Posted in: Avengers, Comics, Conventions, Events, Marvel Comics, Pop Culture, san diego comic con, Spider-Man, Stan Lee, X-Men | Tagged: clover press, comicspro, kickstarter, marvel masterworks, sdcc
Marvel Masterworks Returns… Not From Marvel, But From Clover Press
Marvel Masterworks Returns… not from Marvel, but from Clover Press and Kickstarter
Article Summary
- Marvel Masterworks Returns after Marvel ended the line, with Clover Press reviving the classic hardcover collections.
- Marvel cancelled Marvel Masterworks after sales fell, leaving several runs just one or two volumes short of completion.
- Clover Press reportedly revealed at SDCC retailer talks that Marvel Masterworks Returns via a new Kickstarter campaign.
- The revival is expected to keep legacy numbering, classic cover options, and finally complete unfinished Marvel Masterworks runs.
In June 2026, Bleeding Cool broke the news that Marvel Comics was to cancel its Marvel Masterworks line of hardcover collections. Defenders Vol. 10andMarvel Team-Up Vol. 9were listed for January 2026, but then removed, leaving the December 2025 titles as the final books in the line, The Near Mint Conditionchannel reported the line was on “indefinite hiatus”, but Bleeding Cool reported it was fully cancelled. Marvel Masterworks began in 1987 as a way to collect classic early Marvel tales in a hardcover, premium edition with restored artwork and better print quality than other Marvel collected editions, with almost 400 editions. The initial high price of the Masterworks line was to fund the restoration of the original art, often taken from bleached copies of the original comics’ pages, to extract the linework, though other methods superseded that. The resulting work was then reused in the Omnibus and Epic paperpack lines, which offered better value for money to readers. However, the Masterworks line also includes bonus material and insight from the original creators. And a hardback at the original size of publication. At the time it was cancelled, it also leftTomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night, and Marvel Two-in-One just one volume short of completion. Man-Thing, Spider-Man, FF, Daredevil, Captain America, and Avengers were two volumes away from a natural stopping point.
Comics writer JM DeMatteis then confirmed the news, and Marvel SVP and Executive Editor Tom Brevoortstated, “The central issue was pretty straightforward, JV: sales on those volumes had dropped to the point where they were no longer financially viable. So while I like the format, if the audience for the books isn’t there, then they’re going to go on hiatus at least. And yes, I was responsible for restarting the program in the late 1990s and getting it running again after its first hiatus. The same thing may be possible here, but we’ll need to see what happens over time.”
Well, nothing may have happened at Marvel, but something seems to have happened at Clover Press, the publisher that specialises in archives of restored classic comics and comic book artwork. I am told that Youngblood co-creator, former DC Comics executive, and now Publisher of Clover Press, Hank Kanalz, told comic book retailers at the ComicsPRO Retailer event at San Diego Comic-Con yesterday, that Clover Press are going to bring back the Marvel Masterworks line. While reporting restrictions prevented me from sharing anything from that meeting, in the days after, plenty of retailers were keen to share the news with me, and it became quite the talking point at the Eisners and the Bad Idea Comics Party. And then I found the Kickstarter link. Launching soon with an option to follow the crowdfunder when it goes live.
I understand Clover Press will preserve the legacy numbering of previous issues, keep a “classic” option for the covers, and look to close off incomplete runs from the original volumes. And while I know Clover Press wanted to keep it a secret, that kind of news for the kind of people at San Diego Comic-Con was going to be the highlight of the discussion. We look forward to finding out the actual details soon.
Marvel Masterworks Marvel Team-Up Vol. 9,
Marvel Masterworks Defenders Vol. 10
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