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Marvel Epic Collection

Marvel Comics paperbacks that reprint entire runs From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marvel Epic Collection
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The Marvel Epic Collection is an ongoing line of color trade paperbacks that republish Marvel comics in a uniform trade dress. Announced in April 2013, their stated intention was to collect entire runs of characters or titles as "big fat collections with the best price we can maintain",[1] in similar manner to the discontinued black-and-white Essential Marvel.[2]

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An advertisement for Marvel's Epic Collection

The series is published out of order, though have a completist goal. Marvel's Senior Vice President of Sales David Gabriel said: "When all is said and done, the Epic volumes will fit seamlessly next to one another on readers' bookshelves, presenting a complete and unbroken run of each title."[3]

The original announcement consisted of six titles at the pace of one volume a month, with Gabriel adding: "Marvel's most storied titles – including Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Thor – are going Epic."

The first book, The Enemy Within, Iron Man's 10th numbered volume, was released in September 2013.[4] It sold an estimated 864 copies in the first month, reaching no. 129 in the top-300 graphic novel chart.[5]

Initial sales were steady, with October's release – Thor's 16th volume, War Of The Pantheons – charting at 127 and selling 986 copies in the month of release. November's Amazing Spider-Man vol. 20: Cosmic Adventures reached no. 103, with 1,010 sales. The Avengers Epic vol. 9: Final Threat in December sold 943, with a chart position of 135.[6][7][8]

The first Epic Collection to crack the top-100 was the 10th overall release. Amazing Spider-Man vol. 15: Ghosts Of The Past, in May 2014, sold 1,152 copies, reaching no. 81 (51 for dollar rank).[9][10]

The series now has more than 50 lines, including licensed books, such Alien, Star Wars, Micronauts and ROM – Spaceknight.

The rate of publication has increased significantly since launch, with 19 Epic Collections released in 2014, the first full year of print. There were 45 in 2019, and 87 in 2024, including reprints. With the escalated rate, two sub-imprints launched in 2023 and 2025 respectively. The Modern Era Epic Collection covers more recent comic runs, and the Ultimate Epic Collection is for the 2000's Ultimate Universe.

DC Comics launched a similar line – DC Finest – in 2024, which it described as "affordably priced, large-size paperback collections" providing "a new line of comprehensive collections of the most in-demand periods, genres, and characters from across DC history".[11]

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Epic Collections

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The core books of the Epic Collection largely span Marvel's silver and bronze age of comic books. With a few exceptions, this roughly covers a period from the release of Fantastic Four #1 in 1961[12] until around 1998 and the launch of Marvel Knights.[13]

Aliens

In July 2020, Marvel Comics gained the rights to publish Alien and Predator in the wake of Fox's sale to Disney.[14] Since 2023, the company has been republishing comics originally produced by Dark Horse Comics as part of the Epic Collection.

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Amazing Spider-Man

The Peter Parker version of Spider-Man first appeared in 1962's Amazing Fantasy #15, before the character's ongoing series, Amazing Spider-Man, launched with a cover date of March 1963.

Notable storylines include: The Death Of Gwen Stacy in Vol. 7: The Goblin's Last Stand; Kraven's Last Hunt in Vol. 17; Spider-Man No More in Vol. 3; and Venom in Vol. 18.[15]

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Ant-Man/Giant-Man

The character Hank Pym first appeared in Tales to Astonish #27, from 1962. In the first Epic Collection, his debut as both Ant Man (Tales to Astonish #35) and Giant Man (Tales to Astonish #49) is covered, plus the introduction of Janet van Dyne/Wasp (Tales to Astonish #44).

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Avengers

The first Avengers line-up consisted of Iron Man, Ant Man, Wasp, Hulk, and Thor. They were soon joined by Silver Age Captain America in issue #4, which is collected in Volume 1: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

With a revolving cast of characters, major storylines include The Kree-Skrull War (Volume 5: This Beachhead Earth); Under Siege (Volume 16); and The Korvac Saga (Volume 10: The Yesterday Quest)[16]

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Avengers West Coast

Even though the Epic Collections are titled Avengers West Coast, the comic was published as The West Coast Avengers up until issue #46.

Volume 7: Ultron Unbound contains the first appearance of James Rhodes as War Machine, as well as the origin story for the Julia Carpenter version of Spider-Woman.

Meanwhile, Scarlet Witch showed her initial slip into madness in #56, reproduced in Vol. 5: Darker Than Scarlet. This eventually led to the events of "House Of M" and the "No More Mutants" Marvel age.[17]

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Black Panther

Volume 1 of the Black Panther Epic Collection has the character's first appearance in Fantastic Four #52-53. Between that and the rest of the volume, he joins The Avengers with issue #52, which is collected in The Avengers Epic Collection Volume 3: The Masters Of Evil.[18]

His origin story is in The Avengers #87 (The Avengers Epic Collection Volume 5: This Beachhead Earth), before departing the team after issue #126 (The Avengers Epic Collection Volume 7: The Avengers/ Defenders War).

After that, his story continues in the rest of Panther's Rage.

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Black Widow

The debut of Natasha Romanova as the Black Widow is as an Iron Man villain in Tales Of Suspense #52. She is a reformed supporting character with The Avengers through the rest of Volume 1, and did not get her own individual series until 1999 - which is collected as a Modern Era Epic Collection Volume 1: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.

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Blade

Blade first appeared as a side character in The Tomb Of Dracula series, beginning in 1973. He largely disappeared from Marvel Comics between 1976 and 1992, when he reappeared in Ghost Rider.

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Captain America

The first comics appearance of Captain America was in Captain America Comics #1 from 1940, printed by Timely. Nothing from that era is collected in the Epic Collection, which begins with the character's Silver Age return, in Strange Tales #114, from 1963.

Notable storylines include Mark Gruenwald's Captain America No More, which stretches through Vol. 14: The Captain; Death Of The Red Skull by J. M. DeMatteis in Vol. 11: Sturm und Drang; Operation: Rebirth by Mark Waid in Vol. 22: Man Without A Country; and The Strange Death Of Captain America by Jim Steranko in Vol. 2: The Coming... Of The Falcon.[19]

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Carnage

The villain Carnage has never had an ongoing series, with all Epic Collection releases compiled of miniseries, or appearances in various Spider-Man comics. Large parts of Carnage Volume 1: Born In Blood are also reprinted in Amazing Spider-Man Volume 25: Maximum Carnage.

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Conan

From 2022, Marvel lost the license to publish new Conan comics. "The trademark for the name Conan and the names of Robert E. Howard's other principal characters, is maintained by Conan Properties International and licensed to Cabinet Entertainment. This company, or new owners, now wish to publish Conan comic books themselves. And so won't be renewing the Marvel Comics license."[20]

This led to the cancellation of the second King Conan Epic Collection. The license ended up with Titan Publishing.[21]

Conan The Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years

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Conan Chronicles

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King Conan Chronicles

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Daredevil

Notable storylines already reproduced include the fall of Kingpin in Vol. 15: Last Rites; and the introduction of Typhoid Mary in Vol. 13: A Touch Of Typhoid.[22]

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Deadpool

The first appearance of Deadpool is also contained in New Mutants Epic Collection Volume 8: The End Of The Beginning. Volume 1 of his own Epic Collection contains various cameos and miniseries, before the character's first ongoing series is collected from Volume 2: Mission Improbable.

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Defenders

Doctor Strange led the initial version of Defenders, with a team also composed of Hulk and Namor. As opposed to other Marvel teams, such as The Fantastic Four or Avengers, Defenders tended to focus on mystical enemies.

The origin of the team is also covered in Doctor Strange Epic Collection Volume 3: A Separate Reality; Incredible Hulk Epic Collection Volume 4: In The Hands Of HYDRA and Namor The Sub-Mariner Epic Collection Volume 3: Who Strikes For Atlantis?

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Doctor Doom

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Doctor Strange

Created by Steve Ditko, Doctor Strange first appeared in Strange Tales #110. The character was popular enough that the book became Doctor Strange with issue #169.

Major stories for the character include Triumph & Torment (Volume 8) and A Separate Reality (Volume 3).[23]

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Excalibur

The basic pitch of Excalibur is X-Men set in the United Kingdom. Writer Chris Claremont, who worked on Uncanny X-Men for 16 years, was born in London and launched the series in 1987. The initial line-up contained former X-Men Shadowcat, Phoenix and Nightcrawler - as well as fellow Claremont creation, Captain Britain.

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Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with Kirby drawing the first 102 issues. A storyline highlight includes the debut of Galactus, plus This Man, This Monster! in Volume 3: The Coming Of Galactus.[24]

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Generation X

Generation X is a team of young mutants, mentored by Banshee and Emma Frost, created after the events of 1994's X-Men event, Phalanx Covenant. That event is reprinted at the beginning of Volume 1: Back To School, before the advent of the ongoing Generation X series.

Compared to the rest of the 1990s X-books, Generation X was pitched differently. "This was a book stripped of all the gimmicks that were so common in the '90s. (Writer Scott Lobdell) understood that the X-Men are essentially the comic book equivalent of a soap opera, and that the real focus should always lie upon the interaction between the team members."[25]

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Ghost Rider

After a seven-issue run in Marvel Spotlight, the Johnny Blaze version of Ghost Rider got his own ongoing series. The book ran for 11 years, and 81 issues, from 1973 to 1983.

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Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch

Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Epic Collection Vol. 1: Vengeance Reborn was originally solicited as Ghost Rider Epic Collection Vol. 6 Vengeance Reborn.[26] The decision to split the line was taken shortly before the book went to print with distributor, Penguin Random House, reflecting the change.[27]

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Guardians Of The Galaxy

The 1960s Guardians Of The Galaxy are largely separate from the rest of Marvel continuity.[28] Volume 2 includes the first six issues of the characters' first ongoing series, debuting in 1990.

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Hawkeye

The original Hawkeye Epic Collection has Clint Barton as the superhero archer. Volume 1: The Avenging Archer includes the Mark Gruenwald miniseries, which is "particularly noteworthy for launching Hawkeye's longstanding relationship with Mockingbird, and for being an early exploration of the character's hearing loss and how he comes to deal with that."[29]

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Incredible Hulk

The Hulk debuted in his own book in 1962. Notable storylines include: Future Imperfect in Volume 20; Wolverine Versus Gray Hulk in Volume 15; and Hulk Versus Juggernaut in Volume 19.[30][31]

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Iron Fist

The first Epic Collection for Iron Fist contains the character's first full 1970s run, before the series was cancelled. Following that, Iron Fist joined Luke Cage in the series Power Man & Iron Fist.

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Iron Man

Iron Man first appeared in Tales of Suspense in 1963. The character was a founding member of The Avengers in 1963, before getting his own series five years later.

His most famous storyline, Demon In A Bottle is yet to be reprinted in an Epic Collection.

Other notable tales include: The Invincible Iron Man across Volume 10: The Enemy Within and Volume 11: Duel Of Iron; plus Armor Wars in Volume 13: Stark Wars.[32][33]

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Killraven

Jonathan Raven - Killraven - is a freedom fighter who appeared in 22 issues of Amazing Adventures, before the series was cancelled in 1976. Issue #31, collected in Killraven's only Epic Collection, "is notable as the first mainstream comic to feature an interracial kiss".[34]

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Luke Cage

In 1972, Luke Cage became the first Black American superhero to star in his own comic-book series.[35] The book was retitled Luke Cage, Power Man, then simply Power Man from issue #17.

Cage's two Epic Collections contain the full 1970s run for the character as, in an effort to avoid full cancellation for the series in 1977, Cage was paired with Danny Rand in the joint book Power Man & Iron Fist.

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Marvel Two-in-One

Marvel Two-in-One features Fantastic Four member, The Thing, teaming up with a different Marvel superhero each issue. Issue #21 is excluded due to the Thing teaming up with a licensed character in Doc Savage.

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Master Of Kung Fu

The Master Of Kung Fu Epic Collections showcases the character Shang-Chi, who was born out of the 1970s craze for martial arts content. "Marvel Comics wanted to adapt the television series Kung Fu as a comic book, but with WarnerMedia, the property's owner, also owning Marvel's rival DC Comics, that was never going to happen."[36]

Marvel's own series was popular enough to last until 1983 and issue #125.

Meanwhile, Epic Collection Volume 3: Traitors To The Crown was cancelled due to rights issues.[37]

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Micronauts

Based on a Mego Corporation toy line, the Micronauts comics were produced by Marvel between 1979 and 1986. Marvel re-acquired the publishing rights in 2023.[38]

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Moon Knight

The character of Moon Knight debuted as a villain in 1975's Werewolf By Night, though by his appearance in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #22, he was seen as more heroic.

Notable storylines include writer Doug Moench's run in Vol. 2: Shadows Of The Moon; and the introduction of Midnight Man in the first Epic Collection.[39]

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Morbius

Morbius The Living Vampire first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 from 1971, which is also collected The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #6: The Death Of Captain Stacy.

Both Morbius Epic Collections were released ahead of the 2022 Morbius film.

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Ms. Marvel

The Carol Danvers version of Ms. Marvel first appears in #1 of her own self-titled series in 1977. Many of her appearances are reprinted through Avengers Epic Collections, however her most notable storyline, involving pregnancy and alcoholism, from Avengers #200, appears in Volume 2: The Woman Who Fell To Earth.

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Namor The Sub-Mariner

As a character, Namor "traces so far back that the character was established before Marvel Comics even existed". His first comics appearance in 1939 "was included in Marvel Comics #1, the first publication by Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics."[40]

None of Namor's Golden Age appearances have been collected in the Epic Collection, with Volume 1 consisting of Silver Age cameos in other books and his shared series in Tales to Astonish. His own series, Sub-Mariner, launched in 1968.

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New Mutants

Vol. 2: The Demon Bear Saga contains art from Bill Sienkiewicz "who made New Mutants one of the most visually bold series of the 80s". Sienkiewicz "preferred to push the boundaries of what was considered acceptable for the superhero comic book medium".[41]

Other notable storylines include "We Were Only Foolin", issue #45, which is collected in Vol. 4: Fallen Angels; and the elevation of Magneto to headmaster in issue #35, from Vol. 3: Asgardian Wars.[42]

The first appearance of Deadpool is in issue #98, and, after issue #100, both of which are republished in Vol. 8: The End Of The Beginning, the story continues with the X-Force Epic Collection.

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Planet Of The Apes Adventures

Following Fox's sale to Disney. in 2020, Marvel Comics reacquired a series of publishing rights, including Alien, Predator, and Planet Of The Apes.[14]

As well as releasing new Planet Of The Apes material, Marvel's Epic Collection has republished full-color comics initially produced in 1975.[43] The first Planet Of The Apes book is so far the smallest in the Epic Collection at just 224 pages. It re-tells the 1968 film storyline, and the 1970 sequel.

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Power Man & Iron Fist

In an effort to avoid cancellation for the separate Iron Fist and Luke Cage books, Marvel created Power Man & Iron Fist in 1977. The Epic Collection contains almost the full series until its 1986 cancellation. The missing issue 73 is collected within Rom: Spaceknight volume 2: The Original Marvel Years.

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Punisher

Punisher was first an antagonist in Amazing Spider-Man #129 from 1974. The character got his own miniseries in 1986, before a full ongoing a year later.

Notable storylines collected as an Epic Collection include: the Circle Of Blood miniseries and a crossover spanning Punisher #10 and Daredevil #257 - both contained within Volume 2: Circle Of Blood.[citation needed]

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Rom: Spaceknight

Marvel's original 1979 comic, Rom: Spaceknight, ran for seven years and was based on a toy line. IDW Publishing produced Rom comics from 2016, before Marvel regained the license in 2023.[44] Even though the series includes licensed characters, stories take place in Marvel's main Earth-616 universe. In the first two Epic Collections, there are appearances from the X-Men, Power Man and Iron Fist, plus The Brotherhood Of Mutants.

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Sgt Fury

Nick Fury and his early tales are collected as Sgt. Fury. The initial run, from 1963, was more of a war comic than something from the superhero genre.

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She-Hulk

She-Hulk was "the last major character Stan Lee co-created for Marvel", with Jennifer Walters as the estranged cousin of Bruce Banner.[45] The series was revolutionary in the way it consistently broke the fourth wall.[46]

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Silver Surfer

The Silver Surfer first appeared in Fantastic Four #48, where he saved the Earth and was exiled as a result.

Notable storylines include Rebirth Of Thanos, split between Vol. 5: The Return Of Thanos and Vol. 6: Thanos Quest; Freedom in Vol. 3; and Parable in Vol. 4.[47]

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Star Wars (Legends)

Marvel's first 1977 comic was a six-issue adaptation of the original film. The series ran for 107 issues and three Annuals until 1986, featuring stories set between the original trilogy of films, as well as adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Rights briefly went to Blackthorne Publishing, before being acquired by Dark Horse Comics. The company produced over 100 Star Wars titles until 2014.

Following the October 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, it was announced that the Star Wars comics license would return to Marvel Comics in 2015.

In April 2014, Lucasfilm rebranded the majority of the Star Wars Expanded Universe as Legends, only keeping the theatrical Skywalker saga and the 2008 Clone Wars film and television series as canon. This means only Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collections are properly included in the official lore.[48]

Marvel's Senior Vice President of sales and marketing, David Gabriel, said the Star Wars releases would “be bouncing around to different periods of Star Wars history with each Epic Collection, constructing one huge tapestry, collecting full unbroken runs of all the greatest Star Wars comics from the past 35 years.”[49]

Outside of the Original Marvel Years books, many of Star Wars Epic Collection contains contents originally published by Dark Horse comics.

The Original Marvel Years

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The Newspaper Strips

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Tales Of The Jedi

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The Old Republic

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Rise Of The Sith

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The Menace Revealed

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The Clone Wars

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The Empire

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The Rebellion

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The New Republic

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Legacy

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Infinities

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Thor

The character of Thor launched in Journey Into Mystery #83 and became so popular that the book was retitled to Thor with issue #126.

Some of the character's most notable storylines - including The Surtur Saga and The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill - are yet to be reprinted in an Epic collection, though others include To Wake The Mangog in Volume 4, and The Eternals Saga in Volume 10.[50]

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Thunderbolts

Created by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, the Thunderbolts team first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #449, from January 1997.

That issue has yet to be reprinted in the Hulk series of Epic Collections, though will be in Incredible Hulk Volume 23.

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Venom

Venom did not get his own ongoing Marvel Comics series until 2003. Marvel's legacy numbering for the title started with 1993's, Lethal Protector, with various miniseries making up 60 issues before crossing into the Modern Era.[51]

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Wolverine

Wolverine's first appearance is collected in Incredible Hulk Epic Collection Vol. 7: And Now... The Wolverine. The character has many more appearances, beginning in X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 5: Second Genesis, before his first miniseries is reproduced in X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 10: God Loves, Man Kills.

Notable storylines in Wolverine's own Epic Collection line include the character fighting sentient cocaine, and Jungle Adventure, both in Vol. 2: Back To Basics; the Bone Claw Era (Vol. 8: The Dying Game); and the Origin miniseries (Vol. 13: Blood Debt).[52][53]

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X-Factor

Launched in 1986, X-Factor featured Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Iceman, the original line-up of X-Men from 1963.

The team debuted in Fantastic Four #286, with notable storylines including the introduction of villain Apocalypse in Volume 1: Genesis & Apocalypse, the conclusion of the Inferno event in Volume 4: Judgment War, plus the introduction of a new roster, led by Havok, in Volume 7: All-New, All-Different X-Factor.[54][55]

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X-Force

The first appearance of X-Force is in New Mutants Epic Collection Volume 8: The End Of The Beginning. That book leads directly into X-Force Epic Collection Volume 1: Under The Gun.

A notable storyline includes Destination Unknown from Vol. 7: Zero Tolerance.[56]

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X-Men

The X-Men Epic Collection has two distinct periods. Volumes 1 to 4 reprint Classic X-Men books, written by Stan Lee and Roy Thomas, chronicling the period up to the comic's cancellation in 1970, and various guest appearances in other Marvel titles between 1970-1975.[57]

Volume 5: Second Genesis starts with the reinvention of the team, in Giant-Sized X-Men from 1975. It then reproduces Chris Claremont's 16-year run on Uncanny X-Men, concluding with volume 19: Mutant Genesis.

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Modern Era Epic Collections

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Marvel's "Modern Era" has never been specifically defined, however, when Marvel Knights launched in 1998, it was described as "the first wave of Marvel's renaissance".[58] The imprint was launched partly as a way to redefine the company, following Marvel's bankruptcy - and was "a major factor behind the revival of Marvel Comics".[59]

The first Modern Era Epic Collection was solicited by Marvel in December 2022. Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider - Edge Of Spider-Verse was released in May 2023 to coincide with the release of the Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse movie.[60]

All-New Wolverine

Laura Kinney - or X-23 - was originally introduced in the television series, X-Men Evolution. Her first comics appearance was in the 2003 NYX series as a clone of Wolverine.[61][62] Tom Taylor's new take on the character launched at the end of 2015, exploring Kinney's relationship with her cloned sisters.

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Amazing Spider-Man

The character's modern era begins with J. Michael Straczynski, who wrote The Amazing Spider-Man for six years from 2001. His first arc, Coming Home, introduced the villain Morlun, and saw Peter Parker's Aunt May discover his alter-ego.

Later, the writer attempted to reinvent parts of Spider-Man's origin, with storylines such as Spider-Totem and The Other. He caused controversy with the Sins Past storyline, which involved Gwen Stacy - then navigated the Civil War event, before finishing with One More Day, which saw Peter's marriage to Mary-Jane removed from history.[63][64]

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Annihilation

Annihilation is the first Marvel Event to be published as an Epic Collection. The contents of the first volume are identical to 2018's Complete Collection. The event leads into the beginning of 2008's Guardians Of The Galaxy reboot.

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Astonishing X-Men

The first two Astonishing X-Men volumes contains the entire 25-issue run from Joss Whedon and John Cassaday. For the most part, the series continued Grant Morrison's New X-Men series, while ignoring much of Marvel's ongoing continuity.[65]

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Black Widow

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Captain America

The modern era of Captain America starts with writer Ed Brubaker's eight-year run. The first two volumes include the return of Bucky Barnes as The Winter Soldier, and the death of Captain America following Civil War.

The storyline was not only "one of the best-selling comics of the decade" but also "perhaps one of the best moves that Marvel could have made ... (as it) provided the perfect opportunity for the gravity of the Civil War’s outcome to be felt".[66][67]

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Carnage

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Daredevil

In 1998, Daredevil was cancelled and relaunched, with a new #1 - plus filmmaker Kevin Smith as writer and Joe Quesada as artist. This relaunch "set the tone for the entire Marvel Knights line, directly inspired subsequent depictions of the character in film and television and set the template for how to relaunch a Marvel character."[68]

The rest of the volume was dominated by Brian Michael Bendis' 55 issues, then 33 from Ed Brubaker. Bendis' run starts with Volume 2: Underboss; Brubaker's with Volume 6: The Devil In Cell-Block D

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Dark Avengers

Dark Avengers was a 2009 spin-off from Brian Michael Bendis' main New Avengers book, following the events of the Secret Invasion event. It saw Norman Osborn take charge of a revamped Avengers team, crossing over with the Utopia event, before concluding with Siege.

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Deadpool & Cable

Even though the individual comic issues are named Cable & Deadpool, the collected Modern Era Epic line is called Deadpool & Cable. Marvel's legacy numbering for Deadpool continues from the original Epic Collection, through the Deadpool & Cable books, then onto Deadpool's Modern Era Epics.[69]

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Deadpool

The legacy numbering of the Deadpool books means these Modern Era Epics take place directly after the Deadpool And Cable line.[69]

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Guardians Of The Galaxy

Despite the same name, the Modern Era Guardians Of The Galaxy are largely separate from the 1960s version.[28] The 2008 team line-up - Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Phyla-Vell, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Adam Warlock - first came together during the Annihilation: Conquest event.

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Hawkeye

The modern era of Hawkeye releases begin later than almost any other character. Spider-Girl's first volume starts with an issue from 1997, while Hawkeye doesn't kick off until 2009.

The Clint Barton version of the character was killed during 2004's Avengers Disassembled event, though returned to the team as Ronin in New Avengers. His separate Modern Era series begins after the events of Secret Invasion, in which his wife, Mockingbird, returns.

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Hulk

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Iron Man

Launching at the same time as Marvel's first Iron Man movie, volumes three to six of the character's modern era covers the Matt Fraction-Salvador Larroca run on the title. Readers "were treated to a version of Tony [Stark] that embraced his mistakes and flaws", plus arcs which were "filled with stories that pushed the Armored Avenger to his limit, and revealed new layers to the tortured genius underneath the suit".[70][71]

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Loki

The first two Modern Era Loki volumes were released at the same time as the Disney+ series of the same name.

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Miles Morales: Spider Man

Miles Morales was created by Brian Michael Bendis and debuted in Ultimate Fallout #4 from 2011.

The first three Modern Era Epic Collections, have the same content and page count as 2015's Ultimate Collection line. All three volumes take place in Marvel's Ultimate Universe, labelled Earth-1610, before the character moved to the company's main Earth-616 multiverse.[72]

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New Avengers

The first four New Avengers volumes have been solicited with the same contents, and page count, as the previously released New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis Complete Collections from 2017.

Bendis relaunched The Avengers with the 2004 event Avengers Disassembled, which is included in the first Modern Era Epic. He wrote New Avengers for seven-and-a-half-years, alongside sister series Mighty Avengers, (2007-2010), and Dark Avengers (2009-2013).

The run is entwined with a series of Marvel events, including House Of M (2005, written by Bendis), Civil War (2006–07, Mark Millar), Secret Invasion (2008, Bendis), Siege (2010, Bendis), and culminates with Avengers vs. X-Men (2012, co-written by Bendis).

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New X-Men

New X-Men ran for 44 issues from 2001 to 2004. It was written by Grant Morrison, with the majority of the art from Frank Quitely. The series numbering continued from the previous X-Men (vol. 2), despite the change in title.

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Spider-Girl

Mayday Parker debuted in What If... (vol. 2) #105, released on 17 December 1997.[73] This makes it the earliest issue covered by the Modern Era Epic Collection line so far. The first full issue of the Spider-Girl series was released on 12 August 1998, with a cover date of 1 October.[74]

The series takes place outside of the main Marvel continuity, on Earth-982.[72]

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Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider

Spider-Gwen initially appeared in Edge Of Spider-Verse #2, from 2014. The story explores a world in which Gwen Stacy was bitten by a radioactive spider, instead of Peter Parker. The character's first ongoing series was Spider-Gwen a year later, with the core stories taking place outside of main Marvel continuity, in the Earth-65 universe.[72]

Edge Of Spider-Verse, was the first release of Marvel's Modern Era line.

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Spider-Man/Deadpool

Joe Kelly was Deadpool writer in 1997 when the character first got his own series. The writer introduced the concept of Deadpool breaking the fourth wall, although he left the book after 33 issues. After 19 years, Kelly returned to the character with Spider-Man/Deadpool, which ran for exactly 50 issues.[75]

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Star Wars (canon)

Main article: Star Wars comics § Collected_editions

The return of Star Wars comics rights to Marvel saw the continuity of previous releases reset to "Legends", with "any material published since April 2014 now considered canon."[76] That means only the Modern Era releases are in the same world as the Star Wars films and television series.

Star Wars (ongoing)

The first issue of the 2015 Star Wars relaunch "exceeded one million copies sold on the direct market ... the top-selling single issue of the past 20 years."[77] That version of the comic ran for 75 issues, exploring the time between Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

Charles Soule's 2020 relaunch ran for 50 issues, bridging the gap from Episode V until Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi.[78]

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Star Wars: Darth Vader

Kieron Gillen's 2015 Darth Vader series lasted 25 issues, filling the gap between Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.[79] Gillen wrote: "This was my story... Vader must fall from power in some way after A New Hope and then climb to whole new heights. My go-to reference was House Of Cards - where a powerful man feels slighted and turns to methods that he would have previously avoided to reach whole new levels of power."[80]

The series was relaunched in 2017 by writer Charles Soule, for a separate 25-issue run that immediately follows the events of Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith.[81]

It was relaunched a third time in 2020, for a 50-issue arc, with writer Greg Pak bridging Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi.[82]

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Star Wars: Kanan

Star Wars: Kanan is a standalone 12-issue series, following the character Kanan Jarrus, from the Star Wars Rebels animated series.[83]

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Thor

After 2004's Avengers Disassembled event, the Thor comic was cancelled. J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel relaunched the series three years later by bringing the kingdom of Asgard to the skies above Oklahoma. The first issue of the new series debuted at #1.[84]

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Venom

Nineteen years after Venom's debut in Amazing Spider-Man, the character received an own ongoing series, written by Daniel Way. The full 18-issue run is collected in the first volume, Shiver. By volume four, Agent Venom, Flash Thompson had replaced Eddie Brock as the main protagonist.

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Young Avengers

The first Modern Era volume of Young Avengers contains the complete 2005 series, written by Allan Heinberg, with art from Jim Cheung. There was a run of limited series before volume two relaunched in 2013.

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Ultimate Epic Collections

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On 10 October 2024, Marvel announced - via the Epic Marvel Podcast - that the Ultimate Epic Collection would be separate from the main Epic Collection, with its own trade dress.[85]

While most Epic Collection releases take place in Marvel's main Earth-616 universe, the Ultimate series is designated as Earth-1610, with its own continuity.[72]

The first book released was Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1: Learning Curve in March 2025, with a different Ultimate book released in April, May and June. The launch marked 25 years since the inception of Ultimate Marvel.

As well as the four lines below, the first three volumes of Miles Morales: Spider-Man also takes place in the Earth-1610 continuity.

Ultimate Fantastic Four

After Ultimate Spider-Man, X-Men, and Ultimates, Ultimate Fantastic Four was the final core book to launch in Marvel's new universe. Writers Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis worked together with artist Adam Kubert for the first six-issue arc, before Warren Ellis took on the series.

Compared to the main universe counterparts, the new series saw: "The more "superheroic" elements of the series done away with, as the Ultimate Fantastic Four book focused more on science fiction and exploration. Doctor Doom was given a less cartoony characterization than his more well-known mainstream counterpart. Other villains such as Mole Man, Annihilus and even Galactus also received massive makeovers."[86]

The series ran for 60 issues.

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Ultimate Spider-Man

The first book in Marvel's Ultimate Universe was Ultimate Spider-Man. The title ran from 2000 until 2012, with a younger version of Peter Parker as the main protagonist. The new iteration was a response to "so much backstory that the stories (in the main books) were almost incomprehensible."[87]

Bill Jemas, President of Marvel Enterprises from 2000 to 2004, wrote: “Joe Quesada and I started the Ultimate books because we wanted Marvel to get back in touch with kids. We wanted Marvel's great teen heroes - Spidey and the X-Men - to star in comics for 2001 kids.”[88]

Creator Brian Michael Bendis said: “When I got hired, I literally thought I was going to be writing one of the last — if not the last — Marvel comics.”

The title went on to run for more than 150 issues and launched the character of Miles Morales.

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Ultimate X-Men

Launched by writer Mark Millar, Ultimate X-Men saw "the superheroic side of the franchise pushed a bit to the sidelines. Instead, the prejudice mutants faced on a daily basis took center stage."

Millar was followed by superstar writers Brian Michael Bendis, Brian K Vaughan, and Robert Kirkman, and "the Ultimate X-Men comics quickly became the most popular titles at Marvel Comics, even outselling X-Men books in the mainstream continuity."[89]

The series ran for 100 issues.

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Ultimates

The Ultimates portrayed a version of The Avengers, outside of the main Marvel continuity that "looked and sounded like a movie in a way that no Marvel story ever had."

Written by Mark Millar, and drawn by Bryan Hitch, the comic blurred the lines of right and wrong, where the heroes "have no idea they are supervillains. They think they’re merely doing what superheroes are supposed to do: defend truth, justice, and the American Way — with an emphasis on the latter."[90] Millar conceded that point, describing the series as a "pro-status quo book" and "kind of a right-wing book, like Rush Limbaugh doing super comics".[91]

Director of Marvel Studio's 2012 The Avengers movie, Joss Whedon, said: “It’s my feeling that Ultimates brought Marvel into the modern age in a way no other book did.”[87]

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Cancelled

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Statistics

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Longest books

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Shortest books

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Oldest books

Statistics for debut chart position and first-month sales come from ICv2. Estimates are for North American stores only, with UK purchases adding between three and 20 per cent to sales numbers.[92]

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Releases per year

Statistics are correct up to and including the scheduled release of Captain America Epic #24: American Nightmare on 30 December 2025.

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Recent and upcoming releases

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See also

References

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