Marvel Epic Collection
The Marvel Epic Collection is an ongoing line of color trade paperbacks that republish Marvel comics in a uniform trade dress. Announced in April 2013, their stated intention was to collect entire runs of characters or titles as "big fat collections with the best price we can maintain", in similar manner to the discontinued black-and-white Essential Marvel.
The series is published out of order, though have a completist goal. Marvel's Senior Vice President of Sales David Gabriel said: "When all is said and done, the Epic volumes will fit seamlessly next to one another on readers' bookshelves, presenting a complete and unbroken run of each title."
The original announcement consisted of six titles at the pace of one volume a month, with Gabriel adding: "Marvel's most storied titles – including Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Thor – are going Epic."
The first book, The Enemy Within, Iron Man's 10th numbered volume, was released in September 2013. It sold an estimated 864 copies in the first month, reaching no. 129 in the top-300 graphic novel chart.
Initial sales were steady, with October's release – Thor's 16th volume, War of the Pantheons – charting at 127 and selling 986 copies in the month of release. November's Amazing Spider-Man vol. 20: Cosmic Adventures reached no. 103, with 1,010 sales. The Avengers Epic vol. 9: Final Threat in December sold 943, with a chart position of 135.
The first Epic Collection to crack the top-100 was the 10th overall release. Amazing Spider-Man vol. 15: Ghosts of the Past, in May 2014, sold 1,152 copies, reaching no. 81.
The series now has more than 50 lines, including licensed books, such Alien, Star Wars, Micronauts and ROM – Spaceknight.
The rate of publication has increased significantly since launch, with 19 Epic Collections released in 2014, the first full year of print. There were 45 in 2019, and 89 in 2024, including reprints. With the escalated rate, two sub-imprints launched in 2023 and 2025 respectively. The Modern Era Epic Collection covers more recent comic runs, and the Ultimate Epic Collection is for the 2000's Ultimate Universe.
DC Comics launched a similar line – DC Finest – in 2024, which it described as "affordably priced, large-size paperback collections" providing "a new line of comprehensive collections of the most in-demand periods, genres, and characters from across DC history".
''Epic Collection''s
The core books of the Epic Collection largely span Marvel's silver and bronze age of comic books. With a few exceptions, this roughly covers a period from the release of Fantastic Four #1 in 1961 until around 1998 and the launch of Marvel Knights.Aliens
In July 2020, Marvel Comics gained the rights to publish Alien and Predator in the wake of Fox's sale to Disney. Since 2023, the company has been republishing comics originally produced by Dark Horse Comics as part of the Epic Collection.Amazing Spider-Man
The Peter Parker version of Spider-Man first appeared in 1962's Amazing Fantasy #15, before the character's ongoing series, Amazing Spider-Man, launched with a cover date of March 1963.Notable storylines include: The Death of Gwen Stacy in Vol. 7: The Goblin's Last Stand; Kraven's Last Hunt in Vol. 17; Spider-Man No More! in Vol. 3; and Venom in Vol. 18.
- See also: Spider-Man collected editions
Ant-Man/Giant-Man
Avengers
The first Avengers line-up consisted of Iron Man, Ant Man, Wasp, Hulk, and Thor. They were soon joined by Silver Age Captain America in issue #4, which is collected in Volume 1: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.With a revolving cast of characters, major storylines include The Kree-Skrull War ; Under Siege ; and ''The Korvac Saga''
Avengers West Coast
Even though the Epic Collections are titled Avengers West Coast, the comic was published as The West Coast Avengers up until issue #46.Volume 7: Ultron Unbound contains the first appearance of James Rhodes as War Machine, as well as the origin story for the Julia Carpenter version of Spider-Woman.
Meanwhile, Scarlet Witch showed her initial slip into madness in #56, reproduced in Vol. 5: Darker Than Scarlet. This eventually led to the events of "House Of M" and the "No More Mutants" Marvel age.
Black Panther
Volume 1 of the Black Panther ''Epic Collection has the character's first appearance in Fantastic Four #52-53. Between that and the rest of the volume, he joins The Avengers with issue #52, which is collected in The Avengers Epic Collection Volume 3: The Masters of Evil.His origin story is in The Avengers #87, before departing the team after issue #126.
After that, his story continues in the rest of Panther's Rage''.
Black Widow
The debut of Natasha Romanova as the Black Widow is as an Iron Man villain in Tales Of Suspense #52. She is a reformed supporting character with The Avengers through the rest of Volume 1, and did not get her own individual series until 1999 - which is collected as a Modern Era Epic Collection Volume 1: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.Blade
first appeared as a side character in The Tomb of Dracula series, beginning in 1973. He largely disappeared from Marvel Comics between 1976 and 1992, when he reappeared in Ghost Rider.Captain America
The first comics appearance of Captain America was in Captain America Comics #1 from 1940, printed by Timely. Nothing from that era is collected in the Epic Collection, which begins with the character's Silver Age return, in Strange Tales #114, from 1963.Notable storylines include Mark Gruenwald's Captain America No More, which stretches through Vol. 14: The Captain; Death of the Red Skull by J. M. DeMatteis in Vol. 11: Sturm und Drang; Operation: Rebirth by Mark Waid in Vol. 22: Man Without a Country; and The Strange Death of Captain America by Jim Steranko in Vol. 2: The Coming of... The Falcon.
Carnage
The villain Carnage has never had an ongoing series, with all Epic Collection releases compiled of miniseries, or appearances in various Spider-Man comics. Large parts of Carnage Volume 1: Born in Blood are also reprinted in Amazing Spider-Man Volume 25: Maximum Carnage.Conan
From 2022, Marvel lost the license to publish new Conan comics. "The trademark for the name Conan and the names of Robert E. Howard's other principal characters, is maintained by Conan Properties International and licensed to Cabinet Entertainment. This company, or new owners, now wish to publish Conan comic books themselves. And so won't be renewing the Marvel Comics license."This led to the cancellation of the second King Conan ''Epic Collection''. The license ended up with Titan Publishing.
Conan the Barbarian: The Original Marvel Years
Conan Chronicles
King Conan Chronicles
Daredevil
Notable storylines already reproduced include the fall of Kingpin in Vol. 15: Last Rites; and the introduction of Typhoid Mary in Vol. 13: A Touch Of Typhoid.- See also: Daredevil collected editions
Deadpool
Defenders
Doctor Strange led the initial version of Defenders, with a team also composed of Hulk and Namor. As opposed to other Marvel teams, such as The Fantastic Four or Avengers, Defenders tended to focus on mystical enemies.The origin of the team is also covered in Doctor Strange ''Epic Collection Volume 3: A Separate Reality; Incredible Hulk Epic Collection Volume 4: In the Hands of HYDRA and Namor The Sub-Mariner Epic Collection Volume 3: Who Strikes for Atlantis?''
Doctor Doom
Doctor Strange
Created by Steve Ditko, Doctor Strange first appeared in Strange Tales #110. The character was popular enough that the book became Doctor Strange with issue #169.Major stories for the character include Triumph & Torment and A Separate Reality.
Excalibur
The basic pitch of Excalibur is X-Men set in the United Kingdom. Writer Chris Claremont, who worked on Uncanny X-Men for 16 years, was born in London and launched the series in 1987. The initial line-up contained former X-Men ''Shadowcat, Phoenix and Nightcrawler - as well as fellow Claremont creation, Captain Britain''.Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with Kirby drawing the first 102 issues. A storyline highlight includes the debut of Galactus, plus This Man, This Monster! in Volume 3: The Coming Of Galactus.Generation X
is a team of young mutants, mentored by Banshee and Emma Frost, created after the events of 1994's X-Men event, Phalanx Covenant. That event is reprinted at the beginning of Volume 1: Back To School, before the advent of the ongoing Generation X series.Compared to the rest of the 1990s X-books, Generation X was pitched differently. "This was a book stripped of all the gimmicks that were so common in the '90s. understood that the X-Men are essentially the comic book equivalent of a soap opera, and that the real focus should always lie upon the interaction between the team members."