Today, Penguin announced the next three entries in the Penguin Classics Marvel Collection: The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men. Scheduled for publication on Tuesday, September 12th, 2023, the three new volumes will be available in both a black-spined paperback edition as well as a collectible foil-stamped hardcover edition.
Penguin Classics Marvel Collection
The 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.
Each of the books in the line includes two forewords. One is written by a contempoary young adult author: Leigh Bardugo for The Avengers, Jerry Craft for Fantastic Four, and Rainbow Rowell for X-Men. Each volumes also includes a detailed scholarly foreward by series editor Ben Saunders (on Fantastic Four and The Avengers) or José Alaniz (The Avengers).
In a quote included in the press release, Saunders stated:
“I’m so happy that the Penguin Classics Marvel Collection is expanding to include the classic ’team books’ from the Silver Age of super hero 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.”
A quote from Elda Rotor, Vice President and Publisher of Penguin Classics, stated:
“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.”
And finally, a quote from Sven Larsen, Vice President of Licensed Publishing at Marvel Entertainment, said:
“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.”
Arriving 9/12/23
While the 2022 editions of Spider-Man, Captain America, and Black Panther each took a different approach to the comics included, notes included in the text explained the philosophy behind the selected issues in an enlightening way.
Perhaps even better yet, some of the original letters columns were included! Hopefully this trend will continue with The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men.
Will you be picking up these three editions when they’re released in autumn 2023? Which one are you most excited about? Are you leaning towards the classic black-spined paperback or the collectible hardcover?
The Beat wants to hear from you! Let us know, either here in the comment section or over on social media @comicsbeat.
Pass.
Awesome stuff. The first three are beautiful. I just hope they eventually do Doctor Strange.
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