Editing Galactus (section)

===1970s and 1980s===
The character made appearances in ''Fantastic Four'' #120–123 (March–June 1972) and ''Thor'' #225–228 (July–October 1974). These two storylines introduced two new heralds for Galactus. Galactus also featured in ''Fantastic Four'' #172–175 (July–October 1976) and 208–213 (July–December 1979).

[[Stan Lee]] and [[Jack Kirby]] reunited for the origin of the Silver Surfer and Galactus in the one-shot [[graphic novel]] ''The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience!'' in 1978. This [[Marvel Fireside Books|Marvel Fireside Book]], published by [[Simon & Schuster]], was an out-of-continuity retelling of the origin story without the Fantastic Four.

The full Lee-and-Kirby origin story was reprinted in the [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] ''Super-Villain Classics'' #1: ''Galactus – The Origin'' (May 1983), inked by [[Vince Colletta]] and [[George Klein (comics)|George Klein]], lettered by [[Jack Morelli|John Morelli]] and colored by Andy Yanchus. While nearly identical to the previous origin, this story featured supplemental material, edits, and deletions by writer [[Mark Gruenwald]], pencillers [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] and [[Ron Wilson (comics)|Ron Wilson]] and inker [[Jack Abel]]. Rather than traveling into a dying star, the character enters the [[Cosmic egg|core of the collapsing universe]] before the [[Big Bang]]; the story was later reprinted as ''Origin of Galactus'' #1 (February 1996).

The character guest-starred in ''[[Rom the Space Knight|Rom]]'' #26–27 (January–February 1982). Galactus featured in two related storylines in ''Fantastic Four'' #242–244 (May–July 1982) and later #257 (August 1983), in which writer-artist [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] introduced the conceit of Galactus feeling remorse for his actions, and the weight of his genocides. In the issue, [[Death (Marvel Comics)|Death]] assures Galactus of his role and purpose as one of shepherd and weeder in guiding the universe to its proper purpose, and Galactus remains resolute. Byrne further elaborated on this concept in ''[[Fantastic Four]]'' #262 (January 1984), which sparked controversy. At the end of the story, [[Eternity (Marvel Comics)|Eternity]], an abstract entity in the Marvel Universe, appears to validate the existence of Galactus as necessary for the natural order and essential to prevent an even more catastrophic fate; [[Howard University]] professor of literature Marc Singer criticized this, accusing the writer-artist of using the character to "justify planetary-scale genocide."<ref>Singer, Marc. [http://www.whiterose.org/howlingcurmudgeons/archives/005911.html "Byrne's Fantastic Four, or Optimism"] Howling Curmudgeons (fan site), 18 May 2004. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110112075706/http://www.whiterose.org/howlingcurmudgeons/archives/005911.html WebCitation archive].</ref> Byrne and Stan Lee also collaborated on a one-shot Silver Surfer story (June 1982) in which Galactus returned to Zenn-La after the Surfer's rebellion and drained it of energy after allowing the populace to flee.

Writer-penciller [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] and inker [[Terry Austin (comics)|Terry Austin]] produced "The Last Galactus Story" as a serial in the anthology comic-magazine ''[[Epic Illustrated]]'' #26–34 (October 1984 – February 1986). Nine of a scheduled 10 installments appeared. Each was six pages with the exception of the eighth installment (12 pages). The magazine was cancelled with issue #34, leaving the last chapter unpublished and the story unfinished; however, Byrne later published the conclusion on his website.<ref name="byrnerobotics.com">[[John Byrne (comics)|Byrne, John]], [http://www.byrnerobotics.com/FAQ/listing.asp?ID=3&T1=Questions+about+Aborted+Storylines#57 "Exception to the rule #1: 'The Last Galactus Story'"], "Frequently Asked Questions – Questions about Aborted Storylines", Byrne Robotics, 15 February 2005. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110222183511/http://www.byrnerobotics.com/FAQ/listing.asp?ID=3&T1=Questions+about+Aborted+Storylines WebCitation archive].</ref> Galactus played a pivotal role in the [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]] ''[[Secret Wars]]'' #1–12 (May 1984 – April 1985), and became a recurring character in ''Silver Surfer'' (vol. 3) (beginning with issue #1 (July 1987)).

Stan Lee and artist [[John Buscema]] also produced the 64-page hardcover graphic novel ''Silver Surfer: Judgment Day'' (October 1988), in which Galactus clashes with the demonic entity [[Mephisto (Marvel Comics)|Mephisto]].