Marvel Fireside Books were a series of full-color trade paperbacks featuring Marvel Comics stories and characters co-published by Marvel and the Simon & Schuster division Fireside Books from 1974 to 1979. The first book, 1974's Origins of Marvel Comics, was very successful, and inspired a series of annual sequels.[1]
These books enabled fans of the old comic books to have access to the stories without having to pay exorbitant prices for the original back issues. It introduced new readers to the work of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and other Marvel creators, and packaged the material in a traditional book format that carried more cachet than the flimsy pamphlet style of a typical comic book. Many of the books featured painted covers illustrated by such artists as Bob Larkin,[2] John Romita Sr., and Earl Norem. In this way, the series was an antecedent to the now common practice of packaging "classic" stories into archival editions and trade paperback collections including Marvel's 1998 book Grandson of Origins of Marvel Comics.
Publishing history
Marvel Publisher Stan Lee came up with the idea of compiling the origins of some of their most popular characters in a book format similar to Jules Feiffer's 1965 book The Great Comic Book Heroes. Teaming up with Fireside, the paperback imprint of Simon & Schuster, Marvel initially produced Origins of Marvel Comics in 1974,[3] featuring the origins of the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, and Doctor Strange. Like the books to follow, Origins featured a foreword by Lee, and short introductions to each section, which followed the format of presenting the character's origin followed by a contemporary story by current Marvel contributors.
Origins of Marvel Comics was followed in 1975 with Son of Origins of Marvel Comics, featuring the origins of the X-Men, Iron Man, the Avengers, Daredevil, Nick Fury, the Watcher, and the Silver Surfer.
The two Origins books were followed by Bring on the Bad Guys, origins of a selection of Marvel villains; and The Superhero Women, featuring some of Marvel's most popular female superheroes.
Original graphic novels
- The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience,[6] 114 pages, September 1978, ISBN 978-0671242251
Reprint collections
- Origins of Marvel Comics collects Fantastic Four #1 and #55, The Incredible Hulk #1 and #118, Amazing Fantasy #15, The Amazing Spider-Man #72, Journey into Mystery #83, Thor #143, and Strange Tales #110, #115, and #155,[7] 254 pages, September 1974, ISBN 978-0671218638
- Son of Origins of Marvel Comics collects X-Men #1, Tales of Suspense #39 and #97, The Avengers #1, Daredevil #1 and #47, Strange Tales #135, and The Silver Surfer #1,[8]
Activity and how-to titles
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