There's a lot to unpack on the cover of Marvel Age #18! The image, drawn by Luke McDonnell and Steve Mitchell, shows great coherence considering it features James Rhodes as the new Iron Man (promoting an interview with writer Denny O'Neil) looking at a screen with the Hulk on it (for Questprobe) while another screen highlights Hembeck's Page in Marvel Age, with a drawing that has to be by our Fred. 

The editorial that opens the issue celebrates new additions to Marvel Age, as well as the one-year anniversary of Jim Salicrup's tenure as editor, as well as teasing Star Comics, and promising an update on the Justice League of America / Avengers crossover soon. We'll see about that... 

This is also the month of a double helping of Marvel Comic Attractions, as the section switches over from a three-month ahead schedule to just one-month. 

The lead article this month covers the Questprobe comics series, tying into the video game of the same name, created by Scott Adams -- no, not the guy who created Dilbert after all. The comics series would go on to run three issues -- #1, starring the Hulk; #2, starring Spider-Man; and #3, starring the Thing and the Human Torch. (The fourth issue, starring the X-Men, was published in Marvel Fanfare #33 when the game didn't come out.) 

That's not the only game on the table in this issue of Marvel Age, though. There's also an article on the TSR Marvel Super Heroes Role Playing Game, with art by Sal Buscema.

The Marvel Age Interview with Denny O'Neil focuses on his acclaimed work as writer of both Iron Man and Daredevil. O'Neil discusses his love of collaboration with artists like David Mazzucchelli and Luke McDonnell, and lays out what it means to be an alcoholic with great sensitivity and understanding. He also talks about the titles he edits, and singles out Jim Owsley for praise as the new writer on Power Man and Iron Fist. 

And the New Talent Department this month focuses on a future comics and animation star, Kyle Baker, who here has submitted his sample pages for the X-Men. John Romita provides commentary, saying that the pages are pretty great, but would benefit from a few closeups to provide variation. 

Marvel Age #18

Price: $0.35 US 

Pages: 36 (32 interior plus four covers)

On sale: June 5, 1984

Cover date: September, 1984

Copyright © 1984 Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. 

• Jim Shooter: Editor in Chief

• Jim Salicrup: Editor and Design Director

• Mark Lerer: Assistant Editor

• Bob Kessel: Designer

• Jim Massara: Coming Attractions

• Dan Crespi: Art/Production Coordinator

• Ron Zalme: Assistant Art/Production Coordinator

• Joe Albelo, Harry Candelario, Rob Carosella, Phil Felix, Morrie Kuramoto, John Morelli, 

  and Barry Shapiro: Production

• Brenda Mings: Typesetter

• Paul Becton and George Roussos: Colorists

• Craig Anderson and Lynn Cohen: Friendly Assistance

• Luke McDonnell and Steve Mitchell: Cover 

• Carol Kalish: Direct Sales Manager

• Steve Saffel: Assistant Promotions Manager for Direct Sales

• Peter David: Assistant Direct Sales Manager

• Marsha Rosenberg: Sales Manager for Special Events

• Irving Forbush: Video Ga-ga

Front cover 

• Characters: The Hulk and Iron Man (James Rhodes) 

 Inside front cover

• Ad for The Official Marvel Comics Try-Out Book 

 

Page 1

• Marvel Agenda (contents) 

• Masthead 

• Indicia 

Editorial: "Jumbled Jargon to to Cajole and Confuse You," or, "Salicrup's Soapbox," by Jim Salicrup

Pages 2 – 5

Marvel Comics Coming Attractions (two months ahead)

Titles on sale June 26

• The Thing #16

• Daredevil #211

• New Mutants #20

• Dazzler #34

• The Muppets Takes Manhattan #1, 2 and 3

• Ka-Zar #34

• Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #6

• West Coast Avengers #2

• Machine Man #1

• Marvel Team-Up Annual #7

Titles on sale July 3

• Amazing Spider-Man #257

• Captain America #248

• Thor #348

• Indiana Jones #22

• Power Pack #3

• Micronauts: the New Voyages #1

• Doctor Strange #67

• U.S. 1 #12

• The Last Star Fighters (sic) #1, 2 and 3

• Sub-Mariner #2

• Iron Man Annual #7

• Savage Sword of Conan #103

• Alien Legion #3

• Marvel Super Special #32: The Muppets Take Manhattan 

Titles on sale July 10

• Avenger #248

• Conan the Barbarian #163

• Marvel Tales #168

• Rom #59

• Power Man and Iron Fist #110

• G.I. Joe #28

• Kull the Conqueror #6

• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom #2

• Incredible Hulk #300

• X-Men #186

• Marvel Age Magazine #19

• Marvel Graphic Novel #11: Dazzler

Titles on sale July 17

• Fantastic Four #271

• Marvel Team-Up #146

• Iron Man #187

• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #95

• The New Defenders #136

• Star Wars #88

• Alpha Flight #15

• What If #47

• Doctor Who #1

• Dreadstar #13

• Six from Sirius #2

Pages 5 - 8

More Coming Attractions (one month ahead - no specific on sale dates listed)

Shipping in July

• The Thing #17

• Daredevil #212

• New Mutants #21

• Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #7

• West Coast Avengers #3

• Machine Man #2

• Conan the King #25

• Peter Parker Annual (sic) #4

• Amazing Spider-Man #258

• Captain America #299

• Thor #349

• Indiana Jones #23

• Power Pack #4

• Micronauts #2

• Crystar #10

• Sub-Mariner #3

• Black Panther #1

• Transformers #2

• Fantastic Four Annual #18

• Savage Sword of Conan #105

• Marvel Super Special #33: Buckeroo Banzai (sic) 

• Incredible Hulk #301

• Avengers #249

• Conan the Barbarian #164

• Marvel Tales #169

• X-Men #187

• Rom #60

• Power Man and Iron Fist #111

• G.I. Joe #29

• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom #3

• The Last Star Fighters (sic) #2

• Marvel Age Magazine #20

• Thor Annual #12

• Avengers Annual #13

• Marvel Fanfare #17

• Fantastic Four #272

• Iron Man #188

• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #96

• Marvel Team-Up #147

• The New Defenders #137

• Star Wars #89

• Alpha Flight #16

• Starriors #1

• Kitty & Wolverine (sic) #1

• Hulk Annual #13

• Doctor Who #2

• Coyote #8

• Marvel Super Special #34: Sheena of the Jungle (sic) 

• Six from Sirius #3

• Epic Illustrated #26

• Marvel Graphic Novel: Void Indigo

Shipping in August 

• The Thing #18

• Daredevil #23

• New Mutants #22

• Dazzler #35

• The Muppets (sic) #2

• Marvel Super Heroes: The Secret Wars (sic) #8

• West Coast Avengers #4

• Machine Man #3

• Iceman #1 

• Buckeroo Bonzai (sic) #1

• Spider-Man Annual #18

• Dreadstar #14

• Amazing Spider-Man #259

• Indiana Jones #24

• Power Pack #5

• Micronauts #3

• Doctor Strange #68

• Kull the Conqueror #7

• The Last Star Fighters (sic) #3

• Sub-Mariner #4

• Black Panther #2

• Captain America #300

• Thor #350

• Rom Annual #3

• Savage Sword of Conan #106

• Alien Legion #4

• Marvel Super Special #35: Conan II (sic)

• Incredible Hulk #302

• Conan #165

• Marvel Tales #170

• X-Men #188

• Rom #61

• Power Man and Iron Fist #112

• G.I. Joe #30

• Sheena of the Jungle (sic) #1

• Avengers #250

• Marvel Age #21

• Fantastic Four #273

• Marvel Team-Up #148

• Iron Man #189

• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #97

• The New Defenders #138

• Star Wars #90

• Alpha Flight #17

• Starriors #2

• Kitty and Wolverine (sic) #2

• What If #48

• Conan Annual #9

• X-Men Annual #8

• Doctor Who #3

• Six from Sirius #4

Page 9 

Newswatch

• Item: Stan Lee will script Spider-Man Annual #18, and What If #50 will be based on the story from Fantastic Four #60.

• Item: Spider-Man and Power Pack will appear in an educational comic about child abuse.

• Item: Coyote will add a backup feature starring the Djinn starting with issue #7. Alien Legion will feature the art of newcomer Chris Warner. Changes are coming for Dreadstar this summer, along with the debuts of Six from Sirius, Void Indigo, Crash Ryan, and Starstruck. 

• Item: Jim Salicrup takes over as the writer on The Transformers with issue #2. Crystar has been cancelled. Linda Grant will be the new writer and Ricardo Villamonte the new artist on The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. John Byrne takes over as writer of The Thing with #19. Steve Ditko is the new artist on Rom. Bill Mantlo has written and Pat Broderick has pencilled Red Sonja #5-7. 

Pages 10 - 12

Article: "Computers and Comics: Introducing Questprobe," by Robert J. Sodaro

Pages 13 - 15

Article: "The Marvel Age -- 1966 (Part I)

Pages 16 - 17 

Hembeck's Page in Marvel Age

Pages 18 - 20

Article: "Introducing the Marvel Super Heroes Role Playing Game," by Steve Saffel

Page 19

Sidebar: "The TSR Story..." 

Pages 21 - 25

Article: "The Marvel Age Interview: Denny O'Neil," by Mark Lerer

Pages 26 - 28

The New Talent Department 

Page 29

Behind the Lines

Pages 29

Marvel Personal Appearances Calendar, compiled by Lynn Cohen

Pages 30 - 32

Letters page: "The Marvel Age Agglomeration Page," suggested by Lance Wright, header art by Rick Parker 

Inside back cover

Bullpen Bulletins

Back cover

Ad for Marvel Age

 

With this issue, new staff member Lea Sapp becomes the editor of Marvel Age, while previous editor Carol Kalish takes on the role of "advisor." This issue has a few more articles than earlier ones, with a special focus on Daredevil, including an interview with writer Denny O'Neil, and a cover by then-current artist William Johnson, who would only draw a handful of issues of the series before David Mazzucchelli comes on board. 

More changes are coming for Marvel Age, with this issue telling readers not once but twice that with issue #7, the series will expand from 16 to 32 pages. A lengthy item in this issue's News Watch (it takes up about three-fifths of the page) explains that much of that expansion will dedicated to "how to" articles with the goal of helping ambitious fans become professional comics artists. This is in response to the many unsolicited submissions received by Jim Shooter's office, but it also signals a turn for Marvel Age from being purely a promotional vehicle to being a way for the Marvel staff to connect with the fans. Not sure I've ever seen anyone say "Yeah, I learned so much from those articles in Marvel Age," though. 

Also in this issue, readers learned about the origins of the Hobgoblin as a not-quite Green Goblin, and a two-page feature on (drum roll, please!) cover trade dress. 

Marvel Age #5

Price: $0.25 US 

Pages: 20 (16 interior plus four covers)

On sale: August 1983 

Copyright © 1983 Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. 

• Editor and Designer: Lea Sapp

• Assistant Editor: Peter David 

• Production: Danny Crespi and Ron Zalme 

• Typesetters: Nancy Dodaro and Wendy Cooper Fitzgerald

• Photostats: Rob Carosella and Harry Candelario

• Colorists: Stan Goldberg, Paul Becton and George Roussos

• Logo: Rick Parker and John Morelli

• Advisor: Carol Kalish 

• Editor in Chief: Jim Shooter

Front cover 

• Pencils/inks: William Johnson

• Characters: Daredevil and Elektra

 Inside front cover

• Ad for Captain America #286

 

Page 1

• Contents

• Masthead 

• Indicia 

Pages 2 – 5

• Marvel Comics Coming Attactions (no writing credits) 

Comics on sale July 5, 1983 - July 26, 1983

    Summaries of: 

    • The Thing #5

    • Dazzler #29

    • The Falcon #1    

    • The New Mutants #9

    • Daredevil #200

    • King Conan #19

    • Moon Knight Special Edition #1

    • Spider-Man #246

    • Captain America #287

    • Indiana Jones #11

    • Hawkeye #3

    • Return of the Jedi #2

    • Crystar #4

    • Moon Knight #34 (Direct only)

    • Illyana & Storm #2

    • Thor #337

    • Micronauts #55 (Direct only) 

    • Kull #4

    • Iron Man Annual #6

    • Incredible Hulk #289

    • Avengers #237

    • Conan the Barbarian #152

    • Marvel Tales #157

    • Rom #48

    • Power Man/Iron Fist #99

    • G.I. Joe #17

    • Cloak & Dagger #2 

    • Marvel Tails #1

    • X-Men #175

    • Fantastic Four #260

    • Marvel Team-Up #135

    • Iron Man #176

    • Peter Parker #84 (sic...still)

    • Defenders #125

    • Star Wars #77

    • Krull #1

    • Alpha Flight #4 ("A John Byrne production")

    • Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #11

    • Thor Annual #11

    • Epic Illustrated #20

    • Dreadstar #6 (Direct only) 

    • Savage Sword of Conan #93

    • Marvel Fanfare #11

    • Blip #8 (pretty sure this did not publish)

    • Marvel Age #8

Page 5

• Less than one-third page ad for retailers to be listed in the Marvel Comics Super Mart 

• Disclaimer in tiny type: "While we never knowingly print inaccurate information in these pages, Marvel Comics reserves the right to make any changes that become necessary. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. -- The Bullpen"  

Page 6

• Newswatch

    Items on:

    • Starting with issue #7, Marvel Age will run 32 pages per issue, with a focus on how to draw comics, how to submit your samples, and how to break into the business. This is due to the large amount of mail on these topics received by Jim Shooter's office. 

    • Marvel Animation has started creating a series of animated TV ads for the monthly G.I. Joe comics. This seems to have gone on for some time -- you can see the add for issue #14 here. 

    • Marvel editors are traveling to comics conventions this year

    • From the pages of the Avengers, the "Kree-Skrull War" storyline will be reprinted in a two-issue miniseries. 

Pages 7-8

• Article: "An Interview with Klaus Janson," by Mark Lerer and Steve Ringgenberg

Pages 9-10

• Article: "The Future of Daredevil," by Mark Lerer and Pat O'Neill

Pages 11-12

• Article: "A New Look at Marvel Comics," by Mark Lerer

Pages 13-15

• Article: "The Making of Hobgoblin," by Steve Ringgenberg

Pages 16

    • Untitled letters page - includes a note that Marvel Age will be expanding to 32 pages monthly with issue #7. 

Inside back cover: 

    • Ad for What If #40

Back cover 

    • Ad for the Hawkeye miniseries with art by Mark Gruenwald.