Martinex1: I am going to keep my own comments pretty sparse today, as I feel the pictured samples here speak for themselves. The annual Marvel Calendars that ran through the Bronze Age were special. Each published calendar was itself an event with thematic influence, fantastic art, and interesting tidbits.
I particularly enjoyed the 1976 Bicentennial edition with our favorite heroes clad in revolutionary garb. But no matter the year, I liked reading the daily notes, anniversaries, and bullpen blurbs. The calendars were another way that Marvel reached its customers and readership and brought them into the fold. It was FOOM, Bullpen Bulletins, and Stan's Soapbox rolled into a beautiful spiral bound once in a year package.
So here is a large smattering of examples from those days long ago. Which were your favorites? Which did you own? And did you manage to keep these nostalgic collectibles intact? (Thank you to the posters, and collectors on the world wide web for all of the various photos and making this post possible). Cheers!
7 comments:
I only saw the 1975 and 1976 calendars, sort of. The 1976 calendar was available from UK Marvel via mail-order - I didn't buy it but I definitely remember it being advertised, with its' revolutionary-themed cover. America's bicentennial got a lot of coverage over here so I understood what it was all about, even though I didn't know the details. The 1975 calendar was printed on the back of the UK Marvel weeklies in early '75. January one week, February the next week etc. I think you were supposed to remove the back covers and glue them to card - and it was only the actual calendar part, not the picture above. It seems a bit odd - why not just make the original calendar available? Ah, the wacky world of British Marvel :)
I see that the 1981 calendar was a "20th anniversary" calendar - but in 2014 Marvel was celebrating its' 75th anniversary, claiming the company had begun in 1939 (which it hadn't - it was 1961 of course).
That 1976 bicentennial calendar was Christmas gift in 1975 for me! At 14 years old I found it humorous and still do 43 years later!
I don't recall the 1977 calendar. But the art from Kirby's Cap origin really bears a resemblance to Robbin's art style, no?
I love that '76 calendar! So many characters that marked my introduction to Marvel! (is that Goom???).
I remember as a kid the first time I saw Warlock was in a calendar in a store, probably around 1977. He looked scary.
I think the only calendar I had was around 1999, which featured a lot of #1 issues and classic introductions of the Silver Age. But these look even more nostaligia-inducing. Great stuff.
-david p.
Those are pretty cool ... I wish they still made them!
After seeing the house ads for years I finally ordered the 1981 calendar.
I still have it in its original manila envelope complete with Spidey address label.
Little did I know it would be the last in house calendar.
Wow, I loved those calendars from 75-77, and picked up 75 and the 80’s anniversary ones again because they “matched” recent years and could be reused. I believe 2018 matches 1979, for anyone who’d like to reuse that Hulk calendar from that year. The one I really want to repeat is 77, but that year doesn’t synch again until 2022!
I had several of those calendars, and loved each one. They were worth the admission price just for the artwork! I'd seriously consider picking up a few of these on ebay. My personal favorite was the first one, from 1975- I remember getting it at the same time as "Origins of Marvel Comics"; that was quite a day at the old comic shop. But I really liked the Spider-Man calendar as well. All of them were loaded with birthdays, trivia and just plain fun. Another great facet of the Bronze Age...
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