Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe [Hardcover]

Michael Mallory (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 2001

Comic book superheroes are the mythological giants of 20th-century popular culture. Marvel has dominated the field for 60 years with the larger-than-life, yet very human, heroics of Captain America, Silver Surfer, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Incredible Hulk. Michael Mallory examines the characters' origins and subsequent evolution through interviews with such legendary cartoonists as Joe Simon, Roy Thomas, and Stan Lee, as well as with the animators who translated the Marvel exploits into other media -- TV, film, toys, video games, and theme park attractions. This collector's dream is illustrated with fabulous reproductions of comic art and hundreds of photographs from film and TV, many of which have never before been published.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Universe; First edition. edition (August 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883631091
• ISBN-13: 978-0883631096
• Product Dimensions: 13.9 x 10.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,602,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Mallory leads multiple creative lives. In fiction he is best known as the creator of "Amelia Watson," the second wife of Dr. John H. Watson (Sherlock Holmes' friend and "Boswell"), and the eleven-year-old detective "Scotty," whose adventures appear regularly on the Los Angeles Times Reading Room Page. A recognized authority on 20th century pop culture, he is the author of several nonfiction books, including "Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror," "X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe," and "Iwao Takamoto: My Life With a Thousand Characters," which Mike co-wrote with the late animation legend Iwao Takamoto. He has published over one-hundred short stories and more than 400 magazine and newspaper articles. In addition, Mike is a frequent public speaker, a former newscaster, and over the years has been known to take on an acting role or two.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read and Coffee Table Book, May 2, 2002

By 

Judith L. Straub (Muncie, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe (Hardcover)

This book is great. It goes into, although briefly the rise of marvel comics. The meat and potatoes of this book though is the study of the marvel characters. Captain America, Spider-man, The Incredible Hulk, and the X-Men are looked into in depth. Other characters in the marvel universe are also explored but not in the length of the others mentioned. Whats great about this book is that it looks at the characters major story lines and their origins but also their representations in other mediums. WOndering about Captain America in the movies or on t.v.? Then this is the book for you. There is also another great book titled "marvel universe." That book looks at the characters in the comics only. So if you want just a study of the comics go with "Marvel Universe." If you want a book that looks at everything invovled with the character go with this one. Or buy both, they are fantastic books. So buy both! I did.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Overview of the "Marvel Age" Of Comics, March 17, 2003

By 

Daniel V. Reilly (Upstate New York, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Marvel (Hardcover)

I put off buying Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe because of the price. I finally decided to give in to the temptation, and WOW, am I glad I did! I had an absolute BLAST reading this book.

The book is beautifully designed; It looks, smells, and feels GREAT. It's so attractive that at times I actually hated to open it for fear of getting it dirty. The cover art by Kaare Andrews is just gorgeous. Content-wise, Author Michael Mallory does a nice job of covering the history of the Marvel Bullpen and it's major players (Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko), and the Marvel Universe and it's major characters (Captain America, The Hulk, Spider-Man, and The X-Men each get extensive chapters of their own, The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Daredevil, The Silver Surfer, et al, all share smaller chapters). The chapters are lavishly illustrated, and filled with beautiful art from the Comics, Movies, TV shows, and video games that the characters have appeared in. I'm a REAL Marvel Comic afficionado, and not only did I NOT find too many mistakes in the book (A few, but nothing major...), but I actually learned a lot; My favorite tidbit- Captain America co-creator Joe Simon hails from my adopted hometown of Rochester, New York.

Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe is a luxury item, to be sure, but one I'm glad I splurged on. I guarantee any Marvel Zombie will love it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Nice Looking Collectors/Coffee Table Book, August 17, 2005

By 

K.H. - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Marvel (Hardcover)

This book, while lacking a little in historical content compared to Marvel: Five Fabulous Decadess of the World's Greatest Comics, exceels in Character content on primary Marvel heros. The art work, photos, and some updated material is nice (eventhough, in the age of comic movies, it is now behgind, but that cannot be helped).

Chapters on Captian America, Spider-man, and the Fantastic Four are very nice, but it does not do justice to other marvel heros such as the second tier group like the Punisher or Daredevil.

All in all, this book functions well as a coffee table book, of which it is intended. I ama Marvel and DC fan, and find this book to be a nice collection.