Spellbound #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSpellbound #1 marks the debut of Erica Fortune—the Spellbinder—alongside her siblings Roy and Sally Fortune, the alien antagonist Zxaxz, the fairy-like companions Snugg and Snaarl, her boyfriend Andrew King, and the cosmic threat known as the Other, making it the first-appearance nexus for an entire self-contained corner of the Marvel Universe. Beyond its character introductions, the issue holds a structural milestone as the opening chapter of what Marvel promoted as its first bi-weekly limited series, a publishing experiment that tested whether the direct-sales market could support an accelerated release schedule for a finite story. The series that begins here is also a genuine genre deconstruction: rather than celebrating the fantasy trope of an ordinary person gaining god-like power, it frames that ascension as a slow-burning tragedy in which the Spellbinder's abilities inevitably corrode the wielder's sanity and relationships. That dark thematic core, foregrounded from the very first issue, distinguishes Spellbound from the more straightforward superhero fare Marvel was producing during the late Copper Age.
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The series was co-plotted by editor and artist Carl Potts alongside writer Louise Simonson—who was simultaneously scripting New Mutants, X-Factor, and Power Pack—with Simonson handling the full script and Potts co-plotting and inking Terry Shoemaker's pencils; the cover for issue #1 was rendered by Marshall Rogers with inks by Terry Austin. Edited by Bob Harras and Bobbie Chase under Editor-in-Chief Tom DeFalco, the book carried a January 1988 cover date but was released to shops in September 1987, consistent with Marvel's standard lead time. The series ran six issues through April 1988, concluding with an oversized double-length final chapter, and the characters received a concluding coda roughly five years later when Bobbie Chase—by then a writer—wrapped up Erica's story in Marvel Comics Presents #138–142 (1993).
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Erica Fortune (Spellbinder), Roy Fortune, Sally Fortune, Andrew King, Snugg, Snaarl, and Zxaxz; The Other makes a flashback/cameo introduction in this issue.
- Written by Louise Simonson (script and co-plot) and Carl Potts (co-plot), with interior art by Terry Shoemaker (pencils) and Carl Potts (inks); cover art by Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin.
- Promoted by Marvel as the publisher's first bi-weekly limited series, running six issues from January to April 1988 (cover dates).
- The story is set on Earth-616 and functions as a high-fantasy genre deconstruction: the Spellbinder's power to reshape matter at the atomic level is portrayed as an irreversible path toward madness for whoever wields it.
- Issue #4 features a guest appearance by the New Mutants (Cannonball, Magik, and Warlock) as well as Lila Cheney—characters whose title was also being written by Simonson at the time.
- Erica Fortune's character arc was given a formal conclusion in Marvel Comics Presents #138–142 (1993), scripted by Bobbie Chase, in which her powers drive her fully insane and her brother Roy ultimately seals her away in crystal.
- Following the Marvel Comics Presents epilogue, none of the characters introduced in this issue have made further Marvel Universe appearances.
- Editors on the series were Bob Harras and Bobbie Chase; Tom DeFalco served as Editor-in-Chief.
Cast · 8 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Marvel Firsts: The 1980s #3 (2014)
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