''Marvel Spotlight'' is 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 ...
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
series published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
as a try-out book. It stood out from Marvel's other try-out books in that most of the featured characters made their
first appearance
In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status.
Reader intere ...
in the series.
The series originally ran for 33 issues from November 1971 to April 1977. A second volume ran for 11 issues from July 1979 to March 1981.
Publication history
''Marvel Spotlight'' was one of three tryout books proposed by
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
after he transitioned from being Marvel Comics' writer and editor to its president and publisher, the others being ''
Marvel Feature
''Marvel Feature'' was a comic book showcase series published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. It was a tryout book, intended to test the popularity of characters and concepts being considered for their own series. The first volume led to the launch ...
'' and ''
Marvel Premiere
''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own seri ...
''.
The advantage of such tryout books was that they allowed the publisher to assess a feature's popularity without the marketing investment required to launch a new series, and without the blow to the publisher's image with readers if the new series immediately failed.
The series began with a
Red Wolf
The red wolf (''Canis rufus'') is a canine native to the southeastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the coyote (''Canis latrans'') and gray wolf (''Canis lupus'').
The red wolf's taxonomic classification as being a separate s ...
story.
Editor
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...
explained: "Stan
eeand I decided it'd be a good idea to have a book with an American Indian hero. ... Stan didn't want it as a modern-day character. I guess he was trying to see if he could find a way to get a
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
to sell, because everybody in the field wanted to write or draw a Western".
Following this successful try-out, Red Wolf was given his own series, as were
Werewolf by Night
The Werewolf by Night (usually referred to by other characters simply as the Werewolf) is the name applied to two fictional characters who are werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of W ...
,
[Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 154: "With the changes to the Comics Code in place, Roy Thomas came up with the idea for a series called 'I, Werewolf'...Stan Lee liked the concept but decided to rename it 'Werewolf by Night'".] 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 ...
,
[Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 156: "Co-created by editor Roy Thomas, writer Gary Friedrich, and artist Mike Ploog, the new Ghost Rider was Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stunt performer".] the
Son of Satan,
[Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 160: "Stan Lee suggested doing a series called ''Mark of Satan'', and Roy Thomas amended the idea to 'The Son of Satan'".] and
Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional Character (arts), characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and original version is Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Jessica Drew (later impersonated by Veranke), the second ve ...
.
In addition to launching new series, ''Marvel Spotlight'' hosted some significant stories with established characters. Issue #31 provided a retroactive explanation for why
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ...
(inextricably associated with
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
due to his starring role in ''
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...
'') remained so youthful, in the form of an experimental longevity serum.
After a run of nearly six years, the series ended with ''Marvel Spotlight'' #33 (April 1977).
The series was revived in 1979, initially as simply a place to publish inventory stories from the recently cancelled ''
Captain Marvel''.
However, once these leftover tales were exhausted, the series went on to feature other characters. Tako Shamara first appeared in ''Marvel Spotlight'' vol. 2 #5 (March 1980), in a story by
Marv Wolfman
Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's '' The New Te ...
and
Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
. In his first appearance the character battled a huge dragon from the past called a Wani, a monster that destroyed his ancestors' villages in 1582. The creature that Tako battled was intended to be
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...
but since Marvel no longer had the rights to the character, which lapsed the previous year, the creature was modified to a dragon called The Wani.
Issue #8 featured the final Captain Marvel solo story before the character's death.
The second volume was cancelled after just 11 issues. In contrast to the original series, only one issue (#5) featured a new character, and none of them led to the featured character getting their own series.
Jim Salicrup
Jim Salicrup (; born May 29, 1957) is an American comic book editor, known for his tenures at Marvel Comics and Topps Comics. At Marvel, where he worked for twenty years, he edited books such as ''The Uncanny X-Men'', ''Fantastic Four'', ''Avenger ...
, who edited and/or did cover copy on most of the second volume, said that he was excited about reviving ''Marvel Spotlight'', but that "it was probably a mistake to launch a new title with material from a recently canceled comic. I suspect that as an editor, I was hoping to give Captain Marvel another chance, but sometimes it's better to let things go. As a result, for the most part, the series seemed to exist just to burn off existing inventory".
In December 2005, the ''Marvel Spotlight'' title was used for a series of comic book-sized magazines, usually featuring profiles of and interviews with Marvel creators (one writer and one artist each issue), or spotlighting special Marvel projects such as ''
Stephen King's The Dark Tower''.
The issues
Volume 1 (November 1971 – April 1977)
Volume 2 (July 1979 – March 1981)
Collected editions
* ''
Essential Werewolf by Night'' Vol 1 includes ''Marvel Spotlight'' #2–4, 576 pages, October 2005,
* ''Essential Ghost Rider'' Vol. 1 includes ''Marvel Spotlight'' #5–12, 560 pages, December 2006,
* ''Essential Marvel Horror''
** Vol. 1 includes ''Marvel Spotlight'' #12–24, 648 pages, October 2006,
** Vol. 2 includes ''Marvel Spotlight'' #26, 616 pages, November 2008,
* ''Essential Moon Knight'' Vol. 1 includes ''Marvel Spotlight'' #28–29, 560 pages, February 2006,
* ''
Siege Prelude'' includes ''Marvel Spotlight'' #30, 264 pages, January 2010,
* ''Essential Spider-Woman'' Vol. 1 includes ''Marvel Spotlight'' #32, 576 pages, December 2005,
* ''
Marvel Masterworks
''Marvel Masterworks'' is an American collection of hardcover and trade paperback comic book reprints published by Marvel Comics, with the main goal of republishing classic ''Marvel Comics'' storylines in a hardcover, premium edition, often with ...
: Deathlok'' Vol. 1 includes ''Marvel Spotlight'' #33, 368 pages, November 2009,
See also
* ''
Marvel Premiere
''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own seri ...
''
References
External links
*
*
{{Steve Ditko
1971 comics debuts
1977 comics endings
1979 comics debuts
1981 comics endings
Comics anthologies
Comics by Archie Goodwin (comics)
Comics by Gerry Conway
Comics by Marv Wolfman
Comics by Steve Ditko
Comics by Steve Gerber
Defunct American comics