Penguin Classics is rolling out three new editions of The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men will join the three titles released in 2022: Captain America, Black Panther, and Spider-Man. I am a big fan of Penguin Classics. My collection of the classics has grown since my college days. I enjoy them more today than I did when I had to buy them for my studies. The forwards to each of the books are what I love the most. The well-researched detailed scholarly forewords are inciteful and educational. Stan Lee wrote these adventures under a certain shame in the early 60s, now they are classics.
When Penguin Classics released Penguin Classics Marvel Collection, I was more than happy to support this new line. Sure, these classic reprints have seen the printing presses manyfold. Penguin Classics makes it better in my opinion. You will not want to miss the next three classics that focus on the core teams of the Marvel universe.
It is impossible to imagine American popular culture without Marvel Comics. For decades, Marvel has published groundbreaking visual narratives that sustain attention on multiple levels: as metaphors for the experience of difference and otherness; as meditations on the fluid nature of identity; and as high-water marks in the artistic tradition of American cartooning, to name a few. For the first time, these classic stories of some of the most iconic superheroes in the artistic tradition of American cartooning, to name a few.
Each of the books in the line includes two forewords. One is written by a contemporary young adult author: Leigh Bardugo for The Avengers, Jerry Craft for Fantastic Four, and Rainbow Rowell for X-Men. Each volume also includes a detailed scholarly foreword by series editor Ben Saunders (on Fantastic Four and The Avengers) or José Alaniz (The Avengers).
“I’m so happy that the Penguin Classics Marvel Collection is expanding to include the classic ’team books’ from the Silver Age of superhero comics. These volumes provide unique, single-volume introductions to the first decade of The Avengers, the original X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. Like our prior releases in this series, each title also features up-to-date scholarship exploring the creative contexts and cultural significance of these vital works of popular culture. These high-quality collections will be essential for any serious fan who wants to know more about the foundational texts of the Marvel Universe.” –Ben Saunders
“We are excited to provide students, educators, librarians, and comics fans with curated Penguin Classics anthologies of iconic groups of characters by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and historic Marvel creators. With scholarly introductions by series editor Saunders and volume editor Alaniz, these editions also include forewords by Rowell, Craft, and Bardugo that explore what makes comics such meaningful classics.” –Elda Rotor, Vice President and Publisher of Penguin Classics
“Over many years, Marvel’s storytelling and comics have grown to become a dedicated space in education. Proof of that is our work with Penguin Random House, with the first three Penguin Classics Marvel Collection books already making an impact in higher education curriculums nationwide. Collaborating with such an esteemed publishing house and incorporating scholarly introductions has elevated these books to a new level, and we’re so excited to see the series expand with the upcoming The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men titles.” –Sven Larsen, Vice President of Licensed Publishing at Marvel Entertainment
Fun Fact: When is a book deemed a classic? In 2013, Penguin Classics published Morrissey’s Autobiography. Concerns arose about the imprint’s publishing a book too recently published to be an acknowledged classic, that such a book diluted the brand. Penguin argued that the autobiography was “a classic in the making”.