Marvel pays homage to 10 of its own classic covers

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Marvel pays homage to Marvel (and Todd McFarlane) in a new series of variant covers

Marvel Comics homage variant covers
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Another comic book publisher is paying homage to iconic Todd McFarlane Spider-Man covers. Fresh off the heels of DC's playful and surprising nod to 1990's Spider-Man #1 for a December Batman #118 variant cover, Marvel is paying homage to its own Amazing Spider-Man #300 cover by McFarlane for January 5's Venom #4 by artist David Yardin. 

Interestingly, McFarlane paid homage to himself the very next month in Amazing Spider-Man #301. 

Anyway, the Venom cover is part of 10 January Marvel covers featuring contemporary artists paying homage to iconic Marvel covers from the past. Other artists contributing cover include Will Sliney, Mike McKone, Creees Lee, Philip Tan, David Nakayama, Pete Woods, Ken Lashley, Stephen Mooney, and Peach Momoko,

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Most of the covers are themed around famous first appearances including the debuts of Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Wolverine. 

Here's a look at all ten covers in four galleries along with the release date, title and issue #, artist, and the original issue the new cover pays homage to.

On sale January 5

  • Amazing Spider-Man #85 by Peach Momoko (Amazing Fantasy #15)
  • Venom #4 by David Yardin With colors by Chris Sotomayor (Amazing Spider-Man #300 and #301)
  • X Lives of Wolverine #1 by Will Sliney with colors by Rachelle Rosenberg  (Incredible Hulk #181)
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Marvel Comics homage variant covers
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

On sale January 12

  • Amazing Spider-Man #86 by Mike Mckone with colors by Chris Sotomayor (Amazing Spider-Man #362)
  • Thor #21 by Creees Lee with colors by Rachelle Rosenberg (Journey into Mystery #83) 
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Marvel Comics homage variant covers
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

On sale January 19

  • Captain America/Iron Man #3 by Philip Tan with colors by Federico Blee (Captain America #100)
  • Hulk #3 by David Nakayama (Hulk #1)
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Marvel Comics homage variant covers
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

On sale January 26

  • Death of Doctor Strange #5 by Stephen Mooney with colors by Chris Sotomayor (Strange Tales #110)
  • Iron Man #16 by Pete Woods (Tales of Suspense #39)
  • X-Men Legends #11 by Ken Lashley with colors by Juan Fernandez (New Mutants #98)
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Marvel Comics homage variant covers
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

A couple of the original covers are part of Newsarama's list of the best superhero origin stories of all time. 

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.