Creatures on the Loose V1 (1971)

Tower of Shadows was re titled Creatures on the Loose with issue #10 (March 1971), this version led off with a seven-page King Kull story by Thomas and artist Bernie Wrightson. The book then became all-reprint until issue #16 (March 1972), when writer Thomas and the art team of Gil Kane and Bill Everett introduced the series “Gullivar Jones, Warrior of Mars”, starring an interplanetary Earthman created by author Edwin L. Arnold in his 1905 book Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation. Following another issue by Thomas and one by Gerry Conway, science fiction novelist George Alec Effinger wrote the final three installments.

Effinger continued as writer for the series that immediately followed, in issue #22 (March 1973): “Thongor! Warrior of Lost Lemuria!”, adapting asword-and-sorcery barbarian character created by author Lin Carter. Following writers Tony Isabella and Gardner Fox, Carter himself co-wrote (with Steve Gerber) the final two installments.

Thomas, Marvel’s associate editor at the time, recalled in 2007 that Thongor had been the company’s first choice when Marvel decided to published a licensed fantasy character, rather than the eventual hit Conan the Barbarian. Publisher Martin Goodman “authorized us to go after a character. I first went after Lin Carter’s Thongor, who was a quasi-Conan with elements of John Carter of Mars, partly became editor-in-chiefStan Lee liked that name the most … I soon got stalled by Lin Carter’s agent on Thongor (he was hoping I’d offer more than the $150 per issue I was authorized to offer), and I got a sudden impulse to go after Conan”.

Venom V4 (2018)

In the wake of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s collapse, an ancient and primordial evil has been awakened beneath the streets of New York. And with it, something equally evil has been awakened in that most wicked of web-slingers: Venom! The symbiote may still be a Lethal Protector of innocents in New York, but this never-before-seen threat could possibly force Venom to relinquish everything it holds dear – including its human host, Eddie Brock!

X-Men V1 (2000’s)

“Eve of Destruction” was part of a four-month period in 2001 on the two core X-Men books, as former X-Men writer Lobdell was brought back to wrap up the dangling plotline of the Legacy Virus and produce filler material while Marvel planned the highly anticipated arrival of Grant Morrison and Joe Casey as writers for the main two X-Men books. As a result, this can be seen as a “finale” to the X-men storylines from the 1990s era. It would be several years before Uncanny X-Men and X-Men crossed over with each other since this story.

Later in 2001, X-Men had its title changed to New X-Men and writer Grant Morrison took over. When Chuck Austen moved from writing Uncanny X-Men to New X-Men, the title returned to its old name of simply X-Men, with Salvador Larroca, who had been working with him on Uncanny X-Men doing the art. In 2007, the X-Men title would change once again into X-Men: Legacy.

Not Brand Echh (1967)

Not Brand Echh is a satiric comic book series published by Marvel Comics that parodied its own superhero stories as well as those of other comics publishers. Running for 13 issues (cover-dated Aug. 1967 to May 1969), it included among its contributors such notable writers and artists as Stan LeeJack KirbyGene ColanBill EverettJohn and Marie Severin, and Roy Thomas. With issue #9, it became a 68-page, 25¢ “giant”, relative to the typical 12¢ comics of the times. In 2017, a 14th issue was released.

Its mascot, Forbush Man, introduced in the first issue, was a superhero wannabe with no superpowers and a costume of red long johns emblazoned with the letter “F” and a cooking pot, with eye-holes, covering his never-revealed head. His secret identity was eventually revealed in issue #5 (Dec. 1967) as Irving Forbush, Marvel’s fictitious office gofer.

Silver Surfer V2 (1982)

The galactic herald returns in this jam-packed one-shot! Silver Surfer recalls happier times with the Fantastic Four. With Norrin Radd becoming a distant memory with each passing day, will Surfer ever recover the man he once was? Surfer returns to his homeland Zenn-La to find absolute devastation. A new quest begins for Silver Surfer — one that involves finding his soulmate, Shalla Bal!

Avengers V9 (2023)

The world is ever in peril, and a new team of Avengers mobilizes to meet any dangers that dare threaten the planet. But when Terminus attacks, a new and insidious danger rears its head: one that the Avengers know all too well, and one that comes to them in the most dangerous of guises – that of a friend.

 

Werewolf by Night (1972)

The Werewolf by Night character first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #2 (Feb. 1972) and was based on an idea by Roy Thomas. The series name was suggested by Stan Lee and the debut story was crafted by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog. The character made additional appearances in Marvel Spotlight #3 and #4 and then graduated to his own eponymous series in September 1972. Werewolf by Night was published for 43 issues and ran through March 1977. Issue #32 contains the first appearance of Moon Knight. Jack Russell co-starred with Tigra in Giant Size Creatures #1 (July 1974), which was the first appearance of Greer Grant as Tigra instead of the Cat. That series was retitled Giant-Size Werewolf with its second issue.

Morbius: The Living Vampire (2013)

The ALL-NEW Michael Morbius? Morbius, is back, but on the run and desperate to quell his vampiric tendencies. But has the midnight son really changed? As Morbius tries to stay under the radar, a new threat arises, and they want Morbius dead.

Punisher V8 (2009)

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.

Deadpool V1 (1997)

In 1997, Deadpool was given his own ongoing title, initially written by Joe Kelly, with then-newcomer Ed McGuinness as an artist. Deadpool became an action comedy parody of the cosmic drama, antihero-heavy comics of the time. The series firmly established his supporting cast, including his prisoner/den mother Blind Al and his best friend Weasel. The ongoing series gained cult popularity for its unorthodox main character and its balance of angst and pop culture slapstick and the character became less of a villain, though the element of his moral ambiguity remained. The writer Joe Kelly noted, “With Deadpool, we could do anything we wanted because everybody just expected the book to be cancelled every five seconds, so nobody was paying attention. And we could get away with it.”

The series was taken over by Christopher Priest who noted that he found Kelly’s issues to be “complex and a little hostile to new readers like me” and that by issue 37, he realized that “it was okay to make Deadpool look stupid.”