Lowell native Pierre Comtois has just released his latest book, a follow up to his series focusing on the popular Marvel Comics franchise.

Marvel Comics in the Early 1960s: An Issue By Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon is the fourth volume covering the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. All four books are still in print by the publisher, TwoMorrow’s Publishing.

The newest entry takes you all the way back to Marvel’s legendary beginnings, when gunfighters traveled the West and monsters roamed the Earth. The company’s output in other genres influenced the development of their super-hero characters from Thor to Spider-Man.

The current book features the best of those stories not covered previously, completing issue-by-issue reviews of every Marvel comic of note from 1961-1965.

Presented are scores of handy, easy to reference entries on Amazing Fantasy, Tales of Suspense (and Astonish), Strange Tales, Journey Into Mystery, Rawhide Kid, plus issues of Fantastic Four, Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, and others that weren’t in the previous 1960s edition.

The work comprises Comtois’ last word on Marvel’s early years, when Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, together with writer/editor Stan Lee (and brother Larry) built an unprecedented new universe of excitement.

Comtois, who grew up and lived most of life in the Lowell’s Centralville neighborhood, has written articles for such magazines as Wild West and Military History and short stories for various anthologies.

He has also written non-fiction covering everything from American history to Marvel Comics and is the author of a number of novels including Talismanic, Strange Company, Sometimes a Warm Rain Falls, and Scheduled for Extinction.

Released earlier in 2024 by Rogue Phoenix Press was Solve Gorgoni, the third volume in the author’s Science Agents trilogy that also includes Extra Galaxia and Novus Inteligens.

For more information about the author, visit www.pierrevcomtois.com.