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duparker's review
3.0
Fun read. I am not a huge Marvel guy, so maybe I don't enjoy this as much as I might have. Well written and passionate. I like the chapter settings and then the appendix giving a summary of the full story.
rpych2's review
3.0
This is a product of the author somehow reading the vast majority of Marvel comics since the 1960s, which is just crazy when you think about it. And as a lover of Marvel comics and the MCU, I figured the week of The Eternals releasing in theaters would be a good time to pick this one up.
It was a pretty enjoyable read, it grouped together some famous editions by character or theme, as a way for people to know where to start. Unfortunately, the majority of the writing was just summing up the story of the comic, which was fine but I would’ve liked some expansion on that as well.
It was a pretty enjoyable read, it grouped together some famous editions by character or theme, as a way for people to know where to start. Unfortunately, the majority of the writing was just summing up the story of the comic, which was fine but I would’ve liked some expansion on that as well.
librarimans's review
2.0
This was interesting but not at all what I was expecting. I knew the premise was the author read everything in Marvel's catalog but was expecting the book to reflect on that journey and talk about how characters have changed and evolved over time, instead it ended up being essentially a reading guide for specific characters/teams. I think this would be a great book for someone looking to get into Marvel's comics or just curious about the genre, but I found it a bit of a slog to get through.
barnesstorming's review
3.0
This is a fun read and it grew my appreciation of comics as more than just the page-turning high adventure stuff I remember from when I was a kid, when I would tear through my uncles' stash of '60s and '70s titles in an old trunk in my grandad's house. But this book was not the all-encompassing "greater narrative" of all the Marvel comics, as the Times review led me to believe it would be. Rather, it attempts to build a series of narratives with a few of the signature heroes' story arcs. And oftentimes it's really just a greatest-hits checklist of the titles. So it would serve as a great guide if you're looking for the key beats over, say, the many decades of Spider-Man titles. Whatever you do, don't skip the footnotes, which is where Wolk's humor really shines. I don't regret spending the time with this book, but if you're lured to it by the promise of more than it is, just adjust your expectations.
zach_collins's review
3.0
Pro: Deep dives into both individual storylines and the Marvel comicverse as a whole, all the while guided by one of the "true believers" whose passion for these stories and characters shines through every chapter.
Con: Its easy for Wolk, like many comic fans, to get caught up in minutia and details that wouldn't interest the average reader (I am not an average reader, so that didn't personally bother me, but I could see someone whose main experience with Marvel is the MCU getting easily lost). Also, the focus on details often comes at the expense of understanding the overarching story of the shared multiverse of Marvel Comics - something the author proudly declares in the opening pages will be a major focus of the book.
Con: Its easy for Wolk, like many comic fans, to get caught up in minutia and details that wouldn't interest the average reader (I am not an average reader, so that didn't personally bother me, but I could see someone whose main experience with Marvel is the MCU getting easily lost). Also, the focus on details often comes at the expense of understanding the overarching story of the shared multiverse of Marvel Comics - something the author proudly declares in the opening pages will be a major focus of the book.