The Best of Marvel Comics volume 1


By various (Marvel)
No ISBN

Here’s a little oddity that might appeal to the collectors amongst you; as well as actually living up to its somewhat hyperbolic title its lush look presaged the high quality, big ticket sensibilities of the modern graphic novel market.

With no particular fanfare this terrific tome leads with a single page recap of the origin of the Fantastic Four (by John Byrne and Pablo Marcos I think) before launching into the origin of the company’s (if not the entire industry’s) first black superhero and Klaw, murderous Master of Sound, in ‘The Black Panther’ and ‘The Way it Began’ from Fantastic Four #52-53, by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott.

This tremendous two-parter comes from that incredibly productive mid 1960s period that resulted in the creation of Galactus, Silver Surfer and the Inhumans along with so many others, and the tale has lost none of its force or impact since.

Next follows a far more modern tale, also preceded by a one-page origin (from Sal Buscema and Sinnott). ‘Sasquatch!’ written by Roger Stern and John Byrne, with art from Sal Buscema and Alfredo Alcala, first appeared in Hulk Annual #8, a colossal clash between the Jade Giant and the shaggy beast-man from Canadian super-squad Alpha Flight.

The company’s Astounding Arachnid mascot and corporate figurehead features heavily here in a bevy of landmark tales, beginning with the poignantly powerful short story ‘The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man!’ (Amazing Spider-Man #248 January 1984) by Stern, Ron Frenz & Terry Austin, and complemented by possibly the Wall-Crawler’s greatest comic book moment in the three-part clash with Doctor Octopus from issues #31-33.

I’ve reviewed ‘If This Be My Destiny…!’, ‘Man on a Rampage!’ and ‘The Final Chapter’ scripted by Lee, plotted and illustrated by the increasingly disaffected by still brilliant Steve Ditko, in a variety of different graphic novel formats (everything from Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man 1965 to Essential Spider-Man volume 2) but I can honestly say it has never looked better than here with good old fashioned offset printing and reproduced in the 144-colour palette Ditko intended it for.

Stern and Byrne return with what was for decades the definitive origin of the Sentinel of Liberty in ‘The Living Legend’ from issue #255, the last of their breathtaking run on Captain America. If you’re hungry for more, this tale and all their others can be found in Captain America: War & Remembrance.

There’s more Lee/Kirby magic next with two classic sagas of the Mighty Thor, beginning with ‘The Answer at Last!’ (Thor #159, inked by Vince Colletta) as the secret of the Thunder God’s relationship to feeble mortal Don Blake is revealed, whilst the great Bill Everett provided the embellishment for the bombastic battle-fest ‘The Wrath of the Wrecker!’ (#171).

Doctor Strange gives Roger Stern his last outing of this book in ‘A Mystic Reborn!’, a classy and beautifully illustrated origin and adventure tale pictured by Paul Smith and Terry Austin that first saw the light of Day in issue #56.

No “best of Marvel” would be complete without an X factor, and there’s a wealth of mutant mayhem to end this collection, including one that didn’t even make it onto the contents page. After the single-page “previously on” by Dave Cockrum, ‘He’ll Never Make Me Cry’ by Chris Claremont, John Romita Jr. & Dan Green (Uncanny X-Men #183) re-presents the romantic break-up of Colossus and little Kitty Pryde which resulted in a cathartic clash with the unstoppable Juggernaut.

As an added enticement this book also included an all-new, unpublished Wolverine story set in Triad-infested Japan. ‘The Hunter’ by Claremont & Marshall Rogers is a tasty treat on which to end this impressive and thoroughly delicious concoction. This is a wonderful way to sample the triumphs of a major publishing player: judiciously selected material, well edited and presented. This is what we want and it’s just what the kind of publication the industry needs to lure in new fans…
© 1987 Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.