In 1991, Marvel revised the entire lineup of X-Books, centered on the launch of a second X-Men series, simply titled X-Men. With the return of Xavier and the original X-Men to the team, the roster was split into two strike forces: Cyclops’ “Blue Team” (chronicled in X-Men) and Storm’s “Gold Team” (in Uncanny X-Men).
It’s first issues were written by longstanding X-Men writer Chris Claremont and drawn and co-plotted by Jim Lee. Retailers pre-ordered over 8.1 million copies of issue #1, generating and selling nearly $7 million (though retailers probably sold closer to 3 million copies ), making it the best-selling comic book of all-time, according to Guinness Book of World Records, which presented honors to Claremont at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con.
IT IS WINTER IN AMERICA. For over 70 years, he has stood in stalwart defense of our country and its people. But in the aftermath of Hydra’s takeover of the nation, Captain America is a figure of controversy, carrying a tarnished shield…and a new enemy is rising! Who are the Power Elite? And how do they intend to co-opt and corrupt the symbol that is Captain America?
Captain America V9 #3 1:100 Variant CGC 9.8 White Pages $249Captain America V9 #21 NM $7Captain America V9 #22 NM $5Captain America V9 #23 NM $4
Marvel relaunched The Punisher War Journal in 2009 as simply Punisher, with a thematic link tied to the events of the “Dark Reign” storyline. As part of his work on the character, Rick Remender wrote the one-shot title Dark Reign: The List – Punisher, which, as part of the “Dark Reign” storyline, shows the character dismembered and decapitated by Daken.
Doctor Stephen Strange was the world’s greatest neurosurgeon and the Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme, defending the world against invasions from other dimensions and supernatural threats. He has lost and regained the role several times and journeyed to the strangest of places, even met Eternity itself, but he has always been there to defend this dimension against threats of every size and shape imaginable.
And now he’s dead.
Who will protect the Earth? Who will keep the supernatural evils at bay?
And who killed Doctor Strange?
Death of Doctor Strange Bloodstone #1 NM $6Death of Doctor Strange – Avengers #1 Variant NM $5Death of Doctor Strange – Avengers #1 NM $5The Death of Doctor Strange – X-Men Black Knight #1 NM $5Death of Doctor Strange – Blade #1 NM $5
Writer Mike Friedrich and artist Jim Starlin‘s brief collaboration on the Iron Man series introduced Mentor, Starfox, and Thanos in issue #55 (Feb. 1973). Friedrich scripted a metafictional story in which Iron Man visited the San Diego Comic Convention and met several Marvel Comics writers and artists. He then wrote the multi-issue “War of the Super-Villains” storyline which ran through 1975.
Writer David Michelinie, co-plotter/inker Bob Layton, and penciler John Romita Jr. became the creative team on the series with Iron Man #116 (Nov. 1978). Micheline and Layton established Tony Stark’s alcoholism with the story “Demon in a Bottle“, and introduced several supporting characters, including Stark’s bodyguard girlfriend Bethany Cabe;Stark’s personal pilot and confidant James Rhodes, who later became the superhero War Machine; and rival industrialist Justin Hammer, who was revealed to be the employer of numerous high-tech armed enemies Iron Man fought over the years. The duo also introduced the concept of Stark’s specialized armors as he acquired a dangerous vendetta with Doctor Doom. The team worked together through #154 (Jan. 1982), with Michelinie writing three issues without Layton.
Iron Man V1 #32 VF+ $26Iron Man #47 F $45Iron Man #66 FN+ $12Iron Man #100 FN $12Iron Man V1 #106 VF $6Iron Man #109 FN- $4Iron Man #112 FN- $4Iron man #113 VG+ $2Iron Man #114 FN- $8Iron Man #117 VF- $10Iron Man V1 #119 VF-NM $12Iron Man V1 #120 VF $12Iron Man #122 FN+ $15Iron Man V1 #123 VF-NM $14Iron Man V1 #124 VF $6Iron Man V1 #125 VF $13Iron Man V1 #127 VF $8Iron Man V1 #129 VF $7
Due to strong sales on the character’s first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man was given his own ongoing series in March 1963. The initial years of the series, under Lee and Ditko, chronicled Spider-Man’s nascent career with his civilian life as hard-luck yet perpetually good-humored teenager Peter Parker. Peter balanced his career as Spider-Man with his job as a freelance photographer for The Daily Bugle under the bombastic editor-publisher J. Jonah Jameson to support himself and his frail Aunt May. At the same time, Peter dealt with public hostility towards Spider-Man and the antagonism of his classmates Flash Thompson and Liz Allan at Midtown High School, while embarking on a tentative, ill-fated romance with Jameson’s secretary, Betty Brant.
By focusing on Parker’s everyday problems, Lee and Ditko created a groundbreakingly flawed, self-doubting superhero, and the first major teenaged superhero to be a protagonist and not a sidekick. Ditko’s quirky art provided a stark contrast to the more cleanly dynamic stylings of Marvel’s most prominent artist, Jack Kirby, and combined with the humor and pathos of Lee’s writing to lay the foundation for what became an enduring mythos.
Amazing Spider-Man #17 FN+ $525Amazing Spider-Man #23 VF- $379Amazing Spider-Man 30 CGC 7.5 Off-White to White Pages $295Amazing Spider-Man #54 CGC 9.0 White Pages $339
In 1989, a third Moon Knight volume, titled Marc Spector: Moon Knight was published. It was the longest-running series, lasting sixty issues. This volume introduces Moon Knight’s teenage sidekick Jeff Wilde, also known as “Midnight,” the son of Midnight Man, a villain from the first volume of the series. At this time, Moon Knight first encounters the Black Cat. Turned into a cyborg by the Secret Empire, Midnight is seemingly killed in the “Round Robin” story arc of Amazing Spider-Man, spanning issues #353-#358.
The series was canceled with issue #60 (March 1994), with four of the last six issues drawn by Stephen Platt, who was hired by Image Comics based on the strength of his work on the series.
Recently resurrected by Death in order to wipe out half of the population of the universe, the Titan Thanos discovers the true nature of the six Infinity Gems after gazing into Death’s Infinity Well. Convincing Death that possession of the gems will aid him tremendously in his quest, he gains her permission to seek them out from the cosmic entities that currently possess them.
Thanos Quest #1 signed Jim Starlin NM $59Thanos Quest #2 signed Jim Starlin NM $45
As part of a broader trend by Marvel Comics to substitute its main characters with a diverse cast of original characters in the 2010s, Iron Man was temporarily replaced by Ironheart, a teenaged African-American girl who reverse-engineered the Iron Man armor, in 2016. At the same time, the series Infamous Iron Man began publication with Doctor Doom as Iron Man.
Invincible Iron Man V4 #598 NM $4Invincible Iron Man V4 #599 NM $4
Cable & Deadpool was published by Marvel Comics beginning in 2004. The title characters, Cable and Deadpool, shared the focus of the book. The series was launched following the cancellation of the characters’ previous ongoing solo series. The book’s mix of humor, action, and intricate plotting have won it a devoted fanbase. Marvel Comics canceled the series with issue #50 to make way for a new Deadpool ongoing series that began on September 10, 2008, and a new Cable ongoing series that was launched in March 2008. Cable & Deadpool were ranked #7 on Marvel.com’s list of “The 10 Greatest Buddy Teams” of all time.
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