Epic Illustrated
Encyclopedia
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
.
in 1979 under the title Odyssey, and originally set to launch as an issue of Marvel Super Special, Marvel's early graphic novel
line. After Marschall learned of at least seven other magazines titled Odyssey, the project was renamed Epic Illustrated and launched as a standalone series. Marschall was replaced by editor Archie Goodwin
in the autumn of 1979, several months before the first issue was published.
The anthology featured hero
ic 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.
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.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
in magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
format published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. The series lasted for 34 issues, from Spring 1980
1980 in comics
-Year overall:* Big Rapids Distribution, a major Midwestern comics distributor, goes under, and two former employees , form Capital City Distribution, headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin....
to February 1986
1986 in comics
-Year overall:* Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, a four-issue limited series written and drawn by Frank Miller and published by DC Comics, debuts...
.
Similar to the US-licensed comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
magazine Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
, it allowed explicit content to be featured unlike the traditional American comic books of that time due to the draconian Comics Code Authority
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...
, as well as offering its writers and artists ownership rights and royalties in place of the industry-standard work for hire
Work for hire
A work made for hire is an exception to the general rule that the person who actually creates a work is the legally recognized author of that work...
contracts.
A color comic-book imprint, Epic Comics
Epic Comics
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.- Origins :...
, was spun off in 1982
1982 in comics
-Year overall:* San Diego-based independent publisher Pacific Comics makes a strong push in the marketplace, following Jack Kirby's Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers with four new ongoing titles, Starslayer, Ms...
.
History
The magazine was initiated under editor Rick MarschallRick Marschall
Rick Marschall is a writer/editor and comic strip historian, described by Bostonia magazine as "America's foremost authority on pop culture." Marschall has served as an editor for both Marvel and Disney comics, plus several syndicates.Marschall has written and edited more than 62 books on cultural...
in 1979 under the title Odyssey, and originally set to launch as an issue of Marvel Super Special, Marvel's early graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
line. After Marschall learned of at least seven other magazines titled Odyssey, the project was renamed Epic Illustrated and launched as a standalone series. Marschall was replaced by editor Archie Goodwin
Archie Goodwin (comics)
Archie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work...
in the autumn of 1979, several months before the first issue was published.
The anthology featured hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
ic fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
and genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
stories, primarily fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, but in a broad range of styles. Established mainstream-comics talents as X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
's Byrne-Austin
Terry Austin (comics)
Terry Austin is an American comic book artist, working primarily as an inker. He is best known for his work embellishing John Byrne's pencils on The Uncanny X-Men from 1977–1981.-Early life and career:...
pencil-ink team, John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
, and Jim Starlin
Jim Starlin
James P. "Jim" Starlin is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters...
, were featured, as well as independent-press creators as Wendy Pini and The Studio
The Studio
The Studio was the name of a small artists' loft commune formed in 1975 by four comic book artists/fine illustrator/painters in Manhattan's Chelsea district. These artists were Barry Windsor-Smith, Jeff Jones, Michael William Kaluta and Bernie Wrightson....
's Jeffrey Jones
Jeff Jones (artist)
Jeffrey Catherine Jones was an American artist whose work is best known from the late 1960s through 2000s. Jones provided over 150 covers for many different types of books through 1976, as well as venturing into fine art during and after this time...
, M.W. Kaluta
Michael William Kaluta
Michael William Kaluta, sometimes credited as Mike Kaluta or Michael Wm. Kaluta , is an American comic book artist and writer.-Early life:Born in Guatemala to U.S...
, Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith, born Barry Smith is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States....
, and Berni Wrightson. Goodwin commissioned stories by many new artists, including Steve Bissette, Pepe Moreno
Pepe Moreno
Pepe Moreno is a Spanish comic book artist, writer and video game developer who has been drawing professionally in Spain, other countries in Europe and in the US since the 1970s. He is best known in the United States for his 1990 digital graphic novel, Batman: Digital Justice, published by DC Comics...
, Jon J. Muth
Jon J. Muth
Jon J. Muth is an American comic book artist and children's book illustrator, known for his painted artwork....
, Rick Veitch
Rick Veitch
Richard "Rick" Veitch is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.-Early career:...
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
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
, Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for work in comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers and other media...
, The Brothers Hildebrandt
The Brothers Hildebrandt
The Brothers Hildebrandt are American twin brothers who collaboratively worked as fantasy and science fiction artists. They produced illustrations for comic books, movie posters, children's books, posters, novels, calendars, advertisements, and trading cards...
, and Boris Vallejo
Boris Vallejo
Boris Vallejo is a Peruvian-born American painter. He immigrated to the United States in 1964, and he currently resides in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He frequently works with Julie Bell, his wife, painter, and model....
contributed covers.
Epic Illustrated also included an occasional Marvel Comics protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, such as the first issue's Silver Surfer
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
story by Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
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.
Selected stories
- Metamorphosis Odyssey, a serial by Jim StarlinJim StarlinJames P. "Jim" Starlin is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters...
, which introduced his DreadstarDreadstarDreadstar was the first comic series published by American publisher Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics, in 1982. It was centered on Vanth Dreadstar, sole survivor of the entire Milky Way galaxy, and an ensemble cast of crewmates, including cyborg sorcerer Syzygy Darklock, and their struggle...
character - Marada by Chris ClaremontChris ClaremontChris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
and John Bolton - Abraxas and the Earthman by Rick VeitchRick VeitchRichard "Rick" Veitch is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.-Early career:...
- The Last GalactusGalactusGalactus is a fictional character appearing in comic books and other publications published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character debuted in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue story later known as "The Galactus...
Story by John Byrne, Terry AustinTerry Austin (comics)Terry Austin is an American comic book artist, working primarily as an inker. He is best known for his work embellishing John Byrne's pencils on The Uncanny X-Men from 1977–1981.-Early life and career:...
, and Glynis Oliver - Young Cerebus - a series of vignettes of the early life of Cerebus by Dave SimDave SimDavid Victor Sim is an award-winning Canadian comic book writer and artist.A pioneer of self-published comics and creators' rights, Sim is best known as the creator of Cerebus the Aardvark, a comic book published from 1977 to 2004, which chronicles its main character in a 6,000-page self-contained...
- The first of Ken SteacyKen SteacyKen “Value Added” Steacy is a Canadian comics artist and writer best known for his work on the NOW Comics comic book series of Astro Boy and of the Comico comic series of Jonny Quest, as well as his graphic novel collaborations with Harlan Ellison and Dean Motter...
's adaptations of Harlan EllisonHarlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
short stories - "Generation Zero" a long running series by Pepe MorenoPepe MorenoPepe Moreno is a Spanish comic book artist, writer and video game developer who has been drawing professionally in Spain, other countries in Europe and in the US since the 1970s. He is best known in the United States for his 1990 digital graphic novel, Batman: Digital Justice, published by DC Comics...
and Archie GoodwinArchie Goodwin (comics)Archie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work... - A Tale Of Elric of MelnibonéElric of MelnibonéElric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock, and the antihero of a series of sword and sorcery stories centering in an alternate Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné...
: The Dreaming City - Michael MoorcockMichael MoorcockMichael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
, Roy ThomasRoy ThomasRoy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, and P. Craig RussellP. Craig RussellPhilip Craig Russell , also known as P. Craig Russell, is an American comic book writer, artist, and illustrator. His work has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards...