Marvel Masterpieces variant covers tap into Marvel '90s nostalgia

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By Michael Doran
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Marvel Comics is reviving the classic Marvel Marvel Masterpieces trading card images by Joe Jusko

Joe Jusko's Marvel Masterpieces variant covers
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Marvel Masterpieces trading card illustrations from the '90s by brand name comic book artist Joe Jusko are as much a part of the decade for comic book fans as the opening theme song of the X-Men animated series; 'extreme' characters with grimaces, pouches, and 'y's in their names; and checking Wizard Magazine to see how much the 20 copies of Spawn #1 you bought a few months before were worth.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Some of those original Jusko images are returning in October as Marvel Comics' latest series of variant covers. 

"Masterfully capturing the power of the Avengers, the horror of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery, and the allure of the X-Men, Jusko's painted artwork has mesmerized fans for decades and ushered in the trading card boom of the '90s," reads Marvel's announcement. "Now, the Marvel Masterpieces Variant Cover series will give fans a chance to own a piece of Marvel Comics history in an exciting new way!"

This October round of covers will include 22 Jusko Marvel Masterpieces images. A 23rd, Blank Panther #3, will go on sale in January. The issue was originally planned to go on sale in October but the launch of the new John Ridley-written series was recently pushed back three months. 

Here is the full line-up of titles that will get a Joe Jusko Marvel Masterpieces variant covers, along with their on-sale dates, followed by a gallery of the covers.

On-sale October 6

  • Amazing Spider-Man #75 
  • Captain Marvel #33 
  • Excalibur #24 
  • Hellions #16 

On-sale October 13

  • Amazing Spider-Man #76 
  • Avengers #49 
  • Immortal Hulk #50 
  • Iron Man #13 
  • X-Force #24 
  • X-Men #4 

On-sale October 20

  • Death of Doctor Strange #2 
  • Fantastic Four #37 
  • SWORD #9 
  • Thor #18 
  • Wolverine #17 
  • X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #3 

On-sale October 27

  • Amazing Spider-Man #77 
  • Black Widow #12 
  • Daredevil #35 
  • Inferno #2 
  • Marauders #25 cover A
  • Marauders #25 cover B

On-sale January 2022

  • Black Panther #3
Image 1 of 23
Joe Jusko's Marvel Masterpieces variant covers
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

If you have a special place in your heart for comic books in the '90s, check out our feature on the crazy comic book year of 1996, which included Marvel vs DC and Amalgam, Heroes Reborn, Onslaught, Kingdom Come, and Superman's marriage, (not to mention the Heroes World implosion) all of which are celebrating 25 years in 2021. 

And you can also check out Newsarama's yearbook of the best Marvel character that debuted in each year of the '90s. 

Michael Doran

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.

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