Gallery 13 (a Simon & Schuster imprint) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of the original Origins of Marvel Comics (which was published by Simon & Schuster’s Fireside Books imprint back in 1974) with a brand-new deluxe edition of the original volume, complete with new essays, and, of course, a brand-new cover by comic book superstar, Alex Ross. CBR has the exclusive reveal of the Ross cover below.

Origins of Marvel Comicswas the first major trade paperback collection for Marvel Comics, and it really hit the zeitgeist at the right time, leading into a series of other trade paperbacks like Bring on the Bad Guys and Marvel’s Greatest Battles. The success of these volumes eventually led to Marvel introducing its own trade paperback program in the 1980s that is still going strong to this day. Origins of Marvel Comics is a major piece of comic book history, and Gallery 13 is celebrating that with not only this new deluxe edition of the book, but also a reprinting of the original edition, with its original John Romita Sr. cover.

What does Alex Ross’ cover for the deluxe edition of Origins of Marvel Comics look like?

ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS (Deluxe Edition)

By Stan Lee

Edited by Chris Ryall

On-sale: October 1, 2024

Hardcover

List price: $50.00 (price may vary by retailer)

368 pages

Now back in print and timed for its 50th anniversary—the landmark book Origins of Marvel Comics by Stan Lee! A deluxe, collector’s edition of the original Origins of Marvel Comics including a new cover, essays, and more. Originally published in 1974, Origins of Marvel Comics features the first appearance of characters who have dominated the pantheon of Marvel’s modern storytelling mythology—Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor, and Doctor Strange—along with a second Silver Age tale featuring these special heroes, all hand-picked and introduced by the one and only Stan Lee, and serving as an essential showcase for writers and artists such as Stan himself, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita, and Marie Severin. Whether viewed as a historical artifact that launched an industry of presenting Marvel Comics to a broad audience of fans or a collection of the best in Silver Age comics by many of the greatest creators to ever put pencil to paper, Origins of Marvel Comics highlights both the lasting greatness of these iconic characters as well as the monumental contributions of the talented creators who launched an entire storytelling universe.

As you can see, Ross followed the basic design of John Romita’s original classic cover, only he gave his special painted, photo-realistic approach to the characters, making them appear even more stunning than on the already outstanding John Romita cover. Ross cleverly addresses one of the critiques that some fans have had over the years about the original edition, namely that it stressed only the WRITER of the comic, and here, Ross’ cover shows a penciler and a colorist’s hands involved, as well.

ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS

By Stan Lee

On-sale: October 1, 2024

Trade paperback

List price: $21.99 (price may vary by retailer)

256 pages

Now back in print and timed for its 50th anniversary—the landmark book Origins of Marvel Comics by Stan Lee! Originally published in 1974, Origins of Marvel Comics features the first appearance of characters who have dominated the pantheon of Marvel’s modern storytelling mythology—Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor, and Doctor Strange—along with a second Silver Age tale featuring these special heroes, all hand-picked and introduced by the one and only Stan Lee, and serving as an essential showcase for writers and artists such as Stan himself, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita, and Marie Severin. Whether viewed as a historical artifact that launched an industry of presenting Marvel Comics to a broad audience of fans or a collection of the best in Silver Age comics by many of the greatest creators to ever put pencil to paper, Origins of Marvel Comics highlights both the lasting greatness of these iconic characters as well as the monumental contributions of the talented creators who launched an entire storytelling universe.

This trade paperback edition follows the current trend of comic book companies doing “Facsimile editions” of classic older comic books.

Both editions of Origins of Marvel Comics will be out on October 1st.

Source: Gallery 13