TASCHEN and Marvel Entertainment Announce ‘The Marvel Comics Library’;

Spider-Man. Vol. 1. 1962–1964 To Kick Off Long-Term Collaboration Today

 New Series Reproduces Marvel’s Rarest Comics in Extra-Large Format.

New York, NY – December 7, 2021 – ‘The Marvel Comics Library’, an exclusive, long-term collaboration between TASCHEN and Marvel, was announced today. Over the next decade, Marvel’s rarest classic comics, including Spider-Man, Avengers and Captain America will be reproduced in their original glory, in extra-large format. The library offers collectors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lay their hands on the world’s most desirable comics. 

The inaugural volume of ‘The Marvel Comics Library’, Spider-Man. Vol. 1. 1962–1964, features the first 21 stories of everybody’s favorite web slinger, meticulously honoring the original vision of Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. An in-depth historical essay by Marvel editor Ralph Macchio, an introduction by uber-collector David Mandel, original art boards, rare photographs, and other never-before-seen gems make this book the ultimate tribute to the teen who redefined what it meant to be a hero, right ahead of Spider-Man’s 60th birthday. 

TASCHEN’s extra-large format, close in size to the original artworks, reveal startling new details in the work of Marvel’s most acclaimed artists. For each title in the series, the most pristine pedigreed comics (from the collection of our own SHELTON DRUM!) have been cracked open for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Rather than recolor the original production artwork (as has been done in previous decades’ reprints of classic comics), TASCHEN has attempted to create an ideal representation of these books as they were produced at the time of publication. Beginning with high grade, top-quality comics sourced with the assistance of the CGC, super-high-resolution photographs of each page were made as printed more than half a century ago, using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing. This included improved and balanced ink densities and color matching, proper registration of the four-color printing and correction of thick/thin lines resulting from the flexible plates “smudging.” The end result is a finished product — as if hot off a world-class printing press produced without economic or time-pressure constraints – tailored for readers, fans, artists and collectors alike. 

Each volume features an essay by a comic book historian alongside hundreds of photos and artifacts. The books use three different paper stocks, including an uncoated and wood-free paper exclusively developed for this series that simulates the feel of the original comics. 

The first 5,000 copies of Spider-Man. Vol. 1 will be numbered and released as a ‘Famous First Edition’. The book is also available as a Collector’s Edition, limited to 1,000 copies featuring an aluminum print cover tipped into a leatherette-bound spine, foil embossing, and housed in a slipcase. Each book is individually numbered. The inaugural purchase of the Collector’s Edition entitles the collector to the selection of a personal favorite number between 1 and 1,000 on a first-come-first-serve basis. This will also secure a preemptive right to reserve a copy with the identical edition number for all forthcoming Collector’s Edition titles in ‘The Marvel Comic Library’. 

The next titles in ‘The Marvel Comics Library’ series will be Avengers. Vol. 1. 1963–1965, Fantastic Four. Vol. 1. 1961–1963 and Captain America, all scheduled for release in 2022 and 2023.

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Shelton granted exclusive and unprecedented access to some of his most prized and beloved comics, and art, to assist in the creation of this comics tome.

“Working with TASCHEN and the CGC on these books has been an honor. The finished product FAR EXCEEDS any pre-conceived expectations I may have held! I just opened the box with the book, and I know the word might be overused, but it is AMAZING! The production quality is awesome. I love it!”

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We will be offering a pre-order for this book in our store and on our website!

The Marvel Comics Library. Spider-Man. Vol. 1. 1962–1964
Hardcover, 11 x 15.6 in., 10.62 lb, 698 pages
US$ 200.00
Famous First Edition: First printing of 5,000 numbered copies
Will ship in January 2022

Also available in a Collector’s Edition of 1,000 numbered copies
Hardcover with ChromaLuxe aluminum print cover tipped into a leatherette-bound spine.
11 x 15.6 in., 5.05 kg (11.13 lb), 698 pages, in a slipcase

Please inquire about availibility. 
US$ 600.00

JUSTIN’S PICK :: MARVEL SUPER HEROES SECRET WARS ACTIVITY BOOK FACSIMILE COLLECTION: (phew) Like most fans of my generation, I am a victim of nostalgia. No industry exploits that propensity quite like comic books. Alongside a cache of Silver Age treasures and unreliable TV reruns, Marvel/Mattel’s Secret Wars toy line was one of my earliest touchstones for the characters I grew to love. In anticipation of its Big Summer Event incarnation, Marvel is releasing this activity book facsimile collection. I don’t think I even had this as a kid, which makes owning it now even more imperative. ‘The specifics weren’t important,’ reads a particularly illuminating appendix in the trade paperback collection of the original Secret Wars series, ‘as long as it featured unique designs that could be made into toys, and as long as it was called “Secret Wars” – two words Mattel had found tested well with adolescent boys.’ Creepy as grown men dispassionately analyzing children may be, the marketing works: thirty years on, and I’m still buying this stuff. Score one for target demographics.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: UNCANNY AVENGERS #1: Another Marvel relaunch destined to inspire endless diatribes of Internet nerdsnark. Nevertheless, I’m excited to see a new iteration of the Avengers’ Unity Squad. Including a historical Avenger like the Vision on the roster only deepens this group’s significance, and throwing in a left field B-lister like Dr. (Brother) Voodoo is super cool (70s genre Marvel is kinda my jam). Also, Rick Remender and Daniel Acuña play well together, so let’s check the cynicism at the door and have a little fun, shall we?

HEATHER’S PICK :: UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1: Confession time, I had never heard of Squirrel Girl until a Free Comic Book Day a few years ago when a local cosplayer, Amberle, showed up in a most amazing costume.  A bigger confession, until someone told me that she was a Marvel character, I thought Amberle just really loved squirrels.  This week I will be able to start learning all about Doreen Green and her best squirrel friend, Tippy Toe.  Doreen is leaving her secret apartment in the attic of Avengers Mansion (I seriously love that little detail and all of the fun things that are stored up there) and heading off to college to study computer science.

Written by Ryan North, adorably rendered by Erica Henderson, and colored by Heroes’ very own, Rico Renzi, this all ages tale is sure to thrill.  I for one can’t wait to have another female centric book from Marvel to read.  Did I mention there’s an awesome Skottie Young variant cover and an Art Adams variant as well?!? Don’t be a nut and miss out on this great new book!

JUSTIN’S PICK :: SPIDER-MAN AND WOLVERINE BY WELLS AND MADUREIRA HC: I’m just gonna come out with it: in comics, Joe Madureira is to the 90s what Michael Golden was to the 80s; that is, Mad’s relatively modest body of work is comparatively massive in its influence. Traces of his kinetic, amped-up brand of storytelling are all over the stands today. With his stint on Uncanny X-Men, Mad conquered the comic book world. And while I am a bit disappointed he’s forgone proper inkers on his past few projects, the results have still been pretty great. This volume collects Mad’s yarns with scribe Zeb Wells, originally aired in the pages of Avenging Spider-Man (which I blabbed about here) and Savage Wolverine. A lot of these issues sold out at Heroes, and with a line-up consisting of Spidey, Wolvie, Red Hulk, Elektra, Mole Man, the Kingpin, and more, it’s not hard to see why. These stories are solid reminders of the joy and wonder that initially drew us – one and all – to comics.

Happy New Comic Book Day friends! Have we got some Heroes Convention news for you?! ESAD RIBIC, Croatian artist of Marvel’s Thor: God of Thunder and countless painted covers will be attending  HeroesCon for the first time in 2014! Don’t miss your chance to meet this brilliant artist!

Tickets for Heroes Convention 2014 are on sale now!

That’s not all! We’ve added 5 more great creators to our guest list today!

GENE GONZALES – Artist: DC Comics Licensing Artist, Iron Man 2 Cards, Diary of Night

CHARLIE KIRCHOFF – Colorist: Judge Dredd, Doctor Who, Anti

EMI LENOX – Cartoonist: EmiTown, Glory, Sweet Tooth

JOE PEKAR – Artist: Grimm Fairy Tales, Brandi Bare, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

PAT QUINN – Artist: The Phantom, GI Joe: Declassified, Necrotic

Heroes Convention takes place June 20-22, 2014. Click here for our full guest list so far. We are adding new guests all the time. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest Heroes news. Better yet, sign up for the Heroes Hotline and get all our news sent right to your inbox. Thanks!

RICO’S PICK :: FURY: MY WAR GONE BY #13: Top to bottom this has been my favorite Marvel book since it started coming out in 2011. Every month we were greeted by another beautiful cover by Dave Johnson, a tough-as-nails story by Garth Ennis and flawless story telling by Goran Parlov and Lee Loughridge. This issue is the series finale and I’m going to miss it!

We’re thrilled to announce the legendary JIM STERANKO as a last minute guest for this weekend’s HeroesCon!  From his inimitable work on Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America, to his design work for Indiana Jones, Steranko is undoubtedly one of comics’ most influential creators.  This marks Steranko’s first ever HeroesCon appearance, so it’s the first chance you’ll have to meet him, get an autograph, and hear him discuss his work at our show.  Advanced ticket sales end tomorrow (Tuesday, June 4) at midnight, so take advantage of the little time remaining, and reserve your tickets now!

Heroes Convention is in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 7-9 2013. Get your 3 day passes today! Our full guest list (so far) is here.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: DAREDEVIL #22 : Mark Waid continues his seminal run on Marvel’s Man Without Fear, ably abetted by the inimitable art of Chris Samnee. This issue finds ol’ Hornhead face-to-face with the Marvel U’s newest contender, the Superior Spider-Man. Matt Murdock is sure to sense something amiss with his old cohort, but the reappearance of a souped-up Stilt-Man might put those suspicions on the back burner. Tightly plotted and wonderfully drawn, Daredevil remains one of Marvel’s most premium offerings.

Maybe I shouldn’t use the Heroes blog to push books I’ve worked on but darn it, I’m proud of these two books I colored that are coming out this week!

RICO’S PICK(S) :: X-MEN #38: The solicitations say this one is written by Brian Wood and David Lopez but I’m here to let you know that is incorrect my friends. X-Men #38 is written by Seth Peck and it features almost no X-Men! This issue a old-fashioned team up featuring Daredevil and Domino. The art is provided by Paul Azaceta and myself, check out page 1 below.

STUMPTOWN #3: Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth’s Stumptown really heats up this issue. The twists and turns are picking up and the action is coming to a head. Grab the first two issues of this while we have them and pick #3 up when it comes out this Wednesday. I think you’ll agree, Dex Parios is one of the most well developed and likable characters in comics.