Marvel Preview

Marvel Preview
Marvel Preview #9 (Winter 1976). Cover art by Earl Norem.
Publication information
Publisher	Curtis Magazines Marvel Magazine Group
Schedule	Quarterly
Format	Magazine
Publication date	Spring 1975 - February 1983
Number of issues	34 (Changed name to Bizarre Adventures starting with #25)
Creative team
Writer(s)	Bill Mantlo, Gil Kane, Steve Englehart, Doug Moench, Christopher Claremont, Roger Stern, others
Artist(s)	Keith Giffen, Michael Netzer (Nasser), others

Marvel Preview was a magazine-sized black-and-white showcase comic book published by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel. (The final issue was published by the Marvel Magazines Group, another Marvel imprint.)

Marvel Preview is notable for containing the first and early appearances of many Marvel characters like Blade (issue #3), Star-Lord (#4), Dominic Fortune (#2), Satana (#7), and many more. It also contained premiere artwork by Keith Giffen (in the back up story of issue #4 and #7, "The Sword in the Star"), and the first teaming of the celebrated X-Men creative trio of writer Chris Claremont, penciller John Byrne, and inker Terry Austin (in issue #11, featuring Star-Lord.)

Despite a quarterly frequency, the magazine had a history of scheduling problems, with one "Next Issue" ad after another proving inaccurate. For example, #2 promised Thor the Mighty for #3, but a Blade story originally promoted as a serial for the recently cancelled Vampire Tales appeared, while the Thor material was not seen until #10. As of #25, the title was changed to Bizarre Adventures, which published an additional ten issues before folding in Feb. 1983. The final issue, #34, was a color comic book, a "Hate the Holidays" issue fronted with a story featuring Howard the Duck.

Issues

1. The Man-Gods From Beyond the Stars (1975) (Erich von Däniken tribute)
2. The Punisher (1st solo story); back-up: Dominic Fortune (1st appearance) (1975)
3. Blade the Vampire-Slayer (1975)
4. Star-Lord (1st appearance); back-up: The Sword in the Star with Prince Wayfinder (1975)
5. Sherlock Holmes (adaptation of the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles part 1) (1976)
6. Sherlock Holmes (The Hound of the Baskervilles part 2 (1976)
7. Satana; back-up: The Sword in the Star with Prince Wayfinder (also debut of Rocket Raccoon) (1976)
8. The Legion of Monsters (Morbius, the Living Vampire, Blade, Anubis) (1976)
9. Man-God (Hugo Danner [1st part of never-completed adaptation of the novel Gladiator by Philip Wylie]) (1977)
10. Thor; back-up: Hercules (1977)
11. Star-Lord (1977)
12. The Haunt of Horror (including Lilith and Dracula) (1977)
13. The UFO Connection (1978)
14. Star-Lord (1978)
15. Star-Lord (1978)
16. Masters of Terror (1978) (with Lilith)
17. Blackmark (1979)
18. Star-Lord (1979)
19. Kull the Destroyer; back-up: Solomon Kane (1979)
20. Bizarre Adventures (reprints, including Dominic Fortune) (1979)
21. Moon Knight; back-up: The Shroud (1980)
22. Merlin (1980)
23. Bizarre Adventures 2 (1980)
24. features Paradox (1980)

Links and references

• Marvel Preview at Grand Comics Database
• Unofficial guide to Marvel Preview