Bloomsbury and Marvel have announced a multi-year, multi-volume licensing agreement to develop and publish Marvel Age of Comics, a series of beautifully designed books launching in November 2025 with authors including Paul Cornell and Chris Ryall, exploring the deep and rich history of more than 85 years of Marvel Comics.
“This is very much a labour of love for me, a book I’ve wanted to find a way to write for the longest time,” says Paul of The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s.
“When Bloomsbury and Marvel asked me to pitch some ideas, there were three I scribbled down but only one I really wanted to do,” says Chris of his new book, Daredevil – Born Again. “Well, wanted to do first. And that was ‘Born Again.’”
The new books will be available in paperback, hardback and audio to serve different areas of the market.
Marvel Age of Comics offers a uniquely accessible entry point into the wider Marvel canon by blending personal narrative with a look back at comics history through the decades. This brand-new series will bring together a variety of talented writers, critics, pop culture experts, educators, and intellectuals to explore the expansive catalogue and characters from Marvel Comics history.
Much like Bloomsbury’s popular 33 1/3 series, deep dives on classic albums, digging into their historical importance, which offered inspiration for this new programme, books in the series will range from deep dives into a singular comic storyline, notable runs and works produced by creators who have made a noteworthy contribution to Marvel stories, the origins and evolution of a particular character, or social and progressive themes and historical moments that have been reflected in Marvel Comics.
While each book in the series will primarily be narrative nonfiction prose, the text will be brought to life using curated artwork from the comics and reproduced materials from Marvel’s digital archives creating a programme that is perfect for both dedicated and new comic book fans alike.
As most downthetubes readers will know, Marvel counts among its characters such well-known super heroes as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Doctor Strange, Hulk, Daredevil, Wolverine, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel, as well as popular super hero teams such as the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
The series is launching with three books in November, all of which explore characters and storylines from three of the most impactful decades of Marvel Comics. A further title is confirmed to publish in February 2026 on Spider-Man: Miles Morales by Ytasha L. Womack.
Doctor Strange: A Decade of Dark Magic by Stuart Moore (13th November 2025) tells the story of one of Marvel’s most bizarre, otherworldly heroes, discussed against the turbulent backdrop of the 1960s.
Doctor Strange, one of Marvel’s most fascinating early characters, began at the hands of co-creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and his ethereal voyages through other dimensions made him an important figure in 1960s culture.
From his first appearance in 1963, Strange captivated a wide range of readers. Over his first ten years, a succession of writers and artists, including Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, Gardner F. Fox, P. Craig Russell, Marie Severin, and notably Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner, expanded on Ditko’s original mind-bending concepts.
Doctor Strange: A Decade of Dark Magic explores Strange’s changing roles as a mystic, super hero, and leader of a chaotic team called The Defenders, and the rise of his popularity, in parallel with the counterculture of the 1960s.
The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s by Paul Cornell (13th November 2025) looks at one of Marvel’s key comics of the 1970s as an extraordinary mirror of an extraordinary decade full of rapid social change.
The Avengers was the comic book of the 1970s. From Civil Rights to Women’s Lib, battles for the soul of America became battles between super heroes.
Writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby co-created the all-star group of six super heroes in September 1963. From there, just three main writers chronicled Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in that most turbulent of decades: Roy Thomas, Steve Englehart, and Jim Shooter, each with differing approaches. The Avengers quickly became the pivot around which the Marvel Universe turned. To look back through its issues is to get a crash course in 1970s pop culture.
Illustrated with full-color art from this legendary run, Paul Cornell’s entry in the new Marvel Age of Comics series explores how the Mighty Avengers became icons during a time of immense change and upheaval.
“The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s. is fully illustrated with panels from the comics, and is my journey through how Marvel’s main super team navigated that difficult decade,” Paul says. “This is very much a labour of love for me, a book I’ve wanted to find a way to write for the longest time.”
Daredevil: Born Again by Chris Ryall (13th November 2025) dives into the compelling and original 1980s story arc and graphic novel, its gorgeous and unique artwork, and its overall influence in the decades since its release.
In Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Daredevil: Born Again, the comic’s titular hero has his life destroyed after his most menacing enemy learns his real identity. His attempts to rebuild his life and sanity result in one of the most gripping and impactful super hero storylines of all time.
Released in 1986, the storyline is an extraordinary exploration of what happens when a hero’s identity is revealed, and his personal life completely annihilated. We see Daredevil reduced to the lowest depths in the character’s history, but we also follow his painstaking path toward redemption.
This entry in Marvel Age of Comics explores Daredevil: Born Again’s gorgeous and unique artwork, the lasting impact of its story and art, and how it forever changed the ways super hero characters and their secret identities have functioned since.
Writing on Substack, Chris Ryall says of this book, “When Bloomsbury and Marvel asked me to pitch some ideas, there were three I scribbled down but only one I really wanted to do. Well, wanted to do first. And that was ‘Born Again.’ It seems improbable that those issues are nearing the 40th anniversary of their initial release but there we are.
“Yes, those issues share a subtitle and some DNA with the coming Disney+ Daredevil series but there are many other reasons why this story was so seminal at the time and why it’s still relevant today. And I get into just about all of ‘em, from Miller’s return to the character he revitalised a few years prior to the way still-new artist David Mazzucchelli leveled up in such an amazing, and rapid, fashion; how the storyline was one of the first to really explore the terrible repercussions of a secret identity being revealed; and even the different explorations of mental health on display in the book; and more.”
Spider-Man: Miles Morales by Ytasha L. Womack (5th February 2026) explores the hugely successful reimagining of one of the most popular super hero characters of all time as Afrofuturist and Latinx.
First introduced in 2011 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli, Miles Morales reconceived Spider-Man as African American and Latinx, and his debut marked a new direction in the beloved saga.
Miles Morales as Spider-Man is a coming-of-age tale of a smart, affable teen coming into his power. From his reluctance to becoming a super hero to his desire to help others, to the rocky balance between his school life and super hero responsibilities, Miles is always at the precipice of making decisions – choices whose consequences are as weighted in his personal life as they often are for the survival of the world.
Illustrated with full-colour art, this entry in the Marvel Age of Comics is a look at the hugely successful reimagining of one of the most popular super hero characters of all time.
The Marvel Age of Comics books will include full-colour images and exclusive interviews with comic writers and artists of the period. Bloomsbury holds World All Language rights for all the titles in the series.
“Like many others, I grew up with Marvel Comics, and it’s a thrill to be working with Marvel on a series that will tell the stories behind the comics,” says Haaris Naqvi, Director of Publishing at Bloomsbury USA. “Marvel Age of Comics will feature a broad range of writers who are fans, immersed in the world of comics and eager to tell readers what Marvel stories mean to them, as well as to popular culture. Bloomsbury is passionate about inspiring, educating, and entertaining readers of all ages and we’re excited to bring our expertise and vision to one of the biggest cultural influences of our
“Marvel is always looking for new ways to celebrate our rich publishing history and share amazing stories with our new readers and dedicated fans,” says Sven Larsen, VP of Marvel Licensing. “We’ve been tremendous fans of Bloomsbury’s work on projects like 33 1/3, and we can’t wait to see them take a similar approach combining their reverence for the material, academic expertise, and unique insights with some of our greatest publishing moments for the new Marvel Age of Comics series. We’re excited for fans to see their favorite stories in a whole new light.”
• Find out more about Marvel Age of Comics
This item was updated on 24th February to reflect a revised February 2026 release for Spider-Man: Miles Morales by Ytasha L. Womack, moved up from May 2026
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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