Marvel. September, 1963. CGC certified: Fine- (5.5). Cream to off-white pages. Cover by Jack Kirby with Dick Ayres inks. Script by Stan Lee. Pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayres. Origin and 1st appearance: The Avengers.

Before they conquered the silver screen, the Avengers conquered Marvel's Silver Age, and it all started in this Lee-Kirby "Book-Length Super-Epic," ground zero for the future Marvel Cinematic Universe. As master self-mythologizer Stan Lee spun the legend, "...We're back in '63 again and it's time to concoct a brand-new superhero magazine. But this time, instead of making one up out of whole cloth, I decided to refer to our fan mail.... I suddenly remembered that there had been one constant theme running through the fan mail for the past year or two. Most of our readers had been asking why we didn't take a few of our solitary, loner-type superheroes and let them join forces with some of our other heroes, thereby forming a superhero team.... Once again, in a flurry of frantic excitement, I called Jack Kirby and told him to sharpen his pencil." – Stan Lee, Son of Origins of Marvel Comics.

A limited edition of 100 softcover and 15 hardcover catalogues are available. Over 200 pages, fully illustrated. Fun reference, great keepsake. Softcovers $40, dust-jacketed hardcover with limitation plate $200. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com or call 415-989-2665

R. Crumb says, "I found [PBA's catalogue] so interesting that I am saving it for the texts that accompany the comics which were put up for auction. This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books. I especially enjoyed the reviews of the post-war horror comics. Great. Priceless."

Consignments welcome for PBA's Spring 2021 Comic Book sale. Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age and Silver Age comics, original art and ephemera sought. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com or call 415-989-2665