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lladams_9000's review against another edition
1.0
**WARNING** This book IS NOT ABOUT THE TRUE EVOLUTION OF MARVEL COMICS! This should have been titled: The redundant ramblings on the life of Martin Goodman. Every time I’d start a new chapter I’d think to myself, “wait, did I read this already?” And then upon perusing the rest of the chapter found I could skip the entire thing.
If what Goodman printed wasn’t really “Marvel Comics” then spend maybe the first chapter laying the foundation of his initial corrupt contributions, then get on with the real creation of the ACTUAL Marvel comics. Interviews with Kirby, Lee, and Ditko. Highlight the lesser known creators of the characters, especially their contributions to the development of the brand in the late 90’s and early 2000’s when Marvel was coming back from the brink of bankruptcy.
Why spend so much time glorifying a corrupt conniving jackass in the 40’s when Marvel didn’t even find its true footing until the 70’s? This book isn’t about Marvel - I’m guessing it was written by someone related to Goodman trying to squeeze another dollar out of the unsuspecting public, just like Goodman would have done.
If what Goodman printed wasn’t really “Marvel Comics” then spend maybe the first chapter laying the foundation of his initial corrupt contributions, then get on with the real creation of the ACTUAL Marvel comics. Interviews with Kirby, Lee, and Ditko. Highlight the lesser known creators of the characters, especially their contributions to the development of the brand in the late 90’s and early 2000’s when Marvel was coming back from the brink of bankruptcy.
Why spend so much time glorifying a corrupt conniving jackass in the 40’s when Marvel didn’t even find its true footing until the 70’s? This book isn’t about Marvel - I’m guessing it was written by someone related to Goodman trying to squeeze another dollar out of the unsuspecting public, just like Goodman would have done.
jexjthomas's review against another edition
3.0
I was actually kind of disappointed by this. The writing is really dry, and there wasn't nearly as much information as I was expecting. However, the never before seen artwork is worth the price of the book alone.
sfian's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Apart from finding the text of this book a bit on the dry side, and frequently repetitive, my main problem with it is the claim that it "pulls back the curtain" and documents "shady practices". Ok, so it details Martin Goldman's (mostly) pre-Marvel - or, more accurately, pre-comicbooks - work on the pulps and magazines but, while it doesn't exactly paint him in a glowing way as a publisher, it hardly demonizes him either.
Yes, he passed off reprints as new work, but so did others - he wasn't the only one investigated for doing so. Yes, he published material that was on the cusp of offensive, but so did others - in fact, the authors go to lengths to point out that Goodman often jumped on a trend. And is the fact that he published using a multitude of company names really damning?
The main thrust of the book seems to be that today's Marvel (or the Marvel of ten years ago, when the book was published) is built on sleaze, horror and, sometimes, titillation. So what? This was the ears of the pulps, read by grown-up, not children.
That doesn't make it not interesting, and the reproduced artwork is, for the most part, lovely to look at. I just dont think it needs the sensationalism.
bstratton's review against another edition
5.0
An absolutely invaluable and mythbusting resource for anyone interested in the pre-1960’s history of Martin Goodman’s publishing empire.
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