Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Marvel Celebrates 80th Anniversary With Massive Comic
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
August 28, 2019

Share

LOS ANGELES — Marvel Comics is celebrating its 80th anniversary with a massive issue that pays tribute to its history and introduces a new object with implications for the superhero universe going forward.
The Marvel Comics 1000 issue, available Wednesday, pays homage to many of Marvel’s most recognizable characters, including Iron Man, the Hulk and Spider-Man, and also spotlights some lesser known ones. Each page is devoted to a year in Marvel’s history, with the first one recounting the creation of the Human Torch in Marvel Comics No. 1 in 1939.
A mix of serious and humorous stories follows, like the page devoted to 1944 in which Captain America explains why he fights, Dr. Strange’s struggle to keep his magic cape smelling fresh (1951), the introduction of Groot (1960) and a page devoted to Iron Man’s suit for 2008, the year Marvel’s blockbuster film franchise launched.
“I definitely wanted this to be a range of experiences and not have it be an 80-page chucklefest” nor “an 80-page downer,” said Tom Brevoot, the issue’s editor.
Brevoot said he gave the issue’s dozens of creators general guidance, but also the freedom to explore a character or story line in a single page. Many of the pages adopt what Brevoot called a “confessional” approach where a character is speaking to an interviewer. The page for 2017 features superheroes’ answers to “What do you regret,” or another in which Deadpool takes a little too long to answer one of the issue’s recurring questions, “Why do you do what you do?”

Photo of Marvel Comics #1000 cover
(Alex Ross/Marvel Comics via AP)

Styles Range From the Simpler Drawings to the Hyper-Detailed Style

Brevoot said: “Even if you don’t like very single page, there’s another page right after it that’s different.”
The artistic styles range from the simpler drawings of early comics to the hyper-detailed style of some contemporary titles. There are numerous guest writers, including authors Neil Gaiman and Brad Meltzer, basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabar and film directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
Brevoot said he enlisted people he knew were fans of Marvel comics with the aim of adding a “cool flavor” to some of the pages and “show the reach that Marvel has had over 80 years that you don’t really see.”
Controversy emerged Tuesday after The Hollywood Reporter posted a story noting that the text on Captain America’s page representing 1944 had been altered from an early version that pointed to inequalities in America and flaws in its systems. The revised text has Captain America talking about fighting injustice and how hatred, bigotry and exclusion are not patriotic values.
Marvel did not comment on the changes and interviews for this story were completed before the Reporter’s story was posted.
While many of the pages are one-offs, about a quarter of the issue is devoted to a story line that traces back to Marvel’s infancy about a trio of men trying to harness the power of a black mask that has been passed down for centuries. Whoever wears the mask gains powers that give them a fighting chance against even the strongest superheroes.

Photo of Marvel Comics #1000 inside page
(John Cassaday/Marvel Comics via AP)

Most of Marvel’s Vast Catalog Is Now Available Digitally

Before Marvel 1000, the trio called the Three Xs appeared in only a single Marvel issue from 1940. While other characters from Marvel’s early days have been reimagined, writer Al Ewing said the old story of the Three Xs “had something very familiar about it” and provided a seed to bring a broad story that fit not only the anniversary issue, but one that will continue in upcoming comics.
Ewing, who is credited as the issue’s “mastermind,” said he scoured old Marvel issues to make sure there were enough bread crumbs that Marvel 1000 could go back and find later. “I didn’t want to do too much that readers couldn’t go and hunt down themselves,” Ewing said.
Most of Marvel’s vast catalog is now available digitally through its Marvel Unlimited subscription, making research for Ewing, and fans, easier.
At its core, Ewing said he hopes readers walk away with an understanding about what it means to be a Marvel hero.
“We talk a lot about kings, and there are quite a few Marvel heroes who are kings,” he said. “But we also talk about the other side of that, the hero that rises from the commonality of humanity, the hero who could be you.”

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Feds Search Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Properties in Sex Trafficking Probe: AP Sources

DON'T MISS

Easy Time-Saving Tips for Classic Easter Dishes

DON'T MISS

Did You Fall for These Well-Known April Fools’ Day Jokes?

DON'T MISS

Country Star Toby Keith Died Before Being Told He Was Elected to Hall of Fame

DON'T MISS

New Book Explores the Myths, Truths and Legacy of the Macho Man

DON'T MISS

Beyoncé’s Country Album Will Be Called ‘Act II: Cowboy Carter’

DON'T MISS

Eric Carmen, the Raspberries Frontman and ‘All by Myself’ and ‘Hungry Eyes’ Singer, Dies at 74

DON'T MISS

Oscar Moments: Talk of War & Peace, a Coronation for Nolan, and Ken-Demonium for Gosling

DON'T MISS

Dirt-Cheap Gardening Secrets

No data was found

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

11 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

11 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

11 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

11 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

12 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

12 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

12 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

13 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

15 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

16 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

9 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
9 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

10 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

11 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

11 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

11 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

11 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

11 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

12 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend