Marvel Comics: The Untold Story

Don't know if this fits here, but I just got my copy of Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe when I got home late last night...and stayed up until 4 a.m. reading selected passages from it.

I am REALLY enjoying it. Written in a light, accessable style, it's very personable in the approach, telling the story behind the scenes, the conflicts, and personalities that shaped what was published and when.

I really enjoyed the prologue with the set up of how and why Marvel comics came along, and the human element of Martin Goodman's publishing empire, his near brush with death on the Hindenburg, and the first attempts at the FF, Spider-Man and Marvel Comics have all been very well handled. I'm impressed that Sean Howe has done his homework, and when there are conflicting versions of something (a creation of a character) he presents both sides, without bias.

I'm really enjoying this, and think it may become the definitive history book on Marvel Comics unless something "better" comes along. This is the book that I had thought Mark Evanier might be writing about "King Kirby".

I'm finding the book is concentrating much more on details of the expansion and the young turks who replaced the original bullpen than the sections on the origin of the company and the early years. That could be understandable, cause most of those early guys have passed on, or are elderly, and there are still people willing to talk about the newcomers. Plus, the rampant drug use of the 70s appears to be a common thread.

*I'm one of those people who went to college in the late 70s and i didn't see the extremes that they are describing among the young adults of NYC. That's not to say that my experience in the mid-west in the late 70s was typical, but holy smokes...dropping acid and walking through Manhattan at night????

Replies

Kirk G December 17, 2012 at 2:26pm

Just read about the change from old guard to new writers in the 1970-71 range and the comment about the Kree-Skrull war is especially illuminating. "Fumes from an empty gas can" indeed!
Captain Comics December 18, 2012 at 9:41am

I'm delighted to hear that this is, in fact, the book I wanted when I bought Evanier's "Kirby" and Ronin Ro's "Tales to Astonish." Although Gerard Jones' "Men of Tomorrow" does a great reporting job on comics history, albeit not focusing on Marvel specifically.
Kirk G December 18, 2012 at 11:20am

I'm finding the book is concentrating much more on details of the expansion and the young turks who replaced the original bullpen than the sections on the origin of the company and the early years. That could be understandable, cause most of those early guys have passed on, or are elderly, and there are still people willing to talk about the newcomers. Plus, the rampant drug use of the 70s appears to be a common thread.

*I'm one of those people who went to college in the late 70s and i didn't see the extremes that they are describing among the young adults of NYC. That's not to say that my experience in the mid-west in the late 70s was typical, but holy smokes...dropping acid and walking through Manhattan at night????
Kirk G December 18, 2012 at 4:19pm

Yeah, that was my experience as well, George

George Poague said:

Kirk G said: *I'm one of those people who went to college in the late 70s and i didn't see the extremes that they are describing among the young adults of NYC."

When I went to college in the South, in the late '70s and early '80s, the drugs of choice were alcohol and weed. And there were people who took pills -- "speed" -- to cram for exams. I never saw acid, or knew anyone who did it. But that doesn't mean it wasn't around.

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