Marvel continued reprinting many of their comics into the 1990s. Many of these comics are now collectibles in their own right. In Part 2 of this series, we’ll look at more of the key issues you’ll want to target for your collection.

Fantasy Masterpieces Volume 1

Fantasy Masterpieces was one of the first Marvel reprint series, along with Marvel Tales and Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics. However, the focus of Fantasy Masterpieces was originally Marvel’s early Silver Age monster stories and, by the third issue, Marvel’s Golden Age classic superhero tales.

There’s nothing remarkable about the reprinted stories in Fantasy Masterpieces #1, although there is a photo of Stan Lee on the inside cover. Fantasy Masterpieces #2, however, contains a reprint of the first appearance of Fin Fang Foom from Strange Tales #89. There are only 72 graded copies of this book in the CGC census, and it’s a remarkably affordable comic. Of the three sales this year, none has sold for more than $100. These include an 8.0 selling for $100, a 7.5 for $55, and a 7.0 for $37.

A reprint of the first appearance of the original Human Torch from Marvel Comics #1 is in Fantasy Masterpieces #9. Despite it’s low census count of 71 graded copies, it appears that this is a much more sought-after comic than any other in the series. Of the six sales this year, the two key ones are a 9.4 selling for a slashed $420 on September 22 and a 2.0 signed by Stan Lee going for $199 on August 11.

The last two issues of the series – Fantasy Masterpieces #10 and Fantasy Masterpieces #11 – also contain reprints of note, with a story from the classic All-Winners Comics #19 and the first appearance of Toro in The Human Torch #2, respectively.

Marvel Super-Heroes

Marvel Super-Heroes first saw publication as a one-shot in 1966. Marvel Super-Heroes #1 contains reprints of Daredevil #1 and Avengers #2. There are 640 graded copies in the CGC census, and they sell frequently.

The two November sales were both at the 8.5 grade, with the first selling on November 3 for $101, and the second selling on November 13 for a slashed $170.

Fantasy Masterpieces experienced a name change and began publication of original stories beginning with Marvel Super-Heroes #12, the first appearance of Captain Marvel. This new experiment wouldn’t last long, however, as the last original story in the series was the Doctor Doom story from Marvel Super-Heroes #20.

The next three issues of the series – Marvel Super-Heroes #21, Marvel Super-Heroes #22, and Marvel Super-Heroes #23 – contain the first reprints of, among others, Avengers #3, X-Men #2, X-Men #3, X-Men #4, Daredevil #2, and Daredevil #3. All three have low census counts and can be found relatively cheaply below the 9.0 grade, although a 9.8 of Marvel Super-Heroes #21 sold on June 16 for a slashed $4,000.

Marvel Super-Heroes would, by Marvel Super-Heroes #32, become primarily a vehicle for Hulk reprints, beginning first with reprints of Hulk stories from Tales to Astonish and then issues of Incredible Hulk.

Issues of note include Marvel Super-Heroes #45, reprinting the first appearance of the Abomination in Tales to Astonish #90, and Marvel Super-Heroes #92, reprinting the first appearance of Doc Samson from Incredible Hulk #141.

Marvel Bronze Age Reprint Series

Marvel would continue with new series reprinting classic issues during the Bronze Age. Among these series are Marvel Adventure, reprinting early Daredevil issues; Marvel Triple Action, reprinting Fantastic Four stories in its first four issues, and then issues of the Avengers for the next forty-three issues; Marvel Super Action, which started by reprinting Captain America stories from his 1968 title, and then took off where Marvel Triple Action left off; and Marvel Double Feature, reprinting Captain America and Iron Man stories from Tales of Suspense.

A few issues of note from these series include Marvel Double Feature #1, reprinting the first appearance of Peggy Carter in Tales of Suspense #77; Marvel Double Feature #18, reprinting the first appearance of M.O.D.O.K. from Tales of Suspense #94; Marvel Triple Action #5, reprinting the first appearance of Immortus in Avengers #10; Marvel Triple Action #35, reprinting the first appearance of Red Guardian from Avengers #43; Marvel Triple Action #40, reprinting the first appearance of the Black Knight (Dane Whitman) in Avengers #48; and Marvel Super Action #18, reprinting the first appearance of the Vision from Avengers #57.

Of these, the two with census counts higher than 50 and values for 9.0 or greater grades above $100 are Marvel Double Feature #1 and Marvel Super Action #18. The rest can be found affordably.

Fantasy Masterpieces Volume 2

A short-lived reprint series that is worth investigating for your collection is the second volume of Fantasy Masterpieces. The series only lasted 14 issues, but it includes the first reprints of issues from the 1968 Silver Surfer series.

Released in an annual size format to match the page count of the early Silver Surfer issues, later issues of Fantasy Masterpieces also include the first known reprints of Jim Starlin’s Warlock stories from Strange Tales.

Fantasy Masterpieces #1 is easily one of the most collected of all Marvel reprint books, as evidenced by the 509 graded copies in the CGC census. The most recent sale of a 9.8 graded copy occurred in an October 31 eBay auction where it sold for $256. That’s down quite a bit from its July 26 peak of a slashed $575.

Other issues of note include Fantasy Masterpieces #3, reprinting the first appearance of Mephisto in Silver Surfer #3; Fantasy Masterpieces #4, reprinting the classic Thor cover from Silver Surfer #4; Fantasy Masterpieces #9, reprinting the first appearance of Pip the Troll in Strange Tales #179; and Fantasy Masterpieces #10, reprinting Gamora’s first appearance in Strange Tales #180.

Amazing Adventures Volume 3 and Classic X-Men

Capitalizing on the burgeoning success of Uncanny X-Men in the late 1970s, Marvel began reprinting the first appearances of Marvel’s misfit mutants, along with backup origin stories, in the pages of Amazing Adventures Volumes 3. Each issue would feature half of an early issue – for example, X-Men #1 was reprinted in Amazing Adventures #1 and Amazing Adventures #2 – and both would contain a backup story focused on the origins of the original X-Men from later issues of X-Men. The experiment only lasted 14 issues.

Amazing Adventures #1 is clearly the most sought-after issue, with 184 graded copies in the CGC census. No graded copies have sold in 2022 but 2021 prices for a 9.8 graded copy were in the $250 range. Subsequent issues are easily collected raw and can be found in the cheap boxes of most comic book shops.

Marvel had more success with Classic X-Men. Issues in this series featured reprints of the new X-Men, beginning with Giant-Size X-Men #1 in the pages of Classic X-Men #1. The series also featured, at least initially, new covers by Art Adams and original backup stories by Chris Claremont with art by John Bolton.

This experiment would last nearly 10 years, ending with X-Men Classic #110, reprinting Uncanny X-Men #206. As with Amazing Adventures, the first issue – Classic X-Men #1 – is the key one for collectors. There are 637 graded copies in the CGC census – an impressive number for a 1986 reprint book. Recent sales of 9.8 graded copies are the highest ever: $500 on November 13 and $418 on November 20.

The other 109 issues in this series can be found inexpensively in back-issue bins. However, the Dark Phoenix cover by Adam Hughes on X-Men Classic #79 (reprinting Uncanny X-Men #175) has recently seen sales above $200 for a 9.8, and an uptick in the number of copies graded, a sure sign that collectors are beginning to pay attention to this comic.

Hope you enjoyed this short series on Marvel reprints!

Do you collect Marvel reprints? Tell us your favorites below!

*Any percieved investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.