Marvel Age #130
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMarvel Age #130 is a compelling time capsule of Marvel's creative ambitions in late 1993, most notably as the vehicle for the first installment of a four-part serialized prequel story, 'The Origin of the Human Torch,' illustrated by Alex Ross and written by Steve Darnall — content that would ultimately be collected and published as Marvels #0 in 1994. The issue also features an early behind-the-scenes look at the then-forthcoming Marvels series, giving readers a glimpse of the photorealistic painted art that Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross were bringing to Marvel's Golden Age mythology before the landmark series even shipped. For historians of the medium, it documents the promotional machinery Marvel used to build anticipation for one of the most consequential projects of the decade.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Marvel Age was Marvel's promotional comic-book-sized magazine, running from 1983 to 1994 across 140 issues, conceived as an expanded, comic-format version of the Bullpen Bulletins — packed with previews of upcoming titles, creator interviews, and short original strips. Issue #130 was released on September 21, 1993 (cover-dated November 1993) under Editor-in-Chief Tom DeFalco, and its contents reflect Marvel's concurrent push into experimental territory: a 'sonic comic' rap tie-in, a comprehensive look at Marvel's supernatural line, and the debut installment of Ross and Darnall's Human Torch origin serial. The magazine's deliberately low cover price and promotional mandate made it the ideal venue to serialise pre-publication art from a prestige project like Marvels.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published September 21, 1993; cover-dated November 1993; part of the Marvel Age series (1983–1994), which ran 140 issues under Marvel Comics.
- Carries Part 1 of a 4-part serialized story, 'The Origin of the Human Torch,' with art by Alex Ross and script by Steve Darnall — the story was later collected and published as the standalone Marvels #0 (1994), focusing on Jim Hammond (the original Human Torch) and his creator Professor Horton.
- Features an early editorial spotlight on the Marvels series, including comments from writer Kurt Busiek and artist Alex Ross, well ahead of Marvels #1's January 1994 publication.
- Has a distinctive flip-cover format: one cover is an Alex Ross painted image tied to Marvels; the reverse is a supernatural characters cover by Kelley Jones and P. Craig Russell.
- Includes a roundtable feature on the state of Marvel's supernatural titles, with editorial commentary from Bobbie Chase, Chris Cooper, Evan Skolnick, Fabian Nicieza, and Mort Todd.
- Contains 'Break the Chain,' described as the first 'sonic comic,' a feature combining rap music and comics art — an early experiment in multimedia comics storytelling.
- Fred Hembeck contributes a one-page original humor strip (his regular Marvel Age feature); Rick Parker contributes 'The Bossmen' strip.
- Also includes an X-Men/Avengers anniversary poster by Liam Sharp and Mark Farmer, reflecting Marvel's 1993 anniversary marketing push.
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Reprinted in Marvels #0 (1994), House of Hem #[nn] (2015), Marvels: The Remastered Edition #[nn] (2018), Marvels 25th Anniversary #[nn] (2020), Spider-Man 2099 Omnibus #1 (2023)
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