Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of American publishing company

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, active from 1982 to 1996. A spin-off of the publisher's '' Epic Illustrated'' magazine, it published creator-owned work unconnected to Marvel's superhero universe, and without the restrictions of the Comics Code. The name was revived by Marvel in the mid-2000s for a short-lived program inviting new writers to pitch series proposals to the publisher.

History

Origins

Launched by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter as a spin-off of the successful ''Epic Illustrated'' magazine, the Epic imprint allowed creators to retain control and ownership of their properties. Co-edited by

Al Milgrom Allen L. Milgrom (born March 6, 1950) is an American comic book artist (penciller and inker), writer, and editor, primarily for Marvel Comics. He is known for his 10-year run as editor of '' Marvel Fanfare''; his long involvement as writer, penci ...

and Archie Goodwin, the imprint also allowed Marvel to publish more objectionable content (sometimes explicit) without needing to comply with the stringent

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...

. Epic titles were printed on higher quality paper than typical Marvel comics, and were only available via the

direct market The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of: * three major comic distributors: ** Luna ...

Titles

* '' Alien Legion'' by writers Carl Potts and Alan Zelenetz and artist Frank Cirocco *'' Atomic Age'' by writer Frank Lovece, penciler Mike Okamoto and inker Al Williamson * '' The Black Dragon'' by writer

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...

and artist John Bolton * '' The Bozz Chronicles'' by writer David Michelinie and artists Bret Blevins and John Ridgway, moved to

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, book ...

in 2015 * '' Cadillacs and Dinosaurs'' (colorized version) by writer-artist Mark Schultz * '' Captain Confederacy'' (second series) by writer Will Shetterly and artist Vince Stone * '' Coyote'' by writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshall Rogers, moved to

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

in 2005 * '' Crash Ryan'' by writer-artist Ron Harris * '' Dreadstar'' by writer-artist Jim Starlin * Dreadlands by Andy Lanning, Steve White, and Phil Gascoine * '' Clive Barker's Hellraiser'' by various writers and artists, moved to

Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (stylized as BOOM! Studios), is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher. They are headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The company is a subsidiary of Random House division of Penguin Random House sin ...

in 2011 * '' Clive Barker's Night Breed'' by writers Alan Grant and John Wagner and artist Jim Baikie * ''Clive Barker's The Harrowers'' by writers McNally Sagal, Malcolm Smith, Anna Miller and Fred Vicarel and artist

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

* ''

Elfquest ''Elfquest'' (or ''ElfQuest'') is a comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978, and still owned by them. It is a fantasy story about a community of Elves (Elfquest), elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and ...

'' by writer-artists

Wendy and Richard Pini Wendy Pini ( Fletcher; born June 4, 1951) and Richard Pini (born July 19, 1950) are the husband-and-wife team responsible for creating the well-known ''Elfquest'' series of Comic book, comics, graphic novels and prose works. They are also known ...

* '' Elektra Lives Again'' by writer-artist Frank Miller and colorist Lynn Varley * '' Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser'' by writer

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an Americans, American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett an ...

and artist Mike Mignola, moved to

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

in 2007 * ''Feud'' by writer

Mike Baron Mike Baron (born July 1, 1949) is an American comic book writer and novelist. He is the creator of ''Badger (comics), Badger'' and the co-creator of ''Nexus (comics), Nexus'' with Steve Rude. He is also well known as the first writer on Marvel Co ...

and artist Mark A. Nelson * '' The Groo Chronicles'' by writer-artist Sergio Aragonés and writer Mark Evanier * ''Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown'' by writers

Walt Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter (name), Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Anderson (American football) (born 1952), American football official * Walt ...

and Louise Simonson and artists Kent Williams and Jon J. Muth * ''Interface'' by writer James D. Hudnall and various artists * ''Iron Man: Crash'' by writer-artist Mike Saenz * ''Lawdog'' by writer Chuck Dixon and artists Flint Henry, * '' The Light and Darkness War'' by writer Tom Veitch and artist Cam Kennedy, moved to Titan Books in 2015 * '' Marshal Law'' by writer

Pat Mills Patrick Eamon Mills (born 1949) is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfath ...

and artist Kevin O'Neill, moved to

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

in 2013 * ''Metropol'' by writer-artist Ted McKeever * ''Midnight Men'' by writer-artist

* '' Moonshadow'' by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artists Jon J. Muth, Kent Williams and George Pratt, moved to Dark Horse Comics in 2019 * '' The One'' by writer-artist

Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (; born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground comics, underground, and alternative comics. Biography Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One ...

, moved to King Hell Press in 2003 * '' Pinhead'' by writers D.G. Chichester and Erik Saltzgaber and artists Dario Corrasco and Phil Gascoine * ''Psychonauts'' by writers Alan Grant and Tony Luke and artist Motofumi Kobayashi * '' Sachs and Violens'' by writer Peter David and writer-artist

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (c ...

, moved to DC Comics in 2006 * '' Shadowline Saga'' by creator Archie Goodwin * '' Sisterhood of Steel'' by writer Christie Marx and artist Mike Vosburg * '' Six From Sirius'' by writer by Doug Moench and artist Paul Gulacy * '' The Sleeze Brothers'' by writer John Carnell and artist Andy Lanning * '' Spyke'' by writer Mike Baron and artist Bill Reinhold * '' Stray Toasters'' by writer-artist Bill Sienkiewicz * '' Swords of the Swashbucklers'' by writer

Bill Mantlo William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: '' Micronauts'' and '' R ...

and artists Jackson Guice, Geof Isherwood and Colleen Doran * '' Timespirits'' by writer Stephen Perry and artist Tom Yeates * '' Void Indigo'' by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik * ''

Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...

'' by various writers and artists Source:

Citations

General and cited references

* *
"Epic Comics"
at the International Catalogue of Superheroes

External links

"Marvel to tell 'Epic' stories once again"
, ''

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...