Marvel 70th Anniversary Collection

Amazing Adult Fantasy (1961) #13

by Stan Lee

Celebrate a senses-shattering 70 years of Marvel Comics with this fitting tribute to the storied history of the House of Ideas This keepsake edition showcases the creative evolution of the Marvel Universe like never before by collecting the single best story from each of the past seven decades - as chosen by the True Believers themselves, the mighty Marvel fans Collecting 10 of the best stories from the past 70 years, as chosen by the industry's top creators, plus the 70th Anniversary issue of Marvel Spotlight.

Collects material from Sub-Mariner (1968-1974 1st Series) #1, Captain America Comics (1941-1954 Golden Age) #2-3, Journey into Mystery (1952) #2, Tales to Astonish (1959-1968 1st Series) #13, AMAZING ADULT FANTASY (1961) #12; and Fantastic Four (1961-1996 1st Series) #13, Strange Tales (1951-1976 1st Series) #115, Amazing Spider-Man (1963-1998 1st Series) #50, Avengers (1963-1996 1st Series) #93, Iron Man (1968-1996 1st Series) #128, Uncanny X-Men #132, Daredevil (1964-1998 1st Series) #168, Incredible Hulk (1962-1999 1st series) #340, Marvels (1994) #0, Avengers (1997-2004 3rd Series) #4, Ultimate Spider-Man (2000-2009) #13, New Avengers: Illuminati (2006) #1 and Captain America (2004- 5th Series) #25.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 22, 2009

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Matthew Ledrew]

Amazing Adult Fantasy (1961) (#13): _ stars.
Journey Into Mystery (1952) (#2) _ stars.
Captain America Comics (#2): _ stars.
Captain America Comics (#3): _ stars.
Strange Tales (1951) (#115): _ stars.
Sub-Mariner (1968) (#1): _ stars.
Tales to Astonish (#13): _ stars.
The Amazing Spider-Man (1963-1998) (#50): 5 stars.
Ultimate Spider-Man (Single Issues) (#13): 5 stars.
Daredevil (1964) (#168): 5 stars.
Avengers (1998) (Single Issues) (#4): 5 stars.
The New Avengers: Illuminati (#1): 5 stars.
Uncanny X-Men (1963) (#132): 5 stars.
Captain America (2004) (Single Issues) (#25): 5 stars.
The Incredible Hulk (1968) (#340): 5 stars.
Fantastic Four (1961) (#13): 4 stars.
Avengers (1963) (#93): 3 stars.
The Invincible Iron Man (1968) (#128): 3 stars.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's no way that a collection of this length can live up to any individual's expectations; I'm sure that every comics fan was horrified that their favorite story of such-and-so was excluded and something they found inferior made the cut. At least that was my reaction, but at the same time I recognize that it's a good retrospective of seven decades. For example, I'm not too fond of the '98 Avengers story, because I didn't feel it presented the characters either convincingly or realistically; The Wasp comes off as a babbling idiot. I was surprised that there was no appearence of either Howard the Duck or The Silver Surfer, major icons of the company back in the days, and I was also surprised that there were no Westerns, nor Galactus or Thor, and that the X-Men weren't more dominant. On the other hand, there are classic '50s horror tales, a good Daredevil, some good Captain America, Hulk, Spider-Man, and Fantastic Four tales.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I have read many of these stories before, many times, it was refreshing to have them all in one collection.
True, my choices would have been very different (as would yours) the selection in this volume is good. Not great, but good.
What I liked? Sub-Mariner by Bill Everett.... Captain America & Bucky in drag...Ditko's "Amazing Adult Fantasy" #10.... Neal Adams art....

All in all a good retrospect of the House of Ideas.

Now I want to track down many, many of those early titles.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you haven't been an avid comic book reader like myself, this is a great way to just get your feet wet on some of the classic Marvel stories. While I didn't care for each and every story, that's always going to be the case in these types of collections. I think it's a great starter book or even a great refresher on some of the more classic stories that Marvel has in their repertoire.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This TPB is full of gems: the origin of Doctor Strange, Peter Parker giving up being Spider-Man, Iron Man battling alcoholism, the X-Men battling the Hellfire Club, Wolverine fighting Gray Hulk, and the beautifully drawn and colored origin of the original Human Torch, to name a few. This is a great summary of seven decades of Marvel Comics, and the selections are justified.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic glimpse into the Marvel Universe. This compilation comprises several issues from each decade of Marvel's existence (1940s-present). So interesting to see how the art styles and plots have changed over the years.

[dreams_of_a_butterfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories are good, some are not. An okay collection of marvel stories. I liked the early stories best, and like how Namor is drawn in "Sub-mariner". My favorites are "Sub-mariner", and "The red ghost".