''Marvel Super-Heroes'' is the name of several

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series and specials published by

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 ...

Publication history

One-shot

The first was the one-shot ''Marvel Super Heroes Special'' #1 (Oct. 1966) produced as a tie-in to ''

The Marvel Super Heroes ''The Marvel Super Heroes'' is an American animated television series starring five comic book superheroes from Marvel Comics. The first TV series based on Marvel Comics, Marvel characters, it debuted in broadcast syndication, syndication on Amer ...

'' animated television program, reprinting '' Daredevil'' #1 (April 1964) and '' The Avengers'' #2 (Nov. 1963), plus two stories from the 1930s-1940s period fans and historians call

Golden Age of comic books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

: "The

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...

and the Sub-Mariner Meet" ('' Marvel Mystery Comics'' #8, June 1940), and the first Marvel story by future editor-in-chief

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

, the two-page text piece "Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge" (''

Captain America Comics ''Captain America Comics'' is a comic book series featuring the superhero character Captain America. The series was originally published by Timely Comics from 1941 to 1950, with a brief revival by Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics in 1954. Pub ...

'' #3, May 1941). This summer special was a 25¢ "giant", relative to the typical 12¢ comics of the times.

First series

The first ongoing series of this name began as ''Fantasy Masterpieces'', initially a standard-sized, 12¢

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

reprinting " pre-superhero Marvel" monster and

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

stories. With issue #3 (June 1966), the title was expanded to a 25-cent giant reprinting a mix of those stories and

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

stories from Marvel's 1940s iteration as

Timely Comics Timely Comics was the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely P ...

. ''Fantasy Masterpieces'' ran 11 issues (Feb. 1966–Oct. 1967) before being renamed ''Marvel Super-Heroes'' with #12 (Dec. 1967). While continuing with the same mix of reprint material, this first volume of ''Marvel Super-Heroes'' also began showcasing a try-out feature as each issue's lead. This encompassed solo stories of such supporting characters as

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

of the

Inhumans The Inhumans are a superhuman race of super beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many people associat ...

, as well as the debuts of Captain Marvel (#12), the Phantom Eagle (#16) and the Guardians of the Galaxy (#18). The

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

story drawn by

Ross Andru Ross Andru (; born Rostislav Androuchkevitch, June 15, 1927 – November 9, 1993) Part 1: Animation: We Leave the Army", p. 21. In 1948, Andru's first professional work as a comic strip illustrator was drawing layouts for the ''Tarzan (comics), T ...

in issue #14 was originally planned as a fill-in issue of ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' but was used here when that title's regular artist John Romita Sr. recovered more quickly than anticipated from a wrist injury. Andru would become the regular artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' several years later. Under either name, this series' Golden Age reprints represented the newly emerging comic-book fandom's first exposure to some of the earliest work of such important creators as

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie (comics), Zombie and Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil ...

, and

Carl Burgos Carl Burgos ( ; born Max Finkelstein ; April 18, 1916 – March 1984 Note: Gives only month and year of death.) was an American comic book and advertising artist best known for creating the Human Torch (android), original Human Torch in ''Marvel ...

, and to such long-unseen and unfamiliar characters as the Whizzer and the

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

. ''Fantasy Masterpieces'' #10 (Aug. 1967) reprinted the entirety of the full-length All-Winners Squad story from the (unhyphenated) '' All Winners Comics'' #19 (Fall 1946). ''Fantasy Masterpieces'' #11 (Oct. 1967) re-introduced the work of the late artist

Joe Maneely Joseph Maneely (; February 18, 1926 – June 7, 1958) was an American comic book artist best known for his work at Marvel Comics' 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics, where he co-created the Marvel characters the Black Knight (Si ...

, a star of 1950s comics who had died in a train accident.

Original features

''Marvel Super-Heroes'' became an all-reprint magazine beginning with #21 (July 1969) (except for an original "Tales of the Watcher" story in #23), and a regular-sized comic at the then-standard 20-cent price with #32 (Sept. 1972). This reprint series lasted through issue #105 (Jan. 1982). A second series titled ''Fantasy Masterpieces'' ran from #1-14 (Dec. 1979–Jan. 1981), reprinting truncated versions of the 1968 ''

Silver Surfer 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 a ...

'' series, and Adam Warlock stories from '' Strange Tales'' and ''Warlock''.

Second Series

The 15-issue ''Marvel Super-Heroes'' (vol. 2) (May 1990–Oct. 1993) was published quarterly and generally printed "inventory stories," those assigned to serve as emergency filler. The first issue featured a Brother Voodoo story drawn by Fred Hembeck in a dramatic style rather than his usual "cartoony" art.

Stories in Marvel Super-Heroes Vol 2

Other iterations

In September 1979, the

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint (trade name), imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint United States of America, US-produced stories for the United Kingdom, British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British cr ...

series '' The Mighty World of Marvel'' was retitled ''Marvel Superheroes'' after a brief run under the title ''Marvel Comic''. The name itself reappeared, without a hyphen, as part of the title of a 12-issue, company-wide crossover

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'' (May 1984–April 1985). The 1985-1986 sequel was titled simply ''Secret Wars II''. The final series of this title was the six-issue ''Marvel Super-Heroes Megazine'' (Oct. 1994–March 1995), a 100-page book reprinting 1970s and 1980s

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

, Daredevil,

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

and

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

stories in each issue.

References

External links

''Marvel Super-Heroes''
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{Stan Lee 1967 comics debuts 1982 comics endings 1990 comics debuts 1993 comics endings Comics anthologies Comics by Archie Goodwin (comics) Comics by Roy Thomas Comics by Stan Lee Defunct American comics Marvel Comics one-shots Marvel Comics titles