Marvel's 1st Published Limited Series - Contest of Champions

     Comic book limited series seem to be the norm in today's superhero universe.  However, that has not always been the case.  It was not until 1979, that DC became the first comic book company to print a limited series.  In 1979 they printed, The World of Krypton.  Soon to follow suit was Marvel with its first limited series entitled, Contest of Champions.  What was this story about?

     Contest of Champions came about as a result of challenge between the Elder of the Universe, Grandmaster, and a hooded female known as Death.  Grandmaster sought to have his fellow Elder, the Collector, resurrected by Death and, therefore, proposed a game.  Should Grandmaster win the contest then the Collector would again be given life.  Yet, if Death should win the contest then the Collector would remain dead.  The two decided to use Eath's superheroes as pawns by forcing them into teams and pitting them against each other.  Grandmaster's team consisted of Captain America, Captain Britain, Talisman,  Wolverine, Sasquatch, Defensor,  She-Hulk, Daredevil, Peregrine, Darkstar,  the Thing and Blitzkrieg. while Death's team consists of Iron Man; Vanguard; Iron Fist; Shamrock; Storm; Arabian Knight; Sabra; Invisible Woman; Angel; Black Panther; Sunfire and the Collective Man.  The final result was that the battle ended in a tie and Grandmaster was portrayed as successful in the contest.

      This successful limited series lead to further series of a similar nature.  Secret Wars, Secret Wars II, Civil War, Crisis On Infinite Earths, Final Crisis, DC Countdown and Blackest Night were all limited series that encompassed heroes from across their prospective universes and had major impacts.  Other limited series, however, were more character or storyline focused.  The Dark Knight Returns, the Wolverine limited series, and Watchmen are examples of limited series that proved successful.  In today's modern comic age it seems the limited series is overdone with many "reboots", "relaunches" and "remakes".  While many of the stories have proven exciting, many fans who are fond of the traditional comic book universe have found these changes to be untraditional and  unnerving.

     We would like to here from you.  What is your favorite limited series and why?  All comments are welcome.  Please visit us on Facebook and Twitter.  You may also enjoy our website (www.kryptoknightcomics.com) and our Ebay store.