Marvel has been releasing an amazing collection of covers and trades to celebrate their 75th anniversary in the comics business, but this latest set might just take the cake. Collecting 11 hardcover sets of Marvel’s most iconic characters and their first appearances, the Marvel Famous Firsts: 75th Anniversary Masterworks set goes on sale next week.
“This is one of the most epic collections Marvel has ever compiled. Not only do these Masterworks retell the origins of Marvel’s iconic heroes, but they are collected and presented in a gorgeous slipcase built to resemble the historic Avengers Mansion,” says David Gabriel, SVP Sales and Marketing. “If that wasn’t enough, this collection is coupled with a beautiful poster signed by Stan Lee. It doesn’t get grander then this!”
That’s right: it comes inside the Avengers Mansion. Much like the monthly Official Marvel Graphic Novel Collection, the spines unite to form a single image. Another interesting highlight of the set is the “long-in-demand” Not Brand Echh collection, the late 1960s series that featured stories from Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Gene Colan, Bill Everett, John and Marie Severin, and Roy Thomas parodying their own creations.
According to Amazon, this collection retails for US $500, although they are generously offering it for $450 at the moment. That works out to about US $45 a volume at the full retail price, which isn’t terrific value but it is also incredibly pretty and a bit of a collectors item.
The complete set contains 3,016 pages worth of content, including:
CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 1 HC
264 pgs. – collecting Tales of Suspense #59-81
DAREDEVIL VOL. 1 HC
256 pgs. – collecting Daredevil #1-11
DOCTOR STRANGE VOL. 1 HC
328 pgs. – collecting Strange Tales #110-111 and #114 – 141, and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2
NOT BRAND ECHH VOL. 1 HC
456 pgs. – collecting Not Brand Echh #1-13; and material from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5, Avengers Annual #2, Daredevil Annual #1, Fantastic Four Annual #5 and Sgt. Fury Annual #4.
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 1 HC
272 pgs. – collecting Amazing Fantasy #15 and Amazing Spider-Man #1-10.
THE AVENGERS VOL. 1 HC
248 pgs. – collecting Avengers #1-10
THE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 1 HC
272 pgs. – collecting Fantastic Four #1-10
THE INCREDIBLE HULK VOL. 1 HC
176 pgs. – collecting Hulk #1-6
THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL. 1 HC
208 pgs. – collecting Tales of Suspense #39-50
THE MIGHTY THOR VOL. 1 HC
280 pgs. – collecting Journey into Mystery #83-100
THE X-MEN VOL. 1 HC
248 pgs. – collecting X-Men #1-10
