Marvel Comics

The Untold Story

De: Sean Howe

Narrado por: Stephen Hoye

The defining, behind-the-scenes chronicle of one of the most extraordinary, beloved, and dominant pop cultural entities in America’s history - Marvel Comics - and the outsized personalities who made Marvel, including Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby.

“Sean Howe’s history of Marvel makes a compulsively readable, riotous and heartbreaking version of my favorite story, that of how a bunch of weirdoes changed the world…That it’s all true is just frosting on the cake.” (Jonathan Lethem)

For the first time, Marvel Comics tells the stories of the men who made Marvel: Martin Goodman, the self-made publisher who forayed into comics after a get-rich-quick tip in 1939; Stan Lee, the energetic editor who would shepherd the company through thick and thin for decades; and Jack Kirby, the WW II veteran who would co-create Captain America in 1940 and, 20 years later, developed with Lee the bulk of the company’s marquee characters in a three-year frenzy.

Incorporating more than 100 original interviews with those who worked behind the scenes at Marvel over a 70-year-span, Marvel Comics packs anecdotes and analysis into a gripping narrative of how a small group of people on the cusp of failure created one of the most enduring pop cultural forces in contemporary America.

©2012 Sean Howe (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

love it!

for anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes happenings of the comic industry this book is a must. I've always considered myself pretty knowledgeable about the industry and it's sometimes dirty side but this book offered new and interesting information. Great book!

Awesome!

the history being what I enjoyed so much as a youth...come alone in a unique way. very delightful

Business side of Marvel

Very interesting and well researched though more business related, would have liked more artistic history

Bias at times, but overall solid!

A great overview of the history of Marvel! At times, I felt the author was a little heavy handed when trying to sway the reader's opinion about people or situations and it was off-putting.

Airing out Marvel's dirty laundry

Excellent, informative, entertaining, not afraid to tell us the scummier side of Marvel history

the ups and downs of the House of Ideas

Insight into the decades of making my favorite comics . It's eye-opening and it's infuriating. It added another dimension to Kirby's oft quoted, "comics will break your heart." Definitely worth a read if you are a Marvel fan at any stage .

A must for Marvel fans

Masterfully written and perfectly narrated. Every Marvel fan should listen to this, and then listen to it again.

Interesting

I was a comic collector from the 70’s thru the 90’s. This book really helped me to understand why what I loved in comics disappeared in the 90’s. Money, money, money

A very interesting listen, to be sure

I honestly found this book to possibly be a bit cynical, and also maybe a bit biased, but I still enjoyed it. That said, this narrative provides a whole new perspective on the creative talents I thought I knew so well, so caution is advised. Never meet your Heroes, Kids!!!

I'm curious what the creators think...

I took this book with on a business conference/golf outing and found myself looking for time alone to listen to it.
It was fun to hear more about people I've only known as names in comic book credits. There is plenty in these 18 hours that I didn't know at all, some good , some bad. The first half, after a brief recap of Marvel before 1960, talks about the Marvel age and the people behind it. Lots of interesting personalities there. You have your shirt sleeves and tie crowd and your dope smoking, acid dropping witch crowd working on the books almost side by side. It must have been interesting days to say the least.
The first half of the be book covers the stories and characters, giving attention to the people who wrote and drew them. Once Marvel becomes a corporate entity the focus shifts to more boardroom decisions and it becomes more dry. Less attention is given to the creators until we arrive at the Liefeld/McFarlane period (and you learn what a couple of morons they truly are).
My only beef with this reading is how the reader is allowed to mispronounce some of the names. The producers could have easily name checked these. It didn't ruin anything, just seemed amateurish.
I'm curious to hear what the creators would have to say about the accuracy of this book.
UPDATE:
Before he passed away I asked Len Wein what he thought of this book. He said it was about 50% accurate. I don't know if he had any ax to grind tithe author or publisher, but that's what he said. I just listened to it again and thought it was terrific.