Reviews

Marvel Comics: The Secret History of Marvel Comics by Sean Howe

dcox83's review against another edition

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4.0

Anyone with a fleeting interest in Marvel comics will love this book. Sean Howe does a great job of balancing the business, societal, fictional and personal histories of everyone who's worked at Marvel the last 50+ years.

curlyslf's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

2.75

nutmeg205's review against another edition

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3.0

Informative, but it got to be a bit boring...although, if you love comics, it's the book to read!

dorothy_1900's review against another edition

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4.0

It was like reading a crime novel where main plot was extended over many years of different nefarious intrigues with web of connections so complicated that it should have been a graph to getbetter orientation in numerous people who were/ are part of Marvel history.
Fantastic book, it just makes you realize how many people were a part of this wonderful history. It's upsetting, though, to realize how many of them were treated unfairly just for corporation to have a higher profit.

macthebrazen's review against another edition

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5.0

I always disliked history in school, until I had a professor in college who was able to weave facts into an engaging, cohesive narrative.

This author does an excellent job of doing the same. I stayed engaged in a way that I wouldn't normally for a nonfiction book of this length, and it makes me appreciate my comic book reading more too!

jakewjerrard's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

3.5

pixisox's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

2.25

standardman's review against another edition

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5.0

Incredibly well researched and engagingly written, this is a fascinating book peppered with more intrigue and conflict than the average Marvel summer crossover.

A must for anyone who loves Marvel comics.

btmarino84's review against another edition

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5.0

Fascinating history of Marvel Comics. A bit depressing at times but always incredibly interesting. My favorite moments came earlier in the book when it dealt mainly with the creators. Later on it gets much more involved in the business side, which is important and interesting and lets us see the problems facing the comic industry first hand. But I just had way more fun hearing about Jim Starlin and Steve Englehart and others tripping balls and wandering NYC coming up with their ideas.

It's also great to read this and see that nowadays the writers at Marvel seem to be doing much better. Treated with better respect. There are a lot of great writers getting to write great books and doing a really good job running the creative side while still getting to write lots of creator owned stuff. There's a lot of variety in their books now and they never feel rushed or edited to heck like DC can these days. Maybe they learned their lesson for now?

shane_marble's review against another edition

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3.0

I told you my reading had gotten shameful.