| Marvel Preview | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofMarvel Preview #1 (February 1975). Art byNeal Adams | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Quarterly |
| Format | Magazine |
| Genre | Adventure Science fiction Sword and sorcery Superhero |
| Publication date | 1975–Winter 1980 (asMarvel Preview) March 1981–February 1983 (asBizarre Adventures) |
| No. of issues | 34 (#1–24 asMarvel Preview #25–34 asBizarre Adventures) |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | |
| Penciller | |
| Inker | |
| Colorist | Marie Severin |
Marvel Preview is ablack-and-white comicsmagazine published byMagazine Management for fourteen issues and the affiliatedMarvel Comics Group for ten issues.[1] The final issue additionally carried the imprint Marvel Magazines Group.
An umbrella title that showcased a different heroic-adventure,science-fiction, orsword-and-sorcery character in virtually every issue. The title introduced theMarvel Comics charactersDominic Fortune in issue #2,Star-Lord in #4,[2] andRocket Raccoon in #7.[3] The vigilante character thePunisher, introduced as an antagonist in the comic bookThe Amazing Spider-Man, had his first solo story in issue #2.
The magazine experienced scheduling difficulties, with various "Next Issue" announcements proving unreliable. Issue #2 promised an adventure of the Marvel superheroThor in #3, but a Blade story appeared, with the Thor story remaining unseen until #10. As well, two different issues, #20 and 24, are dated "Winter 1980, at the start and end of the year." Issue #20 was to have included photographs from the JapaneseSpider-Man television program, but instead featuredHoward Chaykin'sDominic Fortune.[4] In addition,Robert A. Heinlein's lawyers threatened legal action over the cover ofMarvel 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.[5]
With #25 (March 1981), the title was changed toBizarre Adventures, which ran for an additional ten issues before ceasing publication.[6] To offset the dark tone of most of the stories, editorDenny O'Neil had writerSteve Skeates produce a humor feature called Bucky Bizarre to close out each issue.[7] A story originally prepared for Marvel'sLogan's Run comic book series was published inBizarre Adventures #28 (Oct. 1981).[8] The final issue, #34, was a standard-sized color comic book, featuring the cover-blurb, "Special Hate the Holidays Issue", with anthological Christmas-related stories, including one starringHoward the Duck.
| Issue (cover date) | Feature | Notes | Collected Editions |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 (1975) | "Man-Gods From Beyond the Stars" | Based on the works ofErich Von Däniken | |
| #2 (1975) | "ThePunisher" | back-up:Dominic Fortune (debut) | Essential Punisher Vol. 1; Punisher: Back to the War Omnibus; Dominic Fortune: It Can Happen Here and Now |
| #3 (September 1975) | "Blade the Vampire-Slayer" | originally was going to be in the never-releasedVampire Tales #12 | Blade: Black & White; Blade: The Early Years Omnibus; Marvel Horror Lives Again! Omnibus |
| #4 (January 1976) | "Star-Lord" (debut) | back-up:The Sword in the Star withPrince Wayfinder | Star-Lord:Guardian of the Galaxy |
| #5 (April 1976) | "Sherlock Holmes" | adaptation of the novelThe Hound of the Baskervilles part 1 | |
| #6 (Spring 1976) | "Sherlock Holmes" | The Hound of the Baskervilles part 2 | Blade: Black & White (back-up) |
| #7 (Summer 1976) | "Satana" | back-up:The Sword in the Star with Prince Wayfinder, featuring the debut ofRocket Raccoon | Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 1; Marvel Horror Lives Again! Omnibus;Rocket Raccoon: Guardian of the Keystone Quadrant;Rocket Raccoon andGroot(back-up) |
| #8 (Fall 1976) | "The Legion of Monsters" | Morbius the Living Vampire, Blade, andAnubis | Morbius Epic Collection Vol 2;Morbius the Living Vampire Omnibus Vol 1; Blade: The Early Years Omnibus; Marvel Horror Lives Again! Omnibus |
| #9 (Winter 1976) | "Man-God" (Hugo Danner) | Part 1 of an unfinished adaptation of the novelGladiator byPhilip Wylie | |
| #10 (Winter 1977) | "Thor" | back-up:Hercules | Thor Epic Collection Vol 9 |
| #11 (Summer 1977) | "Star-Lord" | Star-Lord:Guardian of the Galaxy; Guardians of the Galaxy Solo Classic Omnibus; Marvel Universe byJohn Byrne Omnibus | |
| #12 (Fall 1977) | "The Haunt of Horror" | Lilith andDracula | Tomb of Dracula Complete Collection Vol 5; Marvel Horror Lives Again! Omnibus |
| #13 (Winter 1978) | "The UFO Connection" | ||
| #14 (Spring 1978) | "Star-Lord" | Star-Lord:Guardian of the Galaxy; Guardians of the Galaxy Solo Classic Omnibus | |
| #15 (Summer 1978) | "Star-Lord" | ||
| #16 (Fall 1978) | "Masters of Terror" | Lilith | Marvel Horror Lives Again! Omnibus |
| #17 (Winter 1979) | "Blackmark" | ||
| #18 (Spring 1979) | "Star-Lord" | Star-Lord:Guardian of the Galaxy; Guardians of the Galaxy Solo Classic Omnibus | |
| #19 (Summer 1979) | "Kull the Destroyer" | back-up:Solomon Kane | Kull: Savage Sword – The Original Marvel Years OmnibusSolomon Kane: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus (back-up) |
| #20 (Winter 1980) | "Bizarre Adventures" | reprints, including Dominic Fortune | |
| #21 (Spring 1980) | "Moon Knight" | back-up: theShroud | Essential Moon Knight Vol. 1; Moon Knight Epic Collection Vol 1; Moon Knight Omnibus Vol 1 |
| #22 (Summer 1980) | "Merlin" | ||
| #23 (Fall 1980) | "Bizarre Adventures 2" | Marvel Universe byFrank Miller Omnibus (fourth story) | |
| #24 (Winter 1980) | "Paradox" |
| Issue (cover date) | Feature | Notes | Collected Editions |
|---|---|---|---|
| #25 (March 1981) | "Lethal Ladies" | TheBlack Widow; Lady Daemon (debut); theDaughters of the Dragon | Black Widow: Web of Intrigue; Black Widow Epic Collection Vol 2; Black Widow Strikes Omnibus;Iron Fist: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu; Iron Fist: Danny Rand – The Early Years Omnibus;Deadly Hands of Kung Fu Omnibus Vol. 2 |
| #26 (May 1981) | "Kull the Barbarian" | King Kull; "Demon in a Silvered Glass"—story by Doug Moench, art by John Bolton | The Savage Sword of Kull Vol. 1; Kull: Savage Sword – The Original Marvel Years Omnibus |
| #27 (July 1981) | "Secret Lives of the X-Men" | Phoenix; theIceman;Nightcrawler | Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol 2; X-Men Epic Collection Vol 8;Phoenix Story:Phoenix Omnibus Iceman story:X-Men: Iceman; X-Men: Rareties (colorized) |
| #28 (October 1981) | "...These Are the Unlikely Heroes" | Elektra; the Shadow Hunter (debut); the Huntsman;[8]Triton; and Bucky Bizarre (debut) Huntsman story was originally an issue for the then recently cancelledLogan's Run comic series[9] | Elektra by Frank Miller Omnibus |
| #29 (December 1981) | "Stephen King's 'The Lawnmower Man'" | Adaptation of the Stephen Kingshort story "The Lawnmower Man" byWalt Simonson; and stories starring Greenberg the Vampire (debut)[10] and Bucky Bizarre | |
| #30 (February 1982) | "Paradox" | back ups: Silhouette; Bucky Bizarre | |
| #31 (April 1982) | "A Hard Look at Violence" | Dr. Deth with Kip and Muffy (debut); theHangman I (Harlan Krueger; final appearance); Bucky Bizarre | Marvel Universe byJohn Byrne Omnibus |
| #32 (August 1982) | "Thor and Other Gods" | backups: theAquarian; Bucky Bizarre | Thor Epic Collection Vol 12 |
| #33 (December 1982) | "The Tomb of Dracula"; "Haunt of Horror"; "Tales of the Zombie"; "Vault of Evil" | Dracula;Varnae (debut); theZombie | Marvel Horror Omnibus |
| #34 (February 1983) | "Special Hate the Holidays Issue" | Christmas-themed anthology issue, including the Son of Santa (debut and final appearance),Howard the Duck, Dr. Deth with Kip and Muffy (final appearance) and Bucky Bizarre (final appearance) | Howard the Duck Complete Collection Vol 4 |
An alien transformed by cruel experiments into a warrior with a wicked sense of humor, his first appearance lasted a handful of pages in the black-and-white science-fantasy story 'The Sword in the Star' inMarvel Preview #7.
SinceMarvel Preview was printed on cheap newsprint, it's possible that [Marvel's editorial staff] decided the photos would look terrible when screened and printed.
Heinlein's lawyers contacted Marvel and a new printing was done and the text was removed. In fact, relatively few copies ofMarvel Preview #11 exist with the original text.
Marvel has always been unwilling to just let unused stories go to waste...so aLogan's Run back-up that was likely going to run throughLogan's Run #9 and #10 by Archie Goodwin and Michael Golden instead became a brand-new story inBizarre Adventures #28!
Writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Steve Leialoha explored a new take on the vampire myth with Greenberg.
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