Marvels

[Planet-man]

I couldn't find a thread about this for some reason.

I've been re-reading it over the past few nights and I'd forgotten how good it was. It's the perfect ode to Marvel's golden age(60s - 70s, with a great throw-back to their universe's origins with the Sub-Mariner and the original "Human Torch" in the 1940s).

For anyone who doesn't know, it's a graphic novel by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross, told from the perspective of Phil Sheldon, a photojournalist for the Daily Bugle. It starts out with Sheldon as a cub reporter in the '40s, along with his pal Jonah Jameson, seeing the emergence of the first "Marvels", and follows Phil's life over several decades as he becomes a top reporter and raises a family, all while dealing with the drastically changing world around him as superheroes come more and more into the public eye, from the major celebritiy Fantastic Four to the feared and hated X-Men and mutant terror.

Anyway, the story is endlessly awesome and features some of the best art you'll ever see, which enhances the amazing realism of it all. It's a true must-read for any Marvel fan who hasn't.

Pics:

 

[SSJmole]

That sounds great dude! I'm going to buy this soon. Thanks dude.

 

[Gideon Stargrave]

As always, Ross' art is pure gold here. That aside, it's nothing we haven't seen before.

 

[ProjectX2]

Is it really ****ing good. And it's more Silver Age than Golden Age.

 

[E]

Very good, and one of those rare instances where the story lives up to the art.

Does a great job of tying several previously unrelated stories together without being convoluted and over-the-top.

 

[Iceshadow]

Marvels is great, and it makes me wish that Ross would do some more work for Marvel.

 

[Planet-man]

Is it really ****ing good. And it's more Silver Age than Golden Age.

Heh, actually I was using the phrase literally, in that the 60s were Marvel's best era. But in terms of time frame, you're right.:wink:

 

[JonnyFreeze]

i hated this

 

[Planet-man]

i hated this

Might I ask why?

 

[JonnyFreeze]

old man watches superheroes. loses an eye. the end

 

[Planet-man]

old man watches superheroes. loses an eye. the end

Err, okay, he loses the eye in the first chapter, and a millions things happen, but..... okay....

 

[Iceshadow]

old man watches superheroes. loses an eye. the end

:lol: :lol:

 

[Joe Kalicki]

I love this comic so much. It's one of the only trades I took to get signed, by both Busiek and Ross. It's the most responsible for my love of continuity and tying everything together. I read it every few years and it's always great. I need an Absolute Edition, I don't care what company it's from!

 

[ourchair]

old man watches superheroes. loses an eye. the end

:lol: :lol: :lol: BEST BURNINATION EVER.

I loved Marvels, but that remark was hilarious.

My biggest problem with most Marvel attempts to make big 'literate' tomes --- their own Watchmen or Kingdom Come --- is that most of them carry intimate knowledge of their universe as the caveat for maximizing their enjoyment potential.

Marvels is full of lots of great moments and gems, but I feel like they aren't as rewarding if you weren't already a Marvel Zombie in the first place. True, the core story is fulfilling enough, but not being a fan guts about 80% of the fun.

It's still brilliant though. At its heart, Marvels is really a complicated introspective examination of a fan reading relationship to the comics themselves.

Sheldon's feelings towards the Marvels constantly change throughout the years in reaction to 'current events' reflects how 1940s Marvel fans felt towards the various comic book events that happened as they crossed over into the 1970s.

I still hate Alex Ross though.

 

[Gideon Stargrave]

I still hate Alex Ross though.

Are comic fans allowed to hate Alex Ross?

On another note, JonnyFreeze is my hero.

 

[SSJmole]

Are comic fans allowed to hate Alex Ross?

I was thinking the same thing :lol:

He's one of my favourites

 

[Ninja4peace]

DC don't have an Ultimate Universe. They have Alex Ross.

 

[E]

old man watches superheroes. loses an eye. the end

If Mole would have burned Watchmen with something like this, I think everyone would have left him alone.

Oh, and Post of the Day.

 

[JonnyFreeze]

YES! my first POTD! hoorah. This book actually made me angry. im pretty sure i didnt even finish reading it.

 

[Gothamite]

I still hate Alex Ross though.

I don't doubt his talent for drawing superheroes like real people, I just don't like the 'look' of the real people he draws. They're just always 'too' perfect and amazing-looking. They don't look like they could assimilate into real life at all.