All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told
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- Create Date：2021-10-13 05:21:16
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Douglas Wolk
- ISBN：B08V8CVNK9
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Reviews
Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell
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I love histories about graphic novels even though I don't really read many graphic novels。 What's with that？ IDK。 Now GIMME I love histories about graphic novels even though I don't really read many graphic novels。 What's with that？ IDK。 Now GIMME 。。。more
Gary Shapiro
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I have read a lot of books about comics。 Most are about their history and the people， mostly men， who created them。 Douglas Wolk has written here about what is inside them！ He has read 27，000 comics in the Marvel Universe and offers this discussion of what is good。 If you love comics then you will love this。
The Word Whisperer
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Real intricate details of all your marvel characters， their histories and character developments。 The book charts all the ，main characters and some that have been forgotten or you've not heard of before。 You get an understanding of how the Marvel characters were created， Why the stories of your favourite superheroes have been rewritten or taken a different arc as times have changed and peoples expectations and morality。 This book isn't a want for any die hard Marvel fan， this is a 'need'。 Makes Real intricate details of all your marvel characters， their histories and character developments。 The book charts all the ，main characters and some that have been forgotten or you've not heard of before。 You get an understanding of how the Marvel characters were created， Why the stories of your favourite superheroes have been rewritten or taken a different arc as times have changed and peoples expectations and morality。 This book isn't a want for any die hard Marvel fan， this is a 'need'。 Makes a perfect addition to any comic collection and a must read for all lovers of Marvel， whichever Superhero is your favourite。 。。。more
Katie Soderlund
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Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for digital ARC， it has not affected my honest review。"All of the Marvels" is a comprehensive and incredibly detailed analysis of Marvel comic history that differs from the usual "history" book of it's kind。 Douglas Wolk， rather than simply writing a timeline of Marvel， has instead made a tour of aspects of the company's history that might interest most。 This includes a focus on the Marvel films that were never made but also how the MCU in modern day has Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for digital ARC， it has not affected my honest review。"All of the Marvels" is a comprehensive and incredibly detailed analysis of Marvel comic history that differs from the usual "history" book of it's kind。 Douglas Wolk， rather than simply writing a timeline of Marvel， has instead made a tour of aspects of the company's history that might interest most。 This includes a focus on the Marvel films that were never made but also how the MCU in modern day has impacted the way comics are presented。 This book approaches comics in their broadest contexts- from issues of Captain America written during protests against Vietnam， the relationship between the "founding fathers" Stan Lee， Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko to openly discussing the issues of race and misogyny more prevalent in older comics （such as Shang Chi in the 1970s and the lack of leading women in the 1980's）。 My favourite aspect of this book is how Douglas Wolk is quite clearly a comic fan， there's passion in his writing that can only come from a long time reader; but the book is still very much accessible to those who haven't been reading for years or haven't read comics at all。 Each section was clear and his writing style is passionate and personal， it's less like reading a history book and more like having a conversation with a friend， which I massively enjoyed。 This is a book I will definitely go back to in the future。 。。。more
Chris
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Douglas Wolk decided he was going to read over 27，000 Marvel Comics， starting in the early 60s and going up to the present time。 He then wrote a book detailing his experiences and observations on the comics he loved as a kid and as an adult。 The tone for this book is conversational and at times humorous。 He is a big fan of Marvel， but doesn't shy away from the problematic things in their past， such as their treatment of race and gender。 I liked that his passion for comics really came through in Douglas Wolk decided he was going to read over 27，000 Marvel Comics， starting in the early 60s and going up to the present time。 He then wrote a book detailing his experiences and observations on the comics he loved as a kid and as an adult。 The tone for this book is conversational and at times humorous。 He is a big fan of Marvel， but doesn't shy away from the problematic things in their past， such as their treatment of race and gender。 I liked that his passion for comics really came through in the writing and that he gave his insights into where to start reading comics and reading them together with his son。 I also liked that in the appendix he gave us a quick run down of the 6 main timelines in the Marvel Comics Universe。 No matter if you're new to comics， like me， or a long time reader， you will enjoy this book！Thank you to Penguin Press， author Douglas Wolk， and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Graham Vingoe
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I am a lifelong Marvel fan （Fantastic Four 127） to be exact and deep down I have always wanted to do what Douglas Wolk has done and read everything。 This is very comprehensive but I personally would have preferred this to be a chronological run-through from the start。rather than selecting certain Seri as a focus。 That said this is excellent and I did learn things I never knew before。 Very good book
Leona
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For the occasional comic reader it’s hard to know where to dip your toes in the epic lake that is the history of Marvel。 It’s too vast with it’s own positives & negatives to know where to start。 Especially if you are only familiar with some characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe since it has a habit of tweaking characters & stories into their own creations。 Wolk has taken on the burden of doing the time-consuming research so that new converts to the church of comics and fans like myself c For the occasional comic reader it’s hard to know where to dip your toes in the epic lake that is the history of Marvel。 It’s too vast with it’s own positives & negatives to know where to start。 Especially if you are only familiar with some characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe since it has a habit of tweaking characters & stories into their own creations。 Wolk has taken on the burden of doing the time-consuming research so that new converts to the church of comics and fans like myself can find out where to bow down and be wowed。 I have a habit of reading whatever graphic novels I can get my hands on from my local library which can mean I travel all over the timelines and discover various styles & storytellers in a haphazard manner。 I love this approach and have read some of this author's recommended stories and I've now added lots of new things on my list to try and track down。 This book is not just for newbies， die hard geeks and the casual fan will all find something to treasure in Wolk’s approachable style and recommendations。 You can feel his love seep through every chapter。 For all true believers！ 。。。more
Benjamin
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Douglas Wolk decided that he would take the plunge and dive into the 27，000 （give or take） comic books that make up the Marvel Universe。 And he decided to write a book about his undertaking。 It's not just a summary of the issues， but more a collection of observations he had while going through。 He touches of various corners of the Marvel Universe， looks at the trends from the beginning up until the current runs。 It was a enjoyable look that never dwelled on a single aspect， but embraced the cons Douglas Wolk decided that he would take the plunge and dive into the 27，000 （give or take） comic books that make up the Marvel Universe。 And he decided to write a book about his undertaking。 It's not just a summary of the issues， but more a collection of observations he had while going through。 He touches of various corners of the Marvel Universe， looks at the trends from the beginning up until the current runs。 It was a enjoyable look that never dwelled on a single aspect， but embraced the constantly moving parts that make up the Marvel Comic Book Universe。 I would categorize myself as a DC Guy， so it was very fun and informative to get a look behind the curtain into a world I have only barely scratched the surface of。 I'm glad he brought us all along on his ride。（Special Note: I received an digital ARC from Penguin Press through Netgalley） 。。。more
Ron
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Do you read comics？ Are you a DC fan， a Marvel Fan， both？ or do you lean more to the independent comics？ Well， if you are a Marvel fan， Douglas Wolk has a treat for you！ He read 27，000+ issues （540，000+ pages） of comics - from Alpha Flight to Omega the Unknown - so that he "can be a guide to help curious travelers。。。。" So if you are curious， go on the journey with him！Douglas Wolk begins by discussing the formation of Marvel， the intersections of all the Marvel stories， and a FAQ of the weird qu Do you read comics？ Are you a DC fan， a Marvel Fan， both？ or do you lean more to the independent comics？ Well， if you are a Marvel fan， Douglas Wolk has a treat for you！ He read 27，000+ issues （540，000+ pages） of comics - from Alpha Flight to Omega the Unknown - so that he "can be a guide to help curious travelers。。。。" So if you are curious， go on the journey with him！Douglas Wolk begins by discussing the formation of Marvel， the intersections of all the Marvel stories， and a FAQ of the weird questions many folks pose to him or online。 Wolk begins with the Fantastic Four posing Fantastic Four #51 （June 1966） as the wellspring of the Marvel universe。 Spiderman gets his due with a chapter as does the Avengers， the X-Men， Thor and Loki， Black Panther， and Doctor Doom。 Interestingly， Shang-Chi and The Master of Kung Fu merits a whole chapter dissecting Marvel in regard to race and color in comics。 Some of those themes also show up in the chapter on crime fighters， Captain Marvel/Ms。 Marvel and Squirrel Girl。 In a series of interlude chapters， Wolk discusses monsters， how the Vietnam War influenced Marvel comics， pop stars such as Dazzler， appearances of US presidents in Marvel comics， March 1965 which is when Marvel really began creating a complete universe for its characters to inhabit， and an revealing chapter on Linda Carter。 Then in the final chapter， Wolk reveals why he read all these comics， he was trying to create a systematic outline for his son to find the tales he enjoyed in the Marvel universe。 Douglas Wolk takes the reader on a journey through All of the Marvels in 384+ pages。 In the limited space of the book， he provides a springboard for the reader to find their own path into the world of Marvel。 。。。more
Jennifer Schultz
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Read if you: Want a whilwhind journey through the vast archive and timeline of Marvel comics。 As someone who has enjoyed A。J。 Jacobs's books about his unusual quests （reading the entire encyclopedia， trying to observe all the Biblical commandments， etc）， I thought this would be more in that vein。 It's not， but that's OK。 Casual fans of Marvel comics or those wanting more of a narrative history of the Marvel comics might be disappointed （there are other books for that）， but those that want an ove Read if you: Want a whilwhind journey through the vast archive and timeline of Marvel comics。 As someone who has enjoyed A。J。 Jacobs's books about his unusual quests （reading the entire encyclopedia， trying to observe all the Biblical commandments， etc）， I thought this would be more in that vein。 It's not， but that's OK。 Casual fans of Marvel comics or those wanting more of a narrative history of the Marvel comics might be disappointed （there are other books for that）， but those that want an overview of famous （and obscure） Marvel comics， tidbits on specific issues， and more will be delighted。 Some may wish there was more focus on certain series， but that's to be expected。Librarians/booksellers: Definitely purchase for your comics fans！Many thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Theediscerning
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Readability。 That's supposed to be what we get from mainstream comics， but it certainly isn't what we always get from books about them。 It's here in abundance， however， and comes from a unique guy – someone who churned his way through the entire first few decades of Marvel Comics' output – cape books and others besides。 I had thought this would be about the journey he made， from decision to final monthly on the 'read' pile， but no – beyond a few mentions in what ends up being quite a lengthy int Readability。 That's supposed to be what we get from mainstream comics， but it certainly isn't what we always get from books about them。 It's here in abundance， however， and comes from a unique guy – someone who churned his way through the entire first few decades of Marvel Comics' output – cape books and others besides。 I had thought this would be about the journey he made， from decision to final monthly on the 'read' pile， but no – beyond a few mentions in what ends up being quite a lengthy introduction of what an awkward experience it ended up being， we don't see our author in action。 What we get instead acts as a singular selection of potted histories about the Marvel Universe。The first chapter concerning those shows us the worlds of Fantastic Four， and how so many years were wasted churning out copies of the first few。 Then we have a timeline through the multiple swings and harrows Spider-Man has faced。 The mainstream-avoiding Master of Kung-Fu is forensically discussed， although we have also by now seen the other strand of the book， looking at the history of Marvel – the early proto-monster books， Stan Lee's collabs of debatable stature， and how they peppered their pages with echt US Presidents， and pop stars real and otherwise。Throughout we're shown how the average read of the full Marvel Universe， were we to do it， is very scatter-shot， jumping us from one character of interest to follow one author， to see how a new generation was looking at an older gang of heroes， even how an unseasonal snowfall was seen elsewhere。。。 This book does the same， with footnotes mentioning chapters way in ahead of our page-turning， as if we're supposed to follow suit。 It's a book that does show all the pratfalls that can be had with narrative multi-part stories; our guide talks of something called 'Ultimate End' as being heinously misread by people before it was all presented to us。 The irony in that being a feature of an endless， multi-authored cash-cow that in no way is a Gesamtkunstwerk no matter what our chap says， finds no room here。What is also evident is the fact that， for all the woke quibbles about the early creators of all this being similar， white， cis males， any commonality in thought and process that might have created the one ur-comic （growing， we're told， by 20，000pp a year） would not have existed if they had been any other way。 People trying to enforce a singular universe on all their output （hello， Valiant） are doing it because the shorthand of cultural history implies it seems to have worked in Marvel's case （although their results are distinctly ropey at times）。Still， nobody – not even Stan Lee – has ever claimed Marvel to be perfect， and there must have been a heck of a lot of dross to wade through， and a mountain of repeated storylines and tropes to gloss over in the final report。 I kind of think this book missed a trick by discussing the ordeal more， for looks at Marvel's output in other fashions have long existed。 But it was still interesting， informative and entertaining – and proof on every page why nobody would ever try the same with DC。 。。。more
Dave
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“All of the Marvels” is Douglas Wolk’s extended love letter to Marvel Comics， all 27，000 of them ranging from the 1960’s to the present。 He read them all and wants to share his delight with the rest of us。 As he explains in his extended introduction， one of the magical things about Marvel Comics is that all the superheros inhabit an extended universe （although there are a few alternate universes out there） and there is in some ways a giant story of which each comic line is but a piece of。 This h “All of the Marvels” is Douglas Wolk’s extended love letter to Marvel Comics， all 27，000 of them ranging from the 1960’s to the present。 He read them all and wants to share his delight with the rest of us。 As he explains in his extended introduction， one of the magical things about Marvel Comics is that all the superheros inhabit an extended universe （although there are a few alternate universes out there） and there is in some ways a giant story of which each comic line is but a piece of。 This has allowed such things as cross-over stories and hints in one comic line of something going on in another。 Wolk also points out that the Marvel superhero story extends over sixty years of comics from 1960 or so to the present day， but in comic-time， its only about 15 years compressed。 Otherwise， all our heroes would be tottering grandparents still wielding the might hammer or the shield。 Some of this dues ex machina， meaning the storytellers made it fit。Wolk does not purport to trace the entire history of any line of comics or even the depth or breadth of a comic line。 He argues that Marvel’s heart and soul has always been the Fantastic Four and talks about that line in general and then points out specific issues that matter。 Wolk does the same for Thor， for the Black Panther， and for X-Men， talking as much about modern day manifestations of these heroes than the classic stories。His devotion to his comic collection and the handing it down to his son are fascinating， particularly for those of us who gave up our comic books as teenagers， selling off our small meager collections for gas money and a new set of absolutely-necessary tires。 Of course， some drawbacks are that Wolk made no attempt to talk about all of the major lines of Marvel。 For some of us who view the center of the Marvel Universe as Captain America and the Avengers， that means our favorite comic lines are not discussed。 Moreover， for those of us who stopped following any series in the late seventies or the early eighties， it means that there is quite a bit of discussion about new stuff we just are not familiar with and individual issues that we just skim by。 Luckily， Wolk does point out that much of Marvel is now accessible online through subscription services。 。。。more
BooksintheBelfry
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I am very impressed by Douglas’s commitment & energy， to have read so many comics and be able to speak in depths about them。 You can definitely tell he has a clear passion and live for this universe。 Despite being a big marvel comics fan， unfortunately I don’t think this was the book for me。 I found it a slog to get through and often found myself skipping lines & zoning out。 I think this is due to how dense the material is & I do find nonfiction quite difficult to focus on if not written dynamic I am very impressed by Douglas’s commitment & energy， to have read so many comics and be able to speak in depths about them。 You can definitely tell he has a clear passion and live for this universe。 Despite being a big marvel comics fan， unfortunately I don’t think this was the book for me。 I found it a slog to get through and often found myself skipping lines & zoning out。 I think this is due to how dense the material is & I do find nonfiction quite difficult to focus on if not written dynamically。I think this book could be of great interest to those wanting to unearth the legacy of Marvel & understand the connective tissue of the universe but on if your able to devote a lot of time to focus & absorb the text。 。。。more
Triviasphinx
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An impressive survey of the history of Marvel Comics， perhaps the most influential media empire among young adults and children today， thanks to the Disney films。 Having read 27，000+ comics from the early 60s to today， Wouk focuses on the key developments of Stan Lee's empire， from the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man to the more socially aware comics of the present。 He occasionally dips into sidebars about interesting minor characters and developments over the years （Shang-Chi， for example， who is An impressive survey of the history of Marvel Comics， perhaps the most influential media empire among young adults and children today， thanks to the Disney films。 Having read 27，000+ comics from the early 60s to today， Wouk focuses on the key developments of Stan Lee's empire， from the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man to the more socially aware comics of the present。 He occasionally dips into sidebars about interesting minor characters and developments over the years （Shang-Chi， for example， who is about to appear on screens worldwide）。 Not always easy to follow， but this is a great resource for serious Marvel fans and for readers who want to get involved in the Marvel universe and want to know where to start。 We will definitely purchase this for our library， 。。。more
Alex Sarll
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I've read more Marvel comics than most people， but I still find the work behind this book a little terrifying: with a few small exceptions， Douglas Wolk read every Marvel comic from 1961 to 2017 （and plenty of the other ones too）。 All 27，000 of them。 So on one level， it's impressive enough that the book isn't just page after page of 'All work and no play makes Doug a dull boy。' Excluding DC on account of its reboots， and its coming later to full engagement with the shared universe idea， Wolk mak I've read more Marvel comics than most people， but I still find the work behind this book a little terrifying: with a few small exceptions， Douglas Wolk read every Marvel comic from 1961 to 2017 （and plenty of the other ones too）。 All 27，000 of them。 So on one level， it's impressive enough that the book isn't just page after page of 'All work and no play makes Doug a dull boy。' Excluding DC on account of its reboots， and its coming later to full engagement with the shared universe idea， Wolk makes the case that the Marvel Universe， if not if the greatest story ever told， is certainly the biggest， in more ways than one。 He uses the metaphor of a vast mountain in the middle of pop culture; even before it spawned 18 of the hundred highest grossing films， and influenced plenty of the others， many of its characters and tropes （bitten by a radioactive spider; 'You wouldn't like me when I'm angry'） had entered the culture。 Yet when this inspires people to attempt their own ascent of the mountain， many of the apparently easy routes prove fruitless and frustrating。 Yet people keep emerging gasping about the wonders inside。 What to do？ Well， Wolk wants to provide a guidebook， a celebration of how a handful of creators， and the hundreds who came after them， folded all the other comics genres like romance and monsters and humour into the superheroes whose rebirth they kicked off， in the process beginning "a funhouse-mirror history of the past sixty years of American life"。 "In some of its deeper caverns， it's the most forbidding， baffling， overwhelming work of art in existence。 At its fringes， it's so easy to understand and enjoy that you can read a five-year-old an issue of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and she'll get it right away。 And not even the people telling the story have read the whole thing。That's fine。 Nobody is supposed to read the whole thing。 That's not how it's meant to be experienced。So， of course， that's what I did。 I read all 540，000-plus pages of the story published to date， from Alpha Flight to Omega The Unknown。 Do I recommend anyone else do the same？ God， no。 Am I glad I did it？ Absolutely。"The real beauty of it is that while formatted as a handbook for the curious novice， perhaps someone coming from the films， All Of The Marvels is also written with sufficient verve and insight that any Marvel veteran will find plenty to enjoy too。 Sometimes it skirts the mythic awe with which Grant Morrison's Supergods approached the history of the superhero; other times it's spectacularly salty。 Some of my favourite bits came when it managed to be both at once: "Readers can either buy into this stuff or roll their eyes at it hard， but it's more fun to do both。 It's very easy to mock Claremont by quoting him out of context; all his biggest fans do it。" The longer chapters suggest thematic overviews and interesting starting points for individual characters or teams， singling out illustrative issues; shorter interludes take in wider yet also more niche angles like space， or music in the Marvel Universe （which was where I got very excited to learn that someone whose video I was in has appeared as himself in a band with Rick Jones， meaning I'm only a couple of degrees from having teamed up with the Hulk）。 Along the way certain motifs recur， such as the attitude of subsequent creators to the legacy with which they're working。 Here Wolk draws a sound yet never firm dichotomy between two competing urges – the creators like Claremont， who want to push forward the same way Stan and Jack （and Steve） did in the early days， and those like John Byrne， who see themselves more as reverential custodians。 At times it can get a little sad to realise how much of the recent past has become a matter of rearranging existing elements; obviously I was aware that legacy titles dominated the line， but I hadn't entirely clicked that the last entirely new title （as against new characters in an old role， like Ms Marvel） to be a hit was Runaways， 15 years ago; the last Marvel comic even to attempt it was Mosaic， in 2016。Still， when you have that many pieces in play， and can always make new ones so long as they fit supporting roles， or pick up a legacy， there are still an awful lot of options。 I love that from all those thousands of comics， the first and last Marvel lines quoted in the book are both by Al Ewing， someone whose journey at Marvel I've watched from the beginning， and who has now shown himself an absolute master at using and reworking the available components into mad， brilliant investigations of whatever takes his fancy。 Which has always been one of the options， of course， most famously with Kirby and to a lesser extent Ditko （whose post- and non-Marvel work would showcase more of his idiosyncratic philosophy）。 But as Wolk points out， even for a later generation of creators such as Jim Starlin， characters like Thanos were part of a very personal and somewhat eccentric cosmology – meaning the mad Titan's modern ubiquity is a lot like William Blake's Urizen suddenly becoming a fixture of cereal boxes and Hallowe'en costumes。Wolk states early on that he firmly believes every popular success， in any medium， has something remarkable about it。 Once I would have agreed; there have been few times I've felt quite so close to the infinite as I used to at Popular， the club which only played Number Ones。 But just as algorithmically endorsed beige has spoiled that argument when it comes to pop， so a similar suspension of the old rules seems to have happened at Marvel， where even absolute stinkers of old flop books like the Eternals are soon to be all-but-guaranteed multiplex hits on the big screen。 At times you can tell these changes have overtaken Wolk in production; he admits in his chapter on Shang-Chi that he needed to rewrite its opening， because the initial version had confidently asserted that due to the original comics being as problematic as they were pioneering， this was a character who was never going to make it to our screens。 Elsewhere， he didn't even have time to do that， as when he explains the TVA in a footnote， clearly lacking his own time travel tech to let him know that the Loki series would have brought them to casual viewers before the book came out。 Still， within the limitations of causality， he does a good job of talking about the films too， the way they draw on the comics but then in turn reshape them。 Once or twice he even digs up a titbit of which I was wholly unaware， like how Christine Palmer， seen as a colleague of Stephen's in the Doctor Strange film， was a character from Marvel's old romance comics who was actually being published before Strange was。 Set against this survey of an unprecedented triumph， though， there is one detail which feels like the slave who would whisper to victorious Roman leaders that they were mortal: the CyberComics which Marvel produced for AOL from 1996 to 2000， a prior multimedia gambit， now seem to be entirely lost， with neither company， nor their creators， seeming to have copies。 And I thought the missing bits of Doctor Who and Fraggle Rock ran ridiculously close to the present day！（Netgalley ARC） 。。。more
Meaghan Babin
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This book is amazing！ I love Marvel and reading this book was an absolute delight。 I enjoyed all of the childhood nostalgia that Douglas conjures and I really applaud his effort to create a timeline and plot for everything Marvel。 All of the Marvels is an iconic book for Marvel fans and comic fans alike。 The chapters are short and sweet and I took a lot of enjoyment out of the chapter titles。
Zandt McCue
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I have hundreds - realistically， thousands - of books to read which keep getting interrupted by other books that make their way into the peripheral of my universe。 Time will punctuate how far I get。 Knowing this， and knowing how the inability to read everything in existence bothers me， I still went off the beaten path when this book appeared in my feed。 It took a lot of dedication for someone to read decades of Marvel Comics。 It's not something I could do。 I've tried。 At various points in my lif I have hundreds - realistically， thousands - of books to read which keep getting interrupted by other books that make their way into the peripheral of my universe。 Time will punctuate how far I get。 Knowing this， and knowing how the inability to read everything in existence bothers me， I still went off the beaten path when this book appeared in my feed。 It took a lot of dedication for someone to read decades of Marvel Comics。 It's not something I could do。 I've tried。 At various points in my life， I tried to embrace comics by doing what the author tells you not to do: starting at the beginning。 Earlier entries are dated， campy， and unlike the modern characters that we know and love。 This book is written for fans of the Marvel characters who need a good entryway into the abundance of the comics， for fans of DC or other publishers who want to branch out into Marvel， or for people like me who like trivia of subjects that don't necessarily define us。 I feel the same way about comics as I do video games。 I like learning about the backstories， the histories， and the creators but I'm not a time and tested member of those communities。 There used to be a column on CBR which is a big comic website where someone would post history/trivia facts from various comic books。 I'm not sure if the column is still running as I'm posting this， but it's largely what I expected to find in this book。Now that I'm finished， I'm disappointed。 I don't think what is presented here is bad。 I think it's being advertised as way more than it actually is。 Out of all the Marvel Characters who have their own lines whether individually or in groups， he covers only a handful of series。 I understand it would take forever to cover each and every person。。。 but， for example， he talks about Thors comics at length but only Captain America or Iron Man when they pertain to something else。 Two of Marvel's biggest staples， and we don't get a history of those characters or a guide of who their best writers were， their storylines， etc。 I'm pretty sure She-Hulk is mentioned more than the Hulk。 A way too large amount of time is spent covering a storyline where Norman Osbourne becomes the Iron Patriot。 Another thing I found off-putting was that it seemed like the idea was to highlight a few comics or storylines that made the characters what they were， the few characters the author decided to talk about。 The Fantastic Four， Spiderman， Shang Chi， Thor， etc。 but many times after listing the title and creators of a comic， instead of writing what would be in that comic we are instead told about the creators themselves。 I have no problem with learning about the guys that made the content but if that's all a section is about then why did you list a specific comic？ Because it's good？ Why？ What happens in it？ Exactly。 Sometimes I get both， with a little more about the creators and I don't mind that。 But there are sections where it's simply "these people took over because this happened and their drawing style is like this" which means nothing to me。 And finally， based on the description of the book， I expected a lot more about the major crossover events Marvel consists of。 Some are covered but not to the extent that I expected。 The Infinity 。。。Saga。。。as I'll call it since that's how the movies aptly refer to it， takes a handful of pages， and doesn't deep dive into it。 Some of this is amended in the appendix。 It wasn't a terrible or bad book。 I was expecting a giant encyclopedic epic about the major storylines for at least all of the main characters in the Marvel Universe and I got some of that。 I would summarize this book as "A guy read all the Marvel Comics and he's also able to bond with his son。 Here are some comics he thinks are cool。" 。。。more
Martin Maenza
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I had the opportunity to read an early galley of the upcoming book All Of The Marvels by Douglas Wolk。 He took on the herculean task of reading more than 27，000 Marvel comics in order to present a "traveller's guide" to those looking to dove into the rich tapestry that is the Marvel narrative。 Being a life-long comic reader myself， one who discovered Marvel in the early 70's， I have my own winding history with their output。 However， mine was even spotty - preferring Spider-Man and team titles l I had the opportunity to read an early galley of the upcoming book All Of The Marvels by Douglas Wolk。 He took on the herculean task of reading more than 27，000 Marvel comics in order to present a "traveller's guide" to those looking to dove into the rich tapestry that is the Marvel narrative。 Being a life-long comic reader myself， one who discovered Marvel in the early 70's， I have my own winding history with their output。 However， mine was even spotty - preferring Spider-Man and team titles like the Avengers， the Fantastic Four and the X-Men to others like Thor， Daredevil or Iron Man。 Having a Marvel Unlimited subscription has helped me in recent years to correct that， allowing me to devour runs of titles I never picked up back in the day。 Wolk does a good job in this book giving an overview of certain issues to vist， also hitting some spotlights on specific favorite characters （as much as 320 pages will allow）。 There is a stronger focus on runs post-2000 as well as the early years from the 1960's。 The 70's and 80's get some mention too， while the 90's - a very rough period for comics in general - gets a deserved glossing over。 One particular thing I really liked is the Appendix which gives a nice overview of the Marvel universe history in just a few pages。 I would recommend highly for folks who might only know Marvel from the movies or TV shows to read that first。 This book is scheduled for an October release。 I had already tagged it for my to-order list for the library。 I think it contains some solid advice on tackling a deep dive into the Marvel continuity that will benefit my patrons。https://mcmaenza。blogspot。com/2021/07。。。 。。。more
Meghan
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This book was received as an ARC from PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press in exchange for an honest review。 Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own。I applaud Douglas Wolk's passion and determination in reading all 27，000+ Marvel Comics and researching further the inspiration and construction of each of them。 Even in the eyes of Stan Lee could not have come up with the determination in reading and telling all that went into drawing and writing the speech bubbles and dialo This book was received as an ARC from PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press in exchange for an honest review。 Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own。I applaud Douglas Wolk's passion and determination in reading all 27，000+ Marvel Comics and researching further the inspiration and construction of each of them。 Even in the eyes of Stan Lee could not have come up with the determination in reading and telling all that went into drawing and writing the speech bubbles and dialogue that went into each and every comic that transformed the Marvel Universe into this billion dollar box office we now know today。 My jaw was dropping many times with all of the nostalgic information and unknown findings that most of the movies and comics we know of today kept hidden。 I have not read a Marvel Comic nor saw a Marvel movie I did not like and grew an appreciation for。 We do have many members of our library community that love this nostalgic information and will appreciate this book very much。We will consider adding this title to our Biography collection at our library。 That is why we give this book 5 stars。 。。。more
Brandon Forsyth
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I couldn’t put this charming book down。 At its worst， the book is a very smart culture critic writing about his favourite comics， and at its best， it becomes a reflection on why we tell stories and which stories matter and how the best of them connect us to each other in profound ways。 The Herculean task of reading every Marvel comic ever written is surely a great hook， one designed for my fanboy brain to revel in， but what I got was so much more than that。 This isn’t just a book for diehards wh I couldn’t put this charming book down。 At its worst， the book is a very smart culture critic writing about his favourite comics， and at its best， it becomes a reflection on why we tell stories and which stories matter and how the best of them connect us to each other in profound ways。 The Herculean task of reading every Marvel comic ever written is surely a great hook， one designed for my fanboy brain to revel in， but what I got was so much more than that。 This isn’t just a book for diehards who can tell you who every background character in the latest AVENGERS movie is（although there is a lot here for those folks to engage with）。 This is a book for readers of SAPIENS， a celebration of story and the people who wrote and drew this particular one， as well as the way a bunch of dime comics can grow into the epic saga of our generation。 I absolutely adored it。 。。。more
Virginia
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