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The Secret History of Marvel Comics: Jack Kirby and the Moonlighting Artists at Martin Goodman's Empire Hardcover – November 16, 2013

by Blake Bell (Author),‎ Michael J. Vassallo (Author)

18 customer reviews

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The untold story of the House of Ideas.

Marvel Comics is home to such legendary super-heroes as Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man, all of whom have spun box office gold in the 21st century. But Marvel Comics has a secret history hidden in the shadows of these well-known franchises.

The Secret History of Marvel Comics digs back to the 1930s when Marvel Comics wasn't just a comic-book producing company. Marvel Comics owner Martin Goodman had tentacles into a publishing world that might have made that era’s conservative American parents lynch him on his front porch. Marvel was but a small part of Goodman’s publishing empire, which had begun years before he published his first comic book. Goodman mostly published lurid and sensationalistic story books (known as “pulps”) and magazines, featuring sexually-charged detective and romance short fiction, and celebrity gossip scandal sheets. And artists like Jack Kirby, who was producing Captain America for eight-year-olds, were simultaneously dipping their toes in both ponds.

The Secret History of Marvel Comics tells this parallel story of 1930s/40s Marvel Comics sharing offices with those Goodman publications not quite fit for children. The book also features a comprehensive display of the artwork produced for Goodman’s other enterprises by Marvel Comics artists such as Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, Alex Schomburg, Bill Everett, Al Jaffee, and Dan DeCarlo, plus the very best pulp artists in the field, including Norman Saunders, John Walter Scott, Hans Wesso, L.F. Bjorklund, and Marvel Comics #1 cover artist Frank R. Paul. Goodman’s magazines also featured cover stories on celebrities such as Jackie Gleason, Elizabeth Taylor, Liberace, and Sophia Loren, as well as contributions from famous literary and social figures such as Isaac Asimov, Theodore Sturgeon, and L. Ron Hubbard.

These rare pieces of comic art, pulp and magazine history will open the door to Marvel Comics’ unseen history.

Black & white with some color

The Secret History of Marvel Comics: Jack Kirby and the Moonlighting Artists at Martin Goodman's Empire

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Winner: "Favorite Comics Related Book 2014" - U.K. True Believers Comic Awards

About the Author

Blake Bell is the author of Strange & Stranger (a retrospective of Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko); The Secret History of Marvel Comics, Fire & Water: Bill Everett, The Sub-Mariner, and the Birth of Marvel Comics; Amazing Mysteries: The Bill Everett Archives; and Strange Suspense and Unexplored Worlds (two volumes in The Steve Ditko Archives). He lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his son.

Dr. Michael J. Vassallo is a noted historian on Marvel's early pulp, Timely and Atlas periods. A Manhattan dentist, he spends his free time attempting to bring recognition to artistic creators of the 1940's and 1950's. He has also written introductions to 20 Timely and Atlas Masterworks volumes, dissecting the credits for posterity and providing historical context, as well as writing the detailed captions to the first 210 pages of Taschen's "75 Years of Marvel" coffee table book. He lives in Westchester County, New York.

Product details

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Fantagraphics; 1 edition (November 16, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1606995529
ISBN-13: 978-1606995525
Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 1.1 x 10.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 18 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #722,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #314 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Genres & Styles > Comics & Graphic Novels
- #388 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > History & Price Guides
- #434 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Fantagraphics

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Ronault D. Trowbridge

Never 'Nuff said!

January 2, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I've read several books about the triumphant rise of Marvel comics, but the most interesting part of the company history, is the way the artists who helped create the iconic characters were mistreated. This book delves deep into the shady business practices of Martin Goodman & others of his ilk. Not to mention the struggling artists, who only wanted to provide for families & maybe make a name for themselves. Plenty of pictures of great art & informative bios on the men who created the characters many love.

0Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

A great gift for any comic fan.

May 8, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This was a birthday gift for my friend who fancies himself a comic book historian. Surprisingly, there were a few things he didn't know about Marvel, which made it all the better!

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?

A History Worth Repeating!

November 10, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Blake Bell and Michael Vassalo have done a superior job putting this book together, which centers on Jack kirby, Al Avison, Syd Shores, Alex Schomburg, Frank Paul, Stan Lee, Gene Colan and many other superior artists that were a part of the Martin Goodman empire. It covers their pulp work, some comic book work, good girl magazines, torture and porn, and much more, lavishly illustrated, with separate chapters on the artists themselves.

Recommended for all serious students of Marvel Comics and their creators.

0Comment 9 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

March 13, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Daughter is a Marvel freak and loved it.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?

John P. Gunnison

A Secret No More

September 29, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Some very nice insights. A little too redundant, but overall a great read and highly suggested for those who want to read about the crossover between the pulp and comics.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Amazon Customer

Highly recommended would buy more literature from these two authors

November 30, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Got book in timely manner! Highly recommended would buy more literature from these two authors! Great read for fans of golden an silver age artists!

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?

Gregory A. Huneryager

A fascinating inside look at a hidden side.

February 16, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This book is fan perfection with tons of rarely seen art from the pulps, inside details on Marvel's inner working and the companies other divisions besides the comics. It is also done with a scholars thoroughness.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Marcellan Grimsley

December 31, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Bought this as a gift for my son, he loves it. It arrived in perfect condition and sooner than promised.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?

Most recent customer reviews

Not worth the time.

Very poorly written. Amateurish in style. Not much knew in terms of details. Some things presented as fact which aren't but the author's guesse. Bogged down in minutia at times.

Published on August 17, 2015 by Amazon Customer

phenomenal book! highly informative!

Published on January 31, 2015 by jacksthird

... my son for Christmas present he is going to love

I got it for my son for Christmas present he is going to love it

Published on December 13, 2014 by Cathy lynn brooks

A Good Read About Pulps, But Not Really A "History of Marvel Comics"

I enjoyed this book, but it isn’t really a “History of Marvel Comics,” secret or otherwise. Rather, it details how the original owner of what became Marvel Comics in the 1960s,...Read more

Published on September 14, 2014 by ConclusionsDrawn

Not much about comics, but interesting anyway

The title of this book is somewhat misleading. It's not really a history (secret or otherwise) of Marvel Comics, though it is of interest to readers who are already familiar with...Read more

Published on July 9, 2014 by William Henley

Not for every marvel fan

The title of this book should have been the PULP history of marvel comics.They color a house add with the human torch,as well as have the cover for marvel comics 1, but this book...Read more

Published on February 21, 2014 by David Jansen

The books gets five stars. The shipping isn't as lucky.

Ok let's get this out of the way the book itself is fanatic. Fantagraphics always hits it out of the park. But amazon been really slacking when it comes to shipping books.Read more

Published on February 13, 2014 by brad

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