Steelgrip Starkey (and his all-purpose power tool!) landed on the cover of Marvel Age #42. Written and created by artist Alan Weiss, with art by Weiss and Jim Sherman, this mostly forgotten Epic miniseries starred a globe-hopping all-around fix-it man who travelled from crisis to crisis. 

This issue also featured a Mutant Report article on The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1, the first-ever reprinting of Hulk #180 and 181 -- a comic I worked on as assistant editor, as well as coming up with the wraparound cover concept that John Byrne drew. 

Stan's Soapbox focused on both the soon to be disliked Howard the Duck movie, as well as Stan's take on "the role of the super-hero in America, yesterday and today," as suggested by editor Jim Salicrup. 

The New Talent Department reared its head with a new column that shined a spotlight on artist Jim Sanders III, who here was trying out as an inker, with samples inked over several artists. Interestingly, the column highlights what inking can do for finished artwork in terms of line weight, shadows, and perspective -- aspects that an inker can accentuate whether the penciller has indicated them or not. 

And Marvel Age once again kicked off the summer annuals season with a roundup of all the titles getting their own annuals, including debut annuals for Alpha Flight, West Coast Avengers, and X-Factor. This issue includes the polling results from the 1985 annuals, plus a report card for fans to fill out about the 1986 annuals 

Marvel Age #42

Price: $0.50 US 

Pages: 36 (32 interior plus four covers)

On sale: June 10, 1986

Cover date: February, 1986

Copyright © 1986 Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. 

• Jim Shooter: Editor in Chief

• Jim Salicrup: Editor and Design Director

• Adam Philips: Assistant Editor

• Barbara Johnston: Designer

• Dwight Jon Zimmerman: Coming Attractions

• Bill Slaviscek: Mutant Reporter

• Fred Hembeck: Sage of Marvel Age

• 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, Hillary Joseph, Terry Kavanagh, Ralph Macchio, Howard Mackie, Rosemary McCormick-Lowy, Al Milgrom, Margie Neville, Ann Nocenti, Jim Owsley, Carl Potts, Pat Redding, and Louise Simonson: 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

• Phil Felix: Assistant Production Coordinator 

• Brenda Mings: Typesetter

• Jack Abel: Proofreader

• George Roussos and Adam Philips: Colorists

• Alan Weiss and Jim Sherman: Cover art

• Paul Becton, Harry Candelario, Rob Carosella, Dawn Geiger, Veronica Lawlor, Ken Lopez, Michael Maier, Bill Oakley, and Bill Vallely: Production

• Virginia Romita: Traffic Manager

• Christine Aurilia and Lynn Cohen: Friendly Assistance 

• Sally Pomeroy: Rights and Permissions Editor

• Carol Kalish: Director of Specialty Sales

• Peter David: Direct Sales Manager Administrative

• Steve Saffel: Assistant Promotions Manager for Direct Sales

• Irving Forbush: Purposeless Tool 

Front cover 

• Character: Steelgrip Starkey

 Inside front cover

• Salicrup's Section 

• Marvel Age 1985 Summer Annuals Report Card (continued on inside back cover) 

• Marvel Agenda (contents) 

• Masthead 

• Indicia 

Pages 1 - 6

Marvel Coming Attractions

Titles on sale June 24

• The Incredible Hulk Annual #15
• Dakota North #3
• Marvel Age Annual #2
• Daredevil #235
• G.I. Joe Special Missions #1
• Labyrinth #1
• The New Mutants #44
• Meet Misty #6
• Web of Spider-Man #19
• Thundercats #6
• Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #11
• Iron Man Annual #8
• Moonshadow #9
• The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1

Titles on sale July 1

• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #11
• Savage Sword of Conan #128
• Alpha Flight #39
• Heathcliff #11
• Captain America #322
• Groo the Wanderer #20
• The Amazing Spider-Man #281
• Doctor Strange #79
• Power Pack #26
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Fantastic Four #11

Titles on sale July 8

• Marvel Age Magazine #43
• The Avengers #272
• Conan the Barbarian #187
• G.I. Joe #52
• The Incredible Hulk #324
• The Nam #1
• X-Men #210
• The Marvel Saga #11
• The Avengers Annual #15
• Marvel Tales #192
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #6
• Dreadstar #26

Titles on sale July 15

• Droids #4
• Elfquest #15
• Fantastic Four #295
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #119
• Top Dog #10
• Thor #372
• Classic X-Men #2
• The New Mutants Annual 32
• West Coast Avengers Annual #1
• Alien Legion #15
• The Transformers #21
• Iron Man #211
• Steelgrip Starkey #2
• Popples #1
• X-Factor #9
• Hugga Bunch #2

Page 7

More Coming Attractions

Titles shipping July 

• Cloak and Dagger #9
• Daredevil #236
• Masters of the Universe #4
• Labyrinth #2
• The New Mutants #45
• Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #12
• Web of Spider-Man #20
• West Coast Avengers #14
• Conan the King #37
• Swords of the Swashbucklers #9
• Alpha Flight #40
• Captain America #323
• Ewoks #10
• Groo the Wanderer #21
• Heathcliff #12
• The Amazing Spider-Man #282
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Fantastic Four #12
• Bozz Chronicles #5
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #12
• Savage Sword of Conan #129
• Marvel Age Magazine #44
• The Avengers #273
• Conan the Barbarian #188
• G.I. Joe #53
• The Incredible Hulk #325
• Marvel Tales #193
• Muppet Babies #10
• The Nam #2
• X-Men #211
• The Marvel Saga #12
• The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #20
• Elektra #1
• Marvel Fanfare #29
• Care Bears #7
• Elfquest #16
• Iron Man #212
• Madballs #3
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #120
• Thor #373
• The Transformers #22
• X-Factor #20
• Classic X-Me #3
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to Marvel Team-Up #6
• Fantastic Four #296
• Savage Tales #7
• Steelgrip Starkey #3

Titles shipping August

• Dakota North #4
• Daredevil #237
• G.I. Joe Special Missions #2
• Labyrinth #3
• The New Mutants #46
• Thundercats #7
• Web of Spider-Man #21
• West Coast Avengers #15
• Moonshadow #10
• Alpha Flight #41
• Captain America #324
• Doctor Strange #80
• Groo the Wanderer #2
• Heathcliff #13
• The Amazing Spider-Man #283
• The Transformers Movie #1
• Power Pack #27
• Savage Sword of Conan #130
• Marvel Age Magazine #45
• The Avengers #274
• Conan the Barbarian #189
• Fraggle Rock #11
• G.I. Joe #54
• The Incredible Hulk #326
• Marvel Tales #194
• The Nam #3
• X-Men #212
• The Marvel Saga #13
• Elektra #2
• Droids #5
• Elfquest #17
• Fantastic Four #297
• Iron Man #213
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #121
• Thor #374
• Top Dog #11
• The Transformers #23
• X-Factor #11
• The Classic X-Men #4
• Alien Legion #16
• Steelgrip Starkey #4

Page 8 

Newswatch 

Item: New posters from Marvel Press 

The Top Ten 

• X-Men #207
• X-Factor #6
• Marvel Universe #8
• Alpha Flight #36
• Fantastic Four #292
• New Mutants #41
• West Coast Avengers #10
• Web of Spider-Man #16
• Daredevil #232
• Amazing Spider-Man #278

Bullpen Birthdays 

Pages 9 - 10

The Mutant Report

"The Very First Wolverine Story"

"Mutant Watch" 

"Mutant Annuals" 

"It's Genetic," by Kyle Baker 

Pages 11 - 14

Article: Steelgrip Starkey and His All-Purpose Power Tool: The Making of a Modern Myth," by Bill Slavicsek

Page 15

Stan's Soapbox

Pages 16 - 17

Hembeck's Page in Marvel Age

Pages 18 - 21

Article: "An Annual Tradition," by Sholly Fisch

Pages 22 - 23

"Star Spotlight: Hugga Bunch," by Sandy Hausler

Pages 24 - 26

The Marvel Age: 1972 (Part II), by Sholly Fisch

Page 25

Marvel Comics Price Guide

Pages 27 - 30

New Talent Department, by Sholly Fisch and Bill Slaviscek

Pages 31 - 32

Letters column: "Please Mr. Postman, Look and See, If There's a Letter in the Bag for Me," suggested by Jeff Runyan

Inside back cover

Ballot for the Marvel Age 1986 Summer Annuals Report Card

Back cover

Ad for The New Universe

 

Today you could fill a bookshelf with books about Stan Lee -- but back in 1986, profiles of Stan Lee weren't all that common, and this special Stan (The Man) Lee issue of Marvel Age featured one of the earliest Stan mini-biographies anywhere, written by Kurt Busiek. The issue has an unusual cover, too -- a black and white portrait of Marvel's fearless leader by designer Janet Jackson, against a colorful collage of Marvel covers and characters.

This issue featured several other changes -- for starters, the cover price jumped from $0.35 to $0.50 -- still cheap, though. And the aforementioned Ms. Jackson had shifted from designing the full issues to handling just the covers, with Barbara Johnston taking over designing the interiors every month. 

Along with "The Stan Lee Story," this issue heralded the return of Stan's Soapbox, written by Stan from an outline drafted by editor Jim Salicrup, who then asked me to call Stan and tell him what to write. This was, of course, the days before email or even faxes -- so i got to hear Stan on the other end of the phone chuckling and saying "Sure thing, kid, whatever you say." 

Along with all this Stansational coverage, Fabian Nicieza provided an article on the Amazing Spider-Man comic strip, with several sample strips drawn by John Romita and Fred Kida included for good measure. 

Marvel Age #41

Price: $0.50 US 

Pages: 36 (32 interior plus four covers)

On sale: May 6, 1986

Cover date: August, 1986

Copyright © 1986 Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. 

• Jim Shooter: Editor in Chief

• Jim Salicrup: Editor and Design Director

• Adam Philips: Assistant Editor

• Janet Jackson and Barbara Johnston: Designers

• Dwight Jon Zimmerman: Coming Attractions

• Bill Slaviscek: Mutant Reporter

• Fred Hembeck: Sage of Marvel Age

• 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, Hillary Joseph, Terry Kavanagh, Ralph Macchio, Howard Mackie, Rosemary McCormick-Lowy, Al Milgrom, Margie Neville, Ann Nocenti, Jim Owsley, Carl Potts, Pat Redding, and Louise Simonson: 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

• Phil Felix: Assistant Production Coordinator 

• Brenda Mings: Typesetter

• Jack Abel: Proofreader

• George Roussos and Adam Philips: Colorists

• Jim Salicrup: Cover concept

• Janet Jackson: Cover art

• Paul Becton, Harry Candelario, Rob Carosella, 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 

• Sally Pomeroy: Rights and Permissions Editor

• Carol Kalish: Director of Specialty Sales

• Peter David: Direct Sales Manager Administrative

• Steve Saffel: Assistant Promotions Manager for Direct Sales

• Irving Forbush: Way-Out Wonder

Front cover 

• Character: Stan Lee

 Inside front cover

• Salicrup's Section (continued on inside back cover) 

• Marvel Agenda (contents) 

• Masthead 

• Indicia 

Pages 1 - 5

Marvel Coming Attractions

Titles on sale May 27

• Cloak and Dagger #8
• Daredevil #234
• Fraggle Rock #8
• Masters of the Universe #3
• The New Mutants #43
• Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #10
• Web of Spider-Man #18
• West Coast Avengers #12
• Conan the King #36
• Swords of the Swashbucklers #8
• Marvel Super Special #40 -- Labyrinth

Titles on sale June 3

• Alpha Flight #38
• Captain America #321
• Ewoks #9
• Groo the Wanderer #19
• Heathcliff #10
• The Amazing Spider-Man #280
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Fantastic Four #10
• The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #12
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #10
• Savage Sword of Conan #127

Titles on sale June 10

• Marvel Age Magazine #42
• The Avengers #271
• Savage Tales #6
• Steelgrip Starkey #1
• Doctor Strange Graphic Novel (sic) 
• Conan the Barbarian #186
• G.I. Joe #51
• The Incredible Hulk #323
• Muppet Babies #9
• X-Men #209
• The Marvel Saga #10
• The Eternals #12
• Captain America Annual #8
• Power Man and Iron Fist #125
• Web of Spider-Man Annual #2
• Marvel Fanfare #28
• Marvel Tales #191

Titles on sale June 17 

• Care Bears #6
• Elfquest #14
• Iron Man #210
• Madballs #1
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #118
• Sectaurs #8
• Star Wars #107
• Thor #371
• The Transformers #20
• X-Factor 38
• Alpha Flight Annual #1
• The Official Marvel Index to Marvel Team-Up #5

Pages 6 - 7

More Coming Attractions

Titles shipping in June

• Marvel Age Annual #2
• Dakota North #3
• Daredevil #235
• G.I. Joe Special Missions #1
• Labyrinth #1
• Meet Misty #6
• The New Mutants #44
• Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #11
• Thundercats #6
• Web of Spider-Man #19
• West Coast Avengers #13
• The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1
• Alpha Flight #39
• Captain America #322
• Doctor Strange #79
• Groo the Wanderer #20
• Heathcliff #11
• Power Pack #26
• The Amazing Spider-Man #281
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Fantastic Four #11
• Savage Sword of Conan #128
• Marvel Age Magazine #43
• The Avengers #272
• Conan the Barbarian #187
• G.I. Joe #52
• The Incredible Hulk #324
• The Nam #1
• X-Men #210
• The Marvel Saga #11
• The Avengers Annual #15
• Marvel Tales #192
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #6
• Dreadstar #26
• Elektra (sic) #1
• Droids #4
• Elfquest #15
• Fantastic Four #295
• Iron Man #211
• Madballs #2
• Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #119
• Thor #372
• The Transformers #21
• X-Factor #9
• The New Mutants Annual #2
• West Coast Avengers Annual #1
• Alien Legion #15
• Steelgrip Starkey #2

Titles shipping in July 

• Cloak and Dagger #9
• Daredevil #236
• He-Man #4
• Labyrinth #2
• The New Mutants #45
• Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #12
• Web of Spider-Man #20
• West Coast Avengers #14
• Conan the King #37
• Swords of the Swashbucklers #9
• Alpha Flight #40
• Captain America #323
• Ewoks #10
• Groo the Wanderer #21
• Heathcliff #12
• The Amazing Spider-Man #282
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Fantastic Four #12
• Bozz Chronicles #5
• the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #12
• Savage Sword of Conan #129
• Marvel Age Magazine #44
• The Avengers #273
• Conan the Barbarian #188
• G.I. Joe #53
• The Incredible Hulk #325
• Marvel Tales #193
• Muppet Babies #10
• The Nam #2
• X-Men #211
• The Marvel Saga #12
• The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #20
• Elektra (sic) #2
• Marvel Fanfare #29
• Care Bears #7
• Elfquest #16
• Iron Man #212
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #120
• Thor #373
• The Transformers #22
• Madballs #3
• X-Factor #10
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to Marvel Team-Up #6
• Fantastic Four #296
• Savage Tales #7
• Steelgrip Starkey #3

Page 8 

Newswatch

Item: Bob Harras has been promoted to Editor, working on G.I. Joe, The Incredible Hulk, Power Man and Iron Fist, Sectaurs, G.I. Joe Special Missions, and X-Factor, as well as writing an upcoming S.H.I.E.L.D. miniseries. 

Item: Andrew Perry joins Marvel in a special program from Antioch College. He will assist in Bob Budiansky's office. 

Bullpen Birthdays 

The Top Ten 

February, 1986

• X-Factor #5
• X-Men #206
• Marvel Universe #7
• Alpha Flight #35
• Fantastic Four #291
• New Mutants #40
• West Coast Avengers #9
• Amazing Spider-Man #277
• Web of Spider-Man #15
• Firestar #4 

Pages 9 - 10

Newswatch Extra: "The Vision and the Scarlet Witch Double-Sized Climax," by Bill Slavicsek

Pages 11 - 13

The Mutant Report by Bill Slavicsek

"Barry Windsor-Smith, Jackson Guice and Bob Wiacek Join Mutant Artists'

"Old and New Combine in Classic X-Men"

"Mutant Madness Invades Canada?" 

"X-Factor X-Clusive"

"Cap Meets Wolverine" 

Pages 14 - 15

Article: "Marvel Team-Up Breaks into Marvel Tales," by Sholly Fisch

Pages 16 - 17

Hembeck's Page in Marvel Age

Page 18

Stan's Soapbox

Sidebar: "Stan Lee Returns for Fantastic Four Anniversary Bash" 

Pages 19 - 22

Article: "The Stan Lee Story," by Kurt Busiek

Pages 23 - 25

Article: "A Daily Dose of Spidey," by Fabian Nicieza

Pages 26 - 29

The Marvel Age: 1972 (Part I), by Sholly Fisch

Page 29

A Marvel Comics Price Guide

Pages 30 - 32

Letters column: "This End Up," suggested by P.M. Apple

Inside back cover

Ad for Alpha Flight

Back cover

Ad for Marvel Graphic Novel: The Amazing Spider-Man in Hooky

 

In 1986, Marvel was all about mutants and G.I. Joe. The latter made the cover of this month's Marvel Age, as drawn by Herb Trimpe, who drew the stories for the new series G.I. Joe Special Missions. The former was represented in the Mutant Report by an in-house contest to design a new costume for the Dazzler, with the Marvel staff submitting lots of goofy ideas, as seen below. 

Plus, Marvel's new line of romance comics in paperback book format gets covered in an article by Kurt Busiek -- but as far as I can tell, these titles were never published. 

Marvel was certainly willing to try something unusual back then -- in this case, Dakota North, a series spotlighting a private eye with a sidekick friends said looked like me, as seen below. The series was written by Martha Thomases with art by Tony Salmons, and even though it only ran 10 issues, it's still considered ahead of its time. 

And only one issue after the Marvel Halloween party, this issue's Salicrup's Section covered the Marvel Christmas party, complete with these photos, taken by Andy Mushynsky. 

Marvel Age #40

Price: $0.35 US 

Pages: 36 (32 interior plus four covers)

On sale: April 8, 1986

Cover date: July, 1986

Copyright © 1986 Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. 

• Jim Shooter: Editor in Chief

• Jim Salicrup: Editor and Design Director

• Adam Philips: Assistant Editor

• Janet Jackson: Design

• Dwight Jon Zimmerman: Coming Attractions

• Bill Slaviscek: Mutant Reporter

• Fred Hembeck: Sage of Marvel Age

• 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, Hillary Joseph, Terry Kavanagh, Ralph Macchio, Howard Mackie, Rosemary McCormick-Lowy, Al Milgrom, Ann Nocenti, Jim Owsley, Carl Potts, Pat Redding, and Louise Simonson: 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

• Phil Felix: Assistant Production Coordinator 

• Brenda Mings: Typesetter

• Jack Abel: Proofreader

• George Roussos and Adam Philips: Colorists

• Larry Hama and Jim Salicrup: Cover concept

• Herb Trimpe: Cover art

• Paul Becton, Harry Candelario, Rob Carosella, Dawn Geiger, Barbara Johnston, Ken Lopez, Michael Maier, Bill Oakley, and Bill Vallely: Production

• Virginia Romita: Traffic Manager

• Christine Aurilia and Lynn Cohen: Friendly Assistance 

• Sally Pomeroy: Rights and Permissions Editor

• Carol Kalish: Director of Specialty Sales

• Peter David: Direct Sales Manager Administrative

• Steve Saffel: Assistant Promotions Manager for Direct Sales

• Irving Forbush: G.I. Schmoe

Front cover 

• Characters: G.I. Joe heroes

 Inside front cover

• Salicrup's Section (continued on inside back cover) 

• Marvel Agenda (contents) 

• Masthead 

• Indicia 

Pages 1 - 5

Marvel Coming Attractions

Titles on sale April 22

• Dakota North #2
• Daredevil #233
• Meet Misty #5
• The New Mutants #42
• Thundercats #5
• Web of Spider-Man #17
• West Coast Avengers #11
• Squadron Supreme #12
• Moonshadow #8

Titles on sale April 29

• Alpha Flight #37
• Captain America #320
• Doctor Strange #78
• Groo the Wanderer #18
• Heathcliff #9
• The Amazing Spider-Man #279
• The Vision and Scarlet Witch #11
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Fantastic Four #9
• Power Pack #25
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #9
• Savage Sword of Conan #126

Titles on sale May 6

• Marvel Age Magazine #41
• The Avengers #270
• Conan the Barbarian #185
• The Eternals #11
• The Incredible Hulk #322
• Marvel Tales #190
• X-Men #208
• Marvel Saga #9
• G.I. Joe #50
• Dreadstar #25

Titles on sale May 13

• Droids #3
• Elfquest #13
• Fantastic Four #293
• Iron Man #209
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #117
• Thor #370
• Top Dog #9
• Transformers #19
• X-Factor #7
• Alien Legion 314
• Doctor Who #23

Page 6 - 7 

More Coming Attractions

Titles shipping May

• Cloak and Dagger #8
• Daredevil #234
• Fraggle Rock #8
• He-Man #3
• New Mutants #43
• Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #10
• Web of Spider-Man #18
• West Coast Avengers #12
• Conan the King #36
• Swords of the Swashbucklers #8
• Alpha Flight #38
• Captain America #321
• Ewoks #9
• Groo the Wanderer #19
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #10
• The Amazing Spider-Man #280
• The Vision and Scarlet Witch #12
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Fantastic Four #10
• Savage Sword of Conan #127
• Marvel Age Magazine #42
• The Avengers #271
• Conan the Barbarian #186
• G.I. Joe #51
• The Incredible Hulk #323
• Marvel Tales #191
• Muppet Babies #9
• X-Men #209
• Marvel Saga #10
• X-Men #209
• Marvel Saga #10
• The Eternals #12
• Power Man and Iron Fist #125
• Marvel Fanfare #28
• Care Bears #6
• Elfquest #14
• Fantastic Four #294
• Iron Man #210
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #118
• Sectaurs #8
• Star Wars #107
• Thor #371
• The Transformers #20
• X-Factor #8
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to Marvel Team-Up #5
• Doctor Who #24
• Savage Tales #6
• Bozz Chronicles #4

Titles shipping June 

• Marvel Age Annual #2
• Dakota North #3
• Daredevil #235
• Meet Misty #6
• Thundercats #6
• Web of Spider-Man #19
• West Coast Avengers #13
• Moonshadow #9
• Alpha Flight #39
• Captain America #322
• Doctor Strange #79
• Groo the Wanderer #20
• Heathcliff #11
• Power Pack #26
• The Amazing Spider-Man #281
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Fantastic Four #11
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #11
• Savage Sword of Conan #128
• Marvel Age Magazine #43
• The Avengers #272
• Conan the Barbarian #187
• G.I. Joe #52
• The Incredible Hulk #324
• X-Men #210
• Marvel Saga #11
• Dreadstar #26
• Droids #4
• Elfquest #15
• Fantastic Four #295
• Iron Man #211
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #119
• Thor #372
• Top Dog #10
• The Transformers #21
• X-Factor #9
• Alien Legion #15
• Doctor Who #25 (this one didn't get published) 
• Page 8 

Newswatch 

Item: Peter Parker's redocorated apartment was in fact designed by Marvel Age designer Janet "JayJay" Jackson

Item: In Power Pack #23, Marvel teams up with the Child Find organization to run photos and information on missing children instead of the letters page. 

The Top Ten 

January 1986

1. X-Factor #4
2. X-Men #205
3. Alpha Flight #34
4. Marvel Universe #6
5. Fantastic Four #290
6. West Coast Avengers #8
7. Amazing Spider-Man #278
8. Punisher #5
9. New Mutants #39
10. Web of Spider-Man #14 

Bullpen Birthdays

Pages 9 - 11

The Mutant Report: "Dressing Up the Dazzler," by Bill Slavicsek

Page 11

"It's Genetic," by Kyle Baker

Pages 12 - 15

Article: "Love Is in the Air," by Kurt Busiek

Pages 16 - 17 

Hembeck's Page in Marvel Age

Pages 18 - 21

Article: "Joe Team Takes on Special Missions," by Bill Slavicesk 

Pages 22 - 24

Article: "Dakota North Investigations," by Sholly Fisch

Page 25

Ad for Groo the Wanderer

Pages 26 - 27

Star Spotlight: Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham," by Sandy Hausler

Pages 28 - 29

The Marvel Age, by Sholly Fisch

Pages 30 - 32

Letters column: "Where the Words Are '86," suggested by Jason Beaumont

Inside back cover

Salicrup's Section (continued) 

Back cover

Ad for Adult Thermonuclear Samurai Elephants (which would be published under the name Power Pachyderms) 

The secret of who was the fifth member of X-Factor was still a hot topic in 1986, and with the new series at the top of the sales charts, a follow-up to the launch made sense. This issue of Marvel Age featured letters from readers with their guesses as to who that fifth member would be, including Madelyne Summers, Rachel Summers, Mantis, Franklin Richards, Wolverine, Dazzler, and more -- including the correct name, Phoenix. 

This issue also included on the current series about Marvel characters and history -- indices, sagas, handbooks, and more. For some reason, the mid-1980s became the era of comics about comics, complete with character profiles and schematic drawings. 

Penciller Tom Lyle popped up again in the New Talent Department, with critiques on the pages featured last month added, thanks to the input of editor Mike Carlin and art director John Romita. 

"Salicrup's Section" focuses on the 1985 Marvel Halloween party, hosted at the Cat Club by Marvel Age editor Jim Salicrup, see below in a tuxedo with secret Spider-Man Ken Lopez. 

Marvel Age #39

Price: $0.35 US 

Pages: 36 (32 interior plus four covers)

On sale: March 11, 1986

Cover date: June, 1986

Copyright © 1986 Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. 

• Jim Shooter: Editor in Chief

• Jim Salicrup: Editor and Design Director

• Adam Philips: Assistant Editor

• Janet Jackson: Design

• Dwight Jon Zimmerman: Coming Attractions

• Kurt Busiek and Bill Slaviscek: Mutant Reporter

• Fred Hembeck: Sage of Marvel Age

• 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, Hillary Joseph, Terry Kavanagh, Ralph Macchio, Howard Mackie, Rosemary McCormick-Lowy, Al Milgrom, Margie Neville, Ann Nocenti, Jim Owsley, Carl Potts, Pat Redding, and Louise Simonson: 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

• Phil Felix: Assistant Production Coordinator 

• Brenda Mings: Typesetter

• Jack Abel: Proofreader

• George Roussos and Adam Philips: Colorists

• Larry Hama: Cover concept

• Bob Layton: Cover art

• Paul Becton, Harry Candelario, Rob Carosella, Dawn Geiger, Barbara Johnston, Ken Lopez, Michael Maier, Bill Oakley, and Bill Vallely: Production

• Virginia Romita: Traffic Manager

• Christine Aurilia, Lynn Cohen, and Shoshana Mallet: Friendly Assistance 

• Sally Pomeroy: Rights and Permissions Editor

• Carol Kalish: Director of Specialty Sales

• Peter David: Direct Sales Manager Administrative

• Steve Saffel: Assistant Promotions Manager for Direct Sales

• Irving Forbush: The Undeciding Factor

Front cover 

• Characters: X-Factor

 Inside front cover

• Salicrup's Section (continued on inside back cover) 

• Marvel Agenda (contents) 

• Masthead 

• Indicia 

Pages 1 - 5

Marvel Coming Attractions

Titles on sale March 25

• Cloak and Dagger #7
• Daredevil #232
• He-Man #2
• The New Mutants #41
• Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #8
• Squadron Supreme #11
• Web of Spider-Man #16
• West Coast Avengers #10
• Conan the King #35
• Swords of the Swashbucklers #7

Titles on sale April 1

• Alpha Flight #36
• Captain America #319
• Ewoks #8
• Groo the Wanderer #17
• Power Pack #24
• The Amazing Spider-Man #278
• The Vision and Scarlet Witch #10
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Fantastic Four #8
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #8
• Savage Sword of Conan #125
• The One #6

Titles on sale April 8 

• Marvel Age Magazine #40 
• The Avengers #269
• Conan the Barbarian #184
• The Eternals #10
• G.I. Joe #49
• The Incredible Hulk #321
• Marvel Tales #189
• Muppet Babies #8
• Power Man and Iron Fist #124
• Solomon Kane #6
• X-Men #207
• Marvel Saga #8 
• Marvel Fanfare #27

Titles on sale April 15

• Care Bears #5
• Elfquest #12
• Fantastic Four #292
• Iron Man #208
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #116
• Sectaurs #7
• Star Wars #106
• Thor #369
• Transformers #18
• X-Factor #6
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to Marvel Team-Up #4
• Doctor Who #22
• Savage Tales #5 

Pages 6 - 7

More Coming Attractions

Titles shipping in April 

• Daredevil #233
• Meet Misty #5
• The New Mutants #42
• Thundercats #5
• Web of Spider-Man #17
• West Coast Avengers #11
• Squadron Supreme #12
• Moonshadow #8
• Captain America #320
• Doctor Strange #78
• Groo the Wanderer #18
• Heathcliff #9
• The Amazing Spider-Man #279
• The Vision and Scarlet Witch #11
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Fantastic Four #9
• Power Pack #25
• The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #9
• Bozz Chronicles #4
• Savage Sword of Conan #126
• Marvel Age Magazine #41
• The Avengers #270
• Conan the Barbarian #185
• The Eternals #11
• The Incredible Hulk #322
• Marvel Tales #190
• X-Men #208
• Marvel Saga #9
• G.I. Joe #50
• Dreadstar #25
• Droids #3
• Elfquest #13
• Fantastic Four #293
• Iron Man #209
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #117
• Thor #370
• Top Dog #9
• The Transformers #19
• X-Factor #7
• Alien Legion #14
• Doctor Who #23

Titles shipping in May 

• Cloak and Dagger #8
• Daredevil #234
• Fraggle Rock #8
• He-Man #3
• The New Mutants #43
• Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #9
• Web of Spider-Man #18
• West Coast Avengers #12
• Conan the King #36
• Swords of the Swashbucklers #8
• Alpha Flight #38
• Captain America #321
• Ewoks #9
• Groo the Wanderer #19
• The Amazing Spider-Man #280
• The Vision and Scarlet Witch #12
• The Official Marvel Comics Index to the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #10
• Savage Sword of Conan #127 
• Marvel Age Magazine #42
• The Avengers #271
• Conan the Barbarian #186
• G.I. Joe #51
• The Incredible Hulk #323
• Marvel Tales #191
• Muppet Babies #9
• X-Men #209
• Power Man and Iron Fist #125
• Marvel Fanfare #28
• Care Bears #6
• Elfquest #14
• Fantastic Four #294
• Iron Man #210
• Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #118
• Sectaurs #8
• Star Wars #107
• Thor #371
• The Transformers #20
• X-Factor #8
• Doctor Who #24
• Savage Tales #6

Page 8 

Newswatch 

Item: Marvel is producing a new series of romance comics in paperback format. (Did these ever get published? I can't find any evidence that they did.) 

Item: Pro wrestler Sgt. Slaughter will show up in G.I. Joe #48.

Bullpen Birthdays

The Top Ten 

December 1985

• X-Factor #3
• X-Men #204
• Alpha Flight #33
• Marvel Universe #5
• Fantastic Four #289
• Avengers #266
• Firestar #2
• West Coast Avengers #7
• Amazing Spider-Man #245
• New Mutants #38

Pages 9 - 10

Newswatch Extra

Article: "Some Strange Art Changes," by Sholly Fisch 

Pages 11 - 15

The Mutant Report

Item: Villains from Longshot -- Spiral and Mojo -- will show up in the X-Men. Also, Longshot artist Arthur Adams will illustrate the next X-Men Annual. 

Item: Warlock's father, the Magus, will show up in X-Men. 

Item: Lots of updates on what's going on with X-Factor. 

Item: Colossus returns to the U.S.S.R. in his upcoming solo miniseries by writer Chris Claremont and artist Rick Leonardi. 

Article: "The Fifth Factor," by Kurt Busiek 

"It's Genetic," by Kyle Baker 

Pages 16 - 17 

Hembeck's Page in Marvel Age

Pages 18 - 21

Article: "The Marvel Reference Library: The Marvel Saga, The Official Marvel Index Series, and The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition," by Dwight Jon Zimmerman

Pages 22 - 23 

Star Spotlight: Heathcliff, by Sandy Hausler

Pages 24 - 26

New Talent Department, by Fabian Nicieza

Pages 27 - 29

The Marvel Age, by Sholly Fisch 

Pages 30 - 32

Letters column: "The Official Letters Page of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition," suggested by Ian Bresser 

Page 32

U.S. Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation

Inside back cover

(continues from "Salicrup's Section" on the inside front cover)

Back cover 

Ad for Groo the Wanderer