze Age series, as well as other early appearances, including her debut 50 years ago in 1976’s Marvel Spotlight #32.
Dig the official description, according to Marvel distributor Penguin Random House:
SPIDER-WOMAN OMNIBUS
Jessica Drew’s entire first series in a single volume!
Far more than a mirror image of Spider-Man, Jessica Drew swung onto the scene in the late 1970s with a strikingly different spider-origin — and quickly became one of Marvel’s most distinctive and dynamic heroes! Spider-Woman Omnibus collects all her classic adventures in a volume that won’t gather cobwebs on your shelf. From her mysterious beginnings as a spawn of Hydra to her decisive turn toward heroism, Jessica’s saga features the creation of her own formidable rogues’ gallery and team-ups with the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Thing and more Marvel heavyweights — all brought to life by top talents including Marv Wolfman, Carmine Infantino, Mark Gruenwald, Chris Claremont, Steve Leialoha, Michael Golden and others!
COLLECTING: Marvel Spotlight (1971) #32, Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #29-33, Spider-Woman (1978) #1-50, Avengers (1963) #240-241, Avengers Annual (1967) #10, material from What If? (1977) #17
Written by Marv Wolfman, Mark Gruenwald, Michael Fleisher, Chris Claremont & Ann Nocenti with Archie Goodwin, Steven Grant, J.M. DeMatteis, Steve Leialoha & Roger Stern
Penciled by Carmine Infantino, Steve Leialoha & Brian Postman with Ron Wilson, Sal Buscema, John Buscema, Frank Springer, Trevor Von Eeden, Jerry Bingham, Ernie Chan, Michael Golden & Al Milgrom
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A few thoughts:
— The 1,320-page hardcover lists for $150 and is due Nov. 24, 2026. Marvel Spotlight #32 came out Nov. 9, 1976. That’s pretty close to the actual anniversary.
— The listing actually calls it the Spider-Woman Omnibus Joe Sinnott Cover, which suggests there will be a variant cover, as is typical of Marvel. Perhaps it’ll be Marvel Spotlight #32, whose credits are a bit of a mishmash.
— Pop quiz! Who designed Spider-Woman’s original outfit? Why, Marie Severin!
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MORE
— MARVEL Fills Out Its SUMMER 2026 EPIC COLLECTION Lineup. Click here.
— MARVEL Fills Out Its AUTUMN 2026 EPIC COLLECTION Lineup. Click here.
March 27, 2026
NOPE…I won’t support another oversized bulky overpriced omnibus. I’ll wait for 2 volumes of Marvel Epic Collection, a MUCH more reader friendly format at half the price. If they want my money I’m happy to spend it on the Epic Collections, not another cinderblock book.
March 27, 2026
It’s funny, because I’m the exact opposite. I’d rather spend more on a hardcover collection with high production values that’s built to last than on a more ephemeral (and easily damaged) paperback.
There’s nothing wrong with an Epic Collection (or, in my case (since I tend to buy more DCs), the equivalent DC Finest), but once the same material is available in hardcover (omni or, if I’m lucky, an Absolute or Gallery Edition), I tend to replace the paperback with that (and give the paperback away). At this point, I can probably count on two hands (and still have a couple of fingers left over) the number of paperbacks that I still have in my collection.
Different strokes for different folks.
March 27, 2026
Spider-Woman is my cup of tea, but I’ve also come to prefer omnis to epics. Nothing wrong with either, but I prefer the larger dimensions and durability of the omnis.
I will agree that some omnis are *massively* unweildy and it’d be nice if they were more reasonably divided. The Immortal Hulk omni is something like 60 issues and quite heavy, and I wish it were divided into two smaller 30-volume sets. Here we are.
I do wish Marvel also stuck with a rule that two epics = 1 omni. That was somewhat true for, say, the first seven volumes of The Amazing Spider-Man, but then the numbering starts to deviate around volume 8. I’m somebody who likes to trade in his Epics for Omnis as they get released and the overlap is a little annoying. Try being an Incredible Hulk collector: the epic and omni volumes don’t align at all.
Anyway, if a series can be singularly captured in an omni, I’m not opposed. And hey, wait them out on various book selling sites–it’s not hard to find an omni for 30 to 50% off post-release.
March 27, 2026
That Immortal Hulk one was ridiculous. Luckily Spider-Woman won’t be that big because of having a lot of 17 page stories. It’ll still be big though. Over 1400 pages I think is where it’s just too much.