Marvel Comics: The Untold Story
Oct 2013 · Harper Collins
3.7star
147 reviewsreport
Ebook
758
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About this ebook
A behind-the-scenes chronicle of a beloved American media empire and the men behind it, including Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby.
A New York Times–Bestseller
“A definitive portrait of comics in American culture.” —The Wall Street Journal
In the early 1960s, a struggling company called Marvel Comics presented a cast of brightly costumed characters distinguished by smart banter and compellingly human flaws: Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-Men. Over the course of a half a century, Marvel’s epic universe would become the most elaborate fiction narrative in history and serve as a modern American mythology for millions of readers.
For the first time, Marvel Comics reveals the outsized personalities behind the scenes, including Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and generations of editors, artists, and writers who struggled with commercial mandates, a fickle audience, and—over matters of credit and control—one another. Marvel Comics is a story of fertile imaginations, lifelong friendships, action-packed fistfights, and third-act betrayals—a narrative of one of the most extraordinary, beloved, and beleaguered pop-culture entities in America’s history.
“Sean Howe’s history of Marvel makes a compulsively readable, riotous and heartbreaking version of my favorite story, that of how a bunch of weirdoes changed the world . . . That it’s all true is just frosting on the cake.” —Jonathan Lethem
A New York Times–Bestseller
“A definitive portrait of comics in American culture.” —The Wall Street Journal
In the early 1960s, a struggling company called Marvel Comics presented a cast of brightly costumed characters distinguished by smart banter and compellingly human flaws: Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-Men. Over the course of a half a century, Marvel’s epic universe would become the most elaborate fiction narrative in history and serve as a modern American mythology for millions of readers.
For the first time, Marvel Comics reveals the outsized personalities behind the scenes, including Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and generations of editors, artists, and writers who struggled with commercial mandates, a fickle audience, and—over matters of credit and control—one another. Marvel Comics is a story of fertile imaginations, lifelong friendships, action-packed fistfights, and third-act betrayals—a narrative of one of the most extraordinary, beloved, and beleaguered pop-culture entities in America’s history.
“Sean Howe’s history of Marvel makes a compulsively readable, riotous and heartbreaking version of my favorite story, that of how a bunch of weirdoes changed the world . . . That it’s all true is just frosting on the cake.” —Jonathan Lethem
Ratings and reviews
3.7
147 reviews
Keith Thomas
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August 5, 2015
For those of us Gen-Xers and older, who maybe once thought about going into the business, or even those wondering about the REAL history of modern comics, this is a must-read. It's amazing all the coincidences and chicanery that happened for us to have the comics we know/knew. Granted, Howe seems to grow bored somewhere in the Shooter-era, and the book seems to hasten to an end. I'd wager due to people still in the business not wanting to open their mouths for fear of reprisal. Still, I hope for a sequel.
18 people found this review helpful
Gavin Carrington
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August 26, 2015
Everything you possibly wanted to know about Marvel. The ups, the downs, the trials and tribulations. This book is the definitive authority. A must for comics fans the world over.
17 people found this review helpful
Janine Leia
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March 15, 2014
Now I can find out how these characters were invented, and how they've changed over the years. Thanks, Sean Howe!!!
10 people found this review helpful
About the author
Sean Howe is the editor of Give Our Regards to the Atomsmashers!: Writers on Comics and the Deep Focus series of film books. He is a former editor and critic at Entertainment Weekly, and his writing has appeared in New York, The Los Angeles Times, Slate, Spin, and The Village Voice. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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