Penguin Classics to release special editions of Marvel Comics

Penguin Classics and Marvel Comics will collaborate on a new series, the Penguin Classics Marvel Collection. The books will be an anthology “of the original stories and founding tales of key Marvel characters,” the publisher said. The initiative marks the first time that Penguin Classics has published comics.

The first three volumes of the series, Black Panther, Captain America, and The Amazing Spider-Man, will be released on June 14 next year, both as a paperback featuring the iconic Penguin black back and as a collectible hardcover edition. Each will include a foreword by a young contemporary author for young adults, Jason Reynolds for Spider Man, Nnedi Okorafor for Black Panther, and Gene Luen Yang for Captain America– and a scholarly introduction: by series editor and professor of English at the University of Oregon, Ben Saunders for Captain America and The Amazing Spider-Man and Qiana J. Whitted, professor of English and African American studies at the University of South Carolina for Black Panther. Other titles are to be announced.

“When we talk about what makes a classic, we consider the work’s ability to connect with an audience over time, both universally and individually. Marvel’s sustained and rich engagement with generations of readers, an engagement that also provides a critical social perspective, a deeply personal reflection of the human condition, and a shared reading experience of such storytelling and artistic innovation, is a super. power, “Elda Rotor, VP and Editor of Penguin Classics, said in a statement.” For example, you can just say ‘Spider-Man’ and that opens up a whole world of story and understanding. To me, that makes a Marvel classic a penguin classic. Having this opportunity to put the work of Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, and many other historic Marvel creators on shelves alongside world classics marks a very special chapter in Penguin publishing history.