Marvel pays tribute to itself in new series of classic cover homages

Marvel Classic Homage variant covers
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

In 2021 and 2022 homage variant covers were all the rage, and for the second January in a row, Marvel Comics will begin the new year paying homage to its own iconic covers with "Classic Homage" variants, 25 brand new covers by contemporary artists paying tribute to covers of the past, "injecting them with a modern twist or simply paying tribute to their influential impact by depicting it in their own art style."

The publisher even sneaks in a homage to some classic non-Marvel Universe covers, like Star Wars and Strikeforce: Morituri #1.

Check out a gallery of 18 of the 25 covers Marvel is showing off this week, along with a full list of the homage covers and the covers that inspired them, followed by an on-sale schedule of the covers and the artist that drew them. 

  • Amazing Spider-Man #17 – Amazing Spider-Man #50
  • Amazing Spider-Man #18 – Amazing Spider-Man #100
  • Avengers #64 – Avengers #4
  • Avengers Forever #13 – Avengers #57    
  • Black Panther #13 – Fantastic Four #52   
  • Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #8 – Captain America #109    
  • Captain America: Symbol of Truth #9 – Captain America #109    
  • Captain Marvel #45 – Ms. Marvel #1 
  • Daredevil #7 – Daredevil #181
  • Fantastic Four #3 – Fantastic Four #48
  • Ghost Rider #10 – Marvel Spotlight #5
  • Gold Goblin #3 – Amazing Spider-Man #39
  • Hulk #13 – Incredible Hulk #340    
  • Immortal X-Men #10 – Star Wars #1 
  • Marauders #10 – Uncanny X-Men #141   
  • Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2 – Spider-Man #1
  • Moon Knight #19 – Moon Knight #1
  • Scarlet Witch #1 – West Coast Avengers #62
  • Monica Rambeau: Photon #2 – Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16
  • Spider-Man #4 – Marvel Team-Up #1
  • Strange #10 - Doctor Strange #169
  • Thor #31 – Thor #337 
  • Invincible Iron Man #2 – Iron Man #126
  • Venom #15 – Amazing Spider-Man #375
  • Wolverine #29 – Wolverine #1
  • X-Force #36 – X-Force #1   
  • X-Men #19 – X-Men #94
  • X-Men Red #10 – X-Men #137
  • Sins Of Sinister #1 – Strikeforce: Moritori #1

On sale January 4

  • Avengers #64 by Inhyuk Lee
  • Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #8 by Skottie Young
  • Captain Marvel #45 by Carmen Carnero
  • Daredevil #7 by Frank Cho
  • Fantastic Four #3 by Phil Jimenez
  • Gold Goblin #3 by J. Scott Campbell
  • Marauders #10 by Jen Bartel
  • Scarlet Witch #1 by Adam Hughes
  • Spider-Man #4 by John Cassaday
  • X-Force #36 by Rob Liefeld
  • X-Men Red #10 by Russell Dauterman

On sale January 11

  • Amazing Spider-Man #17 by John Romita Jr.
  • Black Panther #13 by Paco Medina
  • Captain America: Symbol of Truth #9 by Alex Maleev
  • Ghost Rider #10 by Phil Noto
  • Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2 by Stephanie Hans 
  • Monica Rambeau: Photon #2 by Peach Momoko
  • Moon Knight #19 by David Nakayama
  • Wolverine #29 by Adi Granov

On sale January 18

  • Avengers Forever #13 by Pepe Larraz
  • Immortal X-Men #10 by Leinil Francis Yu
  • Invincible Iron Man by Esad Ribic
  • Strange #10 by Iban Coello
  • Venom #15 by John Tyler Christopher

On sale January 25

  • Amazing Spider-Man #18 by Ryan Stegman

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

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.

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