The Defenders Omnibus Vol. 2

Collected – in complete – in this Omnibus edition, we present Steve Gerber’s definitive Defenders run! Using The Defenders’ unlikely cast of misfits, Gerber turned Marvel’s “non-team” into a locus of innovation by deconstructing genre conventions and adding a healthy dose of absurdity. From the Elf With a Gun to Bambi and the Bozos, each storyline is a challenging critique of the era’s culture, while the Headmen Saga is one of the high points in Gerber’s celebrated career. They’re stories that inspired a generation of creators and changed the course of comics history. This volume also boasts artwork by the stellar team of Sal Buscema and Klaus Janson and is topped off with the classic Defenders/Howard the Duck Marvel Treasury Edition. Collecting DEFENDERS (1972) #20–41 and ANNUAL #1, GIANT-SIZE DEFENDERS #3–5, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) #6–7 and MARVEL TREASURY EDITION #12 – plus material from MYSTERY TALES #21, WORLD OF FANTASY #11 and TALES OF SUSPENSE (1959) #9.

Author Biography

Steve Gerber (1947-2008) first came to attention writing Defenders, in which he gave the non-team a non-traditional outlook equaled by few. In Adventure of Fear, he introduced Howard the Duck. Gerber’s other 1970s contributions included scripts for Iron Man, Sub-Mariner and more. Elsewhere, he is equally well-remembered for DC’s Phantom Zone, Eclipse’s Destroyer Duck and others.

After a start as inker to his older brother John, Sal Buscema penciled Captain America, Defenders, Incredible Hulk and more. Famed for his ability to meet tight deadlines, he spread his talents across multiple genres. His 1970s work ranged from Ms. Marvel and Nova to Sub-Mariner and Spider-Woman’s first appearance in Marvel Spotlight. He was the uninterrupted artist on Spectacular Spider-Man for more than one hundred issues and penciled the web-slinger’s adventures in Marvel Team-Up, in which he and writer Bill Mantlo introduced Captain Jean DeWolff. After handling more team-ups in the Thing’s Marvel Two-in-One, he reunited with brother John on Steve Englehart’s Fantastic Four. He later provided inks for Tom DeFalco’s Spider-Girl titles and Thunderstrike miniseries.

Klaus Janson is a veteran comic-book artist best known as a distinctive and respected inker, but also a talented penciler and colorist. His long artistic collaboration with Frank Miller on Daredevil remains one on the most celebrated runs in comics, and the pair reunited on the similarly revered Batman- The Dark Knight Returns. Janson has also enjoyed a long and successful professional relationship with John Romita Jr., inking the penciler’s pages on projects including Amazing Spider-Man, Wolverine, World War Hulk and Avengers. A scholar of the medium, Janson teaches sequential storytelling at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and wrote both The DC Comics Guide to Penciling Comics and The DC Comics Guide to Inking Comics.