Marvel Comics: The Untold Story

Written by Sean Howe
$26.99 / 496 Pages / Hardcover
Published by Harper

There really could be an entire sub-genre of books dedicated to the history of comics. Over the years I have accumulated numerous titles that now fill up my bookshelves detailing the rich history of American Comic Books. And every few years another book gets published and I get sucked into that history vortex all over again. If you’re like me, you’ve read The Ten Cent Plague, Comic Wars, and numerous others, so many in fact that when I first heard of Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, I winced a little, thinking “Another book about Marvel’s history?” pompously thinking that I knew all there was to know about the House of Ideas. Well, once I dove into Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, I found that writer Sean Howe had put together what could be one of the definitive must have comic book history books for both fans of Marvel and comic books in general.

What I didn’t fully understand until I got deep into the first chapter was just how expansive the history of Marvel Comics actually is. Howe begins at the start in the late 1930s during the comics boom pre-World War II and takes us through Marvel’s history chronologically. I appreciated how Howe chose this simple approach, laying out the story as it developed, allowing the common threads and trends to develop naturally and for the reader to easily make the connections, of which there were many. At the backbone of all these stories and trends is Stan Lee, which comes as no surprise to anyone. Entering the picture early, Stan Lee began as a nepotism hire whose persistence led him to be the leader and face of the publisher for decades. It’s difficult to tell the story of Marvel Comics without it being overshadowed or overwhelmed by the story of Stan Lee, but Howe is able to balance the impact and presence of Lee adequately amongst the legendary cast of characters that truly helped to build Marvel Comics into what it is today, both positively and negatively. In the early days we’re introduced to erstwhile publisher Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon and the full roster of comics legends who, in the 1940s, dutifully labored to lay the groundwork for the comics industry as we know it today. After guiding us through the insanity of the pre-war and during-war comics boom, followed by the dark times post-Frederic Werthem, we’re exposed to the story of Marvel not just in a recitation of facts and stories, but in a personable way, delving into their motivations (primarily money) and their emotions around the ups and downs of the industry. There’s some amazing insight into the creation of characters and approach to publishing that will make any comics enthusiast wide eyed with the level of detail.

Now, I’ve read a ton of these books. Hell, I think I could probably write a book about Marvel Comics in the 1960s. I know the story of the golf game between Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodwin and either Jack Liebowitz or Irwin Donenfeld of DC Comics (it’s in dispute who it actually was) which lead to the launch of the Fantastic Four in an effort to replicate DC’s success with Justice League of America. I know all about how Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Steve Ditko and others dreamed up the pantheon of heroes that we still follow today. I know all about the myth of the “bullpen”, the idea that all the Marvel creators were in one room in Manhattan making our comics, when in reality, most of them worked from their Long Island homes. So personally, the sections of Marvel’s history during this period had a bit of a “been there, done that” feel. But as I read through the book I realized that there is a whole new generation, that you’re probably a part of, that hasn’t heard these stories before and if there is a fan who is having their first exposure to these tall tales, then I can’t think of a better way to learn of it. Meticulously researched and fair in its analysis, Marvel Comics features about as detailed a presentation of these stories that I’ve read.

For me, it was the more recent decades of Marvel’s history that I found the most fascinating. We’ve seen the 1960s told and re-told in numerous books and interviews, but Howe digs deep into the Marvel Comics of the 1970s, as Stan Lee drifted away from day-to-day editorial with hopes of chasing fame in Hollywood, the rise of Roy Thomas as an editorial force, and the emergence of a new generation of creators like Steve Gerber, Jim Starlin, Neal Adams and Steve Englehart. It’s during this decade of the 1970s, and the issues that emerged, that gave me the realization that many of the issues the comic book industry faces today–such as creator ownership and creator rights–have been issues going back for decades. These challenges and problems between creators and publishers is nothing new and if anything, this book punctuates the fact that, to quote Battlestar Galactica, “All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.”  

Marvel Comics caps things off by moving into the modern era of comics, with the 1980s tenure of editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, to the boom of the early 90s and the Image Founders defection from Marvel, to the business bust of the mid-1990s and the near collapse of Marvel Comics as they entered bankruptcy, to the saving grace of Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti’s Marvel Knights line, giving way to Quesada as editor-in-chief and the wacky Bill Jemas years, bringing us to today with Marvel on top thanks to the likes of Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker. If I had any sort of criticism of Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, it would be that 496 pages wasn’t enough. With each chapter I was riveted, unable to put the book down. As the bok progressed, I got more and more excited to read about the people I was most familiar with, the people of my generation. I found myself slightly disappointed as we moved at a bit faster pace to the present day than I would have liked. Now I understand there’s a ton of information to get through and I’m sure Howe could have written another 400 pages on the 1990s and 2000s alone, I just wish we had gotten a bit more of the behind the scenes storytelling and detail in the present day that we did with the 1960s and 1970s. If my biggest complaint about a book is that I wanted more, then the author has definitely done something right.

There’s something magical about the history of comics, and specifically the history of Marvel Comics, which explains the fascination and continued telling and re-telling of it’s history. With each release we get a bit more insight and a bit more information as to what happened and why. Who knows how accurate these stories are–as much of it is dependent on the players involved and their memories and piecing together interviews and other coverage. But that almost doesn’t matter. The story of Marvel Comics as evolved to become as much of a legend as the characters they’ve brought to life in the comics and Marvel Comics: The Untold Story is absolutely a book that I would not only permanently keep on my shelf, but one I would happily gift to friends and recommend to all of you to pick up to spread the enjoyment of this rich history. The world of Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America and The X-Men may be fantastic and unbelievable, but the behind the scenes stories are just as unbelievable and now you can find out why.

5 Stars

(Out of 5)

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