Omnibus Overview: Giant-Size Marvel Omnibus Collects Marvel's Biggest Comics of the '70s

Giant-Size Spider-Man and Giant-Size X-Men are among the extra-length issues included in the new collection.

By Cameron Bonomolo

1974's Giant-Size Super-Stars #1 featured some of Marvel's biggest superstars: the Fantastic Four and the Hulk, who duked it out with the Thing in a mind-swap story by Gerry Conway (The Amazing Spider-Man) and artist Rich Buckler (Fantastic Four). The 52-page epic was to be followed by Giant-Size Super-Stars #2 — featuring Spider-Man, Morbius, and Man-Wolf — and a third issue featuring Conan the Barbarian. According to editor Roy Thomas, the 35-cent Giant-Size was Marvel's version of the early 1970s wheel series The NBC Mystery Movie, the network's rotation of its most popular programming in the same time slot. 

If television networks could "get plenty of mileage out of Columbo and McCloud and McMillian & Wife in the same time slot on alternate weeks," Thomas wrote in a two-page sermonette in Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, "then why couldn't mind-boggling Marvel likewise have three of our most popular series alternate in one mag, so that each feature would appear in four giant-size mags a year?"

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(Photo: Marvel Comics)

After "last-minute economic considerations" forced Marvel to abandon the 52-page comic magazine for 36 pages, it was Marvel publisher Stan Lee who looked to television's slate of rotating series for the quarterly comic featuring new stories, pin-ups, and special features. 

Lee and Thomas "were discussing the ways and means of introducing a line of 52-page comic-mags with a bang," the editor recalled, adding Marvel Comics "wanted to turn out an issue every thirty days — but without replacing (or competing unduly with) our regular titles." Enter Giant-Size Super-Stars, retitled Giant-Size Fantastic Four from #2 onward while other planned features were spun off into the stand-alone Giant-Size Super-Heroes Featuring Spider-Man #1 and Giant-Size Conan #1. 

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The giant-size format spawned the companion magazine Giant-Size Chillers Featuring Curse of Dracula #1 and the four-issue Giant-Size Dracula, the six-issue Giant-Size Spider-Man, creature features starring Marvel monsters like Werewolf (of Werewolf by Night) and Man-Thing, the two-issue Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up (featuring Doctor Doom and Namor the Sub-Mariner), and 1975's Giant-Size X-Men #1, which introduced the all-new, all-different X-Men team.

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(Photo: Marvel Comics)


Those stories and more will be collected together for the first time in Giant-Size Marvel Omnibus. On sale April 15th, 2025, the 1272-page omnibus collects the following:

Giant-Size Super-Stars (1974) 1; Giant-Size Fantastic Four (1974) 2-5; Giant-Size Super-Heroes featuring Spider-Man (1974) 1; Giant-Size Spider-Man (1974) 1, 4-5; Giant-Size Chillers featuring the Curse of Dracula (1974) 1; Giant-Size Dracula (1974) 2-5; Giant-Size Creatures featuring Werewolf (1974) 1; Giant-Size Werewolf (1974) 2-5; Giant-Size Defenders (1974) 1-5; Giant-Size Avengers (1974) 1-4; Giant-Size Man-Thing (1974) 1-5; Giant-Size Chillers (1975) 1-3; Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up (1975) 1-2; Giant-Size X-Men (1975) 1; Giant-Size Invaders (1975) 1

Giant-Size classic issues were one of Marvel's signature formats in the 1970s, in one great big Omnibus!

All your favorite super heroes — plus some of Marvel's horror icons — star in extra-length adventures that gave comic fans of the 1970s even more bang for their buck! The Thing battles the Hulk, and the Fantastic Four meet the Multiple Man! Spider-Man endures monstrous encounters with Morbius, Man-Wolf, Dracula and Man-Thing! The Avengers mourn a loss — and celebrate the wedding of Vision and the Scarlet Witch! The Defenders meet the Guardians of the Galaxy! The all-new, all-different X-Men are recruited to rescue the original team! Plus: giant-size chillers featuring Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing and more!

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