Lee, Kirby, Ditko, Byrne, Zeck, Sienkiewicz in the House! Of Ideas!…
Earlier this week, we took you through Marvel’s summer line of Epic Collections. You can click here to check that out but we also have a run of big-time re-releases for you.
Dig these, broken down by decade — with all info from Amazon listings:
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1960s
Doctor Strange Epic Collection: Master of the Mystic Arts
By Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
A vain man driven by greed and hubris, Dr. Stephen Strange was a world-renowned surgeon until the night a car accident crippled his hands. Broken and destitute, he journeyed to Tibet to seek a cure from a legendary healer. There he found not a man of medicine, but the venerable Ancient One — and the path to the mystic arts! From Doctor Strange’s eerie Greenwich Village home, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created new dimensions and otherworldly terrors unlike anything seen before. These classic first stories remain as influential today as they were to 1960s counter-culture. In this premiere volume, experience the debut of iconic characters including Baron Mordo, Eternity, Dormammu and the Mindless Ones — as well as Strange’s faithful servant Wong, and the mystic mistress Clea!
COLLECTING: Strange Tales (1951) 110-111, 114-146; Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964) 2
Due date: August 3, 2021
400 pages
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Incredible Hulk Epic Collection: Man or Monster?
By Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Dr. Robert Bruce Banner may look like a mild-mannered scientist, but after being caught in a gamma bomb explosion, he became the unstoppable engine of destruction known as the Hulk! Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s atomic update on the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde paradigm mixed the might of giant monsters with Cold War intrigue and psychological drama. Decades later, it’s a formula that still has readers clamoring for more! For the first time, this Epic Collection follows Hulk’s every adventure. His original series; his time with — and against — the Avengers; his first confrontation with the Thing; encounters with Spider-Man and Ant-Man; and a mythic battle with Thor!
COLLECTING: Incredible Hulk (1962) 1-6; Fantastic Four (1961) 12, 25-26; Avengers (1963) 1-3, 5; Amazing Spider-Man (1963) 14, Tales to Astonish (1959) 59; Journey into Mystery (1952) 112
Due date: June 22, 2021
392 pages
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1970s
Moon Knight Epic Collection: Bad Moon Rising
By Doug Moench, David Anthony Kraft, Bill Mantlo, Don Perlin, Keith Giffen and Bill Sienkiewicz
Discover the many faces of the Moon Knight! Mercenary. Werewolf-hunter. Super hero. Millionaire playboy. Cab driver. Ghost? Moon Knight is many things to many people, with the multiple personalities to match! Follow the Fist of Khonshu as he battles to find his place in the Marvel Universe in this collection of his earliest appearances. From his startling debut as a nemesis of Werewolf by Night to an unlikely stint with the Defenders, from encounters with Spider-Man and the Thing to the solo adventures that shaped a legend. Relive the rise of the moon’s specter of vengeance!
COLLECTING: Werewolf By Night (1972) 32-33; Marvel Spotlight (1971) 28-29; Defenders (1972) 47-50; Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) 22-23; Marvel Two-in-One (1974) 52; Moon Knight (1980) 1-4; material from Hulk Magazine (1978) 11-15, 17-18, 20; Marvel Preview (1975) 21
Due date: June 15, 2021
504 pages
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1980s
Captain America Epic Collection: Dawn’s Early Light
By John Byrne, Mike Zeck, Roger Stern, J.M. DeMatteis, Gene Colan, David Michelinie and David Anthony Kraft
Even for Captain America, life has rarely been this eventful! Battling the robotic Dragon Man above New York, considering running for President, and saving Manhattan from fiery destruction at Batroc and Mr. Hyde’s hands is all in a day’s work. And a trip to England proves to be no vacation either, as Cap encounters the vampire Baron Blood and the chilling Ghost of Greymoor Castle! Back home in the States, our hero learns that Hollywood plans to make a Captain America movie…the only problem is, his greatest foe, the Red Skull, has a very different script in mind! Finally, Cap has to prevent Morgan MacNeil Hardy from rewriting the American dream — but can even Spider-Man help him stop the cyborg SULTAN from destroying Washington DC?
COLLECTING: Captain America (1968) 247-266, Captain America Annual (1968) 5
Due date: July 20, 2021
496 pages
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1990s
X-Men Epic Collection: Mutant Genesis
By Fabian Nicieza, Chris Claremont, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio and Andy Kubert
The end of an era for the X-Men! The original team, now called X-Factor, takes center stage when Proteus returns from the grave. But when Apocalypse strikes, infecting Cyclops’ son Nathan with a deadly virus, Cyclops must make a bitter sacrifice! And the current X-Men return to Earth to find that Professor X’s old foe the Shadow King has risen — and taken over Muir Island! It will take X-Factor and the X-Men’s combined strength to triumph…and when the dust clears, the two teams will become one! An uncanny new era begins as the reunited X-Men go back to basics — beginning with a deadly confrontation with Magneto and his fanatical Acolytes!
COLLECTING: X-Men Annual (1970) 15, X-Factor (1986) 65-70, Uncanny X-Men (1981) 278-280, X-Men (1991) 1-3; material from New Mutants Annual (1984) 7, X-Factor Annual (1986) 6
Due date: July 6, 2021
472 pages
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A few thoughts:
— All are listed at $39.99.
— The dates are Amazon sale dates, which means the books are likely to be released a week or two earlier in comics shops.
— Want more Epic Collection intel? You definitely do. Useful links are below.
— Standard caveat: These have not been solicited by Marvel yet (as far as I can tell) so nothing is official until it’s official. Even then, things can change. Just keep coming to 13th Dimension for updates.
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MORE
— CAPTAIN AMERICA and CONAN Lead Summer Wave of Marvel EPIC COLLECTIONS. Click here.
— MARVEL Adds Even More EPIC COLLECTIONS to 2021 Lineup. Click here.
— MARVEL to Unleash Wave of New EPIC COLLECTIONS in Early 2021. Click here.
— Marvel to Re-Release Slew of Major EPIC COLLECTIONS. Click here.
February 5, 2021
Very superbly Marvel-ous!