Marvel Anthology, Golden Age, & Atlas Era Omnibus Mapping for the Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 12th Annual Secret Ballot

Until April 5, I’ll be loosely mapping missing and most-wanted Marvel omnibus volumes every day! This post covers every in-continuity Marvel title that we haven’t addressed yet, including the Golden Age, Atlas Era, and Anthology and Magazine titles – plus non-superheroes and creator-centric omnibuses.

This post explains titles and potential Marvel Anthology, Golden Age, & Atlas Era Omnibus Mapping for entries on the Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 12th Annual Secret Ballot. You can vote right now (until 5 April 2024 @ midnight US ET) or watch our mega-length announcement stream reviewing every single voting option.

This is my final post covering Marvel in-continuity and alternate reality books for this poll! I’ll be back in a few hours with just a pair of very brief posts about the Stars Wars titles and other licensed books. But, if you were looking for an explanation of a Marvel title on the poll, it has now been covered!

If you’re not sure of what to vote for, stick around for my explanations. Or, if you’ve already voted, learn why the team behind the poll decided on these books and titles – including some of my mistakes and regrets as one of the editors of the options on the final poll.

Or… just find some great comics to read!

Remember: These mappings are just my suggestion of how Marvel could assemble these books. They are meant to help you decide on your votes and build your personal reading list, but your vote on the poll is NOT an endorsement of my specific map. It’s a vote in favor of Marvel creating a book with that title or covering that period.

Over-the-top comics posts like this one are made possible via the support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis. For less than the cost of a single comic issue a month you can fuel my in-depth comics coverage, plus gain access to dozens of exclusive collecting guides & reading orders – including all of the Crushing Comics Guide to Marvel Comics.

Marvel Golden Age Omnibus Mapping

While we didn’t map every single issue of Golden Age Marvel, we did take a look at existing Golden Age Masterworks volumes to see what could be immediately eligible for an omnibus.

Captain America (Golden Age) Vol. 3
As covered in my Captain America, Iron Man, & Thor omnibus mapping post, this would extend the Golden Age Captain America line starting from Captain America Comics (1941) #25 – but we don’t have any Masterworks volumes beyond issue #24! Omnibuses have only collected 12 issues each because they collect all the features from each issue – which were each ~60-72 pages long. We’d need several more volumes to collect through the end of this title with issue #48, the retconned last appearance of Steve Rogers as Captain America.

Golden Age All Winners Comics (1941 – 1946)
All-Winners Comics (1941) #1-19 & 21 featured what was effectively an early version of The Invaders, starring Cap & Bucky, the original Human Torch & Toro, Namor, Miss America, & Whizzer. It was completely collected in four Marvel Masterworks volumes from 2005 to 2011, which means this could be a complete, one-and-done omnibus!

(There is no issue #20. Issue #19 continued to All Teen Comics (1947) #20, but then Young Allies Comics (1941) #20 continued to All-Winners Comics (1941) #21.)

Krisis Regrets: We should have added “The Original Invaders” or something similar to this title.

Golden Age Daring Mystery Comics
Daring Mystery Comics (1940) #1-8 featured a number of early Marvel superheroes, lead by The Thunderer. The entire series was collected in a pair of Marvel Masterworks which total 560 pages – making this a modest omnibus that would knock out this entire series in one go.

Golden Age Human Torch, Vol. 1
The original Human Torch had a long-running comic that continued its numbering from Red Raven Comics (1940) #1 to The Human Torch (1940) #2-38 (including two different issues #5). It ran from Winter 1940 to March 1949, and was briefly revived for its final three issues during the Atlas Era in 1954.

This was another Golden Age Masterworks line that could only collect a four issues at a time, since issues were each 60 pages or long. We have a trio of Golden Age Masterworks that collect issues #2-4, 5a & 5b, & 6-12, which would make a first omnibus in this line.

Golden Age Marvel Comics Vol. 3
We already have two omnibuses in this line collecting complete issues of Marvel’s flagship title, Marvel Mystery Comics (1939). They take us up to issue #24, but this title ran until issue #92 in 1949! A third Omnibus volume would need to push forward, but there is one more Masterworks volume, which means only half the material would need fresh restoration.

(Thanks to commenter Matt for pointing out the remaining MMW!)

Namor, The Sub-Mariner – The Golden Age, Vol. 1
As covered in my Solo Heroes (N-Z) post, Namor has a pair of Golden Age omnibuses, but they don’t continuously collect all of the material in his Golden Age Masterworks – just the key Sub-Mariner material. This would be a different omnibus line that matches the Golden Age Masterworks line, collecting full issues.

Marvel Atlas Era Omnibus Mapping

Similar to our options for the Golden Age, we used existing Masterworks volumes to guide us here – but also surveyed all of the major titles from the period.

Atlas Era Heroes
Namor, The Sub-Mariner – The Atlas Era
I mentioned in my Solo Heroes (N-Z) post, that these two titles mean the same thing – turns out, both titles are on the poll! Don’t worry – we’ll merge the results of these two.

Namor doesn’t actually have enough material of his own for an omnibus of this era, but he appears throughout the material in three “Atlas Era Heroes” Masterworks that collected That would include Marvel Boy (1950) #1-2, Astonishing (1951) #3-6, and Young Men (1950) #24-28 (starring Namor!), Men’s Adventures (1950) #27-28 (includes Namor!), Captain America (1941) #76-78, Human Torch (1940) #36-38 (with Namor backups), and Sub-Mariner Comics (1941) #33-42.

Commenter Matt points out that this could also contain the contents of the Black Knight / Yellow Claw Masterworks (a favorite of mine!), since it is also a hero-focused book that is relevant to later eras of Marvel.

Atlas Era Journey into Mystery Vol. 1
Atlas Era Journey into Mystery Vol. 2
Journey Into Mystery (1952) began as a sci-fi suspense anthology and ran for a decade before the debut of Thor in issue #83. However, the title converted to focus on giant monsters starting with issues #50-51, and at least one story from each issue from that point forward has been collected in either or both of Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus Vol. 1 and Monsters Vol. 1: Marvel Monsterbus By Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, & Jack Kirby.

As luck would have it, an existing Masterworks line collects through Journey Into Mystery (1952) #40, which means it wouldn’t take much new restoration to have the Masterworks line reach that point! A first volume of this would collect through issue #20 or #25, and a second volume through issue #40 or 50, depending on if you think Marvel would conduct that extra restoration to meet up with the existing omnibuses on the other side.

Vote accordingly!

Atlas Era Jungle Adventure
This Masterworks line featured Lorna the Jungle Queen and ran for three volumes, collecting Lorna, the Jungle Queen (1953) #1-5, Lorna, the Jungle Girl (1954) #6-16, Jungle Tales (1954) #1-7, and Jungle Action (1954) #1-6

That’s the full run of each of those titles, which means this would be a single, complete, one-and-done omnibus!

Krisis Regrets: We should have added “(featuring Lorna the Jungle Queen)” to this title.

Atlas Era Kid Colt – Outlaw Vol. 1
This title does not have a Masterworks line, but has been a frequent past vote. Kid Colt Outlaw (1948) ran for a staggering 30 years and 229 issues, shipping many original stories until the end.

A vote for this book is a vote to kick off collecting this title with a first omnibus collecting the initial 20-30 issues, which to my knowledge have never before been collected.

Atlas Era Tales of Suspense Vol. 1
Atlas Era Tales of Suspense Vol. 2
Tales of Suspense (1959) began as a sci-fi and fantasy suspense anthology and ran for four years before the debut of Iron Man in issue #39. In an intriguing move, the existing Atlas Era Masterworks line actually collects past that issue, continuing to include all of the non-superhero features from Tales of Suspense (1959) #39-48 & 50-54 in a series of four Masterworks volumes..

Those Masterworks were 272 to 300+ issues each, so it’s probably not possible for us to get all four in one volume given Marvel’s collection history. The first two Masterworks collected issues #1-20, the second pair #21-48 & 50-54.

Atlas Era Tales to Astonish Vol. 1
Atlas Era Tales to Astonish Vol. 2
Tales to Astonish (1959) began as another of Marvel’s “giant monster” books and featured some of their most iconic monsters past the debut of Hank Pym as Ant-Man in issue #27 in 1961 until he took over the lead feature in issue #35 in 1962.

As with Tales of Suspense, a Masterworks line of four volumes collected up to and past Hank Pym’s debut, covering all of the non-superhero stories in the title from Tales to Astonish (1959) #1-51 & 54. Each of those Masterworks were 272 pages or more, with the first collecting issues #1-20 and the second collecting #20-51 & 54.

Atlas Era Two Gun Kid Vol. 1
Two-Gun Kid (1948) is another long-running Marvel western title that never had its own Masterworks line. It lasted until issue #136 in 1977, though the final few years of the title were all reprints.

A vote for this book is a vote to kick off collecting this title with a first omnibus collecting the initial 20-30 issues, which to my knowledge have never before been collected.

Atlas Era War
This doesn’t represent a single Atlas Era title. Atlas Era Battlefield Vol. collected Battlefield (1952) #1-11, but several of their other Atlas Era titles that turned into superhero features began as war titles, like Young Men (1950) #1-12 turning into Young Men on the Battlefield (1952) #13-20 before switching back to its original title.

A vote for this book is a vote to collect those pre-Silver Age, non-super war issues from the Atlas era.

Krisis Regrets: We should have added “(including Battlefield, Young Men on the Battlefield, etc)” in the title.

Atlas Era: Strange Tales, Vol. 1 (1951 – 1954)
Atlas Era: Strange Tales Vol. 2 (1954 – 1957)
The final of our anthology titles that lasted far into the superhero era! Strange Tales (1951) is a story most-similar to Journey Into Mystery (1952), in that it began as a horror suspense anthology, eventually morphed into a monster book, and ran for 11 years before a superhero popped up with Johnny Storm taking over as one of the features in issue #101 in 1962 after the initial success of Fantastic Four (1961).

Strange Tales had the longest-running of all of the Atlas Era Masterworks lines, with six volumes that collected Strange Tales (1951) #1-57. The first issue to appear in one of our “Monster Omnis” was issue #67 in Monsters Vol. 1: Marvel Monsterbus By Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, & Jack Kirby, with Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus Vol. 1 not picking up until much later with issue #92.

These two omnibuses could perfectly collect those six Masterworks volumes, although it would certainly be nice to have fresh restorations of the handful of issues #58-66 that would bridge the gap until the Monsterbus!

Vote accordingly!

Miracleman: Marvelman, The Early Years Vol. 1
See Guide to Miracleman. This isn’t really an Atlas title, since it wasn’t published by Atlas at the time, but these early Marvelman adventures can be reprinted by Marvel as part of their deal with Mick Anglo for the reprint rights to pre-Miracleman Marvelman.

This first volume could at minimum collect the contents of Marvelman Classic, Vol. 1-3, which were Marvelman (1954) #25-44. Those classic volumes were only half the length of typical Masterworks, so there’s definitely room for more! This could push forward another 10-20 issues in Marvelman (1954), or act as a “linewide” omnibus to also pick up the material from Young Marvelman Classic Vol. 1-2 (Young Marvelman (1954) #25-44), and even some early material from Marvelman Family (1956)

Marvel Anthology Titles Omnibus Mapping

What are “Marvel Anthology Titles”? Any title or magazine that didn’t focus on a single hero.

Crazy Magazine Vol. 1 (1973 – 1977)
It would be amazing to see this humor magazine collected in full in the style of Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. This featured many Steve Gerber Howard the Duck strips, among other editorial and fiction content. Marvel doesn’t go huge on these collections since they require so much scanning and restoration, so this could likely only collect the first few years of issues.

FOOM Magazine (1973 – 1978)
“FOOM” stood for “Friends of Ol’ Marvel” and was one of Marvel’s early house magazines. It ran for 22 issues, so it could feasibly be collected into a single omnibus.

Marvel Age Vol. 2
Marvel Age (1983) was Marvel’s in-house promo magazine featuring creator interviews and behind-the-scenes material. It feels like a fever dream that we got a first omnibus of it in 2023 collecting Marvel Age (1983) #1-34 & Annual 1. At that slim size, we’d need three more volumes to collect Marvel Age (1983) #35-140 & Annual 2-4, so let’s get cracking!

Marvel Comics Presents Vol. 1 (1988 – 1989)
Marvel Comics Presents Vol. 2 (1989 – 1991)
Could this dream ever become a reality? Marvel Comics Presents was Marvel’s anthology series that ran for #175 issues from 1988 to 1995, releasing weekly for the first 44 issues, then biweekly through the end of its run. It was often anchored by Wolverine or Ghost Rider, but with four stories in each issue it was the place where many characters had their first solo adventures!

Stories were usually 8pg each, with each issue running 36 pages including one cover (or sometimes two!) and a contents page. Looking at comparable omnibuses of that period, the Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme omnis are 1000+ pages, and the Marvel Age book is nearly 1200!

I think we could reasonably ask for a volume of this book to top 1000 pages, which means it could collect 25-33 issues of content. Since Marvel Comics Presents issues had a mix of one-shot stories and long-running series, that means the first volume wouldn’t necessarily cut off at an exact issue. For example, Havok had an ongoing feature from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #25-31, so a first volume might collect the single stories from those issues but push the entire Havok tale into a second volume. There’s a lot of complex mapping to do!

I pushed to list the first two volumes on the poll because that would take us close to issue #71, and I think it would be smart marketing for a third volume of this to be fronted by the Weapon X saga, which began in issue #72.

I would really love to map these volumes for you exactly, so it’s your job to get one of them into the Top 60 on the poll! Vote away!

Marvel Fanfare Vol. 1 (1981 – 1987)
Marvel Fanfare Vol. 2 (1987 – 1992 & 1996 – 1997)
Marvel Fanfare was a prestige Direct Market anthology title on glossy paper, usually featuring one lead story, a brief backup, and one or more pin-ups. It ran for 60 issues on a bi-monthly schedule from 1981 to 1992 and was briefly revived for six more issues in 1996. Some characters had 2-4 issue arcs on the title (including a famous one for Black Widow and another for Shanna The She-Devil), but often it featured one-shot stories – sometimes tales from outside of the Marvel 616 universe.

I own every one of these issues, and I think it would be magnificent to see them all collected in one place if Marvel holds the rights to all the stories! I think a first omnibus would likely collect to issue #32 or 33 in 1987 so a second volume could begin with a magnificent multi-part Warriors Three story with covers by Charles Vess.

Marvel Graphic Novel (MGN) Vol 1
Lets get this out of the way: this probably isn’t likely or possible. But, we’ve said that before on this poll for books like Conan, ROM, Godzilla, and Micronauts, and look where we are today!

Marvel Graphic Novel was a premium format that emulated oversize European graphic albums, giving creators the space, format, and budget to tell feature-length stories in 64-68pgs. It stretched for 75 volumes through 1993 is most well-known for launching with “The Death of Captain Marvel” and for issues #4-5 being the debut of the New Mutants and “God Loves, Man Kills,” respectively. It later featured iconic tales like “Dr. Strange / Dr. Doom: Triumph & Torment” and “Wolverine/Nick Fury: Scorpio Connection.”

Marvel Graphic Novels released on an irregular basis and there was no continuity between issues – they came out when they came out and were numbered simply to indicate their volume in the ongoing series.

The problem with collecting this series is that many of its tales involved licensed characters or creator-owned work. There are several MGNs for Conan and one for Kull, Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar, Dave Cockrum’s The Futurians, Elaine Lee’s Starstruck, one for pulp hero The Shadow, Alien Legion, a Roger Rabbit MGN, an adaptation of Willow, and William Gibsons’ Neuromancer!

At 68 pages an installment, an omnibus could only hope to collect 15-18 of these volumes. Skipping over un-reprintable volumes with complex creators rights, that means a first omnibus could likely collect:

1. #1 – The Death of Captain Marvel
2. #4 – The New Mutants: Renewal
3. #5 – X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
4. #7 – Killraven, Warrior of the Worlds: Last Dreams Broken
5. #12 – Marvel Graphic Novel: Dazzler The Movie
6. #16 – Marvel Graphic Novel: The Aladdin Effect (She-Hulk)
7. #17 – Marvel Graphic Novel: Revenge of the Living Monolith
8. #18 – Marvel Graphic Novel: The Sensational She-Hulk
9. maybe #20 – Marvel Graphic Novel: Greenberg the Vampire (maybe – Marvel has reprinted this J. M. DeMatteis story before)
10. #22 – The Amazing Spider-Man in Hooky
11. #23 – Doctor Strange: Into Shamballa
12. #24 – Daredevil: Love and War
13. maybe #26 – Dracula — A Symphony In Moonlight And Nightmares (even though Dracula is fair use, Marvel may not hold the rights to this Jon J Muth story)
14. #27 – Marvel Graphic Novel: Emperor Doom
15. #29 – Marvel Graphic Novel: The Big Change (Hulk / Thing)
16. maybe #31 – Wolfpack (maybe – this is Larry Hama’s property and Marvel has reprinted it before)
17. #33 – I, Whom the Gods Would Destroy (Thor)
18. #34 – Cloak & Dagger: Predator and Prey
19. #37 – Hercules, Prince of Power: Full Circle
20. #38 – Silver Surfer: Judgment Day
21. #39 – The Inhumans

Marvel Knights (2000 – 2002)
Not really an anthology and more of a team title, this would collect Marvel Knights (2000) #1-15, Marvel Knights (2002) #1-6, and maybe also Marvel Knights Double Shot (2002) #1-4 & (2003) #1-4.

Note that this is very similar to the option for “Defenders Marvel Knights (Dixon/Bendis/Bunn)” but that would likely omit the Double Shot anthology books in favor of collecting Bendis’s much later run on Defenders. If you want just a pure Marvel Knights book, this is the one!

Marvel Preview (black-and-white Magazine)
Marvel Preview (1975) was a black-and-white magazine, which meant it was exempt from the Comics Code! After issue #24 in 1980 it was renamed Bizarre Adventures (1981) #25-34

We’ve seen some of its stories of Punisher, Blade, Star-Lord, Satana, and more be reprinted in character-focused collections, but it would be glorious to have whole issues reprinted in the same treatment Marvel gave Deadly Hands of Kung Fu – especially since Marvel largely owns the rights. Issues were 64 pages plus cover, so we’d likely need three volumes to get through this entire run – including after it transformed into Bizarre Adventures (1981).

Krisis Regrets: We should have included “Vol. 1,” a year range, and “(includes Bizarre Adventures (1981))” in the title of this one.

Marvel Rarities – The 60s
What would this book contain? Who knows! Vote for it if you want to see weird stuff!

An odd little 2014 Masterworks volume collected stories that risked being abandoned by the Masterworks line from Amazing Adventures (1961) #1-6, Astonishing Tales (1970) #1-8, Marvel Super-Heroes (1967) #20 & 23, Tales of Suspense (1959) #49-58, and “Tales of the Watcher” from Silver Surfer (1968) #1-7.

An omnibus could replicate that map. However, some of that is Doctor Doom material, now collected in full in his omnibus.

Instead repeating that again, it could also add in other short-lived Silver Age features not likely to merit their own omnibus. It could also absorb the entirety of the Not Brand Echh Masterworks, since that’s another one-and-done that wouldn’t be likely to get an omnibus on its own.

However, in researching this poll we found so many more short-lived 60s series this could pick up. I think next year we’ll keep a running tally of them to exemplify what this could contain.

Commenter Matt came through with a list of possibilities, including:

Tower of Shadows (original material only), Chamber of Darkness (original material only), Linda Carter Student Nurse (breaks the romance rule but could set up for the Night Nurse material in the 70s volume), Mini-books x4, Storybook Annual 1967, Monsters to Laugh With (if licensing allows)

Marvel: Black, White, & Blood
After years of Anthologies not selling, Marvel finally found a format that works: violence!

These anthology limited series each feature 2-4 stories per issue – often with 32pg issues, all in black-and-white-and-red. This volume could collect Carnage: Black, White & Blood (2021) #1-4, Deadpool: Black, White & Blood (2021) #1-4, Elektra: Black, White & Blood (2022) #1-4, Marvel Zombies: Black, White & Blood (2023) #1-4, Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood (2022) #1-4, Wolverine: Black, White & Blood (2020) #1-4 (but probably not Star Wars: Darth Vader – Black, White & Red (2023) #1-4 or Alien: Black, White & Blood (2024) #1-4).

Marvel: The Holiday Specials
This would primarily collect Marvel Holiday Special (1991), which released 10 holiday special issues in 20 years, Marvel Digital Holiday Special 2008-2010, and Marvel Holiday Magazine (2010). However, it could be extended to include end of year holiday issues from titles throughout Marvel’s history!

Marvel: The Swimsuit Specials
This would collect Marvel Illustrated: Swimsuit Issue (1991) #1 and Marvel Swimsuit Special 1992-1995. Sometimes these specials had a loose theme, but really they were just pinup issues.

Yes, we know that’s just five issues. But, we all know this is Omar’s #1 vote, right?

The Marvel Saga: The Official History of the Marvel Universe
When Marvel releases a “Saga” series, that means it is a retelling of existing stories – sometimes using excerpted panels, but sometimes with original artwork. Marvel has released a lot of super-cool Saga titles over the years (I love the Namor pair!), but this specifically refers to The Marvel Saga (1985) #1-25 – which was subtitled “The Official History of the Marvel Universe.” It was a dense and often gorgeous book retelling all of the major plot beats of the Silver and Bronze Age of Marvel.

The Official Marvel Index
It should come as no surprised that Marvel’s Official Indexes – which detail the official publication order and chronology of their comics – are my bible. That’s what I’d use to be sworn in to public office! There are several individual character and team indexes, which are all on my bookshelf about two meters away from where I am writing this post.

However, this refers specifically to Official Index To The Marvel Universe (2009) #1-14. Each of these issues was its own mini-paperback, merging the various individual lines of Index into one… index of indexes? … of Iron Man, Spider-Man, and X-Men. Then, they releases Avengers, Thor & Captain America: Official Index to the Marvel Universe (2010) #1-15 and Wolverine, Punisher & Ghost Rider: Official Index to the Marvel Universe (2011) #1-8.

All of those have been collected in digest size books that fill an entire shelf! Plus, there is a much older The Official Marvel Index to the Fantastic Four (1985) #1-12 that has never been collected.

I think this is a somewhat awkward poll pick, because I’m not sure if there is utility to having these in omnibus – or in combining Iron Man with Spider-Man instead of with the Avengers! If we’re going to get these, I would reconfigure them into “X-Men & Wolverine,” “Avengers, Cap, Iron Man, & Thor,” and “Ghost Rider, Punisher, & Spider-Man.”

Marvel Season One (2012 – 2013 OGNs)
This would collect the Original Graphic Novel line of modernized origin tellings from Ant-Man Season One, Avengers Season One, Daredevil Season One, Doctor Strange Season One, Fantastic Four Season One, Hulk Season One, Iron Man Season One, Spider-Man Season One, Thor Season One, Wolverine Seaosn One, & X-Men Season One.

That’s 11 books that were each ~128pgs, but that length is deceptive because they each included a reprint of a modern issue at the back of the book. The actual stories were between 96-104pgs, which makes this a perfect length for an omnibus.

Marvels Omnibus
Marvel has collected their landmark Kurt Busiek & Alex Ross series Marvels (1994) #0-4 many times and in many formats – but never in omnibus! The question is which of its follow-ups and later emulations to also collect.

Marvel has already established a trend of collecting this alongside Marvels Epilogue (2019) #1 and Marvels Annotated (2019) #1-4, which hits 500 pages. But, that has already been an oversize hardcover as the “25th Anniversary Edition,” so there’s little point in simply regurgitating that as an omnibus.

Instead, we’d add the contents of The Marvels Companion, a paperback that collected Marvel’s mini-series and one-shots in a similar style. That included Tales of the Marvels: Blockbuster (1995) #1, Tales of the Marvels: Inner Demons (1995) #1, and Tales of the Marvels: Wonder Years (1995) #1-2, Ruins (1995) #1-2, Code of Honor (1997) #1-4 (painterly version of the Marvel Universe as seen through the eyes of a police officer), and Conspiracy (1998) #1-2.

Finally, there was also another series in a very similar vein by Busiek, Marvels: Eye of the Camera (2008) #1-6.

Busiek would return (with Ross on covers) for The Marvels (2020) #1-12, a series pulling together the Silver Age origins of the Marvel Universe into a modern day plot. But, that’s more of a typical comic book that would be an awkward fit with this material – it would work better with The Marvel’s Project (2009) #1-8 by Ed Brubaker & Steve Epting, which took a similar approach to the Golden Age.

Not Brand Echh (1967 1969)
You can vote for Not Brand Echh as a standalone omnibus if you want! The Masterworks was 400+ pages, so it would be a mid-sized volume.

Marvel Non-Heroic Titles Omnibus Mapping

I’m only going to highlight a few titles from this list in specific, since for many of them the story is the same “this romance / western / war comic has never been collected, and we could get 30-40 issues deep into it in one omnibus!

The ‘Nam Vol. 1 (1986 – 1990)
The ‘Nam Vol. 2 (1990 – 1993)
Marvel’s grounded, realistic take on the Vietnam War, occasionally starring Frank Castle. This comic ran for The ‘Nam (1986) #1-84, Punisher Invades the ‘Nam (1988) #1-2. (The ‘Nam Magazine (1988) #1-10 were black-and-white reprints.)

I’ve always found it fascinating and slightly moving that this war comic survived into the 1990s, which is a comment on the fascination and regret that the American public held for the Vietnam War at the time. Speaking as someone who was a child seeing this book on the stands, I can say that memories of family and friends who were drafted and lost in the war still lingered not only for Baby Boomers, but also their Gen X and Millennial children. There was also the growing awareness of the atrocities committed against the Vietnamese people from both sides of the conflict.

The ‘Nam never shied away from that, even if it sometimes got mired in the gun-worship that came with having a connection with The Punisher. Yet, there were also issues focusing on individual soldiers and families in Vietnam. There’s one panel of American soldiers lifting up some local children to ride on their tank and telling them to watch their feet from being caught in the treads that still haunts me for how it juxtaposed weapons of mass destruction with the innocence of childhood.

I’ve since learned this was part of the retelling of the My Lai massacre. The next issue showed those Vietnamese civilians being slaughtered by American soldiers.

I think The ‘Nam could be an important, unflinching, and sometimes transgressive depiction of the realities of war racked alongside superhero comics like Claremont’s X-Men and DeFalco’s Thor. Perhaps this comic whitewashes some of America’s participation in the war, but this isn’t just a glamorous soldier’s story in the way that Nick Fury comics about World War II had been. I’m not sure if there’s an audience for this book, but I’d really like to see it collected.

Millie the Model Vol. 1 (1945 – 1953)
Patsy & Hedy Vol. 1 (1945 – 1952)
Patsy Walker Vol. 1 (1945 – 1952)
Patsy Walker and Millie the Model were Marvel’s pair of non-superhero comics icons of the post-war period, with titles that lasted from 1945 deep into the 1970s. Of course, Patsy Walker later became Hellcat! All of these books ran long enough for four or more omnibuses and have never before been collected.

Other titles on the poll include:

Capt. Savage and His Leatherneck Raiders (1967 – 1970)
Chili (1971 – 1972)
Marvel Western by Jack Kirby
My Love (1969 – 1976)
Rawhide Kid Vol. 1 (1955 – 1964)
Unknown Worlds (1960)

Marvel Creator-Centric Omnibus Mapping

There are many creator-centric books on the poll, mostly holdovers from past votes. These sorts of books aren’t generally my cup of tea, since they tend to collect scattershot single issues or incomplete runs on titles. However, occasionally they can contain an entire gem – like a whole mini-series that would be otherwise abandoned.

There’s no point in obsessively mapping these books, because they could contain anything! Any time a book by a creator would mostly collect a signature run, we listed it under the title rather than by the creator’s name.

I’d say that if you love one of these creators, the beauty of the book is in the eye of the beholder.

Marvel Universe by Al Ewing Vol. 1
Marvel Universe by Alan Davis
Marvel Universe by Barry Windsor-Smith
Marvel Universe by Bill Everett
Marvel Universe by Bill Sienkiewicz
Marvel Universe by Esad Ribic
Marvel Universe by Fabian Nicieza
Marvel Universe by Frank Cho
Marvel Universe by Garth Ennis
Marvel Universe by Geoff Johns
Marvel Universe by George Perez
Marvel Universe by J. M. DeMatteis
Marvel Universe by Jack Kirby
Marvel Universe by Jim Lee
Marvel Universe by Joe Maneely
Marvel Universe by Kelly Thompson
Marvel Universe by Kurt Busiek
Marvel Universe by Lee Weeks
Marvel Universe by Michael Ploog
Marvel Universe by Peach Momoko
Marvel Universe by Reginald Hudlin
Marvel Universe by Richard Corben
Marvel Universe by Robert Kirkman
Marvel Universe by Roger Stern
Marvel Universe by Sam Kieth
Marvel Universe by Steve Rude
Marvel Universe by Warren Ellis
Ultimate Marvel by Jeph Loeb

Comments

Matt says

April 6, 2024 at 5:16 am

Hi Peter
Some notes on the above:
– Marvel Mystery Tales actually had a 7th MMW that didnt make it into omni yet. Many of the other stories have also been collected in the Timelys Greatest books. So additional restoration for a third omni would actually be fairly limited
– For Atlas era Heroes I mapped in the Black Knight/Yellow Claw MMW as well. It kind of fits the theme and stops this material getting orphaned. And both of those titles have ties to the later Marvel material
– The 60s rarities book is one I kind of mapped out a couple of years ago for the poll. The idea would be to collect all material (outside romance, western) that Marvel can possibly find that otherwise wouldnt get an omni. And could be followed up by further volumes for 70s etc.
The stuff you have listed was certainly on my list. The starting point being that rarities MMW (except maybe Dr Droom who has already been included in omnis twice). And then likewise I added Not Brand Echh (although this could be limited to just the remaining uncollected material. Leaving the possibily of a complete stand alone book if Marvel wanted).
Other possible contents – Tower of Shadows (original material only), Chamber of Darkness (original material only), Linda Carter Student Nurse (breaks the romance rule but could set up for the Night Nurse material in the 70s volume), Mini-books x4, Storybook Annual 1967, Monsters to Laugh With (if licensing allows)

Keep up the great work and thanks for doing all this!

- krisis says
  
  April 6, 2024 at 2:57 pm
  
  Thanks for the context, Matt! Indeed, a lot of these suggestions came from (or were adapted from) past polls, but clearly my mapping powers for material not as rooted in Silver Age hero material are not as great. I’ll add all of this to the post!
  
- krisis says
  
  April 6, 2024 at 3:00 pm
  
  Matt, what omnibus would you place Atlas Era Venus into? I think in my head I had something like an “Agents of Atlas: The Original Years” book in mind that would contain that, and maybe also Black Knight / Yellow Claw, but I hadn’t fully thought it through (including how it would awkwardly overlap other books).
  
  - Matt says
    
    April 6, 2024 at 3:42 pm
    
    Wouldnt Venus get its own book? 2 MMWs worth (1 by Marvel and one coming out from Fantographics).
    
    2 MMWs would be a short omni but not unreasonably short
    
    - krisis says
      
      April 6, 2024 at 4:17 pm
      
      Ah, I hadn’t been following the new Fantographics announcements very closely. That could be enough for one book, I was just wondering if there was other Atlas errata that could fit.
      
John F. Pannozzi says

May 21, 2024 at 12:15 am

Marvel Age Preview (1990) #1-2 and maybe Marvel Age #1000 could also be included in the Marvel Age omnis.