Marvel Tales is the title of three American comic-book series published by Marvel Comics, the first of them from the company's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics. It is additionally the title of two unrelated, short-lived fantasy/science fiction magazines.
Magazines
The first publication using the title was the amateur magazine Marvel Tales, also known as Marvel Tales of Science and Fantasy, published by Fantasy Publications in Everett, Pennsylvania. The magazine ran five issues cover-dated May 1934 - Summer 1935. Despite its reportedly non-professional status, the magazine, which appeared in at least two sizes during its run, published a story by the already established Robert E. Howard, "The Garden of Fear", in issue #2 (July-Aug. 1934), and "The Creator", an early example of religious-themed science fiction by the noted Clifford D. Simak, in #4 (March-April 1935).
The next was a pulp magazine from future Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodman. Goodman, who published under a variety of corporate names, released five issues of the science-fiction anthology Marvel Science Stories (Aug. 1938 - Aug. 1939), which then changed its name to Marvel Tales for two issues (Dec. 1939 & May 1940) under the Red Circle imprint. The title changed again, to Marvel Stories, for two final issues (Nov. 1940 & April 1941).
The story "The Test-Tube Monster" by George E. Clark, in the May 1940 issue of Marvel Tales, was reprinted in the paperback anthology Superheroes (Sphere, 1978), edited by Michel Parry, as an example of an evil superman.
The series was briefly revived from 1950 to 1952, when three further issues were published as Marvel Stories and three more as Marvel Science Fiction.
Atlas Comics
Marvel Mystery Comics
In comic books, the first Marvel Tales was the direct continuation of the series on which Marvel Comics was founded, Marvel Mystery Comics (Dec. 1939 - June 1949) â€" the first issue of which, titled Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), marked the founding of the Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics. Marvel Mystery Comics was a superhero omnibus featuring primarily the Human Torch, the Submariner and the Angel.
Marvel Tales
Along with most other superhero comics, Marvel Mystery Comics waned after World War II; Timely Comics publisher Martin Goodman, following prevailing trends, retitled and revamped the series as the horror anthology Marvel Tales beginning with issue #93 (Aug. 1949).
Marvel Tales ran 67 issues, through #159 (Aug. 1957), and included among its contributors writer and editor-in-chief Stan Lee and such comics artists as Golden Age veterans Harry Anderson, Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Fred Kida, Mike Sekowsky, Syd Shores, and Ogden Whitney, and, early in their careers, Dick Ayers, Gene Colan, Tony DiPreta, Mort Drucker, Russ Heath, Bernard Krigstein, Joe Maneely, Joe Sinnott, and Basil Wolverton, among others.
Marvel Tales ran until the collapse of Atlas's distributor, American News Company, and the subsequent restructuring known as the "Atlas Implosion."
Marvel Comics
Marvel Tales Annual
In the 1960s, during the Silver Age of Comics, the series Marvel Tales began as a summer special, Marvel Tales Annual, for its first two issues (1964-1965). Like typical annuals of the time, these were 25¢ "giants", relative to the typical 12¢ comics of the time. In 1966, the series began running as initially a bi-monthly and later a monthly reprint title, featuring Spider-Man stories primarily, from # 3-291 (July 1966 - Nov. 1994).
The first annual was a 72-page reprint anthology that gathered superhero origin stories from the previous two years, as well as a war comics story. An introduction to the Marvel Universe of the time, it contained complete debut stories of Spider-Man, Ant-Man. Iron Man, and Thor, and excerpts of the first appearances of the Hulk, Giant-Man, the red-and-gold-armor version of Iron Man, and the World War II group Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos. It also contained a two-page photo gallery of many of the staff and freelancers, including Dick Ayers, Stan Lee, Don Heck, Jack Kirby, Joe Orlando, Paul Reinman, Sam Rosen, Artie Simek, Flo Steinberg, Chic Stone, Vince Colletta, Nancy Murphy of the subscription department, and college "campus representative" Debby Ackerman, and publisher Martin Goodman.
The second annual similarly reprinted The X-Men #1 and The Avengers #1, both cover-dated September 1963, the eight-page origin of Doctor Strange, a non-debut story starring the Hulk, and a standalone, five-page science-fiction story, "A Monster Among Us", from Amazing Adult Fantasy #8.
Ongoing series
Beginning with issue #3 (July 1966), the title was published bimonthly, continuing in the 25¢-giant format through #33. Through issue #12, Marvel Tales reprinted some of the earliest issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, as well as some of the earliest stories of Thor, Ant-Man, and Fantastic Four member the Human Torch (from his solo feature in Strange Tales).
The Ant-Man stories were replaced after a few issues by anthological science-fiction stories framed as "Tales of the Wasp", introduced by Ant-Man's female partner. These in turn were replaced by 1950s Atlas Comics reprints of the superhero Marvel Boy in issues #13-16. That was dropped with #17, when 18-page Thor reprints replaced the earlier 13-page reprints.
The series was revamped to feature two Spider-Man reprints and one Dr. Strange from #28-31 â€" with the exception of #30, where the Dr. Strange backup was replaced by an original story featuring the X-Men member the Angel, written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel in one of his very rare Marvel outings. An Iron Man story served as backup in #32, after which Marvel Tales became a standard-priced series reprinting a single Spider-Man story each issue, very occasionally with a new or reprinted backup story featuring anyone from the Inhumans to Spider-Ham.
The series was canceled with issue #291 cover dated Nov. 1994.
Marvel Tales (flip book)
Marvel published a flip book titled Marvel Tales Flip Magazine (Aug. 2005 - Feb. 2007) reprinting Spider-Man stories from The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 on one side, and, on the other, Araña, from Amazing Fantasy vol. 2, through issue #6, and Runaways through the final issue, #18.
