Fans of the 1970s most dynamic team (or “non-team” as often reported) will be looking forward to the spring season so they can add The Defenders Omnibus Volume 1 to their collection.
The hardcover collection will feature Sub-Mariner (1968) #34-35, Marvel Feature (1971) #1-3, The Defenders (1972) #1-19, Giant-Size Defenders #1-2, and Avengers (1963) #116-118 (with some additional material from Avengers #115 which set up “The Avengers/Defenders War”).
The collection will also include two distinct covers. The standard cover will be graced by the cover to Marvel Feature #1 by Neal Adams. The direct market variant will feature Gil Kane’s cover to Giant-Size Defenders #1.
The often bickering team included Doctor Strange, the Hulk, the Sub-Mariner, the Silver Surfer and Valkyrie and partially debuted in Sub-Mariner #34 (in a story entitled “Titans Three”, a less impressive title than “The Defenders”). Doctor Strange replaced The Silver Surfer as one of the three in Marvel Feature #1 (and the trio of Hulk, Namor, and Strange became the ones most associated with the team).
The issues by Roy Thomas, Steve Englehart, Len Wein, and Sal Buscema contain epic battles against Dormammu, the Nameless One, The Squadron Sinister, The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, The Enchantress, and each other. There are also many guest appearances in this collection with Hawkeye, the Black Knight, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Son of Satan, and Nighthawk (who would eventually become synonymous with the group later in the run) all joining the eclectic group of outsider heroes.
The Defenders Omnibus Volume 1 will be released on April 20, 2021 and will retail for $100 (although you can probably find it cheaper through a number of discount comic services and local comic shops).
Check out the new Jorge Molina cover and classic Kane variant below and keep checking back with Conskipper for more news on the classic Bronze Age comics that you love.
