''The Marvel Saga: The Official History of the Marvel Universe'' was a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series which attempted to condense the first 25 years of
Marvel Universe events into a sequential,
narrative
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc. ...
story.
Publication history
The series was researched and written by
Peter Sanderson
Peter Sanderson Jr. (born April 25, 1952) In print issue #1650 (February 2009), p. 107 is a comic book critic and historian, as well as an instructor/lecturer in the New York area concerning the study of graphic novels/comic books as literature.
...
and edited by
Danny Fingeroth
Daniel Fingeroth (; born September 17) is an American comic book writer and editor, best known for a long stint as group editor of the Spider-Man books at Marvel Comics.
Early life
Fingeroth was born in New York City, New York.
Career As a write ...
. It was published over 25 issues from December 1985 to December 1987. The story follows
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
* ...
continuity as closely as possible from the inception of the Marvel Universe, and it is stated in the first issue that there is nothing in the series that hasn't already been printed in previous Marvel comics. The illustration of the comics was mostly made up from excerpts from the original comics in which the events being described took place, with the addition of some new artwork to describe some of the events mentioned.
The series was meant to be a cohesive and quick way for newcomers to catch up on the entirety of the Marvel Universe at once, featuring the stories of the biggest and most important events in the Universe, including origins of most of the major Marvel characters. It also allows readers to see how stories from many different series are related and how they fit together in
chronological
Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , '' -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. ...
order. The series concluded with the introduction of
Galactus
Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, Galactus is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of t ...
and the
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...
.
In order to tie in with
the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, Marvel Saga #22 broke from the chronological approach of the series to provide a complete history of Peter and Mary Jane's relationship, and was written by ''
Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man
''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics.
Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
'' writer
Peter David
Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...
instead of Sanderson. David commented, "How could I ''not'' do it? I'm an old romantic. Having been happily married for ten years, I'm a fan of 'And they got married and lived happily ever after.' I think Peter deserves some happiness, although considering the Parker luck, he probably ''won't'' live happily ever after."
mphases in original
Spin-offs
Subsequent releases from Marvel have followed the ''Marvel Saga'' format. ''Wolverine Saga'', a four-part mini-series published from September 1989 to December 1989, detailed the history of
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...
up to that time. ''Spider-Man Saga'', another four issue series, was released from November 1991 to February 1992
and did the same thing for
Spider-Man.
Beginning in 2006, Marvel released several ''Marvel Saga''-style
one-shots for their titles. The list of these books are:
*''
Astonishing X-Men
''Astonishing X-Men'' is the name of four X-Men comic book series from Marvel Comics, the first two of which were limited series. The third volume, an ongoing series, began in 2004, with its first run written by Joss Whedon and art by John Cassada ...
Saga'' (March 2006)
*''Saga of
Squadron Supreme
The Squadron Supreme is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable alternate versions. The original team was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, derived from the previous ...
'' (April 2006)
*''
Skrull Kill Krew
The Skrull Kill Krew are a fictional group appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared in their own miniseries published in 1995. They were created by Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Steve Yeowell.
The gro ...
Saga''* (2006)
*''
Runaways Saga'' (May 2007)
*''
Annihilation
In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy ...
Saga'' (July 2007)
*''
Ultimates
The Ultimates is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from ''The Ultimates'' #1 (March 2002), as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel ...
Saga'' (December 2007)
*''
Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider.
The first s ...
Saga''* (May 2008)
*''
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...
Saga'' (May 2008)
*''
Hulk Saga''* (June 2008)
*''
Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
Saga''* (July 2008)
*''
Daredevil By
Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...
Saga'' (December 2008)
*''Marvel: Your Universe Saga'' (October 2008)
*''
X-Infernus
''X-Infernus'' is a four-issue comic book mini-series that started in December 2008. Written by C. B. Cebulski, with art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, it was a sequel to "Inferno". It sees the return of the character Magik searching Limbo for her soul. ...
Saga''* (October 2008)
*''
Franklin Richards Saga''* (November 2008)
*''
Black Panther Saga''* (December 2008)
*''March on
Ultimatum
An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series ...
Saga'' (December 2008)
*''
Punisher
The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...
Saga''* (December 2008)
*''
War of Kings
"War of Kings" is a comic book crossover storyline written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, published by Marvel Comics, and set in Marvel's main shared universe. The six-issue limited series was published between March Saga'' (February 2009)
*''
Exiles Saga''* (March 2009)
*''Wolverine Saga'' (May 2009)
*''
New Mutants
The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, subs ...
Saga'' (June 2009)
*''
Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and original version is Jessica Drew (later impersonated by Veranke), the second version is Julia Carpenter, and the third vers ...
Saga''* (August 2009)
*''
Moon Knight Saga'' (November 2009)
*''
Black Widow Saga''* (March 2010)
*''
X-Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003) ...
Forever Saga''* (March 2010)
*''Amazing Spider-Man:
Grim Hunt
"The Gauntlet" and "Grim Hunt" are 2009–2010 storylines published by Marvel Comics. Despite being more issues, "The Gauntlet" was solicited as leading up to the "Grim Hunt" story, and the two storylines are interconnected. Written by ''The Amazi ...
- The Kraven Saga'' (May 2010)
*''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
:
Curse of the Mutants
"Curse of the Mutants" is a comics storyline that ran in books published by the American company Marvel Comics from July 2010 to May 2011. The arc centers on a human bomb exploding in San Francisco's Union Square, San Francisco, Union Square, co ...
Saga'' (August 2010)
*''All-New Wolverine Saga'' (October 2010)
*''Spider-Man Saga'' (December 2010)
*''
Iron Man 2.0 Saga''* (March 2011)
*''The Mighty
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...
Saga'' (June 2011)
* Online only
In January 2012, Marvel published a one-shot comic titled ''History of the Marvel Universe'', which provided an overview of the past 50 years of Marvel history in the ''Marvel Saga'' format.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into two
trade paperbacks
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
:
*''
Essential Marvel'':
** ''Marvel Saga'' Vol. 1 (collects ''Marvel Saga'' #1-12, 448 pages, January 2008, )
** ''Marvel Saga'' vol. 2 (collects ''Marvel Saga'' #13-25, 480 pages, December 2008, )
References
{{reflist
External links
Marvel.com - Essential Marvel: Marvel Saga Vol. 1
1985 comics debuts
Historical comics