''Monsters Unleashed'' is the title of an American black-and-white comics magazine published by

Magazine Management Magazine Management Co., Inc. was an American publishing company lasting from at least c. 1947 to the early 1970s, known for men's-adventure magazines, risqué men's magazines, humor, romance, puzzle, celebrity/film and other types of magazines ...

and two color comic-book miniseries from

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 ...

. The first ran from 1973 to 1975. The two miniseries ran consecutively in 2017.

Magazine Management (1973–1975)

The first publication titled ''Monsters Unleashed'' was an American black-and-white

horror comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

magazine published by

, a corporate sibling of

. The series ran 11 issues

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d 1973 to April 1975), plus one

annual publication Annual publications, more often simply called annuals, are periodical publications appearing regularly once per year."Annuals", in '' Encyclopedia of library and information science'' (1968), vol. 1, pp. 434–447. Although exact definitions may v ...

. With sister titles including '' Dracula Lives!'', ''

Tales of the Zombie ''Tales of the Zombie'' was an American black-and-white horror comics magazine published by List of comics magazines published by Magazine Management in the 1970s, Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics. The series ran 10 issues ...

'' and '' Vampire Tales'', it was published by

' parent company,

, and related corporations, under the brand emblem Marvel Monster Group. The first issue was dated simply 1973, but the second issue of the magazine, published quarterly, was cover-dated September 1973.''Monsters Unleashed''
at the Grand Comics Database. A magazine rather than a comic book, it did not fall under the purview of the comics industry's self-censorship

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 ...

, allowing the title to feature stronger content — such as moderate profanity, partial nudity, and more graphic violence — than color comics of the time. ''Monsters Unleashed'' primarily featured standalone horror stories, both original and reprinted, including from pre-Comics Code comics from

' 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics. It occasionally featured stories starring the Marvel Comics swamp monster

Man-Thing The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ' ...

, the Marvel version of the

Frankenstein monster Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...

, the bestial Wendigo, the science-fiction adventurer Gullivar Jones. and the superheroine

Tigra Tigra (Greer Grant Nelson) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Roy Thomas and artist Wally Wood (Marie Severin was then brought in to help layout the art), with her early adventur ...

. It also included text features on monster movies. ''Monsters Unleashed'' was edited by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

for the first six issues, succeeded by

Tony Isabella Jenny Blake Isabella (born December 22, 1951), who writes under the names Tony Isabella and Jenny Blake, is an Americans, American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic. She is the creator of Marvel Comics superhero Bill Foster (com ...

, and then

Don McGregor Donald Francis McGregor (born June 15, 1945) is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics; he is the author of one of the first graphic novels. Early life Don McGregor was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he ...

for the last two issues. The painted covers were illustrated by the likes of

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001)Gray Morrow
at the S ...

Boris Vallejo Boris Vallejo (born January 8, 1941) is a Peruvian-American painter who works in the science fiction, fantasy, and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have appeared on the covers of numerous novels in the science fiction, sword ...

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

Frank Brunner Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Early life Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating class ...

, Bob Larkin, Richard Hescox, Earl Norem, and Jose Antonio Domingo. In addition to the 11 issues there was one

in 1975 consisting completely of stories reprinted from the magazine.

Marvel Comics (2017)

Volume two

The second volume of ''Monsters Unleashed'' is a

series published in 2017.''Monsters Unleashed'' (Marvel, 2017 series)
at the Grand Comics Database. It is the flagship title of the "Monster Unleashed" company-wide crossover story arc. Additionally, a tie-in trade paperback book, ''Monsters Unleashed Prelude'', reprinted late 1950s and early 1960s " pre-superhero Marvel" stories starring several of the giant monsters seen in the new series. ''Monsters Unleashed'' volume two began publication in January 2017. The five-issue miniseries was

March–May 2017.

Synopsis

Monsters have been appearing on Earth upon falling from the sky. The Avengers fight a reptilian monster in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

fight a spider monster in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

and Shuri defend

Wakanda Wakanda (), officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...

from a thick-skinned monster, the

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Comic book teams 1969 team The 1969 version of the Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), Guardians of the Galaxy were the origi ...

defend Groot from a snake-like monster in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 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 ...

fight a multi-headed monster in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, and the Champions fight a tentacled eye monster in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Elsa Bloodstone Elsa Bloodstone is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and Michael Lopez, the character first appeared in ''Bloodstone'' #1 (December 2001). Elsa Bloodstone is the daug ...

finds a prophecy that tells of the Monster King whom all monsters fear. The

Winter Guard Winter guard (sometimes spelled "winterguard") is an indoor Color guard (flag spinning), color guard sport and performance art derived from military ceremonies. Modern winter guard is a competitive, performance-based activity which incorporates c ...

fights monsters in Moscow while

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...

and Warrior Woman fight them in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

while

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

fights them in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

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 ...

and

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

discover that Kei Kawade is an Inhuman who can summon monsters called Goliathons to help fight the Leviathon invasion. Kei then learns how to use his powers perfectly and manages to defeat the Leviathon Queen with a team of new monsters.

Titles involved

* ''Monsters Unleashed'' vol. 2, #1–5 * ''All-New X-Men'' vol. 2 #1.MU * ''Avengers'' vol. 7 #1.MU * ''Champions'' vol. 2 #1.MU * ''Doctor Strange'' vol. 4 #1.MU * ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' vol. 4 #1.MU * ''Spider-Man/Deadpool'' #1.MU * ''Totally Awesome Hulk'' #1.MU * ''Uncanny Inhumans'' #1.MU * ''Marvel Free Previews: Monsters Unleashed!'' #1

Volume three

The third volume of ''Monsters Unleashed'' is a five-issue Marvel Comics miniseries

d June-Oct. 2017.''Monsters Unleashed'' (Marvel, [second
/nowiki> 2017 series">econd">''Monsters Unleashed'' (Marvel, [second
/nowiki> 2017 seriesat the Grand Comics Database. It follows the adventures of Kei Kawade, vampire-hunter Elsa Bloodstone, and Kei Kawade's creations Aegish, Slizzik, Scragg, Hi Vo and Mekara. The series unfolds as the team takes on gargantuan creatures and protects the planet while also having to deal with the latest incarnation of Intelligencia.

Critical reception

The entire crossover received mixed reviews. According to Comic Book Roundup, the entire crossover received an average rating of 6.9 out of 10 based on 48 reviews.

Collected editions

References

External links

* {{Marvel events 1973 comics debuts 1975 comics endings 2017 comics debuts 2017 comics endings Comics by Don McGregor Comics by Gerry Conway Defunct American comics Marvel Comics storylines Horror comics Comics about monsters