Epic Illustrated
| Epic Illustrated | |
|---|---|
 Epic Illustrated #1 (Spring 1980). Painted cover by Frank Frazetta |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics/Epic Comics |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Publication date | Spring 1980 - February 1986 |
| Number of issues | 34 |
Epic Illustrated was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. The series lasted for 34 issues, from Spring 1980 to February 1986.
Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine Heavy Metal, it allowed explicit content to be featured unlike the traditional American comic books of that time due to the draconian Comics Code Authority, as well as offering its writers and artists ownership rights and royalties in place of the industry-standard work for hire contracts.
A color comic-book imprint, Epic Comics, was spun off in 1982.
Contents |
[edit] History
The magazine was initiated under editor Rick Marschall in 1979 under the title Odyssey, and originally set to launch as an issue of Marvel Super Special, Marvel's early graphic novel line.[1] After Marschall learned of at least seven other magazines titled Odyssey, the project was renamed Epic Illustrated and launched as a standalone series.[2] Marschall was replaced by editor Archie Goodwin in the autumn of 1979, several months before the first issue was published.[3]
The anthology featured heroic fiction and genre stories, primarily fantasy and science fiction, but in a broad range of styles. Established mainstream-comics talents as X-Men's Byrne-Austin pencil-ink team, John Buscema, and Jim Starlin, were featured, as well as independent-press creators as Wendy Pini and The Studio's Jeffrey Jones, M.W. Kaluta, Barry Windsor-Smith, and Berni Wrightson. Goodwin commissioned stories by many new artists, including Steve Bissette, Pepe Moreno, Jon J. Muth, Rick Veitch and Kent Williams. The magazine format, which was a first for Marvel, allowed for a broader range of color than the traditional three-color printing process, and many of the stories, and all the covers, were painted. Fantasy artists who did not normally work in the comics field, such as Richard Corben, Frank Frazetta, The Brothers Hildebrandt, and Boris Vallejo contributed covers.[4]
Epic Illustrated also included an occasional Marvel Comics protagonist, such as the first issue's Silver Surfer story by Stan Lee and John Buscema, and Vanth Dreadstar, who first appears in issue #3.Each issue usually featured a main story, a number of regular serials, and anthological shorts.
[edit] Selected stories
- Metamorphosis Odyssey, a serial by Jim Starlin, which introduced his Dreadstar character
- Marada by Chris Claremont and John Bolton
- Abraxas and the Earthman by Rick Veitch
- The Last Galactus Story by John Byrne, Terry Austin, and Glynis Oliver
- Young Cerebus - a series of vignettes of the early life of Cerebus by Dave Sim
- The first of Ken Steacy's adaptations of Harlan Ellison short stories
- "Generation Zero" a long running series by Pepe Moreno and Archie Goodwin
- A Tale Of Elric of Melniboné: The Dreaming City - Michael Moorcock, Roy Thomas, and P. Craig Russell
[edit] References
- ^ "Marvel Comics: 'Odyssy' Renamed 'Epic'", The Comics Journal #46 (May 1979): p. 12
- ^ Lee, Stan. "Bullpen Bulletins: Stan's Soapbox," Marvel Two-in-One Annual #4 (Marvel Comics, 1979).
- ^ "Marvel Fires Rick Marschall, Archie Goodwin Named to Edit Epic", The Comics Journal #51 (Nov. 1979), pp. 5-6
- ^ Epic Illustrated Magazine List – The Adult Illustrated Fantasy Magazine Fan Page. http://www.heavymetalmagazinefanpage.com/epiclist80.html.
[edit] External links
- Epic Illustrated at the Grand Comics Database
- Epic Illustrated at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
- Lalumière Claude. "A Short History of American Comic Books", January Magazine (April 2000)
- Epic Illustrated at the Comic Book DB
