Scan barcode
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.
joshadkins's review against another edition
4.0
Great behind the scenes look at the creation of our modern American mythology.
larry_yonce's review against another edition
3.0
A mostly snarky history of the Marvel Bullpen
...focused on conflicts and ruffled feathers. Some fascinating tidbits here and there. I did smile when I found out certain creators, when upset by circumstances at Marvel, mirrored what was happening at the company into the stories they were plotting, writing, and drawing...in decidedly clever ways!
...focused on conflicts and ruffled feathers. Some fascinating tidbits here and there. I did smile when I found out certain creators, when upset by circumstances at Marvel, mirrored what was happening at the company into the stories they were plotting, writing, and drawing...in decidedly clever ways!