What If, sometimes rendered as What If…?, is published by Marvel Comics whose stories explore how the Marvel Universe might have unfolded if key moments in its history hadn’t occurred as they did in mainstream continuity. What If comics have been published in eleven series (volumes).
The stories of the inaugural series (1977–1984) feature the alien Uatu the Watcher as a narrator. From the moon, Uatu, a member of an immortal race of “Watchers”, observes both the Earth and alternate realities. Most What If stories begin with Uatu describing an event in the mainstream Marvel Universe, then introducing a point of divergence in that event and then describing the consequences of the divergence. Uatu was used similarly in the second series (1989–1998) until a point where, in the Fantastic Four comic book, Uatu was punished for destroying another Watcher. This made the use of Uatu improbable so the character was phased out to its last appearance in issue #76. Without a framing device, the stories themselves became the focus.
What If #1 CGC 9.4 White Pages $124What If V1 #2 FN+ $8What If V1 #4 FN- $6What If V1 #6 FN $7What If V1 #8 VF $9What If V1 #9 VF- $14What If V1 #17 VF $14What If V1 #20 VF- $14What If V1 #21 VF $12What If V1 #27 VF $8What If V1 #29 FN+ $8What If V1 #33 VF $9What If V1 #34 VF-NM $10What If V1 #36 NM $24What If V1 #37 VF+ $12What If #39 Newstand VF+ $24What If #40 VF- $5What If V1 #41 VF+ $9What If V1 #42 VF+ $9What If V1 #44 NM- $24What If V1 #45 F+$7What If V1 #46 F- $4What If Special #1 NM $8
Marvel Fanfare was envisioned as a showcase of the comics industry’s best talent. Each issue featured 36 pages of material with no advertisements and it was printed on magazine-style slick paper. It was more than twice as expensive as standard comic books ($1.25 in 1982 when most titles were 60 cents and $2.25 in 1991 when most were $1).
Marvel Premiere ran for 61 issues from April 1972 to August 1981. The series introduced new characters and reintroduced characters who no longer had their own titles. Writer Roy Thomas and penciler Gil Kane significantly revamped Him as the allegorical Messiah Adam Warlock in Marvel Premiere #1 (April 1972). Iron Fist first appeared in issue #15, written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Gil Kane. Other introductions include the Legion of Monsters, the Liberty Legion,Woodgod, the 3-D Man, and the second Ant-Man (Scott Lang). The series also featured the first comic book appearance of rock musician Alice Cooper. Later in the title’s run, Marvel Premiere was used to finish stories of characters who had lost their own series including the Man-Wolf in issues #45-46 and the Black Panther in issues #51-53.
Epic Illustrated was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine Heavy Metal, it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional American comic books of that time bound by the restrictive Comics Code Authority, as well as offering its writers and artists ownership rights and royalties in place of the industry-standard work for hire contracts. The series lasted 34 issues from Spring 1980–February 1986.
A color comic-book imprint, Epic Comics, was spun off in 1982.
Epic Illustrated #5 April 1981 NM $22Epic Illustrated #9 December 1981 NM $19Epic Illustrated #10 February 1982 NM $22Epic Illustrated #11 April 1982 NM $19Epic Illustrated #12 June 1982 VF+ $17Epic Illustrated #13 August 1982 VF-NM $18Epic Illustrated #15 December 1982 NM $26Epic Illustrated #16 February 1983 NM- $24Epic Illustrated #17 April 1983 NM $18Epic Illustrated #18 June 1983 NM $18Epic Illustrated #20 October 1983 NM $18Epic Illustrated #21 December 1983 VF-NM $16Epic Illustrated #23 April 1984 NM- $17Epic Illustrated #25 August 1984 NM $18
During the summer of 1973, Englehart and artists Bob Brown and Sal Buscema produced “The Avengers-Defenders Clash” storyline which crossed over between the two team titles. “The Celestial Madonna” arc linked Mantis’ origins to the very beginnings of the Kree-Skrull conflict in a time-spanning adventure involving Kang the Conqueror,and Immortus, who were past and future versions of each other.Mantis was revealed to be the Celestial Madonna,who was destined to give birth to a being that would save the universe.It was revealed that the Vision’s body had only been appropriated, and not created by Ultron, and that it originally belonged to the 1940s Human Torch. With his origins clear to him, the Vision proposed to the Scarlet Witch. The “Celestial Madonna” saga ended with their wedding, presided over by Immortus. The Beast and Moondragon joined the team soon after. George Pérez became the title’s artist with issue #141 (Nov. 1975) which saw the start of a seven-part story featuring the Squadron Supreme and the Serpent Crown. In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Englehart’s run on The Avengers eighth on its list of the “Top 10 1970s Marvels”.
During his two years on the title, Roger Stern augmented the backgrounds of long-established Spider-Man villains, and with Romita Jr. created the mysterious supervillain the Hobgoblin in #238-239 (March–April 1983) Fans engaged with the mystery of the Hobgoblin’s secret identity, which continued throughout #244-245 and 249-251 (Sept.-Oct. 1983 and Feb.-April 1984). One lasting change was the reintroduction of Mary Jane Watson as a more serious, mature woman who becomes Peter’s confidante after she reveals that she knows his secret identity. Stern wrote “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man” in The Amazing Spider-Man #248 (January 1984), a story which ranks among his most popular.
David Michelinie took over as writer in #290 (July 1987) that led to the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21. The “Kraven’s Last Hunt” storyline by writer J.M. DeMatteis and artists Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod crossed over into The Amazing Spider-Man #293 and 294. Issue #298 (March 1988) was the first Spider-Man comic to be drawn by future industry star Todd McFarlane, the first regular artist on The Amazing Spider-Man since Frenz’s departure. McFarlane revolutionized Spider-Man’s look. His depiction – large-eyed, with wiry, contorted limbs, and messy, knotted, convoluted webbing – influenced the way virtually all subsequent artists would draw the character. McFarlane’s other significant contribution to the Spider-Man canon was the design for what would become one of Spider-Man’s most wildly popular antagonists, the supervillainVenom. Issue #299 (April 1988) featured Venom’s first appearance (a last-page cameo) before his first full appearance in #300 (May 1988). The latter issue featured Spider-Man reverting to his original red-and-blue costume.
Other notable issues of the Michelinie-McFarlane era include #312 (Feb. 1989), featuring the Green Goblin vs. the Hobgoblin; and #315-317 (May–July 1989), with the return of Venom. In July 2012, Todd McFarlane’s original cover art for The Amazing Spider-Man #328 sold for a bid of $657,250, making it the most expensive American comic book art ever sold at auction.
Captain America continued from Tales of Suspensewith artwork by Kirby, as well as a short run by Jim Steranko, and work by many of the industry’s top artists and writers. It was called Captain America and the Falcon from #134 (Feb. 1971) to #222 (June 1978) although the Falcon’s name was not on the cover for issues #193, 200, and 216. The 1972–1975 run on the title by writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema saw the series become one of Marvel’s top-sellers. In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Englehart and Buscema’s run on Captain America fourth on its list of the “Top 10 1970s Marvels”. Kirby returned to the series as writer and penciler with issue #193 (Jan. 1975) ]and remained through #214 (Oct. 1977).
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The first major development of the 80’s was the breakdown of Henry Pym, with his frequent changes of costume and name being symptomatic of an identity problem and an inferiority complex. After he abused his wife, failed to win back the confidence of the Avengers with a ruse and was duped by the villain Egghead, Pym was jailed. Pym would later outwit Egghead and defeated the latest incarnation of the Masters of Evil single-handedly, and proved his innocence. Pym reconciled with the Wasp, but they decided to remain apart. Pym retired from super-heroics, but returned years later.
This was followed by several major storylines, such as “Ultimate Vision” in which the Vision took over the world’s computer systems in a misguided attempt to create world peace; the formation of the West Coast Avengers; and “Avengers Under Siege” which involved the second Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil taking over the mansion and severely injuring Jarvis and Hercules. “Assault on Olympus” featured Hercules’ father, Zeus, blaming the Avengers for his son’s injuries and brought them to Olympus for trial, and the “Heavy Metal” arc saw the Super Adaptoid organized several robotic villains for an assault on the team. New members during the 1980s included Tigra; the She-Hulk;Monica Rambeau (then going by the name Captain Marvel);Starfox (the brother of Thanos); Hawkeye’s wife, Mockingbird; and Namor, while Henry Pym emerged from retirement to join the West Coast Avengers. Spider-Man was again offered membership, but failed to gain admission due to security concerns by the Avengers’ government liaison.
The villain Nebula falsely claimed to be the granddaughter of Thanos. The team relocated for a period to a floating island off the coast of New York called Hydrobase after Avengers Mansion was severely damaged during the events in “Under Siege”. Hydrobase was later sunk during the Acts of Vengeance crossover.
Walt Simonson took over both writing and art as of #337 (Nov. 1983). His stories placed a greater emphasis on the character’s mythological origins. Simonson’s run as writer-artist lasted until #367 (May 1986), although he continued to write – and occasionally draw – the book until issue #382 (Aug. 1987). Simonson’s run, which introduced the character Beta Ray Bill, was regarded as a popular and critical success.Simonson’s later stories were drawn by Sal Buscema, who describes Simonson’s stories as “very stimulating. It was a pleasure working on his plots, because they were a lot of fun to illustrate. He had a lot of great ideas, and he took Thor in a totally new direction.” Asked why he was leaving Thor, Simonson said that he felt the series was due for a change in creative direction, and that he wanted to reduce his work load for a time. After Simonson’s departure, Marvel’s editor-in-chief at the time, Tom DeFalco, became the writer. Working primarily with artist Ron Frenz, DeFalco stayed on the book until #459 (Feb. 1993).
Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts, also known as Doctor Strange vol. 2, ran 81 issues (June 1974-February 1987). Doctor Strange #14 featured a crossover story with The Tomb of Dracula #44, another series which was being drawn by Gene Colan at the time.In Englehart’s final story, he sent Dr. Strange back in time to meet Benjamin Franklin. In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Englehart’s work on Doctor Strange with artists Brunner and Colan ninth on its list of the “Top 10 1970s Marvels.”
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