Books on Marvel Comics history

February 27, 2022 12:37 PM

I want to find a good text-heavy book about Marvel's Silver Age (or starting before that and thru 1970 or so). Some parameters: I've already read Sean Howe's book; don't think Roy Thomas's 75 Years-- would be enough narrative. Preferably something that really gets into the creators' unique struggles, office politics, controversies, but is still fun b/c it's Marvel! Stan, Jack, Steve, Romita, all of 'em. Have also read All That Jazz. Photos would be a real plus -- the people, offices, etc.
posted by noelpratt2nd to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

Best answer: Sean Howe was definitely a good place to start (although I've heard some argue that he didn't fact check some of his anecdotal stories), but some other good places to go next are:

*All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told by Douglas Wolk (It's a little less pure narrative, but gives some great context)
*Comic Wars: Marvel's Battle for Survival is about how Marvel fought to not go bankrupt in the 90s (which I know is past your set years but gives great insight into how the company got through the 90s on a wing and a prayer)
*Jack Kirby: the Epic Life of the King of Comics by Tom Scioli
*Kirby: King of Comics by Mark Evaner
*Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerard Jones
*Slugfest: Inside the Epic 50-Year Battle Between Marvel and DC by Reed Tucker
*Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human by Grant Morrison
*The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America by David Hajdu
posted by jaybeans at 1:02 PM on February 27, 2022 [4 favorites]

There are also some video options, like:

*Chris Claremont's X-Men (80s rather than 60s/70s but gives great insight into how Claremont turned a cancelled book into one of its strongest IPs)
*The Image Revolution (past the era you're looking at but does give a good look into the 90s Marvel offices)
*Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle (available on Amazon)
*Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics (available on Amazon)
*Marvel's Behind the Mask (available on Disney Plus)
*Marvel: 75 Years, From Pulp to Pop! (available on Disney Plus)
posted by jaybeans at 1:14 PM on February 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If a post like this one is the sort of thing you're after, then you should enjoy about 20% of Tom Brevoort's blog, wherein the longtime Marvel editor writes about multiple facets of the industry across all its history. He cranks out multiple posts every weekend, and apparently most government holidays, plus he reposts content from his mid-2000s blog, so there's a quite a bit of content there.
posted by kimota at 2:31 PM on February 27, 2022 [2 favorites]

I second the recommendation of Gerard Jones' book above. Ronin Ro's Tales to Astonish, published by Bloomsbury in 2004, is a good match for what you want too.
posted by Paul Slade at 3:11 PM on February 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

You might also consider Marvel Comics in the 1960s by Pierre Comtois. It's kind of amateurish (and in need of professional editing) but filled with comic summaries, creator bios, and random facts. Plus, there are follow-ups for the 1970s and 1980s.
posted by jdroth at 7:48 AM on February 28, 2022

My wife bought me All The Marvels, mentioned by jaybeans above, and I very thoroughly and enthusiastically second that recommendation. It's great.
posted by Shepherd at 10:56 AM on February 28, 2022

Response by poster: I'm starting with 'All the Marvels' since that starts an the earliest place, with Goodman. Thanks, all!
posted by noelpratt2nd at 3:12 PM on February 28, 2022

All The Marvels is great.

And if you just want to hear a couple of superfans go real deep on the Universe's ridiculous retcons and crossovers there are now 364(!) episodes of the Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men podcast.
posted by nicwolff at 7:20 PM on February 28, 2022