Marvel Collector's Handbook
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Marvel Collector's Handbook |
| Publisher: | SFCA |
| Editor(s): | G.B. Love and James Van Hise |
| Date(s): | 1973 |
| Frequency: | once |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | 20 pages, 8"x10" |
| Fandom: | Marvel Comics, Fantastic Four |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | MyComicShop.com |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Marvel Collector's Handbook was an index zine published by SFCA and edited by G.B. Love and James Van Hise. Only 500 were printed and while this zine is titled "Issue #1" and only cover the Fantastic Four, no other issues on the rest of Marvel's titles at the time were forthcoming. The Handbook indexes issues #1-132 and annuals 1-9 of the Fantastic Four comic and includes fanart and reproductions of covers, plus an interview with Jack Kirby which had previously been printed in the Rocket's Blast Comicollector Issue #81 (1971).
The interview with Kirby is especially noteworthy as it is the first time he claimed to have created a lot more at Marvel Comics than Stan Lee and discussed why he left Marvel for DC Comics.
Do you care to discuss your main reasons for switching to D.C.?I don't mind at all. I can only say that D.C. gave me my own editing affairs and if I have an idea I can take credit for it. I don't have the feeling of repression that I had at Marvel. I don't say I wasn't comfortable at Marvel, but it had its frustrating moments and there was nothing I could do about it. When I got the opportunity to transfer to D.C., I took it. At D.C. I'm given the privilege of being associated with my own ideas. If I did come up with an idea at Marvel, they'd take it away from me and I lost all association with it. I was never given credit for the writing I did. Most of the writing at Marvel is done by the artist from the script.
Was the concept of the Fantastic Four your idea of Stan Lee's?
It was my idea. It was my idea to do it the way it was; my idea to develop it the way it was. I'm not saying that Stan had nothing to do with it. Of course he did. We talked things out. As things went on, I began to work at home and I no longer came to the office. I developed all the stuff at home and just sent it in. I had to come up with new ideas to help the strip sell. I was faced with the frustration of having to come up with new ideas and then having those taken from me. So, I was kind of caught in a box and I had to get out of that box, and when D.C. came along and gave me the opportunity to do it, I took it. I believe that working for D.C. can lead to other experimentation and a better kind of comic book, and the kind of comic book that could lead to all sorts of things."Behind the Scenes at DC Comics: A Talk with Artist-Writer-Editor Jack Kirby" by Bruce Hamilton - Marvel Collector's Handbook.
Gallery
interior - reproduction of Jack Kirby's art and publication credits
interior - example text
interior - Fantastic Four cover reproductions
interior - Galactus and Silver Surfer poster by Jack Kirby
interior - reproduction of Issue 86 front cover
interior - page one of the Bruce Hamilton interview with Jack Kirby, header art by Tom Sutton
interior - page two of the Bruce Hamilton interview with Jack Kirby
interior - centrespread by John Adkins Richardson
Back cover - Fantastic Four team poster by Jack Kirby
