Legendary artist John Byrne makes his Marvel Age debut with this cover featuring Alpha Flight, a team I used to call "Awful Flight," ha ha ha. (They were fine...I was young.) Byrne would go on to become M.A.'s most prolific cover artist, contributing a total of nine covers to the series' 140 issue run. This issue's cover is oddly similar to the cover to Alpha Flight #1 -- yellow sky, red logo, naturalistic setting.
In this issue assistant editor Peter David hands the design chores over to Lea Sapp, who gives the layouts a cleaner, more open look. Also new in the credits: colorist Stan Goldberg (who I thought by this time was full-time cartooning for Archie Comics) and frequent future M.A. contributor Rick Parker. Rick is credited as a letterer here -- his cartooning days still lay ahead, as they say.
Marvel Age #2
Price: $0.25 US
Pages: 20 (16 interior plus four covers)
On sale: May 1983
Copyright © 1983 Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation.
• Editor: Carol Kalish
• Assistant Editor: Peter David
• Designer: Lea Sapp
• Production: Danny Crespi and Ron Zalme
• Colorists: Stan Goldberg, Paul Becton and George Roussos
• Letterer: Rick Parker
• Logo designer: John Morelli
• Photographer: Eliot R. Brown
• Guiding light: Jim Shooter
Front cover
• Pencils/inks: John Byrne
• Characters: Alpha Flight
Inside front cover
• Triptych ad for The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (drawing by Ron Zalme), Spider-Woman and Iron Man
Page 1
• Contents
• Masthead
• Indicia
Pages 2 – 4
• Marvel Comics Coming Attactions (no writing credits)
Comics on sale April 26, 1983 - May 17 1983
Summaries of:
The Thing #2
Daredevil #197
The New Mutants #6
Incredible Hulk Annual #12
The Amazing Spider-Man #243
Captain America #284
Thor #334
Indiana Jones #8
U.S. 1 #4
Dr. Strange #60 (sic)
Incredible Hulk #286
Avengers #234
Conan #149
Marvel Tales #154
Rom #45
G.I. Joe #14
The Uncanny X-Men #172
Power Man/Iron Fist #96
Marvel Team-Up #132
Iron Man #173
Star Wars #74
Fantastic Four #257
Defenders #122
Peter Parker #81 (sic)
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #8
Alpha Flight #1
What If #40
Coyote #2
Savage Sword of Conan #90
Return of the Jedi -- Marvel Super Special #26
Blip #5 (for those who don't recall this one, it was a comic-sized magazine about video games that ran seven issues)
Marvel Age #5
Page 4
• Marvel Comic Retractions
Corrections on previous listings on:
Indiana Jones #7
Star Wars #73
Moon Knight #32
New Mutants #5
• One-third page ad for retailers to be listed in the Marvel Comics Super Mart
Page 5
• Art feature: "The Space Slammers"
Couple of paragraphs on the graphic novel Star Slammers by Walter Simonson with art from a 1974 convention souvenir book appearance of the team under their earlier name, the Space Slammers.
Page 6
• News Watch
Items on:
• A one-scene crossover between Daredevil #96 and Iron Man #171 (both stories have scenes set at parties, so writer Denny O'Neil made it the same party)
• Don't worry, everyone -- Bill Sienkiewicz hasn't left Marvel. He's drawing covers for The Dazzler.
• The logo to Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #78 is not chopped up in any way -- apparently several recent issues had messed around with the logo in various ways
• Marvel will be adapting the upcoming James Bond movie Octopussy, it is reported with absolutely no snickering.
• The difficulties of super-heroes changing their names while being listed under their old names in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe are examined.
• The Mysterions, listed in Marvel Age #1 as a new series coming soon, will not be coming soon. The toy company that owns the property has gone out of business. (Dish that dirt, Marvel Age!)
• Lea Sapp moves into a new role as Carol Kalish's assistant. She was formerly an administrative assistant to Jim Shooter
• Bob Budiansky joins staff as an editor
Pages 7 – 10
• Article: “Alpha Flight” by Patrick O'Neill
Interview with John Byrne about the new series with art from the first issue.
Page 11-13
• Behind the Lines
Items on:
• Ralph Macchio on New York City as depicted in comics by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz.
• Larry Hama on the end of Crazy Magazine
• Dennis O'Neil on Bizarre Adventures
• Jim Shooter on new talent submissions
• Louise Jones and Danny Fingeroth on new artists including Paul Smith, Ron Frenz (both former animators in Canada), and Armando Gil
• Archie Goodwin and Jo Duffy on Bernie Wrightson's illustrated Frankenstein.
• Mark Gruenwald on the end of Spider-Woman
• Tom DeFalco on Amazing Spider-Man
Pages 13 – 16
• Article: “Life Among the Barbarians" by Neil Patterson
Covers Conan tie-in titles Red Sonja and Kull the Conqueror, which are confusingly described as "bi-monthly titles published four times a year."
Inside back cover
• Ad for U.S. 1
Back cover
• Ad for Kull the Conqueror II
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