Marvel Try-out Book

The Official Marvel Comics Try-Out Book is an oversize book originally published by Marvel Comics in 1983. Conceived by then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, the book was in the form of a contest encouraging up-and-coming comics creators to try their hand at getting a job with the company. The winner would be awarded a professional assignment with Marvel.

The book described the respective jobs and accompanying tools of a writer, penciller, inker, letterer, and colorist, and then provided pages ready for the hopeful cartoonist to work on. An unfinished Spider-Man story (titled "Personals") was the springboard for the try-out portion, which among other features contained blank, pre-ruled pages for pencilers, pre-penciled "non-photo blue" pages (by artist John Romita, Jr.) to be inked and lettered, and completed black-and-white pages to be colored. The entire book was printed on two-ply 11" × 17" paper, replicating the size that typical original comic book art was drawn at before it was photographically reduced to print size.