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erickibler4's review against another edition
5.0
I'm so verklempt!
This book is on the one hand, a great trip down memory lane, and on the other hand, an open-eyed visit to the sausage factory. As an longstanding fan of Marvel Comics, I can't separate myself from my fandom enough to be able to tell you what this book can say to a non-fan. But to me, it brings back a lot of memories of characters and creators I've grown up (and into middle age) with. These characters and stories have been the backdrop of my life since, as a young DC fan, I first picked up the odd Marvel issue that always had "CONTINUED NEXT ISH! 'NUFF SAID" at the bottom of the last panel.
I love the razzmatazz energy of Sixties Marvel, led by wildly imaginative artist/plotter Jack Kirby, extrovert/huckster/scripter/editor Stan Lee, introvert libertarian Steve Ditko and the rest. I also love the current era of wide-screen panels and smart, savvy dialogue. But perhaps my favorite era was the anything goes era of the early seventies, in which superheroes, swamp monsters, vampires, werewolves, demon-possessed motorcycle daredevils, blaxploitation private eyes, spacemen, kung-fu masters, and jungle lords all vied for attention and interacted with one another.
You'll feel bad for a lot of the comic creators whose stories are told in this book. There's Kirby, who should have been a bazillionnaire, having created most of the characters who've made hundreds of millions for Marvel. There's Stan, who, although he did just fine financially, left the only thing he was ever good at (scripting and editing) in the early seventies and became an irrelevant sideshow barker, schmoozing with C-list Hollywood talent all through the 70s and 80s, until other, more connected and skilled negotiators achieved the movie dreams Stan had always coveted. Probably the saddest thing about Stan is his failure to appreciate the value of what he did. He still, at age 89, regrets not becoming a novelist or screenwriter. There were writers Steve Englehart, Doug Moench, Don McGregor, and Steve Gerber, who brought new sophistication to the comics of the seventies, but who (to a man) all got raw deals.
You'll sneer at the venal, clueless corporate raiders who asserted their whims on the company in the eighties and nineties, and nearly destroyed it, although they lined their pockets nicely on their way out, as such people do. May history forget all of their names. I won't name them here.
You'll nod your head in recognition at an example of the Peter Principle when Jim Shooter takes charge as editor-in-chief. He had always been a decent comics writer, but as an editor, he was a petty martinet who imposed storytelling rules that stifled creativity for years.
If you lived through the turn of the millennium as a Marvel fan like I did, you'll reluctantly give due credit to company president Bill Jemas, who though considered unlikable by most fans at the time, was probably responsible for the junking of the creatively stultifying Comics Code Authority, and goosed the company into being more adventurous with content.
One writer who gets short shrift in the book is Peter David, who maintained a high level of quality on the books he wrote throughout the mediocre eighties and nineties. A true unsung hero.
This book is on the one hand, a great trip down memory lane, and on the other hand, an open-eyed visit to the sausage factory. As an longstanding fan of Marvel Comics, I can't separate myself from my fandom enough to be able to tell you what this book can say to a non-fan. But to me, it brings back a lot of memories of characters and creators I've grown up (and into middle age) with. These characters and stories have been the backdrop of my life since, as a young DC fan, I first picked up the odd Marvel issue that always had "CONTINUED NEXT ISH! 'NUFF SAID" at the bottom of the last panel.
I love the razzmatazz energy of Sixties Marvel, led by wildly imaginative artist/plotter Jack Kirby, extrovert/huckster/scripter/editor Stan Lee, introvert libertarian Steve Ditko and the rest. I also love the current era of wide-screen panels and smart, savvy dialogue. But perhaps my favorite era was the anything goes era of the early seventies, in which superheroes, swamp monsters, vampires, werewolves, demon-possessed motorcycle daredevils, blaxploitation private eyes, spacemen, kung-fu masters, and jungle lords all vied for attention and interacted with one another.
You'll feel bad for a lot of the comic creators whose stories are told in this book. There's Kirby, who should have been a bazillionnaire, having created most of the characters who've made hundreds of millions for Marvel. There's Stan, who, although he did just fine financially, left the only thing he was ever good at (scripting and editing) in the early seventies and became an irrelevant sideshow barker, schmoozing with C-list Hollywood talent all through the 70s and 80s, until other, more connected and skilled negotiators achieved the movie dreams Stan had always coveted. Probably the saddest thing about Stan is his failure to appreciate the value of what he did. He still, at age 89, regrets not becoming a novelist or screenwriter. There were writers Steve Englehart, Doug Moench, Don McGregor, and Steve Gerber, who brought new sophistication to the comics of the seventies, but who (to a man) all got raw deals.
You'll sneer at the venal, clueless corporate raiders who asserted their whims on the company in the eighties and nineties, and nearly destroyed it, although they lined their pockets nicely on their way out, as such people do. May history forget all of their names. I won't name them here.
You'll nod your head in recognition at an example of the Peter Principle when Jim Shooter takes charge as editor-in-chief. He had always been a decent comics writer, but as an editor, he was a petty martinet who imposed storytelling rules that stifled creativity for years.
If you lived through the turn of the millennium as a Marvel fan like I did, you'll reluctantly give due credit to company president Bill Jemas, who though considered unlikable by most fans at the time, was probably responsible for the junking of the creatively stultifying Comics Code Authority, and goosed the company into being more adventurous with content.
One writer who gets short shrift in the book is Peter David, who maintained a high level of quality on the books he wrote throughout the mediocre eighties and nineties. A true unsung hero.
rhoelle's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent research and impressive thoroughness. Difficult to put down. Would have liked to see more about the early TV versions, both live and animated. Also misses that we were discussing this world on USENET already in the mid-1980s.
christianholub's review against another edition
4.0
This beautifully detailed history of Marvel is not only a great insight into the lifeblood of 20th century American pop culture, but also makes for a fascinating workplace drama, with some meditations on copyright law thrown in for good measure.
mrgrifter's review against another edition
5.0
I don't know what must have been harder, having to read decades of low profile fanzines (for contemporaneous interviews with comics professionals) or having to parse out every he said/she said of the behind the scenes soap opera of the Marvel Bullpen.
Any comics fan who wants to know about the history of the comics business and how it changed over the years would do well to read this. However, those without a pre-existing interest in comics will probably love or hate the inclusion of such anecdotes as how writer/artist John Byrne may or may not have shouted at and threatened future writer Peter David (then a PR staffer) over sending out preview pages to the press that revealed the shock ending to Byrne's Alpha Flight #12 - and how they still feud about it to this day. Is this tidbit emblematic of the state of the business at that moment in time, or a fanboy space-filler that slows down the overall story? (If you'd say the latter, consider this a four-star review.)
Howe is a very, very skilled writer, who must have had quite a job trying to make thousands of anecdotes fit properly into their historical place, as well as the thematic and social flow of the book -- as well as make it easily readable and feel briskly paced. In real life, events do not fall neatly into place by year or regime. So Howe has to jump around a little bit to draw an errant story into the correct context. Speaking as a comics reader and a former biographer, I think he pulled it off masterfully.
I only hope for his sake he hasn't made too many enemies in the comics professionals' world - in attempting to give multiple sides of every story, he's probably pleased no one. (Not to mention fanboys on the internet who love to trash everything.) A couple of places I thought I'd caught Howe in a mistake, but it turned out I was wrong. (Steve Englehart feuded with Joe Quesada over writing the FF? Not possible! I'd forgotten the limited series "Fantastic Four: Big Town.")
Kudos to Howe for collecting all this info, parsing it, organizing it, and making it a breezy read.
Any comics fan who wants to know about the history of the comics business and how it changed over the years would do well to read this. However, those without a pre-existing interest in comics will probably love or hate the inclusion of such anecdotes as how writer/artist John Byrne may or may not have shouted at and threatened future writer Peter David (then a PR staffer) over sending out preview pages to the press that revealed the shock ending to Byrne's Alpha Flight #12 - and how they still feud about it to this day. Is this tidbit emblematic of the state of the business at that moment in time, or a fanboy space-filler that slows down the overall story? (If you'd say the latter, consider this a four-star review.)
Howe is a very, very skilled writer, who must have had quite a job trying to make thousands of anecdotes fit properly into their historical place, as well as the thematic and social flow of the book -- as well as make it easily readable and feel briskly paced. In real life, events do not fall neatly into place by year or regime. So Howe has to jump around a little bit to draw an errant story into the correct context. Speaking as a comics reader and a former biographer, I think he pulled it off masterfully.
I only hope for his sake he hasn't made too many enemies in the comics professionals' world - in attempting to give multiple sides of every story, he's probably pleased no one. (Not to mention fanboys on the internet who love to trash everything.) A couple of places I thought I'd caught Howe in a mistake, but it turned out I was wrong. (Steve Englehart feuded with Joe Quesada over writing the FF? Not possible! I'd forgotten the limited series "Fantastic Four: Big Town.")
Kudos to Howe for collecting all this info, parsing it, organizing it, and making it a breezy read.
nickbyers's review against another edition
5.0
Some books out there, like Slugfest, break their arms jerking off Marvel as this sort of pinnacle of the ideal comics company but they were just as screwed up as the rest of the industry maybe even worse at times.
Stan Lee Sucks. He never liked comics but wasn't talented enough to be a writer of any kind, the only reason he got a job at Marvel is because of his uncle. Then he did everything he could and screwed over anyone he needed to to get to a position where he could be famous for being the face of Marvel without having to think about the comics.
Stan Lee Sucks. He never liked comics but wasn't talented enough to be a writer of any kind, the only reason he got a job at Marvel is because of his uncle. Then he did everything he could and screwed over anyone he needed to to get to a position where he could be famous for being the face of Marvel without having to think about the comics.
elimds9's review against another edition
3.0
A dense history of the company that really destroys the magic you thought you knew. Never look behind the curtain.
calbowen's review against another edition
3.0
Meh -
Mostly what I expected - I am not a Stan Lee basher, and I do believe that credit is due, but I feel that almost everyone else at Marvel deserves way more credit than they have gotten. Especially Ditko and Kirby have been admonished for so long until Geek became Chic. But, for the most part, I feel that Marvel has done something wonderful and this was an interesting read, but I would not own this.
Mostly what I expected - I am not a Stan Lee basher, and I do believe that credit is due, but I feel that almost everyone else at Marvel deserves way more credit than they have gotten. Especially Ditko and Kirby have been admonished for so long until Geek became Chic. But, for the most part, I feel that Marvel has done something wonderful and this was an interesting read, but I would not own this.
tgannon's review against another edition
4.0
A dive into the business machinations and personalities that make up Marvel Comics, Sean Howe unveils hard truths about the now prestigious company, adding new layers to the different eras of comic publishing. Strangely, this book makes me more invested to read all of Marvel’s past catalogues, along with some characters and titles that I would never raise an eyebrow to before. Well worth the read if you’re interested in comics, publishing subtext, and business, but not if you’re looking for the next Spider-Man adventure. Ending in 2012, I would love to see a expanded edition to encompass the following ten years.