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A review by mattgoldberg
Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe
3.0
I'm conflicted on this one. On the one hand, it's a valuable overview of what Marvel went through over its various decades. It's a solid history of the company and its books changed, and the book is at its best when it provides insights into how creators crafted plot lines or how various business demands shaped the output (reading about Marvel in the 90s was like someone finally explaining to me why I could never get into comics as a kid even though I adored the X-Men and collected Marvel trading cards).
The flip side is that "The Untold Story" requires you to have familiarity with the told story. Because I didn't grow up reading comics and have really only read selected arcs from Marvel's history, I was usually at a loss with all these writers, artists, and editors. There are large sections where you feel like you're getting some hot piece of gossip or an axe to grind between participants, but it falls flat because you have no investment in these people beyond what you've read in this book. I learned that a lot of people didn't really like Jim Shooter, but I have no feelings on Jim Shooter one way or the other, so the conflict doesn't really land.
Nevertheless, I'm glad this book exists and that I read it because I now feel better prepped to dive into 'True Believer'.
The flip side is that "The Untold Story" requires you to have familiarity with the told story. Because I didn't grow up reading comics and have really only read selected arcs from Marvel's history, I was usually at a loss with all these writers, artists, and editors. There are large sections where you feel like you're getting some hot piece of gossip or an axe to grind between participants, but it falls flat because you have no investment in these people beyond what you've read in this book. I learned that a lot of people didn't really like Jim Shooter, but I have no feelings on Jim Shooter one way or the other, so the conflict doesn't really land.
Nevertheless, I'm glad this book exists and that I read it because I now feel better prepped to dive into 'True Believer'.