Marvel Fireside Books

Last updated

Marvel Fireside Books were a series of full-color trade paperbacks featuring Marvel Comics stories and characters co-published by Marvel and the Simon & Schuster division Fireside Books from 1974 to 1979. The first book, 1974's Origins of Marvel Comics , was very successful, and inspired a series of annual sequels. [1]

Contents

These books enabled fans of the old comic books to have access to the stories without having to pay exorbitant prices for the original back issues. It introduced new readers to the work of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and other Marvel creators, and packaged the material in a traditional book format that carried more cachet than the flimsy pamphlet style of a typical comic book. Many of the books featured painted covers illustrated by such artists as Bob Larkin, [2] John Romita Sr., and Earl Norem. In this way, the series was an antecedent to the now common practice of packaging "classic" stories into archival editions and trade paperback collections including Marvel's 1998 book Grandson of Origins of Marvel Comics.

Publishing history

The Silver Surfer (1978), the only Marvel Fireside edition featuring original material. Cover art by Earl Norem. SilverSurferGN.jpg
The Silver Surfer (1978), the only Marvel Fireside edition featuring original material. Cover art by Earl Norem.

Marvel Publisher Stan Lee came up with the idea of compiling the origins of some of their most popular characters in a book format similar to Jules Feiffer's 1965 book The Great Comic Book Heroes. Teaming up with Fireside, the paperback imprint of Simon & Schuster, Marvel initially produced Origins of Marvel Comics in 1974, [3] featuring the origins of the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, and Doctor Strange. Like the books to follow, Origins featured a foreword by Lee, and short introductions to each section, which followed the format of presenting the character's origin followed by a contemporary story by current Marvel contributors.

Origins of Marvel Comics was followed in 1975 with Son of Origins of Marvel Comics, featuring the origins of the X-Men, Iron Man, the Avengers, Daredevil, Nick Fury, the Watcher, and the Silver Surfer.

The two Origins books were followed by Bring on the Bad Guys, origins of a selection of Marvel villains; and The Superhero Women, featuring some of Marvel's most popular female superheroes. Eventually, the series moved away from origin stories and published collections of classic stories with individual characters such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Captain America, and Doctor Strange. [4]

One of the Marvel Fireside Books superhero story editions was not a reprint but an original story. The Silver Surfer (1978) by Stan Lee, with art by Kirby and Joe Sinnott, was a new take on the late 1960s icon; and is considered by many to be one of the first true "graphic novels". [5]

In conjunction with their reprint collections, Marvel and Fireside also produced a number of activity and game books by Owen McCarron, how-to books, and even a cookbook, again all featuring Marvel characters. The most well-known and popular book of this kind was 1978's How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way , which is still in print.

Marvel/Fireside published 24 different books, many with multiple printings in both hardcover and paperback.

Original graphic novels

Reprint collections

Activity and how-to titles

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Ditko</span> American comics artist (1927–2018)

Stephen John Ditko was an American comics artist and writer best known for being co-creator of Marvel superhero Spider-Man and creator of Doctor Strange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Buscema</span> American comic book artist

John Buscema was an American comic book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop-culture conglomerate. His younger brother Sal Buscema is also a comic book artist.

<i>Journey into Mystery</i> American comic book series

Journey into Mystery is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s. Beginning with issue #83, it ran the superhero feature "The Mighty Thor", created by writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber and artist Jack Kirby, and inspired by the mythological Norse thunder god. The series, which was renamed for its superhero star with issue #126, has been revived three times: in the 1970s as a horror anthology, and in the 1990s and 2010s with characters from Marvel's Thor mythos. The title was also used in 2019 for a limited series as part of the "War of the Realms" storyline.

<i>Tales to Astonish</i> Science-fiction and superhero comic book series

Tales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics.

<i>Tales of Suspense</i> Comic

Tales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book anthology series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured superheroes Captain America and Iron Man during the Silver Age of Comic Books before changing its title to Captain America with issue #100. Its sister title was Tales to Astonish. Following the launch of Marvel Legacy in 2017, Tales of Suspense was once again resurrected at issue #100, featuring the Winter Soldier and Hawkeye in a story called "The Red Ledger".

Strange Tales is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in Strange Tales. It was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the groundbreaking work of writer-artist Jim Steranko. Two previous, unrelated magazines also bore that title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Slott</span> American comic book writer, born 1967

Dan Slott is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics books such as The Amazing Spider-Man, as well as She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, Tony Stark: Iron Man, The Mighty Avengers, and Fantastic Four. His work for DC Comics includes the books Arkham Asylum: Living Hell and Batman Adventures.

<i>The Mighty World of Marvel</i> Comic book series

The Mighty World Of Marvel was a British comic book series published first by Marvel UK and then by Panini Comics. Initially debuting on 30 September 1972, it was the first title published by Marvel UK and ran until 1984. The series was revived in 2003 by Panini Comics, who are licensed to reprint Marvel US material in Europe, and was published monthly until November 2019.

<i>Marvel Super-Heroes</i> (comics) Comic book published by Marvel Comics

Marvel Super-Heroes is the name of several comic book series and specials published by Marvel Comics.

<i>Marvel Tales</i> (comics)

Marvel Tales is the title of an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1964 to 1994 and a flip magazine series published Marvel Comics by from August 2005 to February 2007. Both series primarily reprinted Spider-Man stories.

<i>Marvel Collectors Item Classics</i>

Marvel Collectors' Item Classics was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics in the mid- to late-1960s that marked the first reprinting of many of the earliest Marvel stories. Primarily focused on the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and the Hulk, it ran 22 issues before changing its name and page-count, becoming Marvel's Greatest Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stan Lee</span> American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer (1922–2018)

Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which would later become Marvel Comics. He was the primary creative leader for two decades, leading its expansion from a small division of a publishing house to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics and film industries.

Bob Larkin is an American comics artist primarily known for his painted covers for Marvel Comics' magazine-format titles Marvel Magazines in the 1970s and early 1980s and for his 32 painted covers on the Bantam Books paperback reissues series of the Doc Savage pulp novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Kirby bibliography</span>

Jack Kirby was a prolific comics creator who created many American comic books and characters, particularly for Marvel Comics and DC Comics.

<i>Silver Surfer</i> (comic book) Comic book

Silver Surfer or The Silver Surfer is the name of several series of comic books published by Marvel Comics featuring the Silver Surfer.

<i>Fantastic Four</i> (comic book) Marvel comics featuring the superheroes titled the Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team Fantastic Four and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original Fantastic Four comic book series which debuted in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Surfer</span> Fictional character in Marvel Comics

The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first appeared in the comic book Fantastic Four #48, published in 1966.

<i>Spider-Man Comics Weekly</i>

Spider-Man Comics Weekly was a Marvel UK publication which primarily published black-and-white reprints of American Marvel four-color Spider-Man stories. Marvel UK's second-ever title, Spider-Man Comics Weekly debuted in 1973, initially publishing "classic" 1960s Spider-Man stories.

<i>Origins of Marvel Comics</i>

Origins of Marvel Comics is a 1974 collection of Marvel Comics comic book stories, selected and introduced by Marvel writer and editor Stan Lee. The book was published by Fireside Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, and was Marvel's first trade paperback collection.

References

  1. Sacks, Jason; Dallas, Keith (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 136. ISBN   978-1605490564.
  2. Lawrence, Chris (2016). "Artist Profile: Bob Larkin". The Art of Painted Comics. Mount Laurel, New Jersey: Dynamite Entertainment. p. 100. ISBN   978-1606903537.
  3. Saffel, Steve (2007). "A Novel Approach". Spider-Man the Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon. London, United Kingdom: Titan Books. p. 98. ISBN   978-1-84576-324-4. It was Simon and Shuster's trade division Fireside Books that published some of the most influential comic book collections of all time, beginning with Stan Lee's Origins of Marvel Comics, released in 1974.
  4. Fredt, Stephan (February 2016). "The Other Marvel Team-Up: Simon & Schuster (Fireside) and Marvel". Back Issue! . Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (86): 61–70.
  5. Sanderson, Peter; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1970s". Marvel Chronicle: A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 187. ISBN   978-0756641238. [In 1978], Simon & Shuster's Fireside Books published a paperback book titled The Silver Surfer by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...This book was later recognized as Marvel's first true graphic novel.{{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  6. "The Silver Surfer". Grand Comics Database.
  7. "Origins of Marvel Comics". Grand Comics Database.
  8. "Son of Origins of Marvel Comics". Grand Comics Database.
  9. "Bring on the Bad Guys: Origins of the Marvel Comics Villains". Grand Comics Database.
  10. "The Superhero Women". Grand Comics Database.
  11. "The Best of Spidey Super Stories". Grand Comics Database.
  12. "The Incredible Hulk". Grand Comics Database.
  13. "Marvel's Greatest Superhero Battles". Grand Comics Database.
  14. "The Amazing Spider-Man". Grand Comics Database.
  15. "The Fantastic Four". Grand Comics Database.
  16. "Doctor Strange Master of the Mystic Arts". Grand Comics Database.
  17. "Captain America Sentinel of Liberty". Grand Comics Database.