| Marvel Tales | |
|---|---|
 Marvel Tales Annual #1 (1964). Cover art byJack Kirby &Frank Giacoia, except Spider-Man, bySteve Ditko. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Annual: #1–2 Bi-monthly: #3–64 Monthly: #65–291 |
| Format | Ongoing |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date | 1964–Nov. 1994 |
| No. of issues | 291 |
| Main character(s) | Spider-Man, various |
Marvel Tales is the title of an Americancomic book series published byMarvel Comics from 1964 to 1994 and a flip magazine series published Marvel Comics by from August 2005 to February 2007. Both series primarilyreprintedSpider-Man stories.
In the 1960s, during theSilver Age of Comics, the seriesMarvel Tales began as asummer 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 became a bimonthly and later monthly reprint title, featuringSpider-Man stories primarily, from #3–291 (July 1966 – Nov. 1994).[1]
The first annual was a 72-page reprint anthology that gatheredsuperhero origin stories from the previous two years, as well as awar comics story. An introduction to theMarvel Universe of the time, it contained complete debut stories ofSpider-Man,Ant-Man,Iron Man, andThor, and excerpts of the first appearances of theHulk,Giant-Man, the red-and-gold-armor version of Iron Man, and theWorld War II groupSgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos.[1] It also contained a two-page photo gallery of many of the staff and freelancers, includingDick 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 publisherMartin Goodman.[2][3] Spider-Man co-creatorSteve Ditko was conspicuously absent from the staff photos, which historians later cited as evidence of him starting to distance himself from Marvel.[4] Comics historian Nick Caputo has noted that "By 1964 the new heroes were an essential part of Marvel's line, with only the western and teen-romance strips remaining. TheMarvel Tales Annual was an easy way to introduce their top features to a growing audience."[5] He also observed that "Marvel Tales Annual # 1 represents an era that is almost inconceivable today, when access to old stories and comics in the form of expensive hardcover editions or trade paperbacks is the standard. To many kids the presence of an over-sized comic book on the racks in the spring and summer months represented an adventure of near-mythic proportions."[5]
The second annual similarly reprintedThe X-Men #1 andThe Avengers #1, the eight-page origin ofDoctor Strange, a non-debut story starring the Hulk, and a standalone, five-page science-fiction story, "A Monster Among Us", fromAmazing Adult Fantasy #8.[3]
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 ofThe Amazing Spider-Man, as well as some of the earliest stories of Thor, Ant-Man, andFantastic Four member theHuman Torch from his solo feature inStrange Tales.
The Ant-Man stories were replaced after a few issues by anthological science-fiction stories framed as "Tales of theWasp", introduced by Ant-Man's female partner. These in turn were replaced by 1950sAtlas Comics reprints of the superheroMarvel Boy in issues #13–16. That was dropped with #17, when 18-page Thor reprints replaced the earlier 13-page Thor reprints.
Marvel Tales was revamped to feature two Spider-Man reprints and one Doctor Strange reprint in issues #28–31 — with the exception of #30, where the Strange backup was replaced by an original story featuring the X-Men memberAngel, written bySuperman co-creatorJerry Siegel in one of his rare Marvel outings.[6] An Iron Man story served as backup in #32, after whichMarvel Tales became a standard-priced series reprinting a single Spider-Man story each issue, occasionally with a new or reprinted backup story. Issue #100 (Feb. 1979) included a newHawkeye and theTwo-Gun Kid story.[7]
The reprints had minor details and cultural references changed in the stories to contemporary ones. Storytelling errors in the original stories were occasionally corrected.[8] Marvel Comics writer and editorTom DeFalco stated in a 2016 interview that "One reviewer at the time was so incensed with some of my changes that she suggested that someone should bring a gun to a convention and 'blow me away'." DeFalco considered legal action against the reviewer and her publisher as a result.[9] In addition to changing topical references, Marvel decided to alter the background characters in several issues to present greater racialdiversity in the stories. Comics historian Brian Cronin remarked in 2018 that "it was an interesting change to make New York City seem more like the real New York City."[10]Marvel Tales #159 (Jan. 1984) included a parody page which reimagined Spider-Man'sAunt May as a jogger and his high school classmates as punk rockers.[11] The alterations to the reprinted stories ended with this issue. FilmmakerBob DeNatale, who was the assistant editor onMarvel Tales at the time explained in a 2018 interview that "I always hated the updated cultural references in the reprints. When I was hired,Danny [Fingeroth] basically put me in charge of theMarvel Tales reprints so he could spend his time and energy on the new stories, so I stopped making any changes to the original script.[12]
Although the series was a reprint title, it often featured new covers, most notably by artistTodd McFarlane on issues #223–239.[13]Marvel Tales was cancelled with issue #291 (Nov. 1994).[14]
Marvel published a flip magazine titledMarvel Tales Flip Magazine (Aug. 2005 – Feb. 2007) reprinting Spider-Man stories fromThe Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) on one side, and, on the other,Araña, fromAmazing Fantasy (vol. 2) through issue #6, and theRunaways through the final issue, #18.[15]
Marvel "fixed" a plot hole in a classic Lee/Ditko Spider-Man story when they reprinted it, and also added aDukes of Hazzard reference to the story!
In actuality, that was just a joke in the letters column by the book's assistant editor Bob DeNatale, as part of the Assistant Editor's Month bit that Marvel was doing at the time.
