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Marvel Spotlight

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Marvel Spotlight is a comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics as a try-out book. It stood out from Marvel's other try-out books in that most of the featured characters made their first appearance in the series.<ref name="back71">Template:Cite journal</ref> The series originally ran for 33 issues from November 1971 to April 1977.<ref>Template:Gcdb series</ref> A second volume ran for 11 issues from July 1979 to March 1981.<ref>Template:Gcdb series</ref>

Publication historyEdit

Marvel Spotlight was one of three tryout books proposed by Stan Lee after he transitioned from being Marvel Comics' writer and editor to its president and publisher, the others being Marvel Feature and Marvel Premiere.<ref name="backFeature">Template:Cite journal</ref> The advantage of such tryout books was that they allowed the publisher to assess a feature's popularity without the marketing investment required to launch a new series, and without the blow to the publisher's image with readers if the new series immediately failed.<ref name="backFeature"/>

The series began with a Red Wolf story.<ref name="Sanderson150">Template:Cite book</ref> Editor Roy Thomas explained: "Stan [Lee] and I decided it'd be a good idea to have a book with an American Indian hero. ... Stan didn't want it as a modern-day character. I guess he was trying to see if he could find a way to get a Western to sell, because everybody in the field wanted to write or draw a Western".<ref name="back71"/> Following this successful try-out, Red Wolf was given his own series, as were Werewolf by Night,<ref name="Sanderson154">Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 154: "With the changes to the Comics Code in place, Roy Thomas came up with the idea for a series called 'I, Werewolf'...Stan Lee liked the concept but decided to rename it 'Werewolf by Night'".</ref> Ghost Rider,<ref name="Sanderson156">Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 156: "Co-created by editor Roy Thomas, writer Gary Friedrich, and artist Mike Ploog, the new Ghost Rider was Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stunt performer".</ref> the Son of Satan,<ref name="Sanderson160">Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 160: "Stan Lee suggested doing a series called Mark of Satan, and Roy Thomas amended the idea to 'The Son of Satan'".</ref> and Spider-Woman.<ref name="Manning92">Template:Cite book</ref>

In addition to launching new series, Marvel Spotlight hosted some significant stories with established characters. Issue #31 provided a retroactive explanation for why Nick Fury (inextricably associated with World War II due to his starring role in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos) remained so youthful, in the form of an experimental longevity serum.<ref name="back71"/> After a run of nearly six years, the series ended with Marvel Spotlight #33 (April 1977).

The series was revived in 1979, initially as simply a place to publish inventory stories from the recently cancelled Captain Marvel.<ref name="back71"/> However, once these leftover tales were exhausted, the series went on to feature other characters. Tako Shamara first appeared in Marvel Spotlight vol. 2 #5 (March 1980), in a story by Marv Wolfman and Steve Ditko. In his first appearance the character battled a huge dragon from the past called a Wani, a monster that destroyed his ancestors' villages in 1582.<ref>DeFalco, Tom "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 197: "Tako Shamara became the Dragon Lord in Marvel Spotlight #5 by writer/editor Marv Wolfman and artist Steve Ditko".</ref> The creature that Tako battled was intended to be Godzilla but since Marvel no longer had the rights to the character, which lapsed the previous year, the creature was modified to a dragon called The Wani.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Issue #8 featured the final Captain Marvel solo story before the character's death.<ref name="back71"/>

The second volume was cancelled after just 11 issues. In contrast to the original series, only one issue (#5) featured a new character, and none of them led to the featured character getting their own series. Jim Salicrup, who edited and/or did cover copy on most of the second volume, said that he was excited about reviving Marvel Spotlight, but that "it was probably a mistake to launch a new title with material from a recently canceled comic. I suspect that as an editor, I was hoping to give Captain Marvel another chance, but sometimes it's better to let things go. As a result, for the most part, the series seemed to exist just to burn off existing inventory".<ref name="back71"/>

In December 2005, the Marvel Spotlight title was used for a series of comic book–sized magazines, usually featuring profiles of and interviews with Marvel creators (one writer and one artist each issue), or spotlighting special Marvel projects such as Stephen King's The Dark Tower.

IssuesEdit

Volume 1 (November 1971 – April 1977)Edit

Issue Featuring Collected In
#1 Red Wolf<ref name="Sanderson150" /> (moved to own title)
#2–4 Werewolf by Night<ref name="Sanderson154" /> (moved to own title) Werewolf by Night Omnibus; Werewolf by Night Complete Collection Vol 1; Marvel Masterworks Werewolf by Night Vol. 1
#5–11 Ghost Rider<ref name="Sanderson156" /> (moved to own title) Ghost Rider Epic Collection Vol 1; Marvel Masterworks Ghost Rider Vol. 1
#12–23 Son of Satan<ref name="Sanderson160" /> (moved to own title)
#24 Marvel Horror Lives Again! Omnibus
#25 Sinbad
#26 Scarecrow Marvel Horror Omnibus
#27 Sub-Mariner Marvel Masterworks The Sub-Mariner Vol. 8; Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection Vol 5: Invasion of New York
#28–29 Moon Knight Moon Knight Omnibus; Moon Knight Epic Collection Vol 1
#30 Warriors Three Thor: The Warriors Three; Thor Epic Collection Vol 8; Marvel Masterworks The Mighty Thor Vol. 15; Thor Omnibus Vol 5
#31 Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel Masterworks Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vol. 3; S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete Collection Omnibus
#32 Spider-Woman<ref name="Manning92" /> (moved to own title) Marvel Masterworks
#33 Deathlok and Devil-Slayer Deathlok the Demolisher Complete Collection; Marvel Masterworks Deathlok Vol. 1

Volume 2 (July 1979 – March 1981)Edit

Issue Featuring Collected In
#1–2 Captain Marvel Marvel Premiere: The Death of Captain Marvel; Marvel Masterworks Captain Marvel Vol. 6; Guardians of the Galaxy Solo Classic Omnibus; The Death of Captain Marvel Omnibus
#3–4 Marvel Masterworks Captain Marvel Vol. 6; The Death of Captain Marvel Omnibus
#5 Dragon Lord
#6–7 Star-Lord (origin) Guardians of the Galaxy Solo Classic Omnibus
#8 Captain Marvel Marvel Universe by Frank Miller Omnibus; The Death of Captain Marvel Omnibus
#9–11 Captain Universe Captain Universe: Power Unimaginable

Collected editionsEdit

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

Template:Steve Ditko

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