For its second annual, Marvel Age leaned into the company's 25th anniversary, celebrating with a flip book that presented today's Marvel heroes on the front cover as well as a back cover and a handful of flip-book pages that imagined an issue of Marvel Age as it might have appeared in 1963.
Strangely, this 48 page annual had the same $0.50 cover price as a regular 32 page issue of Marvel Age!
Much of this issue spotlights what's to come in the next year or so for Marvel's ongoing titles, as well as new books no one had heard about yet. (The Nam, anyone?) The many pages of logos and text are livened up by some great pages of previews in comics form, including some really fun pieces as well as oddities, like the look at a Daredevil run written by Steve Englehart that never materialized.
This issue also gave readers their first look at the lineup of the New Universe, with exciting... no art? Yes, somehow three solid pages of text was supposed to get fans ready to buy into eight new titles about "the world outside your window." This wouldn't be the last time the New Universe was poorly promoted, unfortunately.
On the 1963 side of the issue, Coming Attractions highlighted annuals for the Fantastic Four, Strange Tales, Millie the Model, and Patsy and Hedy, as well as the latest issues of Kid Colt Outlaw and the Two-Gun Kid. There's also a look back at the Atlas Age in 1954, and a profile of Jack Kirby by Jack Kirby.
Marvel Age Annual #2
Price: $0.50 US
Pages: 52 (48 interior plus four covers)
On sale: June 24, 1986
Cover date: 1986
Copyright © 1986 Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation.
• Jim Shooter: Editor in Chief
• Jim Salicrup: Editor and Design Director
• Kurt Busiek and Adam Philips: Assistant Editors
• Barbara Johnston: Designer
• Craig Anderson, Adam Blaustein, Eliot Brown, Nancy Brown, Bob Budiansky, Mike Carlin, Bobbie Chase, Daniel Chichester, Margaret Clark, Don Daley, Tom DeFalco, Jo Duffy, Danny Fingeroth, Archie Goodwin, Mark Gruenwald, Bob Harras, Larry Hama, Mike Higgins, Sid Jacobson, Terry Kavanagh, Ralph Macchio, Howard Mackie, Rosemary McCormick-Lowy, Al Milgrom, John Morelli, Ann Nocenti, Jim Owsley, Carl Potts, Pat Redding, and Joanne Spaldo: Consulting Editors
• John Romita: Art Director
• Tom Morgan: Assistant Art Director
• Kevin Maguire, Jose Marzan and Mark McKenna: Romita's Raiders
• Anita Duncan: Art/Production Coordinator
• Doreen Frederick: Assistant Production Coordinator
• Brenda Mings: Typesetter
• Jack Abel: Proofreader
• Steve Mellor, Christie Scheele, and Adam Philips: Colorists
• Bill Oakley: Letterer
• Ron Frenz and Joe Sinnott: Cover one art
• Paul Becton, Pat Brousseau, Harry Candelario, Rob Carosella, Hector Collazo, Dawn Geiger, Barbara Johnston, Veronica Lawlor, Ken Lopez, Michael Maier, Bill Oakley, and Bill Vallely: Production
• Virginia Romita: Traffic Manager
• Christine Aurilia and Lynn Cohen: Friendly Assistance
• Carol Kalish: Director of Specialty Sales
• Peter David: Direct Sales Manager Administrative
• Steve Saffel: Assistant Promotions Manager for Direct Sales
• Irving Forbush: Another Year Older
Front cover
• Character: Marvel heroes
Inside front cover
• Shooter's Salicrup's Section
• Marvel Agenda (contents)
• Masthead
• Indicia
Pages 1 - 3
"This Is a Plot?"
Reprinted from Fantastic Four Annual #5
Written and pencilled by Jack Kirby
Inked by Frank Giacoia
Pages 4 - 8
"100 Highlights from the First 25"
Pages 9 - 40
Article: "Marvel A to Z," by Dwight Jon Zimmerman
Text previews of these series:
- Alpha Flight
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- Animax
- The Avengers
- The Avengers versus X-Men
- The Bozz Chronicles
- Captain America
- Care Bears
- Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos
- Classic X-Men
- Cloak and Dagger
- The Comet Man
- Conan the Barbarian
- Conan the King
- Dakota North
- Daredevil
- Doctor Strange
- Droids
- Elektra
- Elfquest
- Ewoks
- Fallen Angels
- Fantastic Four
- Fantastic Four Meets the X-Men
- G.I. Joe
- G.I. Joe Special Missions
- Groo the Wanderer
- Groo the Wanderer graphic novel
- Grown-Up Thermonuclear Samurai Elephants
- Heathcliff
- Hugga Bunch
- The Incredible Hulk
- Inhumanoids
- Iron Man
- Madballs
- Marvel Fanfare
- The Marvel Saga
- Marvel Tales
- Masters of the Universe
- Moonshadow
- Moonshadow graphic novel
- Muppet Babies
- The Nam
- The New Mutants
- The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition
- The Official Marvel Index to The Uncanny X-Men
- The Official Marvel Index to The Avengers
- The Official Marvel Index to The Fantastic Four
- The Official Marvel Index to Marvel Team-Up
- The Official Marvel Index to Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man
- Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man
- Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham
- Phoenix
- Popples
- Power Pack
- The Savage Sword of Conan
- Savage Tales
- The Silver Surfer
- The Amazing Spider-Man versus Wolverine
- Steelgrip Starkey and His All-Purpose Power Tool
- Strikeforce Morituri
- Swords of the Swashbucklers
- The Mighty Thor
- Thundercats
- Top Dog
- The Transformers
- Web of Spider-Man
- The West Coast Avengers
- Wolfpack
- X-Factor
- X-Men
Text coverage is interspersed with comics previews of these titles:
- Daredevil, written by Steve Englehart with art by Louis Williams and Al Williamson (one page) (Englehart would only end up writing one issue)
- X-Factor, written by Louise Simonson with art by Tom Morgan and Art Nichols (one page)
- X-Men, written by Louise Simonson with art by Alan Kupperberg and Art Nichols (one page)
- The New Mutants, written by Louise Simonson with art by Art Adams (one page)
- Cloak and Dagger, written by Bill Mantlo with art by Rick Leonardi and Terry Austin (1/2 page)
- Fallen Angels, written by Jo Duffy with art by Kerry Gammill (1/2 page)
- The Amazing Web of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, written by Adam Blaustein with art by Ron Frenz and Joe Rubinstein (one page)
- Alpha Flight, written by Bill Mantlo with art by David Ross and Joe Rubinstein (one page)
- The Mighty Thor, written and illustrated by Walter Simonson (two pages)
- Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, written and illustrated by Steve Mellor (one page)
- Power Pack, written by Louise Simonson, with art by Jon Bogdanove and Art Nichols (two pages)
- Doctor Strange, written by Peter Gillis with art by Chris Warner (one page)
- The Incredible Hulk, written and illustrated by Al Milgrom (1/2 page)
- The West Coast Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America, The Avengers, and Fantastic Four, written by Roger Stern with art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer (four pages)
- Dakota North, written by Martha Thomases with art by Tony Salmons (one page)
Article "The Coming of the New Universe"
Covers these titles:
- Starbrand
- Psi-Force
- Merc
- Nightmask
- Justice
- Spitfire and the Troubleshootes
- Kickers, Inc.
- D.P.7.
Back cover: 1963 Marvel Heroes by Richard Howell and Al Milgrom
Inside back cover
• Introduction by Stan Lee
• Marvel Agenda (contents)
Pages 1 - 2
Marvel Comics Coming Attractions
Compiled by Kurt Busiek, Richard Howell, Trina Robbins, George Olshevsky, Fred Hembeck, and Randall Scott
Page 3
The Atlas Age - 1954 (Part II), by Sholly Fisch
Jack Kirby by Jack Kirby
Page 4
Li'l Fred, by Fred Hembeck
Newswatch
Item: Spider-Man won't be joining the Fantastic Four or teaming up with other Marvel Heroes because Stan Lee and Steve Ditko have so many great stories in the works for him.
Item: Ant-Man gains a great new power in Tales to Astonish #49
Item: Jack Kirby draws the same faces in crowd scenes so often we call them "Kirby's Kast of Kharacters," ha ha?
Item: Spider-Man goes monthly with issue #4
Item: Thanks to your requests, Dr. Strange returns in Strange tales #114
Item: Watch for The X-Men and The Avengers, two new team titles, coming soon.
Page 5
Letters column: "Make Mine Marvel!"
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