THE RUMORS ARE TRUE: The Black Suit Spidey saga — now called The Black Costume Year One — kicks off the new line…
It’s been floating around for months now, but Marvel on Thursday made official a new line of Gallery Editions that will collect runs of Facsimile Editions, complete with all the ads and whatnot.
Kicking it off will be the very-long-titled Marvel Masterpieces: The Amazing Spider-Man — The Black Costume Year One Gallery Edition.
Tis a mouthful, but here’s the official solicitation:
MARVEL MASTERPIECES: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN — THE BLACK COSTUME YEAR ONE GALLERY EDITION HC RON FRENZ ORIGINAL FIRST ISSUE COVER
Written by TOM DEFALCO, ROGER STERN & BOB LAYTON
Penciled by RON FRENZ, RICK LEONARDI & BOB LAYTON
Covers by CHARLES VESS & RON FRENZ
The classic saga of Peter Parker and his symbiote suit, boldly re-presented in its original form, ads and all!
When Spider-Man makes his homecoming from the super-hero Secret Wars, he returns with a miraculous new outfit: a striking black-and-white costume that morphs and responds to his very thoughts, allowing him to change back to Peter Parker at will! It also makes him stronger than ever, with an unlimited supply of webbing — ideal for taking on new threats like the Rose and the Puma! But could this miraculous article of alien clothing have a mind of its own? As the days pass, Spidey soon discovers there’s more to his new costume than he at first realized: It’s actually an alien symbiote, out to bond with him permanently! Featuring the Black Cat, the Fantastic Four, the Hobgoblin and a shocking revelation from Mary Jane Watson! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #252-263 FACSIMILE EDITIONS.
464 PGS./Rated T… $100.00
Trim size: 9-1/4 x 13
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A few thoughts:
— Gallery Editions are hardcovers that are just a bit smaller than the classic Bronze Age treasury edition, so you get 12 complete issues all big-like. It’s a very cool concept and, while not solicited yet, there will be one for Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars in the summer. It’s already appeared in some online retail listings.
— The book is due out June 11, 2025, and will have three covers: the main one by Ron Frenz, and two direct-market-only variants — a Charles Vess “Hidden Gem” cover, and a second Frenz cover that was used for the storyline’s original collection. (That third one was not released Thursday.)
— Given the size and page count, the $100 list price makes sense. But I do think a lot of these will be for diehards only. Then again, 2026 should bring you Lee and Kirby’s Fantastic Four #1-12 and X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga.
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MORE
— First 12 Issues of LEE and KIRBY’s FANTASTIC FOUR to Be Re-Released as FACSIMILE EDITIONS. Click here.
— X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX SAGA to Be Reprinted as FACSIMILE EDITIONS Through 2025. Click here.
October 25, 2024
Hmmm….not sure I’ll need these. I definitely won’t be buying black suit or Secret Wars but the first year of the Fantastic Four is another thing. Like I am doing with Crisis, I buy 4 copies each of the facsimile issues. So, with an average per issue cost of $4 that makes a complete series like FF at $50. This way the grandsons all have their own run to enjoy in the original issue format. Would these be better? Last longer or hold up better? Does tradition beat style? I’m certainly not paying $100/per. I suspect the price will settle down closer to the $60-70 range. At least I have time to think on this. I wish Marvel didn’t only seem to publish based on their movie schedule.
November 19, 2024
The MSRP is $100. You can pre-order it for $54.
At 12 issues, that comes out to be $4.50 per issue in this collection.
So that is slightly above what you were thinking about doing by four dollars or so.
Given that they will be collected in an oversized hardcover book, you can choose that instead of choosing to deal with 12 floppy issues with each grandkid, or to put it another way, 48 floppy issues in total. Also, how would you plan on finding 4 copies of all 12 issues? If the fact issues have already been published or are currently being published, it could take you a long time to get all of them. If they are releasing one issue per month, and if they have not released them yet, that means you will have to wait a year to get all 12 issues. On the other hand, if they have already printed our 12s, then it may be difficult to hunt down exactly 4 copies of all 12 issues. It’s possible that some have been released and that some have not been released yet. That’s a much bigger hassle than just pre-ordering a book for the same price.
In response to your questions:
Would these be better? A; Yes, the quality is better, and the 12 facsimile issues are presented in their entirety in an oversized format. That is better bang for the buck compared to buying 12 regular-sized facsimile floppy issue (or in your case 48 single issues in total).
Last longer or hold up better? A: Yes, especially given that your choice is between the delicate and easily damaged single comic book issues, 48 in total, and 4 copies of all 12 issues in an oversized hardcover format. Hardcover books are designed to hold up better than single issue comic books, and trade paperbacks.
Does tradition beat style? A: In terms of style, the choice would be for your grandsons to have their 12 issues each collected in a short or long comic book box or a single oversized hardcover book for each of them that can be put on a bookshelf and that will look good on a bookshelf. The question is whether or not it’s more aesthetically pleasing and more enjoyable to have: 1) a non-descript short or long cardboard, comic book box, or more accurately, 4 short or long cardboard comic book boxes since each grandchild will need one in which to store their comic books, or 2) an attractive looking hardcover book (collecting those exact same issues) that will look great on a bookshelf and also be much easier to access and read. The other bonus of that is that getting a cool book like this can inspire kids and excite them so that they will want to add more books to fill their bookshelves.
A hardcover collection will last longer and can absorb damage a lot better than just regular facsimile comic book issues.
I hope that answers your questions. It’s not too hard for you to look around online to find different website websites where you can pre-order it between $50 and $60.
Whichever you choose to do, it’s a great thing to get your grandkids into reading and into art like this.