Posted By Dan Greenfield on Nov 7, 2021 | 3 comments

INSIDE LOOK: This high-end set of 12 classic prints has been well worth the wait…

Nearly two years ago, I wrote of plans for a calendar featuring Marvel’s classic ’70s black-light posters and readers went bananas. Then I wrote that the calendar was cancelled — and readers went bananas. Then I wrote that Abrams ComicArts would instead reprint 12 of the posters produced in 1971 by The Third Eye as a high-end portfolio collection and guess what? Readers went bananas again.

Well, now the Marvel Classic Black Light Posters portfolio is finally upon us — it’s out Nov. 16 — and readers have every reason to go bananas once more because this set is by far the grooviest comics publication of 2021.

The set, which measures a whopping 20 x 30 inches, comes in a flat box and contains 12 of the posters first published 50 years ago. There’s also an informative booklet that features an intro by Roy Thomas and gives each poster’s pedigree — the original comic panel upon which it was based, what issue it can be found in, and who wrote and drew it. (Similar info can be found on the back of each poster, which is made from heavy stock and suitable for framing.)

But enough with the fine print — how to do the posters look under a black light?

Well dig this:

That’s just four of them, and even the photos don’t really capture the brightness and psychedelic drama that you experience seeing them up close. They’re not flocked but it doesn’t matter — these babies POP!

Here’s the complete line-up, from the back of the box:

The set lists for $125 but the originals are sky high on eBay — recent sales for individual posters ranged from $200 and $1,800 — so this is likely your best chance to again experience the trippy days when the ’60s morphed into the ’70s.

And let’s not forget: the artists are among Marvel’s greatest, including Jack Kirby, Gene Colan and others.

Now, there’s already a bit of good news: The set is listed at Amazon as the #1 new release for “Prints Art.” As you know, sales determine just about everything, so if this makes its way into enough hands this holiday season, there’s always the chance for a second edition: After all, there are another 12 that haven’t been reprinted here.

But even if these are the only ones we get, the Marvel Classic Black Light Posters portfolio is an extraordinary gift from the past, a visual smorgasbord of brilliant comics art, in every sense of the term.

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MORE

— 13 MARVEL BLACK LIGHT POSTERS to Blow Your Mind. Click here.

— THEY’RE BACK! Classic MARVEL Black Light Posters Revived for 2021. Click here.