Origins of Marvel Comics [Hardcover]

Stan lee (Author), Jack Kirby (Illustrator), Steve Ditko (Illustrator), Herb Trimpe (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster / Fireside; 1st edition (October 15, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671218646
• ISBN-13: 978-0671218645
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,933,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stan Lee is a man who needs no introduction. Nevertheless: Having begun his career with wartime Timely Comics and staying the course throughout the Atlas era, Stan the Man made comic-book history with Fantastic Four #1, harbinger of a bold new perspective in story writing that endures to this day. With some of the industry's greatest artists, he introduced hero after hero in Incredible Hulk, Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men and more -- forming a shared universe for rival publishers to measure themselves against. After an almost literal lifetime of writing and editing, Lee entered new entertainment fields and earned Marvel one opportunity after another. He remains one of Marvel's best-known public representatives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor & Doc Strange!, March 24, 2001

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Origins of Marvel Comics (Paperback)

"Origins of Marvel Comics" presents the origins and history of its most famous creations with introductions from Stan (the Man) Lee that are interesting if not insightful. I am certain that to some degree Lee is mythologizing these actions of comic creation, but I really have no idea where to draw the line on how much credit he gets in all this and am not ashamed that my copy of this book is autographed. The main thing about this volume is that at a time where reprints were few and far between, "Origins of Marvel Comics" gives you the first appearance of classic super heroes along with what in 1974 were more recent stories as well. For "The Fantastic Four" we get issue #1 where they take on the Moleman and #55 "Where Strikes the Silver Surfer," both of which are drawn by Jack Kirby. "The Incredible Hulk" offers more Kirby art with issue #1 (with the Hulk still grey on the cover) and #118 where he fights the Sub-Mariner drawn by Herb Trimpe. "Amazing Fantasy" #15 provides the first story with Steve Ditko's Spider-Man while #72 of "The Amazing Spider-Man" features "Rocked by...The Shocker!" drawn by John Romita. Kirby again draws both stories when "Journey Into Mystery" #83 introduces "The Mighty Thor" while issue #143 has Thor, Balder and Sif taking on the Evil Enchanters. Finally, there are a trio of stories with Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, drawn by Ditko and Marie Severin. Of course the origin issues are of more interest than the others and do not really add anything significant. There are other volumes in this "series," providing more of the same.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Big Bang of the Marvel Universe, January 29, 2006

By 

Marcel (M.L.) Walker (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Origins of Marvel Comics (Paperback)

I originally owned this book when I was 11 years old, and actually bought it by mistake, thinking it was the sequel - SON OF ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS - which my cousins owned and which I had read years before. I even remember the trip we took to the local comics shop, specifically so I could get this volume. Far from being dissappointed, I was entrhalled at the chance to become acquainted with the background of characters I already knew and adored.

Stan Lee's imagination was the Big Bang from which the Marvel Universe sprung. While other more detailed and thoughtful volumes have since been published which detail the evolutions of The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man (that's "Spider-HYPHEN-Man"!!!) and company, there's something to be said for reading the history as described by the man who was there. Yes, the descriptions are relatively brief and full of hyperbole and superlatives -- but honestly, what else would one expect from Lee?

I realize now that the text pieces reflect the style and humor of the author as much as the reprinted stories they are interspersed between. ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS demonstrates perfectly how Stan Lee's personality above all else shaped Marvel Comics for decades to come. Indeed, the authors who followed in Lee's footsteps on most of the titles represented directly copied his style (admittedly, this might have been an editorial mandate -- but I have yet to read many complaints about it), and even now the original stories retain much of the power and charm they had then.

What's also now interesting about ORIGINS is the stories originally included to give a more "contemporary" feeling for the characters. These stories, which were first published less than a decade after their respective origin tales, are now equally as dated and serve in hindsight to represent a broader overview of MARVEL at the height of its inventiveness. A time when every other story was a CLASSIC -- and the vast majority of them were written by the same person.

An immeasurable debt is certainly owed the artists who also brought Dr. Strange, Thor, et al. to life (and Lee pays tribute to them all in his adverb-filled manner), and even a casual read demonstrates the diversity brought to the Marvel Bullpen by Kirby, Ditko, Romita Sr. (who illustrated the original printing's cover), Trimpe, and others. But the flip side of diversity is cohesion, and that magical element was supplied in abundance by the Editor Emeritus.

ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS is as much about Stan Lee as it is about his creations. It's a fun book, as well it should be. And it's the tip of the iceberg...so don't stop here. Go pick up SON OF ORIGINS and BRING ON THE BAD GUYS and THE SUPERHERO WOMEN OF MARVEL COMICS and the ESSENTIALS collections.

But start somewhere...start HERE. 'Nuff said!

5.0 out of 5 stars turning on the way-back machine for all True Believers, March 26, 2011

By 

H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Origins of Marvel Comics (Paperback)

ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS is a trade collection that's almost four decades old, having first come out way, way back in 1974, right around the time the wheel was invented. If you didn't know - and how come you don't? - Marvel Comics, back in the early '60s, introduced a hipper, grittier form of comic book storytelling, mostly by portraying its protagonists as these flawed (and, therefore, more interesting) characters. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (maybe comic books' most dynamic artist ever) did most of the heavy lifting. But let's also not forget Steve Ditko.

Honestly, this trade is worth it alone for Stan Lee's ever loquacious introductions as he waxes on and on about the inspirations behind this first wave of modern Marvel superheroes. Maybe my favorite bit is Stan's musings about his creative process regarding Dr. Strange. He comments on how this Sorcerer Supreme absolutely required that extra oomph. Regarding the theatrics of Strange casting a spell - like, maybe he needs to transport a villain to another dimension - Stan writes: "You can have him mutter, 'Split to another dimension, man,' but that may leave a little to be desired in the department of melodrama." Instead, Stan came up with awesome phrases such as "By the all-seeing eye of Agamotto!" and "In the name of the eternal Vishanti" and "By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth!" I actually use that last one as my very own personal expletive, never mind the weird looks I get.

ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS reacquaints us with the origins of the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, and Dr. Strange. As a bonus, there is also a later issue included per title of which intent is to demonstrate how the characters have evolved.

Stan Lee makes no bones of the Justice League of America being the inspiration for the Fantastic Four. Except that Stan took the old and dusty superhero team dynamics and upended that by presenting his group as this quartet that spends as much time bickering with each other as fighting crime. The Thing, surly and bitter and self-loathing, was easily the breakout character of the bunch. Stan Lee's writing in the FF, with its more grounded, more realistic approach, quickly turned heads and generated tons of fan mail. It became Marvel's cornerstone title and quickly lived up to its braggy billing as "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" Marvel took note of the Thing's popularity and repeatedly returned to the mold. More heroes with feet of clay, please. Anywho, FANTASTIC FOUR #1 chronicles how the FF came to be. FF #55 features a battle royale between the Thing and the Silver Surfer, whom the Thing believes to be making time with his girl Alicia Masters.

"Don't make me angry, Mr. McGee. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." Before the TV show, the Hulk rampaged thru his own comic book which dates back to 1962. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde... pretty much distills the essence of the Hulk. But Frankenstein's monster was also pivotal in Stan's fleshing out of the ill-tempered green giant. How's this for a hook? An intelligent, sensitive scientist trapped in an unending cycle of horror, rendered helpless as his primal, brutish side emerges time and again to smash all puny things in sight (like humans). This wrenching dichotomy made the Hulk a big hit; the Hulk's childlike innocence made him appealing. THE INCREDIBLE HULK #1 details Dr. Banner's exposure to gamma rays and the cr@pfest that unfolds from it. Issue #118 (with art by Herb Trimpe) features the Hulk's underwater rumble with the Sub-Mariner. They probably could've picked a better issue to show the Hulk's development as a character.

Next is my favorite superduper of all time, and that's Spidey, brother! AMAZING FANTASY #15 was meant to be the final issue of the sci-fi/fantasy anthology series, and so for shucks and giggles Stan experimented with a little somethin' somethin' called the Amazing Spider-Man. Stan wished to pen a story in which the teenager isn't the sidekick but the actual lead hero. For extra pathos, he'd make this kid endure some serious teen angst, be the perennial lovable loser, someone who may beat up on super-villains now and then and yet his personal life would remain as messed up as yours and mine. So, of course, we can't help but relate to the poor sap. AMAZING FANTASY #15 chronicles the web-slinger's origin and gives us that immortal maxim: "With great power there must also come great responsibility." Steve Ditko's art perfectly captures the lonely awkwardness of Peter Parker and the macabre grace of his friendly neighborhood alter ego. In a less seminal moment, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #72 re-introduces the villainy of the Shocker. It also reinforces that old Parker bad luck. More importantly, it showcases the sleek artwork of John Romita, who draws the best ever version of Gwen Stacy.

Time to brush up now on your thees and thous and verilys. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #83 features a crippled doctor holidaying in Norway. There, he sniffs out an alien invasion and stumbles onto a gnarled wooden stick which transforms him into Thor, the indomitable God of Thunder with the archaic diction. Next is THE MIGHTY THOR #143, which expands the canvas of Thor's universe and amps up the pageantry. It's neat, though, to see this story start off with Thor chillin' in a packed malt shop, sipping his soda, whilst schoolgirls moon over him in droves.

And, finally, Dr. Strange. To be honest, Dr. Strange, nowadays (or, really, ever), doesn't quite fall in the same league as the other famous cats in this collection. Still, no one can master the mystic arts quite like the aloof Dr. Stephen Strange, a once insufferably haughty surgeon humbled by fate and forced to assume a new calling. STRANGE TALES #110 has Dr. Strange's first appearance, #115 his origin story, and #155 his sorcerous duel with the unspeakable Umar, sister to the Dread Dormammu. Back in the '60s, Steve Ditko's artwork was so trippy that it probably served as ample substitute for them college students what ran out of their stash, if you know what I mean. Note, however, that issue #155 exhibits artwork by Marie Severin, whose illustraty stuff was never of the hallucinatory persuasion.