Marvel Doesn't own them? The "Non owned" Marvel IPs Appreciation 2023!

[Riv86672]

I think this was from Geoge Perez (RIP).

^^^Yeah, he and Peter David worked on it together.

[Alan2099]

EPIC was Marvel's attempt at a creator owned line if I remember right. It never really took off.

[Riv86672]

EPIC was Marvel's attempt at a creator owned line if I remember right. It never really took off.

^^^I think maybe GROO was their longest selling book. It lasted well over 100 issues.

I remember liking their ALIEN LEGION book, too.

[K7P5V]

^^^I think maybe GROO was their longest selling book. It lasted well over 100 issues.

I remember liking their ALIEN LEGION book, too.

Sounds interesting. How about...

Strikeforce: Morituri

[Thirteen]

Sounds interesting. How about...

Strikeforce: Morituri

Looks like that is an Alt-Timeline future but not separately owned by the creative team(s)...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikeforce:_Morituri

[Riv86672]

Sounds interesting. How about...

Strikeforce: Morituri

Pretty sure these are straight up Marvel characters, they were just set in an alt reality, like Thirteen said.

Excellent comic book, way ahead of its time.
It featured some early Mark Bagley art towards the end of its run, if I recall correctly.

[Digifiend]

Yeah, I just checked the Marvel Database wiki on Fandom, Bagley drew issues 26-31, the finale.

[Zero Hunter]

EPIC was Marvel's attempt at a creator owned line if I remember right. It never really took off.

It did introduce a ton of new people to the Elfquest series. They reprinted the whole first series under the Epic imprint in 32 issues.

[Gaastra]

First read elfquest from the marvel version. Ironic got the last issue from my aunt as a gift! First issue i ever read was the last!

[Riv86672]

Yeah, I just checked the Marvel Database wiki on Fandom, Bagley drew issues 26-31, the finale.

^^^Good deal.
It’s been a long time but his style really caught my attention.

[Brian B]

Pretty sure these are straight up Marvel characters, they were just set in an alt reality, like Thirteen said.

Excellent comic book, way ahead of its time.
It featured some early Mark Bagley art towards the end of its run, if I recall correctly.

Morturi also featured, I believe, Whilce Portacio’s first pencil credits and Scott Williams first inking credits. If it wasn’t their first, it was definitely early in their careers.

[Brian B]

EPIC was Marvel's attempt at a creator owned line if I remember right. It never really took off.

Epic was a number of things. First it was its own comic magazine, Epic Illustrated, in a format like Heavy Metal. Much of the work in it was creator owned, like what would become Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar. It also from the beginning published the occasional Marvel character in a odd short comic story, in a sort-of prestige format. The printing, paper and color was always nicer than standard comics.

Later, it was an imprint Marvel used to publish creator-owned work and again, “prestige” projects for a Marvel character, like the two issues or graphic novel format of Moebius’ Silver Surfer. It was also a line used to publish some reprints, not a lot, of prestigious (there’s that word again), pre-existing creator-owned series or foreign-owned series, like Elfquest, or Akira. Sadly, the Epic imprint died out before they finished Akira, which is a real shame. The Epic-published Akira was really well done for an American audience.

These days, Epic is just the imprint for Marvel’s reprints, but there was a time when it was a lot more than that.

Anyway, Epic was chock full of series and stories not owned by Marvel. Some were great, many were not, but anyone who wants to pick out good stuff Marvel published not owned by Marvel, then just look at Epic. They did a lot.

The sadly departed Archie Goodwin, former editor of Epic Illustrated and the Epic line, no doubt deserves a lion’s share of the credit for the good work Marvel published under Epic.

[Cyberstrike]

Epic was a number of things. First it was its own comic magazine, Epic Illustrated, in a format like Heavy Metal. Much of the work in it was creator owned, like what would become Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar. It also from the beginning published the occasional Marvel character in a odd short comic story, in a sort-of prestige format. The printing, paper and color was always nicer than standard comics.

Later, it was an imprint Marvel used to publish creator-owned work and again, “prestige” projects for a Marvel character, like the two issues or graphic novel format of Moebius’ Silver Surfer. It was also a line used to publish some reprints, not a lot, of prestigious (there’s that word again), pre-existing creator-owned series or foreign-owned series, like Elfquest, or Akira. Sadly, the Epic imprint died out before they finished Akira, which is a real shame. The Epic-published Akira was really well done for an American audience.

These days, Epic is just the imprint for Marvel’s reprints, but there was a time when it was a lot more than that.

Anyway, Epic was chock full of series and stories not owned by Marvel. Some were great, many were not, but anyone who wants to pick out good stuff Marvel published not owned by Marvel, then just look at Epic. They did a lot.

The sadly departed Archie Goodwin, former editor of Epic Illustrated and the Epic line, no doubt deserves a lion’s share of the credit for the good work Marvel published under Epic.

Actually Epic did publish all of Akria.

[Hypestyle]

I hope that strikeforce morituri can be sorted out. I'd love to see it as a streaming TV show. I'd cast mostly unknowns.

[Digifiend]

There's nothing to sort out, Marvel owns it. It's premise precluded a long run because the origin for the characters is essentially a timebomb. That same premise also required it to be set in an alternate universe, since why would they undergo that process when there's other non-fatal ways to become a superhero?