Character-centered definitive runs · Classic Marvel foundationsView the project ↗
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The Defenders Omnibus Vol. 2

Steve Gerber · Sal Buscema

Story era 02 · The Expanding Universe

Gerber’s Defenders combines eccentric characters, social satire and experiments with the form of a superhero team story.

UnownedReading status not recorded704 pages29 full issues

One-book project: The Defenders by Steve Gerber

Setup & reading order

  1. After Defenders #41

    Gerber’s complete Defenders run is collected; the book is a coherent stopping point.

Optional context & path

Path: Defenders, classic era. Related projects that read well in this order; the order is a suggestion, not a requirement.

Useful background and earlier stops: Avengers 1970s Foundation — Kree/Skrull through Korvac · Doctor Strange — 1970s Master of the Mystic Arts.

Only required setup and earlier volumes in the same project affect the queue. Everything here is optional.

About these books · 4 sources

Publisher and reference pages describe the editions. Reviews and reader discussions offer different views of the stories.

The books

UnownedThe Defenders Omnibus Vol. 2Steve Gerber · Sal Buscema704 pp
This book

The Defenders Omnibus Vol. 2

Omnibus hardcover · 704 pages · Unowned

Book 1 of 1 · The Expanding Universe

Gerber’s surreal non-team run follows the Avengers/Defenders War material preserved in Avengers Vol. 4.

See reading checkpoints
Released 11 Jul 2023 · 704 pages · Al Milgrom cover9781302948771Planned edition
The Defenders (1972)#20–41
The Defenders Annual (1976)#1
Giant-Size Defenders (1974)#3–5
Marvel Two-in-One (1974)#6–7
Marvel Treasury Edition (1974)#12
Mystery Tales (1952) (partial — historical material)#21
World of Fantasy (1956) (partial — historical material)#11
Tales of Suspense (1959) (partial — historical material)#9
Earth-616 Primary

The Mystery Tales #21, World of Fantasy #11 and Tales of Suspense #9 excerpts introduce Arthur Nagan, Jerry Morgan and Chondu before they become the Headmen. Read those short tales as background to Gerber’s strange villains; their other anthology stories have no part in the Defenders sequence.

Edition sources

Each ISBN identifies a specific printing and cover. “Owned copy” identifies the edition on my shelf; “Planned edition” identifies the edition listed for collecting.

Duplication · The Defenders Omnibus Vol. 2

These books share full issues or parts of issues with other books in the plan. Open the lists below to see which stories repeat.

No shared contents are recorded with other books in the plan.

Things to know
  • It begins after the earlier Defenders setup, but Avengers Omnibus Vol. 4 supplies the crucial #8–11 crossover context.
  • Golden Age material is included only as historical excerpts.