The Marvel Comics Video Library, released by Prism Entertainment, was a series of VHS/Betamax tapes that featured episodes from animated series based on
Marvel Comics characters. A total of 24 tapes were released and included episodes from
''Spider-Man'' (1967),
''Spider-Man'' (1981), ''
The Marvel Super Heroes'',
''Fantastic Four'' (1978),
''The Incredible Hulk'' (1982) and ''
Spider-Woman''.
Each tape ran for approximately 60 minutes, and included 2 full episodes. The first episode could be from any of the series, but the second episode was always from the 1981 or 1967 ''Spider-Man'' series.
The volumes were released in a numerical sequence, and each one featured a title and cover relating to a character that appears in one or both of the episodes on the tape. Most covers included the title of one of the episodes as well. The videos came in a slightly oversized case with artwork from Marvel Comics on the outside, complete with episode descriptions on the back.
Characters featured included heroes such as
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
,
Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
,
Sub-Mariner,
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
,
Thor, and
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
, as well as villains such as
Dr. Doom
Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fict ...
,
the Vulture,
Green Goblin, and
Magneto.
The intent was to keep going with the series until every available episode of the various series were released on tape. However, Prism canceled the arrangement after two cycles were released, one with the hero's names and one with a villain's name.
Volumes
DVD release
Several DVD volumes (8) were released in 2008 by Morningstar Ent. in Canada. However, these were direct Betamax transfers, (using the Betamax BII linear audio track which resulted in muffled sound, even though all the Beta releases had had their audio recorded in Beta Hi-Fi) and were not remastered in any way, apparently because of legal reasons. Also, none of the DVDs mention MARVEL COMICS or ENTERTAINMENT anywhere.
They included:
* Doctor Doom: Meet Doctor Doom
* The Incredible Hulk: When Monsters Meet
* The Fly: Spider-Woman And The Fly
* Fantastic Four: The Impossible Man
* Doctor Octopus: The Power of Doctor Octopus
* The Vulture: The Vulture Has Landed
* Thor: Enter Hercules
* The Red Skull: The Origin Of The Red Skull
References
{{Reflist
Marvel Comics animation