Rom Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years Vol. 5

Bill Mantlo began his Marvel career on Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, in which he introduced White Tiger, one of the industry’s earliest Hispanic superheroes. Eventually writing stories for almost every Marvel title, he did some of his most fondly remembered work on Incredible Hulk and Spectacular Spider-Man. He also created Rocket Raccoon, launched Cloak & Dagger in a pair of miniseries, and guided Alpha Flight through some of its most harrowing ordeals. Mantlo excelled at integrating licensed properties into the Marvel Universe, as demonstrated by Micronauts and Rom, both of which he wrote from start to finish. At DC, he wrote the Invasion miniseries for one of the company’s biggest crossover events.

Steve Ditko (1927-2018) began his comics career in the anthologies of the 1950s, where his unique style and perspective quickly earned recognition and respect. Recruited to join Stan Lee’s Atlas Comics, later Marvel, in 1958, his nuances contrasted well with Jack Kirby’s bombast. In 1962, in the pages of Amazing Fantasy, Ditko and Lee brought to life Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man, changing the industry forever. The pair’s other iconic co-creation, Doctor Strange, debuted in Strange Tales. Ditko returned to Marvel during the late 1970s and remained for much of the 1980s, co-creating Speedball, Squirrel Girl, and other characters.

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