The Folio Society’s Marvel: The Silver Age, 1960-1970 features a preface from Michael Moorcock, an introduction by Roy Thomas, and collects The Fantastic Four no. 5 (1962), Amazing Fantasy no. 15 (1962), The Incredible Hulk no. 6 (1963), Tales of Suspense no. 39 (1963), The Avengers no. 4 (1964), Strange Tales no. 126 (1964), Daredevil no. 7 (1965), The X-Men no. 14 (1965), The Amazing Spider-Man no. 33 (1966), The Mighty Thor no. 126 (1966), The Amazing Spider-Man no. 50 (1967), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. no. 3 (1968), The Avengers no. 57 (1968), and The Silver Surfer no. 3 (1968).

In his preface, Moorcock discusses the impact of Marvel and the difficulty in finding their comics overseas. Despite that difficulty, he describes how Marvel’s work in the Silver Age shaped 1980s stories, such as those that appeared in 2000 A.D.. Thomas’s introduction describes how Marvel reinvented itself following the nadir of the 1950s, launching iconic character after iconic character featuring stories that portrayed flawed heroes with relatable problems. Particularly noteworthy stories include Amazing Fantasy no. 15, which featured the first appearance of Spider-Man, and The Avengers no. 4, which re-introduced Captain America to Marvel continuity while making him a member of the titular team. The Fantastic Four no. 5 introduced Doctor Doom to the Marvel canon and Tales of Suspense no. 39 featured Iron Man’s first appearance. The mutant-hunting Sentinels make their first appearance in The X-Men no. 14, The Avengers no. 57 introduced the Vision in a story written by Roy Thomas with art by John Buscema, and The Silver Surfer no. 3 features Mephisto’s first appearance, thereby introducing the devil to the Marvel Universe. The Amazing Spider-Man nos. 33 and 50 feature a couple other classic stories. In 33, he faces the Master Planner and must escape from a giant mechanism trapping him. Steve Ditko’s cover art remains iconic all these years later, while issue 50 features John Romita’s classic “Spider-Man No More!” art and the first appearance of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. Daredevil no. 5 features the art of Wally Wood, one of the greats of that era, having come from EC Comics in the 1950s, while Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. no. 3 features as story written and illustrated by the great Jim Steranko.

The large size of the book closely resembles the actual size of the comic book art prior to being copied for printing, though the art is yellowed as though it had been scanned from existing copies of issues rather than the more cleaned-up look of Marvel’s own reprints. This curated collection features issues chosen for their ability to represent the types of stories and art that characterized Marvel during this era, but it is not a collection of specific titles and leaves out some stories that fans might expect. Further, it ends in 1968, while the end of the Silver Age occurred either in 1971, when the Comics Code Authority was revised following Amazing Spider-Man nos. 96-98 (1971), or in 1973 after “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” in Amazing Spider-Man nos. 121-122, which foreshadowed the darker stories of the 1980s and the Bronze Age. If the Folio Society continues with a Bronze Age volume, these stories might appear in that book. Finally, this collection includes a scale reproduction of The Fantastic Four no. 1 (1961), the comic that launched Marvel into the Silver Age and featured a superhero team in response to DC’s Justice League. It also includes a print by Paolo Rivera featuring Marvel’s Silver Age heroes. It’s a nice addition to collectors’ bookshelves and makes a great companion to Marvel: The Golden Age 1939-1949. ( )