Marvel Saga
Encyclopedia
The Marvel Saga: The Official History of the Marvel Universe was a comic book
series which attempted to condense the first 25 years of Marvel Universe
events into a sequential, narrative
story.
and edited by Danny Fingeroth
. It was published over 25 issues from December 1985 to December 1987. The story follows Marvel
continuity as closely as possible from the inception of the Marvel Universe, and it is stated in the first issue that there is nothing in the series that hasn't already been printed in previous Marvel comics. The illustration of the comics was mostly made up from excerpts from the original comics in which the events being described took place, with the addition of some new artwork to describe some of the events mentioned.
The series was meant to be a cohesive and quick way for newcomers to catch up on the entirety of the Marvel Universe at once, featuring the stories of the biggest and most important events in the Universe (up to 1987), including origins of most of the major Marvel characters. It also allows readers to see how stories from many different series are related and how they fit together in chronological order. Since the series ended in 1987, many more important events and facts have been introduced that may affect the stories told in the series, but it still represents the basic early storyline of the Marvel Universe.
:
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...
series which attempted to condense the first 25 years of Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
events into a sequential, narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
story.
Overview
The series was researched and written by Peter SandersonPeter Sanderson
Peter John Sanderson, Jr. is a comic book critic and historian, as well as an instructor/lecturer in the New York area concerning the study of graphic novels/comic books as literature....
and edited by Danny Fingeroth
Danny Fingeroth
Daniel "Danny" Fingeroth is an American comic book writer and editor, better known for a long stint as group editor of the Spider-Man books at Marvel Comics.-Career:...
. It was published over 25 issues from December 1985 to December 1987. The story follows Marvel
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...
continuity as closely as possible from the inception of the Marvel Universe, and it is stated in the first issue that there is nothing in the series that hasn't already been printed in previous Marvel comics. The illustration of the comics was mostly made up from excerpts from the original comics in which the events being described took place, with the addition of some new artwork to describe some of the events mentioned.
The series was meant to be a cohesive and quick way for newcomers to catch up on the entirety of the Marvel Universe at once, featuring the stories of the biggest and most important events in the Universe (up to 1987), including origins of most of the major Marvel characters. It also allows readers to see how stories from many different series are related and how they fit together in chronological order. Since the series ended in 1987, many more important events and facts have been introduced that may affect the stories told in the series, but it still represents the basic early storyline of the Marvel Universe.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into two trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
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- Essential Marvel:
- Marvel Saga Vol. 1 (collects Marvel Saga #1-12, 448 pages, January 2008, ISBN 978-0-7851-2727-7)
- Marvel Saga vol. 2 (collects Marvel Saga #13-25, 480 pages, December 2008, ISBN 978-0-7851-2728-4)