Marvel Age #97
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMarvel Age #97 (February 1991) is the first published comic to place Darkhawk — Chris Powell's amulet-powered android alter ego — before readers, in the form of a five-page story preview and a dedicated cover image, predating the character's proper debut in Darkhawk #1 (March 1991) by a single month. Because the preview pages reproduce early pages of Darkhawk #1 without reaching the moment Darkhawk himself appears in that issue, the question of whether this constitutes a true 'first appearance' has been genuinely contested among collectors and wiki editors for decades, making it one of the more interesting definitional debates of the early-1990s Marvel launch era. Beyond the Darkhawk content, the issue doubles as a snapshot of Marvel's creative moment in early 1991, pairing an in-depth 'Pro File' feature on Peter David — then at the height of his celebrated Incredible Hulk run — with an interview with Whilce Portacio, documenting two of the era's most talked-about creative voices in a single package. As an issue of Marvel Age, a promotional magazine-format comic that functioned as Marvel's sustained pipeline of previews and creator spotlights from 1983 to 1994, #97 illustrates how the publisher used its own in-house media to build anticipation for new characters before they reached stands.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Marvel Age was a comic-book-sized promotional magazine Marvel published continuously from 1983 to 1994, designed to function as an expanded, illustrated version of the Bullpen Bulletins page — running previews, creator interviews, and behind-the-scenes features; it is also noted as an early venue for writers including Peter David. Issue #97's Darkhawk preview was written by Danny Fingeroth, who served as the original writer on the Darkhawk ongoing series, while the cover was drawn by series co-creator Mike Manley; Howard Mackie is credited as editor. Darkhawk himself was co-created behind the scenes by writer Tom DeFalco and artist Mike Manley, though DeFalco received no writer credit on the published series — a credit discrepancy that has been discussed extensively in fan and wiki circles.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Contains a five-page preview of Darkhawk (Christopher Powell) that reproduces pages 2–6 of Darkhawk #1 — the segment ends before Darkhawk himself appears in the story, with an editorial note directing readers to pick up Darkhawk #1.
- Cover features Darkhawk art by Mike Manley, and a text article about the character is also illustrated with a Darkhawk image — making these two of the earliest published visual depictions of the character.
- Story/preview content written by Danny Fingeroth; cover and Darkhawk art by Mike Manley; edited by Howard Mackie.
- Includes a 'Pro File' feature on Peter David and an article on the then-new 'Professor Hulk' incarnation of the Hulk, with comments from David — situating the issue at a notable moment in that character's history.
- Also includes an interview with Whilce Portacio and a two-page humor strip by Fred Hembeck, consistent with Marvel Age's established format of creator spotlights and Hembeck comedy strips.
- Hobgoblin is indexed as a character associated with this issue, consistent with his appearance in reference material connected to the Darkhawk preview and the early Darkhawk rogues gallery.
- Darkhawk (Christopher Powell) was co-created by Tom DeFalco and Mike Manley; DeFalco was never formally credited as writer on the published series, with Danny Fingeroth serving as the series' original credited writer across its 50-issue run (March 1991–March 1995).
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Reprinted in House of Hem #[nn] (2015), Incredible Hulk by Peter David Omnibus #2 (2020)
Key issues in Marvel Age
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