Missing MARVEL: A Letter From Our Publisher

MISSING MARVEL… A Letter From Our Publisher

Dear Mighty Marvel Fans,

Thank you so much for you patronage over the years! Unfortunately it’s true, there is no Marvel 2018 calendar in our line-up this year. Due to changes in Disney’s licensing program, we were not able to continue this passion project. We are always hopeful that things will change and we’ll have another opportunity to travel back to the Marvel Age of Comics together with you.

We are as disappointed as you are—possibly even more so—the Marvel products represented countless hours obsessing over details that were true labors of love, and that we didn’t really publicize. First and foremost, it was all about the images, and to that end, we went to great lengths to source and restore our own cover art.

Within each Marvel calendar, we included a ‘secret bonus 13th cover’ on the inside of every year’s edition, without promoting or otherwise advertising that anywhere. The only way you knew about that bonus cover is if you bought the calendar. In recent years, we included the splash pages from inside each featured month’s comic book, lightly ghosted on the date grid pages. (We do this with the DC calendars as well, by the way, and those splash pages from the Golden Age are not easy to come by!)

You can still purchase our Vintage Marvel posters and journal books while they last, and see all of the new 2018 titles we have. I hope you will visit us again and I hope we can tempt you with some other vintage goodies like our expanded line of DC Comics calendars.

Thank you again for your support! I sincerely wish I had better news.

Excelsior!

Pete Shin
Publisher
Asgard Press

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Comments (23)

Frank Tucci

Like all the others extremely disappointed. Please let me know if it becomes available. It’s all about the money money money.

January 26, 2018 at 11:38 pm Log in to Reply
1. Andy Hyman
  
  Will do Frank!
  
  February 2, 2018 at 6:54 am Log in to Reply
Todd Lainhart

I’ve been purchasing your Marvel and Vintage Sci-Fi calendars for at least 6 years, and like others, am disappointed that you’re not able to renew your license. I appreciate your transparency though. It’s clear that you folks put a lot of passion into the artistic construction of the calendar, including watermarks, credits, and monthly observations on the plot and background (I say, while looking at Dec/2017 calendar, using the Jan/2018 for guidance). I would hope that Disney appreciates that you’re only helping their cause here.

I guess it’s Vintage Sci-Fi 2018 for me this year (given as a gift in prior years)!

January 15, 2018 at 10:23 am Log in to Reply
Ted Michalopoulos

Your Marvel vintage calendar was THE most anticipated for me each year! I hope you will be able to get back on track with Disney soon and at the same previous size ( I would even pay a little more for it)!

January 9, 2018 at 1:38 pm Log in to Reply
Michael Hendley

This is extremely disappointing news! I’ve been purchasing them for a while now and have been framing my favorite posters as time went by. Was truly looking forward to a new set to add to my collection. 🙁 I hope Disney loosens their grip and lets you publish a new set for 2018 or at least the following year. Thank you so much for your labor of love. It was easy to see exactly how passionate you were about the comics. Definitely not a quick cut/paste job. Getting those images just right would is a real challenge! Thanks for the great years of your products!

December 28, 2017 at 11:54 am Log in to Reply
1. Andy Hyman
  
  Thanks for your very kind comments and positive feedback Michael! Hopefully we’ll be returning with Marvel in the future!
  
  Best
  Andy, Team Asgard Press.
  
  December 28, 2017 at 12:11 pm Log in to Reply
Lanny Lathem

I am in the same boat. I look at several places and finally came to the conclusion that was confirmed here. I love my vintage Marvel calendars. 2018 won’t be the same without one…

December 27, 2017 at 2:12 pm Log in to Reply
Mike Maguire

Count me among those saddened by the loss of a friend. I’ve been getting the vintage Marvel calendars for a while now, since first discovering it some years back.

I’m a fan of the vintage comics but not only that, the quality and style of your calendars. Even if Disney had put out a 12×12 calendar with the same images, it wouldn’t be the same product. Here’s hoping you get this calendar back in your lineup in the future. I don’t expect another Marvel calendar to grace my walls until it happens.

In its place, I’ll either hang the vintage DC (even though those aren’t my favorites) or your vintage Travel or America calendar. I’m a big fan of Asgard Press and have become a bit of a homer.

Keep up the great work and happy holidays!

-Mike

December 27, 2017 at 12:59 pm Log in to Reply
1. Andy Hyman
  
  Thanks SO VERY MUCH for the kind words Mike – We truly appreciate your support over the years and wish you a very Happy Holiday season too! Stay tuned for more good things to come!
  
  Best
  Andy, Team Asgard Press.
  
  December 27, 2017 at 1:02 pm Log in to Reply
Joe Silvers

Let’s say you come to an agreement with Marvel in a few months. Will you still publish a 2018 vintage calendar?

December 27, 2017 at 9:10 am Log in to Reply
1. Andy Hyman
  
  Hi Joe – Unfortunately the window for 2018 calendars being published has come and gone. We appreciate your interest and if we are fortunate enough to have another opportunity with Marvel we will let you know. Thanks! Andy, Team Asgard Press.
  
  December 27, 2017 at 9:14 am Log in to Reply
Supervisor194

That is a real, Supreme bummer! I noticed all the great, loving, artistic touches you all did with a calendar every year. Only true fans could and would do all that. Bummer, bummer. It’s always my Christmas present to myself and sits on the refrigerator in the kitchen for the whole family to plan our year on. There was a skit on Saturday Night Live years ago called “people who ruin it for the rest of us”. I’m reminded of that right now, Disney.

December 23, 2017 at 12:05 pm Log in to Reply
1. Andy Hyman
  
  We feel your pain.. 🙁 We also appreciate your kind words and your support over the years. Perhaps we’ll be back with Marvel down the road. Stay tuned and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
  
  Andy, Team Asgard Press
  
  December 23, 2017 at 12:09 pm Log in to Reply
Pete

This makes me so sad to hear. Every month I would change all of the art and comics on display in my office to match each month of your calendar. I always look forward to which covers that you choose for your Marvel calendar and look forward to planning out the next months office display. I just don’t have the same love for DC since I have never collected anything from them. If you need me to write a letter to Marvel, I will. We all need this Calendar back in our lives.

December 4, 2017 at 3:45 pm Log in to Reply
1. Andy Hyman
  
  Hi Pete and we sincerely appreciate your support and heartfelt comments. Should we need your assistance we will surely reach out to you. Again, thanks for your kind wordsd and have a Happy Holiday season!
  
  Best –
  
  Andy, Team Asgard Press.
  
  December 5, 2017 at 11:23 am Log in to Reply
Craig

Extremely disappointing. This calendar has been a centerpiece of my office décor for years. Shame on Marvel/Disney for rescinding this license.

November 30, 2017 at 8:18 am Log in to Reply
1. Andy Hyman
  
  Hi Craig and thanks for your support and feedback. The issue is a bit more complicated than it appears on the surface and there really is no bad guy here. We remain optimistic that we will return with Marvel in the future so keep the faith! – Andy, Team Asgard.
  
  November 30, 2017 at 8:25 am Log in to Reply
thegenelantern

Your Marvel and DC calendars are my *absolute* favorites each year; and this makes me very very sad. I sincerely hope you folks manage to get the Marvel license back at some point. I also wanted to ask; why the extreme change in size this year? I was SO disappointed to get my two DC calendars and see how terribly small they were. I didn’t see anything noted on the site in the change in format.

Thanks.

November 28, 2017 at 12:33 pm Log in to Reply
1. Andy Hyman
  
  Thanks for your feedback and we certainly remain optimistic about Marvel in the future. In regard to your comment on the sizing, please understand that we did not make this decision to redesign the format lightly. This was a result of several months of prototyping and just trying out different sizes. We feel like the new size strikes a great balance between still providing a much larger grid page than the average calendar, and a larger image, believe it or not, then the typical 12 inch calendar. I ask that you give this new size a few weeks and see if it grows on you. You can hang it up on the wall, and I bet you will end up liking it a lot. If, after a few weeks, you’re still not happy, we’ll be happy to refund your money in its entirety.
  
  A few other things to note is that we have used the same great materials, the same thick, luxurious paper, and the grid page spaces have only decreased by a fraction of an inch. If you compare it to the larger previous calendars, you’ll see what I mean. Also the price of the calendar did come down from $21.95 to $18.95. We do have
  the following statement posted on our website on the Calendar Shopping page: ATTENTION LOYAL CALENDAR CUSTOMERS! We’ve got a brand new format! Our new re-designed 2018 calendar layout is 9 inches by 13 inches and opens to 9 by 26 inches. Although it is a little bit smaller, this fresh new design has almost the same amount of grid space for writing important dates and family holidays as our older 11 by 15 inch calendar. There is less than 1/4 inch difference between the two calendar grid sizes. And of course you’ll be able to separate, accentuate, and decorate as all 12 months come perforated and frame-ready (each image fits a standard 9 X 12 frame)! The new calendars are also three dollars less than in the past, retailing for $18.95 as compared to $21.95. Still a great value! Please email andy@asgardpress.cvom with any other questions and thanks for your support! – Andy
  
  November 28, 2017 at 1:29 pm Log in to Reply
Christina Haley

For the last several years I have proudly displayed your Marvel calendars. Sadly, I guess I will have to move on to DC until Disney comes to its right mind and loosens their restrictions on their Marvel merchandise.

Christina Haley

November 28, 2017 at 9:45 am Log in to Reply
1. Andy Hyman
  
  Hello Haley and we very much appreciate your support!
  
  November 28, 2017 at 9:47 am Log in to Reply
michael c howell

should the vintage marvel calendars become available again i would very much appreciate being notified.
respectfully,
m. howell

November 23, 2017 at 5:56 pm Log in to Reply
1. Andy Hyman
  
  We will definitely let you know Michael and thanks for your support!
  
  November 24, 2017 at 8:58 am Log in to Reply