''Marvel Premiere'' is an American

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 series that was 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 ...

. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own series, though in its later years it was also often used as a dumping ground for stories which could not be published elsewhere. It ran for 61 issues from April 1972 to August 1981. Contrary to the title, the majority of the characters and concepts featured in ''Marvel Premiere'' had previously appeared in other comics.

Publication history

''Marvel Premiere'' was one of three tryout books proposed by Stan Lee after he transitioned from being Marvel Comics' writer and editor to its president and publisher, the others being ''

Marvel Spotlight ''Marvel Spotlight'' is a comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics 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 the series. The series origin ...

'' and ''

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 launc ...

''. 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. In addition to giving established characters a first shot at a starring role, ''Marvel Premiere'' introduced new characters and reintroduced characters who no longer had their own titles. Writer

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 ...

and penciler

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

revamped Him as the allegorical Messiah

Adam Warlock Adam Warlock (also known as simply Warlock) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character would first appear in ''Fantastic Four'' #66–67 (cover-dates September 1967 and October 1967) cr ...

in ''Marvel Premiere'' #1 (April 1972). Doctor Strange took over the series with issue #3Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 156: "Dr. Strange began a new series of solo adventures. He got off to an impressive start with this story scripted by Stan Lee and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith." and writer

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early lif ...

and artist

Frank Brunner Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Early life Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating class ...

began a run on the character with issue #9. The two killed Dr. Strange's mentor, the Ancient One, and Strange became the new Sorcerer Supreme. Englehart and Brunner created a multi-issue storyline in which a sorcerer named Sise-Neg ("Genesis" spelled backward) goes back through history, collecting all magical energies, until he reaches the beginning of the universe, becomes all-powerful and creates it anew, leaving Strange to wonder whether this was, paradoxically, the original creation. Stan Lee, seeing the issue after publication, ordered Englehart and Brunner to print a retraction saying this was not God but "a" god, so as to avoid offending religious readers. The writer and artist concocted a letter from a fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas; Marvel unwittingly printed the letter, and dropped the retraction order. In 2010,

Comics Bulletin Comics Bulletin was a daily website covering the American comic-book industry. History Silver Bullet Comicbooks The site was founded in January 2000 as Silver Bullet Comicbooks by its New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice. During this ...

ranked Englehart and Brunner's run on the "Doctor Strange" feature ninth on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels". Iron Fist first appeared in issue #15, written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Gil Kane.Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 165: "Marvel combined the superhero and martial arts genres when writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane created Iron Fist in ''Marvel Premiere'' #15." Other introductions include the Legion of Monsters, the

Liberty Legion The Liberty Legion is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was first created in 1976 and set during World War II. Composed of existing heroes from Marvel's 1940s Golden Age of Comic ...

,Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 175: "''Invaders'' writer/editor Roy Thomas decided to create another team of Golden Age superheroes."

Woodgod Dorothy Walker Dorothy Walker is a fictional character in Marvel Comics. She was created by Stuart Little and Ruth Atkinson and first appeared in ''Miss America Magazine'' #2 (November 1944). She was reintroduced in '' The Defenders'' #89 (Novem ...

, the

3-D Man 3-D Man is the name of two fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first superhero to use the name 3-D Man is a composite of two brothers, Charles and Hal Chandler, and the second is Delroy Garrett. T ...

,Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 179: "In Roy Thomas' story set in the 1950s, test pilot Chuck Chandler...was somehow imprinted on his brother Hal's glasses." and the second

Ant-Man (Scott Lang) Ant-Man (Scott Lang) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Byrne, Scott Lang first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #181 (March 1979) and in ''Ma ...

. The series also featured the first comic book appearance of rock musician

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

.Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 191: "Writers Jim Salicrup, Roger Stern, and Ed Hannigan and artists Tom Sutton and Terry Austin collaborated with musician Alice Cooper on ''Marvel Premiere'' #50." Though ''Adam Warlock'', ''Doctor Strange'', and ''Iron Fist'' were all given their own series following their tryout in ''Marvel Premiere'', many of the later features were never meant even as potential candidates for a series. In some cases, such as the Wonder Man story in issue #55 and the Star-Lord story in #61, the writer simply wanted to do a story featuring that character and there was not a more appropriate place for it to be published. Some features, such as Seeker 3000 (issue #41), were conceived specifically for ''Marvel Premiere'' but with no real plan for a series. Later in the title's run, ''Marvel Premiere'' was used to finish stories of characters who had lost their own series including the

Man-Wolf John Jonah Jameson III (also known as Colonel Jupiter, the Man-Wolf and the Stargod) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the son of J. Jonah Jameson, and a friend to ...

in issues #45–46 and the Black Panther in issues #51–53.

Issues

* #1–2 -

(moved to his own series) * #3–14 - Doctor Strange (moved to his own second series) * #15–25 - Iron Fist (moved to his own series) * #26 -

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

* #27 - Satana * #28 -

Legion of Monsters Legion of Monsters is the name of different fictional superhero teams appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Legion of Monsters first appeared in Marvel Comics chronology in ''Marvel Premiere'' #28 ( ...

* #29–30 -

* #31 -

* #32 - Monark Starstalker * #33–34 -

Solomon Kane Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp magazine, pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A late-16th-to-early-17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanqu ...

* #35–37 -

* #38 -

Weirdworld ''Weirdworld'' was a fantasy series created by Doug Moench and Mike Ploog for American company Marvel Comics, set in a dimension of magic. A comic book series titled ''Weirdworld'' debuted in 2015 as a tie-in to the ''Secret Wars'' storyline, fol ...

* #39–40 -

Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

* #41 - Seeker 3000 * #42 -

Tigra Tigra (Greer Grant Nelson) is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Introduced as the superpowered and gadget-wielding crime fighter the Cat in ''The Claws of the Cat'' #1 (November 1972). The ...

* #43 -

Paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...

* #44 -

Jack of Hearts The jack of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. Jack of Hearts may also refer to: * Jack of Hearts (Marvel Comics) (Jack Hart), a fictional superhero appearing in Marvel Comics * Jack of Hearts, a member of the Royal Flush Ga ...

* #45–46 -

* #47–48 -

* #49 - The Falcon * #50 -

* #51–53 - Black Panther * #54 - Caleb Hammer * #55 -

Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The c ...

* #56 -

Dominic Fortune Dominic Fortune is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by Howard Chaykin and based on the Scorpion, Chaykin's character for the failed Atlas/Seaboard Comics company, Do ...

* #57–60 -

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

(reprints from

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Di ...

's '' Doctor Who Weekly'') * #61 -

Star-Lord Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in '' Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 197 ...

Collected editions

* ''Marvel Masterworks Warlock'' Vol. 1 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #1–2, 288 pages, February 2007, * ''Essential Warlock'' Vol 1 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #1–2, 576 pages, August 2012, * ''Essential Doctor Strange'' Vol. 2 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #3–10 and #12–14, (#11 was reprints.) 608 pages, December 2007, * ''Marvel Masterworks Doctor Strange'' Vol. 4 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #3–8, 272 pages, January 2010, * ''Marvel Masterworks Doctor Strange'' Vol. 5 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #9–14, 288 pages, April 2011, * ''Doctor Strange Epic Collection Vol. 3: A Separate Reality'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #3–14, 472 pages, October 2016, * ''Essential Iron Fist'' Vol. 1 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #15–25, 584 pages, October 2004, * ''Marvel Masterworks Iron Fist'' Vol. 1 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #15–25, 256 pages, June 2011, * ''Iron Fist Epic Collection Vol. 1: The Fury of Iron Fist'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #15–25, 528 pages, July 2015, and September 2018, * ''Marvel Universe by John Byrne Omnibus'' Vol. 2 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #25, 1296 pages, December 2018, * ''Essential Marvel Horror'' Vol 1 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #27, 648 pages, October 2006, * ''Essential Werewolf by Night'' Vol. 2 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #28, 576 pages, November 2007, * ''Werewolf by Night Omnibus'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #28, 1176 pages, October 2016, * ''Werewolf by Night: The Complete Collection'' Vol. 3 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #28 and material from ''Marvel Premiere'' #59, 464 pages, May 2018, * ''Mobius the Living Vampire Omnibus'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #28, 864 pages, May 2020, * ''Invaders Classic: The Complete Collection'' Vol. 1 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #29–30, 248 pages, July 2007, * ''The Thing: Liberty Legion'' includes ''Marvel Premier'' #29–30, 650 pages, July 2011, * ''The Chronicles of Solomon Kane'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #33–34, 200 pages, December 2009, * ''Weirdworld'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #38, 312 pages, April 2015, * ''Marvel Masterworks Daredevil'' Vol. 13 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #39–40, 312 pages, March 2019, * ''Women of Marvel Omnibus'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #42, 1160 pages, January 2011, * ''Tigra: The Complete Collection'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #42, 424 pages, December 2019, * ''Marvel Masterworks Daredevil'' Vol. 14 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #43, 320 pages, January 2020, * ''Marvel Masterworks Iron Man'' Vol. 13 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #44, 360 pages, March 2021, * ''Man-Wolf: The Complete Collection'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #45–46, 408 pages, October 2019, * ''Marvel Universe by John Byrne Omnibus'' Vol. 1 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #47–48, 1120 pages, April 2016, * ''Marvel Masterworks Ant-Man/Giant-Man'' Vol. 3 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #47–48, 376 pages, June 2018, * ''Marvel Masterworks The Avengers'' Vol. 18 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #49, 320 pages, April 2018, * ''Marvel Masterworks Black Panther'' Vol. 2 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #51–53, 352 pages, October 2016, * ''Black Panther Epic Collection Vol. 2: Revenge of the Black Panther'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #51–53, 456 pages, February 2019, * ''Marvel Masterworks The Avengers'' Vol. 19 includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #55, 328 pages, April 2019, * ''Dominic Fortune: It Can Happen Here and Now'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #56, 184 pages, February 2010, * ''Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #61, 424 pages, July 2014, * ''Guardians of the Galaxy: Solo Classic Omnibus'' includes ''Marvel Premiere'' #61, 1122 pages, November 2015,

''Marvel Movie Premiere''

The similarly-named ''Marvel Movie Premiere'' was a one-shot black-and-white magazine published by Marvel in September 1975. It featured an adaptation of '' The Land That Time Forgot'' by writer

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 artist

Sonny Trinidad Celso L. "Sonny" Trinidad (died November 23, 2009) was a Filipino comics artist who worked in the Filipino and American comic book industries. In the U.S., he is mostly known for his work for Marvel Comics in the mid–1970s. Career Trinidad bega ...

References

External links