Marvel Collectors' Item Classics
Encyclopedia
Marvel Collectors' Item Classics was an American
comic book
series published by Marvel Comics
in the mid- to late-1960s that marked the first reprinting of many of the earliest Marvel stories. Primarily focused on the Fantastic Four
, Iron Man
, Doctor Strange
, and the Hulk
, it ran 22 issues before changing its name and page-count, becoming Marvel's Greatest Comics.
in 1965. That first issue, dated February 1965 in its postal indicia
though not on the cover, reprinted The Fantastic Four #2 (Jan. 1962) and The Amazing Spider-Man
#3 (July 1963), as well as the Ant-Man
story from Tales to Astonish
#36, and the first "Tales of Asgard
" featurette, from Journey into Mystery
#97 (Oct. 1963). It was a sister publication of what was then the annual, giant-size reprint comic Marvel Tales.
"MCIC", as it was often abbreviated in Marvel Comics text pages, became a bimonthly series beginning with issue #2 (April 1966), which reprinted The Fantastic Four #3 (March 1962), The Amazing Spider-Man #4 (Sept. 1963), and the Ant-Man story from Tales to Astonish #37 (Nov. 1962).
Dropping Spider-Man the following issue — with that superhero's stories going on to anchor Marvel Tales — the comic began reprinting what would be its regular line-up: The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man
stories from Tales of Suspense
, and Doctor Strange
stories from Strange Tales
. Six issues included short semi-anthological "Tales of the Watcher" science-fiction stories hosted by and sometimes featuring Uatu, the Watcher
.
The reprints were generally in serial order, with occasional skips; missing, for instance, are The Fantastic Four #5-6, already reprinted in Fantastic Four Annual #2-3 (1964–1965); #11, already partly reprinted in Annual #3; #12, never reprinted at the time; #19, reprinted in heavily edited form in the 1967 promotional one-shot America's Best TV Comics
; and #25-26, reprinted in Fantastic Four Annual #4 (1966).
The covers of issues #1-11 each reprinted two to four covers of the comics reprinted inside. Issues of The Incredible Hulk were not reprinted in full, but generally as chapters spread across two to three issues apiece.
stories for shorter "Tales of the Watcher
" vignettes. They and such incidentals as pin-ups were replaced by Captain America
stories from Tales of Suspense
in #25-28. Afterward, the comic reprinted two Fantastic Four stories each issue, usually with a Human Torch & Thing feature from Strange Tales, before becoming a standard 36-page comic with #35 (June 1972), reprinting Fantastic Four stories, at the then-regular price of 20 cents.
The series ran through #96 (Jan. 1981), reprinting a truncated, 23-page version of the 34-page Fantastic Four #116.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
in the mid- to late-1960s that marked the first reprinting of many of the earliest Marvel stories. Primarily focused on the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
, Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
, and the Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
, it ran 22 issues before changing its name and page-count, becoming Marvel's Greatest Comics.
Publication history
One of several 68-page, 25-cent "giant-size" comic books that supplemented publishers' regular 36-page, 12-cent lines, Marvel Collectors' Item Classics premiered as an annual publicationAnnual publication
An annual publication, more often called simply an annual, is a book or a magazine, comic book or comic strip published yearly. For example, a weekly or monthly publication may produce an Annual featuring similar materials to the regular publication....
in 1965. That first issue, dated February 1965 in its postal indicia
Indicia
In philately, indicia are markings on a mail piece showing that postage has been prepaid by the sender. Indicia is the plural of the latin word indicium, meaning distinguishing marks, signs or identifying marks...
though not on the cover, reprinted The Fantastic Four #2 (Jan. 1962) and The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#3 (July 1963), as well as the Ant-Man
Henry Pym
Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym is a fictional character that appears in publications by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber and penciler Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #27...
story from Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics.The primary title bearing that name was published from 1959-1968...
#36, and the first "Tales of Asgard
Asgard
In Norse religion, Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds and is the country or capital city of the Norse Gods surrounded by an incomplete wall attributed to a Hrimthurs riding the stallion Svadilfari, according to Gylfaginning. Valhalla is located within Asgard...
" featurette, from Journey into Mystery
Journey into Mystery
Journey into Mystery was an American comic book series published by Atlas Comics, and later its successor Marvel Comics. It featured horror, monster, and science fiction stories...
#97 (Oct. 1963). It was a sister publication of what was then the annual, giant-size reprint comic Marvel Tales.
"MCIC", as it was often abbreviated in Marvel Comics text pages, became a bimonthly series beginning with issue #2 (April 1966), which reprinted The Fantastic Four #3 (March 1962), The Amazing Spider-Man #4 (Sept. 1963), and the Ant-Man story from Tales to Astonish #37 (Nov. 1962).
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
stories from Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
, and Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
stories from Strange Tales
Strange Tales
Strange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
. Six issues included short semi-anthological "Tales of the Watcher" science-fiction stories hosted by and sometimes featuring Uatu, the Watcher
Uatu
Uatu, often simply known as The Watcher, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and designed by artist Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The Fantastic Four #13 ....
.
The reprints were generally in serial order, with occasional skips; missing, for instance, are The Fantastic Four #5-6, already reprinted in Fantastic Four Annual #2-3 (1964–1965); #11, already partly reprinted in Annual #3; #12, never reprinted at the time; #19, reprinted in heavily edited form in the 1967 promotional one-shot America's Best TV Comics
America's Best TV Comics
America's Best TV Comics was a one-shot American comic book published by Marvel Comics in mid-1967 in conjunction with the ABC television network to promote the network's Saturday morning cartoon lineup.-Publication history:...
; and #25-26, reprinted in Fantastic Four Annual #4 (1966).
The covers of issues #1-11 each reprinted two to four covers of the comics reprinted inside. Issues of The Incredible Hulk were not reprinted in full, but generally as chapters spread across two to three issues apiece.
Marvel's Greatest Comics
With issue #23 (Oct. 1969), the series changed its title and reduced its page-count to 52, exchanging its HulkHulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
stories for shorter "Tales of the Watcher
Uatu
Uatu, often simply known as The Watcher, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and designed by artist Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The Fantastic Four #13 ....
" vignettes. They and such incidentals as pin-ups were replaced by Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
stories from Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
in #25-28. Afterward, the comic reprinted two Fantastic Four stories each issue, usually with a Human Torch & Thing feature from Strange Tales, before becoming a standard 36-page comic with #35 (June 1972), reprinting Fantastic Four stories, at the then-regular price of 20 cents.
The series ran through #96 (Jan. 1981), reprinting a truncated, 23-page version of the 34-page Fantastic Four #116.
External links
- Marvel Collectors' Item Classics at The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators. Archived from the original (requires scrolldown) June 28, 2011.
- Marvel's Greatest Comics at The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators. Archived from the original November 19, 2011.