Marvel Firsts: The 1970s vol. 1

Marvel Firsts

by Jack Kirby, Gary Friedrich, Mike Ploog

When the swingin' seventies arrived, Marvel was there to welcome it with a host of new characters and titles! Assembled in one volume for the very first time are the fabulous first issues of dozens of Marvel's finest offerings from the seventies, including the likes of Dracula, Man-Thing, Luke Cage, and Tigra, not to mention such solo breakouts as the Black Widow and the Beast. Westerns, war, sci-fi, super heroes, monsters and mutants!

Collecting AMAZING ADVENTURES (1970) #1, #11 and #18; SAVAGE TALES (1971) #1; MARVEL SPOTLIGHT (1971) #1-2 and #5; MARVEL FEATURE (1971) #1; MARVEL PREMIERE #1: TOMB OF DRACULA #1; HERO FOR HIRE #1; COMBAT KELLY & THE DEADLY DOZEN #1; OUTLAW KID (1970) #10; GUNHAWKS #1; THE CAT #1: SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL (1972) #1; and MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Westerns, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Horror

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2012

About the author

Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is "The King."

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all most all anthologies, this collection features some wonderful stuff and some - well, not so wonderful stuff. I have enjoyed these Marvel Firsts type collections when Stan Lee offered the first one back in the mid 1970s with Origins of Marvel Comics. The formate has changed somewhat, but the idea is still there.
This volume includes material from:
Amazing Adventures #1 featuring stories with The Inhumans by Jack Kirby and the Black Widow by Gary Friedrich & John Buscema; Amazing Adventures #11 with the Beast's first outing in his new blue fur coat by Gerry Conway & Tom Sutton; Amazing Adventures #18 featuring the post-Martian invasion of earth adventures of Killreaven from ideas inspired by the novel The War of the Worlds by Conway, Neal Adams & Howard Chaykin; Cat #1 featuring Greer Nelson as the titular character in her debut, by Linda Fite & Marie Severin, before she was later transformed into Tigra; Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen #1 takes us back to WWII with a story that continues from the pages of Sgt. Fury by Friedrich & Dick Ayers; Hero for Hire #1 with the first appearance of Luke Cage, Power Man by Roy Thomas, John Romita Sr., Archie Goodwin & George Tuska; Gunhawks #1 by Friedrich & Syd Shores; Marvel Feature #1 with the first "official" appearance of the non-team the Defenders by Thomas & Ross Andru featuring the Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner & Doctor Strange; Marvel Premiere #1 debuting Adam Warlock in his first solo appearance by Thomas & Gil Kane; Marvel Spotlight #1 returns to the old west with Red Wolf by Gardner Fox & Shores; Marvel Spotlight #2 with the first appearance of Jack Russell the Werewolf by Night by Conway & Mike Ploog; Marvel Spotlight #5 with the newly updated & revamped debut of Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider by Friedrich & Ploog; Monster of Frankenstein featuring Marvel's take on the classic novel as interpreted by Friedrich & Ploog; Outlaw Kid #10 by Mike Friedrich & Ayers; Shanna the She-Devil #1 by Carole Seuling, Steve Gerber & Tuska; the start of Marvel's highly successful take on the infamous vampire in Tomb of Dracula by Conway & Gene Colan and the very first appearance of the Man-Thing from the pages of the mature oriented magazine Savage Tales #1 by Thomas, Conway & Gray Morrow.
As you can see this collection is diverse with a story from WWII to the old west; new takes on monsters from classic novels as well newly imagined creatures; street wise heroes and Marvel's early attempts at feminist heroes; old heroes with new looks and old heroes in a new team and even a post-apocalyptic vision of the future. There are contributions by some of Marvel's biggest stars, some of it's lesser known ones and some who would become huge names in the industry but were not known very well at the time. It's a treasury with a little something for everyone. The only drawback is that the quality of the various offerings are uneven. Still is a wonderful collection with a lot to offer with many complete stories and a minimum of "To be continued..." loose ends.

[Matthew Ledrew]

AMAZING ADVENTURES (1970) #1,
AMAZING ADVENTURES (1970) #11
AMAZING ADVENTURES (1970) #18;
SAVAGE TALES (1971) #1;
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT (1971) #1:
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT (1971) 2:
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT (1971) 5:
MARVEL FEATURE (1971) #1;
MARVEL PREMIERE #1:
TOMB OF DRACULA #1;
HERO FOR HIRE #1;
COMBAT KELLY & THE DEADLY DOZEN #1;
OUTLAW KID (1970) #10;
GUNHAWKS #1;
THE CAT #1:
SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL (1972) #1; and
MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN #1

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stories & some okay art but mostly turgid nonsense w/some lousy art. Still, everything's a little loosey-goosey in the 70's so the comic book rules were being shaken up a bit which is represented by some of the stuff such as Man-Thing, Dracula & Luke Cage. I think there may be some better stuff in subsequent volumes for the 70's but it may be awhile before I get to it. Oh well.

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just a fun collection of some great, some not-so-great, and some downright terrible stuff Marvel pumped out in the early 70s. And I was there for all of it. I enjoyed it far more as a teen than I did this time around, but it's worth it just for the nostalgia factor.

And the fact that, unlike today, it actually to more than five minutes to read the entire comic.

[Guido]

primeras apariciones en los 70s

[Kitap Yakıcı · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great anthology, collecting in one volume many different Marvel comics from the 1970s, the decade in which I first became a comics reader. As the cover suggests, this book includes the origin stories for the Ghost Rider, Power Man (aka Luke Cage), Adam Warlock, and the Black Widow, but it also contains many non-superhero titles from the period, including WWII reprints, westerns, and horror comics (e.g., Frankenstein's monster). For me, the highlight of this collection was the first installment of Werewolf by Night. As I was reading it, many of the images struck me viscerally, reminding me of a comic and 45 record set I enjoyed repeatedly when I was a very small kid (as in 4 or 5 years old). Turns out that the set I remembered was an adaptation of the comic in this collection. What a wonderfully nostalgic romp!

[Sadie-Jane Huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun compilation. enjoyed it though not as much as the 60s version. wish it focused more on the heroes instead of the other comics as well. I skipped those..

[Chris Schaben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not nearly as good as the 60s Marvel Firsts collection. Some of these comics are really great, while others were pretty boring. A decent collector's item for Marvel fans, though.