Marvels [Paperback]

Kurt Busiek (Author), Alex Ross (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: 4 and up

Welcome to New York. Here, burning figures roam the streets, men in brightly colored costumes scale the glass and concrete walls, and creatures from space threaten to devour our world. This is the Marvel Universe, where the ordinary and fantastic interact daily. This is the world of MARVELS. Collecting MARVELS #0-4.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ten years ago, Marvels was the breakthrough work for both of its creators: a worm's-eye view of the spectacle of Marvel comics history—35 years of glorious superheroes and terrifying super-disasters, told from the perspective of Phil Sheldon, a newspaper photographer who's experienced "the marvels" from ground level. Renowned artist Ross's rich, lush, nearly photorealistic style (he painted all the major characters from photographs of models) made his reputation—and the book—a landmark. The story, too, suggests a sort of grandeur that had largely slipped away from superhero comics by the early '90s, even as it describes the helplessness that normal people might feel in the presence of angel-winged mutants and rapacious gods from outer space. There are plenty of Easter eggs in Marvels for longtime comics buffs, although the book is structured so that new readers won't be lost, either. The level of detail goes much deeper than what's visible on the page, but its creators' command of that unseen background gives the story itself force and resilience. This new edition augments the original with over 200 pages of extras: four drafts of Busiek's original proposal for the series, all of his scripts, a short bonus story, dozens of Ross's sketches and related artwork, and a guide to the many celebrity cameo appearances Ross drew into the original.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (January 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078514286X
• ISBN-13: 978-0785142867
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.4 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Children's Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Superheroes
  • #89 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Marvel

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great graphic novel!, November 18, 2002

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marvels (Paperback)

This fascinating graphic novel is a history of the Marvel universe, seen through the eyes of "common people", and more particularly, Phil Sheldon, press photographer. Throughout his career, Phil watches the superheroes ("Marvels" as he calls them), and also he watches the common people as they interact with the Marvels. Along the way, the reader is treated to a few essays by Stan Lee, Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross, and Scott McCloud, with their thoughts on the Marvels.

This book bored my eight-year-old son, as the superheroes were such minor characters. But, I found myself caught up in the story; reliving memories of watching the Marvel universe unfold throughout my life. (Boy, do I wish that I had saved those old comic books!) I found the authors' take on things to be quite though provoking. Indeed, he showed how people have always had a love/hate relationship with the Marvels from their inception through the 1970s, in spite of the other changes in their world.

This is a great graphic novel, one with a refreshingly different take. I highly recommend it to you!

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Marvel universe as seen by the average Joe, August 13, 2000

By 

Zagnorch (Terra, Sol System) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marvels (Paperback)

MARVELS is a neat chronicle of watershed events in the Marvel universe that occur over a period of about fifty years. It's also seen from the perspective of the average, non-superpowered 'man on the street'. It all unfolds from the view of a newspaper photographer, as he witnesses the legendary battle between Namor the Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch, the rise of the X-Men & their battle for equality, the death of Gwen Stacey, the aftermath of the X-Men's first battle with the Hellfire Club, and many more turning points in the Marvel world's history, all from an almost-safe distance.

Alex Ross's photorealistic painted artwork, rather than the pencil-ink-color process that is the norm, gives the book a 'real world' look. It's how the Marvel universe would look like were it shown 'live-action'. MARVELS marks Ross's big break into the comics scene, eventually making him one of the most in-demand talents in the medium today. This book was my first exposure to Ross' efforts, and I've been a big fan of his art ever since.

But there's also Kurt Busiek's story, which shows the man's reactions to the events as an outsider looking in. His story artistry gives you a glimpse, if you were able to, of how you'd experience the world of superheroes.

'Late!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Work of Art, December 18, 2001

By 

Hassan Galadari (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marvels (Paperback)

Marvel comics made history when it introduced art whiz, Alex Ross, to the general comic book public. In a 4 part miniseries, collected handsomely in this TPB, Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross take us on a history run of Marvel's most famous heroes, as we learn of their beginnings and take a ride down memory lane through the eyes of a photojournalist, a normal human.

Marvels is a success in two different aspects. The first being the extensive history, writer Kurt Busiek, takes on to bring all the right details in Marvel's events and actually make them fit. Be it sheer will or just luck, but he masterfully weaves a pattern that brings justice to Marvel's long abode that the company truly works on continuity and that a small even happening to one of the heroes will eventually affect another some other time. The art is something else. Alex Ross is amazing. Though he's not as crisp as he is in his later works like Kingdom Come, his work on Marvels takes on an evolutionary step in the visual rendition of comic books. The comic medium becomes not just restricted to pencil art, but full fledged painted art. Through it all, you can get a feel that his work gets better with each chapter. Chapter 3 and 4 being the most visually appealing.

Marvels is truly a gem of a work. It was a huge commercial success and racked some numerous awards too. It was interesting to look at the Marvel Universe through the eyes of your average joe. The same concept of the third party spawned the idea of the highly successful Spiderman's Tangled Web. This can only mean the comics are not just interested in stories about their favorite heroes, but also the people in which these heroes can affect their life. It is only through that do people can fully relate to and think that guy could very well be me. Marvels paved the way with a top notch story and over the top art.