Marvel Comics Library. Avengers. Vol. 2. 1965–1967
600Edition: EnglishAvailability: September 28, 2024The Avengers—Marvel’s dynamic ensemble of super heroes—return in a second volume of Marvel Age classics. Rediscover the glory years of Avengers legends Stan Lee and Don Heck with epic battles, new characters and the expansion of the Marvel universe in meticulously reproduced, large-format detail over the course of 20 original issues.
Collector’s Edition of 1,000 numbered copies
“The joy, imagination, and heart of these stories seem more vibrant and immersive than ever. The Avengers stories were always epic—now they exist in a book that matches.”
Marvel Comics Library. Avengers. Vol. 2. 1965–1967
600Big Milestones and All-New Characters for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
Stan Lee and Don Heck finish their seminal ’60s run in Marvel Age style
In the years 1965 through 1967, Stan Lee and his art partner Don Heck guided the Avengers through their “Kooky Quartet” era with unbridled adventures and important character development. Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Captain America took on all comers, often in multi-part epics that pitted the Avengers against foes old and new, like the Enchantress, Doctor Doom and Kang.
The Avengers of 1965–1967 also featured change within the ranks of the team and its creative stable. The Wasp and Giant-Man would rejoin Earth’s Mightiest–the latter adopting a new costume and codename–and Black Widow and Hercules would join as guest stars. Lee would depart as writer in the summer of 1966, handing the keys to the Avengers over to newcomer Roy Thomas, whose earliest stories set the stage for his future glories carrying the title to a legacy filled with milestone after milestone.
Avengers Nos. 21–40 are collected here in a volume that closely simulates the size and proportions of the original comic artboards; with comics sourced from the collection of Bob Bretall, holder of the Guinness World Record for largest comics collection, meticulously photographed to resemble the way these comics looked when first published, while also being digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s imperfect printing. A custom paper stock was developed exclusively for this series to replicate the newsprint feel and color holding of the original comics. The Marvel Comics Library has earned well-deserved raves for combining an old school reading experience with a luxurious oversized book format, winning the industry’s coveted Eisner Award for Best Publication Design.
Complementing the comics is an essay by Black Panther writer Christopher Priest, whose lively style merges with a deep and abiding love for the comic book artform and its history. Accompanying his essay is a gallery of original art, photographs, rarities, and other ephemera of the era.
Collector’s Edition of 1,000 numbered copies
The artists
Don Heck (1929–1995) was one of the stalwart artists of the Marvel Age, working alongside Stan Lee’s stable of famed artists to provide the visual contours of the seminal years of the Marvel super hero. Established in all genres—particularly horror and romance—Heck took on the super hero genre with aplomb, taking over The Avengers from Jack Kirby, and co-creating Iron Man and his debonair alter ego Tony Stark, and future Avengers the Wasp, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. He was an Avengers artist for more than a decade and a prolific comics creator at both Marvel and DC through to his death in 1995.
Stan Lee (1922–2018) is known to millions as the man whose super heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His co-creations include Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and hundreds of others. While the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel, he was also the Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment, where he created numerous new characters and stories in areas including publishing, film, reality TV, stage, documentary, and multimedia.
Roy Thomas was among the first comic book creators reared on comics themselves, bringing an encyclopedic knowledge of the medium as well as a youthful enthusiasm that served him well in his prime years as a writer and editor in the industry. He served alongside Stan Lee during the pivotal years of Marvel’s ascension to the number one company in comics, with storied runs on The X-Men, The Avengers, and Conan the Barbarian. Thomas continues to publish his authoritative Alter Ego comics history magazine and remains a popular addition to convention lineups around the world.
The author
Christopher Priest arrived at Marvel in the late ’70s, serving as an assistant editor and later editor under Jim Shooter. It wasn’t long before he made his mark with the company as a writer, with long runs on Conan the Barbarian and Power Man and Iron Fist. His move to DC Comics led to him join a collective of African American creators on the Milestone imprint. Later, it was his revival of Black Panther at Marvel Knights that rejuvenated the character in a way that set the stage for a cinematic depiction that took the world by storm.
Marvel Comics Library. Avengers. Vol. 2. 1965–1967
Aluminum print cover tipped into a leatherette-bound spine, foil embossing, and housed in a slipcase, 28 x 39.5 cm, 4.86 kg, 666 pages.ISBN 978-3-8365-9224-6
Edition: EnglishThe Marvel Comics Library has earned well-deserved raves from comic collecting diehards for combining an old school comic book reading experience with a luxurious oversized book format, winning the industry’s coveted Eisner Award for Best Publication Design. These XXL collectors’ dreams, close in size to the original artwork, feature comics sourced from collecting greats Shelton Drum and Bob Bretall. Rather than recolor the original artwork (as has been done in previous decades’ reprints of classic comics), TASCHEN has attempted to create an ideal representation of these books as they were produced at the time of publication. The most pristine pedigreed comics have been cracked open and photographed for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Each page has been photographed as printed more than half a century ago, then digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing—as if hot off of a world-class 1960s printing press. A custom paper stock was exclusively developed for this series to simulate the feel of the original comics. The library offers collectors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lay their hands on the world’s most desirable comics. Each volume includes an essay by a comic book historian alongside archival photographs, ephemera, and original comic book artwork.
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