The Defenders Omnibus Vol. 2 is a collection of classics…
Marvel in 2023 is releasing The Defenders Omnibus Vol. 2, featuring Steve Gerber’s seminal run on the team that’s not a team.
Dig this official description from an Amazon listing:
THE DEFENDERS OMNIBUS VOL. 2
By Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema and Klaus Janson
Collected – in complete – in this Omnibus edition, we present Steve Gerber’s definitive Defenders run! Using The Defenders’ unlikely cast of misfits, Gerber turned Marvel’s “non-team” into a locus of innovation by deconstructing genre conventions and adding a healthy dose of absurdity. From the Elf With a Gun to Bambi and the Bozos, each storyline is a challenging critique of the era’s culture, while the Headmen Saga is one of the high points in Gerber’s celebrated career. They’re stories that inspired a generation of creators and changed the course of comics history. This volume also boasts artwork by the stellar team of Sal Buscema and Klaus Janson and is topped off with the classic Defenders/Howard the Duck Marvel Treasury Edition. Collecting DEFENDERS (1972) #20-41 and ANNUAL #1, GIANT-SIZE DEFENDERS #3-5, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) #6-7 and MARVEL TREASURY EDITION #12 – plus material from MYSTERY TALES #21, WORLD OF FANTASY #11 and TALES OF SUSPENSE (1959) #9.
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A few thoughts:
— The 704-page hardcover lists for $100 and is due July, 2023.
— Defenders fans have been patient — or have they? — waiting for this edition. Vol. 1 was released in 2021.
— Standard caveat: I do not believe this has been officially solicited by Marvel yet, so anything can change. That said, I fully expect this to see print. Keep checking back at 13th Dimension for updates.
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MORE
— 13 Way-Out MARVEL Characters From the Fevered Forehead of STEVE GERBER. Click here.
— DESTROYER DUCK: KIRBY and GERBER’s Classic Series to Get Special ‘GRAPHITE EDITION’. Click here.
November 17, 2022
I’d likely pick this up because… and maybe it’s just personal bias… but I think this run of “Defenders” is my favorite Steve Gerber material. It balanced out the standard superheroics with some of the TRULY bizarre ideas that Gerber had!
November 17, 2022
Yes! My most wanted Omnibus!
And they are even including the Marvel Two-In-One issue that led directly into Gerber’s first issue, and the individual first appearances of the Headmen (which I was afraid Marvel would skip if they ever put this book out).
Personally, I’d prefer it as the “Defenders by Steve Gerber” Omnibus, rather than just “Volume 2,” but I won’t quibble…
November 17, 2022
Sal Buscema and Klaus Janson are a stellar team indeed. Klaus’ inks gave Sal’s pencils a unique, noirish look unlike anything I’ve seen throughout Sal’s career.