Marvel's 85th Anniversary Variants Pay Tribute to Classic Comic Covers

Decades before the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the Avengers ushered in the Marvel age of comics, 1939's Marvel Comics #1 featured the golden age adventures of the Human Torch, Angel, Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Masked Raider, and Ka-Zar the Great. Despite its title, the 65-page publication was the first superhero comic from pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman's Timely Comics -- the predecessor of what would later become Marvel Comics.

85 years later, Marvel is celebrating its milestone anniversary with a new series of variant covers paying tribute to the original Marvel Comics (retitled Marvel Mystery Comics with issue #2). The homage covers -- which recreate key issues of the Timely-published Captain America Comics , All-Winners Comics , and Sub-Mariner Comics -- will adorn upcoming issues of Fantastic Four , Amazing Spider-Man , Venom , Incredible Hulk , and the newly-relaunched X-Men .

The just-revealed Marvel 85th Anniversary Homage Variant Covers (below) include Fantastic Four #23 by Elizabeth Torque ( Uncanny X-Men ), Venom #36 by David Yardin ( Daredevil: Woman Without Fear ), and Incredible Hulk #16 by Jan Bazaldua ( Winter Guard ). Two more covers to be revealed at a later date are from artists Paco Medina ( Spider-Boy ) and Joelle Jones ( Mockingbird ), and will pay homage to 1941's Captain America Comics #3 and 1946's All-Winners Comics #19 -- the debut appearance of Marvel's first superhero team, the All-Winners Squad.

In August, Marvel will publish the Marvel 85th Anniversary Special, a 72-page one-shot set in the far-off future of the Marvel Universe: the 85th century.

Featuring new stories written by Ryan North ( Fantastic Four ), Alan Davis ( Captain Britain ), Christopher Priest ( Black Panther ), Iman Vellani ( Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant ), Sabir Pirzada ( Spirits of Vengeance ), Steve Skroce ( Clobberin' Time ), and Yuji Kaku ( Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku ), with art by Stephen Byrne ( Marvel's Voices: Pride ), Joshua Cassara ( Avengers ), Carlo Pagulayan ( Star Wars ), and more, the anniversary special goes on sale August 28th.

Incredible Hulk #16 Marvel 85th Anniversary Homage Variant Cover by Jan Bazaldua

Venom #36 Marvel 85th Anniversary Homage Variant Cover by David Yardin