Bill Everett

Namor the Sub-Mariner is one of Marvel's oldest characters — predating the Marvel Universe itself, created by Bill Everett in 1939. The original Prince of Atlantis stories by Stan Lee and Everett represent the foundation of the character: imperious, morally ambiguous, simultaneously hero and antagonist to the surface world. At 920 pages, Volume 1 of the Namor Omnibus is one of Marvel's most substantial archival collections.

Daredevil Omnibus Vol. 1 is the Silver Age foundation of Matt Murdock: lawyer, acrobat, Catholic guilt machine and street-level hero still finding his shape. Stan Lee, Bill Everett, Wally Wood and Gene Colan build the early grammar of Daredevil through Foggy, Karen, the law office, colorful villains and the tension between disability, performance and responsibility. The value is origin texture rather than modern noir.