Marvel Preview was a black-and-white comics magazine published by Magazine Management for 14 issues and the affiliated Marvel Comics Group for 10 issues. The final issue additionally carried the imprint Marvel Magazines Group.
Publication history
An umbrella title that showcased a different heroic-adventure, science-fiction or sword-and-sorcery character in virtually every issue. The title introduced the Marvel Comics characters Dominic Fortune in issue #2, Star-Lord in #4, and Rocket Raccoon in #7. The vigilante character the Punisher, introduced as an antagonist in the comic book The Amazing Spider-Man, had his first solo story in issue #2.
The magazine had scheduling difficulties, with various "Next Issue" announcements proving unreliable. Issue #2 promised an adventure of the Marvel superhero Thor in #3, but a Blade story appeared, with the Thor story unseen until #10. As well, two different issues, #20 and #24, are dated "Winter 1980." Issue #20 was to have included photographs from a Japanese Spider-Man television program but instead featured Howard Chaykin's Dominic Fortune. In addition, Robert A. Heinlein's lawyers threatened legal action over the cover of Marvel Preview #11, which featured a blurb that described the Star-Lord content as "a novel-length science fiction spectacular in the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein," leading to the issue being pulled and reprinted.
With #25 (March 1981), the title was changed to Bizarre Adventures, which published an additional ten issues before ending publication. To offset the dark tone of most of the stories, editor Denny O'Neil had writer Steve Skeates produce a humor feature called Bucky Bizarre to close out each issue. The final issue, #34, was a standard-sized color comic book, cover-blurbed "Special Hate the Holidays Issue", with anthological Christmas-related stories including one starring Howard the Duck.
Issues
Bizarre Adventures
Collected editions
- Essential Punisher Vol. 1 includes Punisher story from Marvel Preview #2, 568 pages, March 2004, ISBN 978-0785123750
- Dominic Fortune: It Can Happen Here and Now includes Dominic Fortune story from Marvel Preview #2, 184 pages, February 2010, ISBN 978-0785140429
- Blade: Black & White includes Blade stories from Marvel Preview #3 and #6, 144 pages, December 2004, ISBN 978-0785114697
- Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy includes Star-Lord stories from Marvel Preview #4, 11, 14-15, and 18, 424 pages, July 2014, ISBN 978-0785154495
- Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 1 includes Satana story from Marvel Preview #7, 648 pages, October 2006, ISBN 978-0785121961
- Rocket Raccoon: Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant includes Rocket Raccoon story from Marvel Preview #7, 120 pages, August 2011, ISBN 978-0785155270
- Essential Moon Knight Vol. 1 includes Moon Knight story from Marvel Preview #21, 560 pages, February 2006, ISBN 978-0785120926
- Black Widow: Web of Intrigue includes Black Widow story from Bizarre Adventures #25, 176 pages, April 2010, ISBN 978-0785144748
- X-Men: Iceman includes Iceman story from Bizarre Adventures #27, 120 pages, August 2012, ISBN 978-0785162759
- X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga includes Phoenix story from Bizarre Adventures #27, 200 pages, April 2012, ISBN 978-0785164210
- Elektra by Frank Miller Omnibus includes Elektra story from Bizarre Adventures #28, 384 pages, November 2008, ISBN 978-0785127772
References
External links
- Marvel Preview at the Comic Book DB
- Bizarre Adventures at the Comic Book DB
- Unofficial guide to Marvel Preview
