Epic Illustrated

Epic Illustrated was a comics anthology in magizine format published in the U.S. by Marvel Comics. The series ran for 34 amazing issues spanning the Spring of 1980 to February 1986. It was similar to the Magazine Heavy Metal but for my money there was no question that Epic was the better product. Click on the photo for a massive screen filling collage of all 34 covers of Epic Illustrated.

The older I get and the more I've come to understand about this time in comics history, I am inclined to leave credit for this great magazine at the feet of the late Archie Goodwin. This run of magazines may well be the apogee of American comics publishing and if you ever have the chance to flip through any one of these books you will quickly see why. The list of names that contributed to this magazine is like a who's who of the best artists to work in the field... Jeffrey Jones, Barry Windsor Smith, Steve Bissette, M.W. Kaluta, Berni Wrightson, Al Williamson, Richard Corben, Rick Veitch John Buscema and Kent Williams... The list goes on and on.

At the following link a fan has put together a wonderful group of pages that not only show off the amazing covers but also outline the contents of each issue. This is a wonderful resource for any fan who is looking to collect a particular artist's work...

http://www.heavymetalmagazinefanpage.com/epiclist80.html

At the Bronze age of Blogs one of the most breathtaking stories ever published in Epic Illustrated is presented in its entirety. The story is called the Beguiling and the art is by Barry Windsor Smith...

http://bronzeageofblogs.blogspot.com/search/label/barry%20windsor-smith