Marvel Multi Mags - The Original Comic Books in a Bag

AVENGERS, DEFENDERS & HULK

BACK TO BACK IN A

DECEMBER 1976 MARVEL MULTI-MAGS

AVENGERS #154

DEFENDERS #42

HULK #206

In spite of the hugely successful comeback of the superhero genre in the early 1960s, the comic book industry had a fundamental problem: its traditional sales points were fading away.

Small stores that had carried comic books for decades were pushed out of business by larger stores and supermarkets, and newsagents started to view the low cover prices and therefore tiny profit margins comics had to offer as a nuisance.

Comic book publishers needed to open up new sales opportunities and tap into a new customer base. Slightly paradoxically, one place these potential buyers could be found actually were the ever expanding supermarkets and chain stores. But in order to be able to sell comic books at these venues, the product would have to be adjusted - such as packaging several comic books together in a transparent plastic bag.

Pioneered by DC Comics (who came up with the Comicpac concept in 1961), this resulted in a higher price per unit on sale, which made the whole business of stocking them much more worthwhile for the seller. At the same time the product blended in with most other goods sold at supermarkets, which were also conveniently packaged.

DC's Comicpacs were a success - so much so that other publishers quickly started to copy the concept. Marvel produced a series of Marvel Multi-Mags in 1968/69, but only fully embraced selling multiple comic books packaged in a sealed plastic bag at supermarkets, large grocery stores or gas stations as of the early 1970s.

It didn't really matter that buying these three comic books in a comicpack for say 89¢ (rather than from a newsagent for 90¢ in that case) clearly presented no real bargain - it was the opportunity and convenience to pick up a few comics at the same time parents and adults did their general shopping. Neatly packaged, it almost became an entirely different class of commodity.

The comic books contained in this specific MARVEL MULTI-MAGS are all from the December 1976 cover date run, which meant that they were actually on sale at newsagents in September 1976. In reality, there could be quite a delay in terms of actual availability of MARVEL MULTI-MAGS at some sales points, resulting in some Multi-Mags on display containing "semi-recent books (typically about nine months old)" (Brevoort, 2007). Considering the packaging and distribution process, this doesn't really seem too surprising.

No titles had permanent slots in the MARVEL MULTI-MAGS, but issues of the Avengers and Hulk would show up in a reliably regular way. But even with these fairly regular titles there was never any guarantee of an uninterrupted flow of consecutive issues - and therefore a distinct possibility of missing out on a part of the storyline, since the continuity of the Marvel Universe of the 1970s was such that plots and storylines usually evolved over more than one issue.

This didn't exactly make the MULTI-MAGS an ideal way of getting your Marvel comic book fix. On the other hand, this was a common fate of the average comic book reader in the 1970s, whether their comic books came packaged in a plastic bag or as single issues from a display or spinner rack. Back in those days, an uninterrupted supply of specific titles was, quite simply, not guaranteed. Not worrying too much about possible gaps in storylines wasn't really a big thing - besides, you would usually get a recap of "what happened so far" on the first page.

So all in all it simply was a part of being a comic book fan in the 1970s - as were the monthly Bullpen Bulletins (which were the responsibility of the editor-in-chief) and the in-house advertising.

In December 1976, the Bullpen Bulletin was still making its way through the alliterative alphabet with its title, this time featuring the letter T - which resulted in the typically nonsensical "A Testament To Tapestries Tempestuous, Tales Titanic, And Tableaux Treasured!".

The punchline item of the Stan Lee's Soapbox column was his appearance in a TV commercial for razor blades, and only "Smilin' Stan" could make it sound like the starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster. What little space remained was used to blow another personal trumpet ("sure, I'm the guy who wrote it"), namely the sequel to the massively successful Origins of Marvel Comics: Bring On The Bad Guys.

Possibly more pertinent information could be glanced from the actual Bullpen Bulletins' various ITEM! bullet points.

In-house ad from Avengers #154

The main story here undoubtedly was the launch of Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man, handing Marvel's best-selling superhero his third monthly title.

This "blockbuster launch" clearly overshadowed the simultaneous debut of Jack Kirby's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Preceded by a Treasury Edition format adaptation of the movie (which had been part of the agreement of Kirby's return to Marvel), the idea was for Kirby to continue to explore the concepts of 2001 in this new monthly title. However, it would only last for 10 issues, whereas Spectacular Spider-Man clocked up an impressive 264 issues before cancellation in November 1998.

There weren't too many in-house ads that month, but the subscription plug for various Marvel titles always was an attention grabber.

AVENGERS #154

December 1976
(monthly)
On Sale: 21 September 1976

Editor - Gerry Conway
Cover - Al Milgrom, Jack Kirby (pencils) & Al Milgrom (inks)

"When Strikes Attuma?" (17 pages)
Story - Gerry Conway
Pencils - George Perez
Inks - Pablo Marcost
Lettering - Gaspar Saladino (pg1), John Costanza
Colouring - Don Warfield

STORY OVERVIEW - Attuma captures most of the Avengers by using Tyrak the Treacherous to pose as Triton from the Inhumans.

Part 1 of a four-part story that crosses over into Super-Villain Team-Up #9 (December 1976) for part 2, continues in Avengers #155 (January 1977), and concludes in Avengers #156 (February 1977)

Gerry Conway was the writer for Avengers issues #151–157 (September 1976 to March 1977), so this issue is squarely midway in that run.

Pencillers and inkers would rotate frequently at that time, since Marvel was really overextending itself and trying to shuffle their creative staff as best as possible across the board of far too many titles (which is also why this period saw frequent reprints in the wake of what Stan Lee called the "Dreaded Deadline Doom").

Something else that Marvel would do a lot in the 1970s was to have one segment of a multi-part storyline in title A appear in title B before being continued and concluded in title A again.

The growing number of characters in the Marvel Universe made that fairly easy, and in the case of the storyline that starts out in Avengers #154 it is Attuma, long-standing nemesis of Namor, who facilitates a detour by way of Super Villain Team-Up #9 since this title starred Dr Doom and the Sub-Mariner (who had lost his own title in 1974).

There could be many reasons for doing this. In some cases it made sense due to the main characters involved (such as the Dracula crossover story with Doctor Strange in Tomb of Dracula #44 and Doctor Strange #14, both May 1976), but it is fairly evident that in most cases it served as an attempt to boost sales of one or both titles. In this case, Super Villain Team-Up could certainly do with an extra shot in the arm.

Such crossovers invariably entailed an elevated number of editorial pointers to events featured in previous issues or other titles. Some editors were fonder of these than others, but it certainly was a nifty way of showing readers the history and breadth of the Marvel universe.

The story put together by Gerry Conway follows a standard crossover plot, where "good guys" (the Avengers and Namor in this case) are tricked by a "bad guy" (this time it's Attuma) to do his evil biddings for him by fighting each other. The story will never be considered a classic Avengers tale, but it is slick enough to generate interest and provide a good read - which was all that Conway, who did seven issues and an annual and knew he wasn't going to stay on the title, wanted to achieve.

"I think I was just vamping to some extent, just trying to (...) do stories that would keep some interest going until we could decide who would be the best team on the book." (Conway in Russ, 2018)

George Pérez (who in the 1970s was often credited without the accent on the letter e) had first been assigned to the title in 1975 and provides consistent quality artwork.

Pérez, who would go on to become a fan favourite both at Marvel and DC due to his detailed artwork and his knack of handling complex crowd scenes extremely well, had a special bond with the Avengers.

"When I went to Marvel [in 1974] that was the book I wanted to do but of course I was a young punk, they’re not gonna give me The Avengers right away (...) I was doing very minor-league [features] (...) and George Tuska, the artist who was working on The Avengers, was going on vacation. Bill [Mantlo] knew (...) how much I wanted to do The Avengers. He called me up and said “George, will you be willing to do one issue, a fill-in issue of The Avengers?” I said “Yeah!” without hesitation, even though I was already drawing one and a half books. (But at my prime I was doing three and a half books a month. I was young and stupid.) But The Avengers I wasn’t going to turn down. I did it, and when George Tuska came back from vacation, he heard I had a great time and said “He wants to do it? Let him!" George, like a lot of artists, didn’t want to do team books. So, I got the book because George Tuska didn’t want to take it back. They liked what I did, Steve Englehart, the writer, liked what I did in my one issue. The fact that I was fearless. I wanted as many characters as you could throw in there." (Pérez in Greenfield, 2019)

George Pérez
(1954-2022)

Although the crossover formula often had an ulterior motive on Marvel's behalf ("let's push a title that's not selling too well by having a crossover with one that does"), the results would mostly be enjoyable simply because readers would either be exposed to a character they didn't know or get to see a character they hadn't seen in a while.

What certainly helped to keep reader's potential annoyance at a story bouncing around different titles in check was the fact that back in the the 1970s, Marvel would certainly hope you would go out and buy that other title, but they never truly required you to do so. There would always be an explanatory editorial exposition filling you in on what had been going on in the "other title" - not the least since there was no guarantee of your news agent actually stocking it. Readers who got their comic books in Marvel Multi-Mags would certainly be out of luck with Super Villain Team-Up: definitely a fringe title, only one issue is known to have been packaged into a (Whitman) Marvel comicpack (Super Villain Team-Up #12, June 1977).

But it wasn't just missed deadlines and a subsequent proliferation of reprints at Marvel in the mid-1970s - there was also at times a noticeable drop in quality control.

Page 6 of Avengers #154 is an example, where the bottom row of panel displays not one but two goof-ups: first there is no dividing gutter between the first and second panel, and then the colourist got Iron Man's helmet wrong by depicting it in all-over yellow.

Either nobody noticed, or (more likely) there simply wasn't enough time to fix it.

DEFENDERS #42

December 1976
(monthly)
On Sale: 21 September 1976

Editor - Gerry Conway
Cover - Jack Kirby, John Romita (alterations) & Klasu Janson (inks)

"And In This Corner: The New Emissaries Of Evil!" (17 pages)
Story - Gerry Conway
Pencils - Keith Giffen (layouts), Klaus Janson (finished art)
Inks - Klaus Janson
Lettering - John Costanza
Colouring - Klaus Janson

STORY OVERVIEW - Egghead sends Solarr and Rhino to steal the Star of Capistan from Dr. Strange. When the Defenders stop them, Egghead sends the Cobalt Man to New York, hoping the latter will explode and thus destroy the Defenders.

Part 1 of 2, concluded in Defenders #43 (January 1977)

Continuing the topic of crossovers, the Defenders even saw their inception play out in one. Roy Thomas kicked off the origin of this "non-team" in Doctor Strange #183 (November 1969), but due to the cancellation of that title had to resolve the storyline in tww other titles he was writing, namely Sub-Mariner #22 (February 1970), and Incredible Hulk #126 (April 1970). This made sense, since Thomas teamed up Dr. Strange, the Sub-Mariner and the Hulk to fight an alien threat to Earth. In a second story arc (in Sub-Mariner #34-35, February-March 1971), Namor calls on the Silver Surfer and the Hulk to stop yet another disastrous threat to the planet, which inadvertently also puts them in a confrontational spot with the Avengers.

The Defenders first appeared under that name and with the original line-up in Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971), deciding to continue to work as a team after disposing of yet another alien threat. Although a fitting character in that kind of context, the Silver Surfer was dropped as Stan Lee claimed exclusive writing rights for the the Sentinel of the Spaceways; he also came up with the name Defenders (DeAngelo, 2013).

The Defenders tryout in Marvel Feature #1 proved a success with readers, resulting in their own title. Defenders #1 (August 1972) saw Roy Thomas as editor with Steve Englehart initially providing the writing (including another cross-over, the "Avengers-Defenders War") and Sal Buscema the artwork

The group (often described as a "non-team") had a rotating line-up throughout its run of 152 issues from August 1972 until February 1986.

Usually featuring Doctor Strange and the Hulk as constant members, they were joined as Defenders for longer or shorter periods of time by the likes of Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat, Gargoyle, Beast. Luke Cage - and even Son of Satan.

Steve Gerber had taken over the writing as of Defenders #20, but it was all change (including the artistic talent) for Defenders #42 - as Gerry Conway, who took over the roles of both editor and writer, felt compelled to point out to readers on the letters page.

Things were moving ever so quickly (and sometimes chaotically so) at Marvel towards the end of 1976, and the Defenders comic book would even be without an actual plot for issue #45, since Conway had been assigned editor-in-chief in mid-production. As a result, Keith Giffen drew the issue based solely on a short "story conference" with Conway - which really was exactly how the "Marvel method" worked back in the 1960s.

Marvel Multi-Mags would only occasionally feature an issue of the Defenders as part of their contents - only eight confirmed instances are known, occuring as far apart as December 1972 and May 1981.

HULK #206

December 1976
(monthly)
On Sale: 21 September 1976

Editor - Len Wein
Cover - Dave Cockrum (pencils & inks), John Romita (alterations)

"A Man-Brute Berserk!" (17 pages)

Story - Len Wein
Pencils - Sal Buscema (breakdowns), Joe Staton (finished art)
Inks - Joe Statont
Lettering - John Costanza
Colouring - Glynis Oliver

STORY OVERVIEW - The Hulk heads for Manhattan in search of his friend Doctor Strange, hoping his magic can bring his beloved Jarella back to life. In the process of fighting off Thunderbolt Ross' attempts to catch him the Hulk severly damages the Statue of Liberty. This brings Doctor Strange to the scene in order to stop the Hulk - and he's accompanied by Valkyrie, Nighthawk and the Red Guardian.

As if there was any need for further proof that Marvel really liked to run storylines in and out of different titles, Incredible Hulk #206 - the third comic book packaged into this Marvel Multi-Mags - also picks up events that took place not in Hulk #205 but rather in Defenders #41.

This was definitely one of the more natural story crossovers, since Old Greenskin was, of course, an active member of the Defenders.

Len Wein had first penned the Hulk's adventures (together with Roy Thomas) for Incredible Hulk #145 (November 1971) before taking over as the regular writer for issues #179 to #220 (September 1974 - February 1978) before doing his final Hulk script for issue #222 (April 1978).

Artist Sal Bucema had an even longer tenure on the title. He first provided the inks for a few issues (with Hulk #124 (February 1970) being the first), before becoming the regular penciller for an extended run from issue #194 (December 1975) to issue #309 (July 1985), with just a mere handful of issues in this run drawn by other artists.

Both Wein and Buscema not only had lengthy runs on the character, they both also had a soft spot for the Hulk and clearly enjoyed working on the character and his title.

Len Wein (1948-2017)

"At Marvel the Hulk was one of my favorites." (Len Wein in Stroud, 2008)

Wein, who worked extensively for both Marvel and DC in the 1970s, did notice the different philosophies present at the two companies.

"I had a tendency more often than not to put more plot in my Marvel stories than is the general Marvel rule, which sometimes seems to be, no characterization, just hitting each other and having a good time (..) I personally don’t think that’s necessarily true. I really liked what I did with Spider-Man, Thor, the Hulk. I think part of the problem, again, the professional as opposed to the creator, is that I felt obliged to do them in the Marvel style, to do what Stan had done, to do my best to emulate it. And that isn’t really the way I write." (Len Wein in Slifer, 1979)

Sal Buscema shared Wein's enthusiasm for the character and their work together.

"When I first started working on the Hulk I was working with Len Wein. He and I had a wonderful relationship and I think we did some good stuff together." (Sal Buscema in Stroud, 2012)

He was not only a fan favourite on the Hulk, the character was also his personal favourite amongst all the work he did for Marvel.

"My favorite would be the Incredible Hulk. Far and away. I love the character and did it for almost 10 years (...) definitely my favorite character and I’d work on him in a minute given the opportunity." (Sal Buscema in Stroud, 2012)

Sal Buscema (1936-2026)

Marvel Multi-Mags would regularly feature issues of the Incredible Hulk as part of their contents, including a few runs of several continuous issues.


		Today, any MARVEL MULTI-MAGS is a time capsule; opening this plastic bag right here offers a nostalgic glimpse into what it was like to be a comic book reader in late 1976. So what else was going on in December 1976?

Rod Stewart was at the top of the US Billboard Chart in mid-December 1976 with "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)", whilst the UK saw Showaddywaddy at number 1 with "Under the Moon of Love".

The New York Times Bestseller list for December 1976 was topped by Agatha Christie's "Sleeping Murder", with Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" the bestselling novel of the year.

Two top box office hits in the US in December 1976 were "King Kong" and "The Omen", which also topped the British box office at the same time.

Popular TV shows in the US in December 1976 were "Happy Days", "Laverne & Shirley" and "Charlie's Angels", while in the UK the punk group Sex Pistols caused a storm of controversy and outrage by swearing on TV well before 9pm.

FURTHER READING ON THE THOUGHT BALLOON

		"Comic packs" not only sold well for more than two decades, they also offer some interesting insight into the comic book industry's history from the 1960s through to the 1990s. There's more on their general history here.

		There's more on the background and the history of the Marvel Multi Mags here.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BREVOORT Tom (2007) "Marvel Multi-Mags", Blah Blah Blog, originally published online 28 April 2007, reposted 18 April 2020

DeANGELO Daniel (2013) "The Not-Ready-For-Super-Team Players: A History of the Defenders", Back Issue! #65, TwoMorrows Publishing

GREENFIELD Dan (2019) "George Perez: How The Avengers Made Me a Better Artist", 13th Dimension, originally published online June 2019, reposted 5 December 2022

RUSS Chris (2018) "Gerry Conway’s Transitional Avengers", Multiversity Comics, published online 21 August 2018

SLIFER Roger (1979) "The Len Wein Interview", Comics Journal #48 (published online 15 September 2017)

STROUD Bryan (2008) "An Interview With Len Wein - Co-Creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine", nerdteam30.com, published online 4 April 2018

STROUD Bryan (2012) "An Interview With Sal Buscema - Helping To Define Marvel's 70's Style", nerdteam30.com, published online 5 June 2019

uploaded to the web 22 February 2026