Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe

by Michael Mallory

For 75 years the Marvel Superheroes have delighted readers with their larger-than-life, yet very human, heroics. More than simply comic book characters, the likes of Captain America, the Silver Surfer, Iron Man, and Doctor Strange, to name a few, have become part of the fabric of 20th century culture; the mythology of the modern age.

Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe examines these legendary characters, focusing on their creation and charting their continuous evolution in the comic book pages as well as their translation into the world of mediaâ??film, television, animation, even video games and theme park attractionsâ??and into the very core of popular culture.

This lavishly illustrated volume features full color artwork and hundreds of photos from film and television productions, some of which have never before been published. Through revealing and entertaining interviews with the legendary creators of the Marvel Universe, including Joe Simon, John Romita, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Roy Thomas, Chris Claremont and, of course, Stan "The Man" Lee, as well as such cinematic translators as animator Ralph Bakshi, director Kenneth Johnson and actor Lou Ferrigno, Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe reveals the story of Marvel, and its influence on the culture of our time, as never before.

Genres: Comics, Nonfiction, Marvel, Art, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Reference

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Michael Mallory is an internationally-recognized authority on the subjects of film, animation and 20th century pop-culture, and the author of sixteen nonfiction books, which include The Art of Krampus, Essential Horror Movies, and Marvel: The Characters and their Universe. With the legendary American animation artist Iwao Takamoto he co-authored the memoirs Iwao Takamoto: My Life With a Thousand Characters, and has written more than 600 magazine and newspaper articles that have been published worldwide. A former newscaster, occasional actor, and frequent public speaker, Mike lives and works in the greater Los Angeles area.

Reviews

[Bart Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative look at several of Marvel's most popular characters in comic book form and in the popular media of TV and film. However, the book only goes to 2003 (barely) so, that there is hardly any mention of the onslaught of Marvel films that have made a huge impact at movie houses around the world in recent years.

[legend angel]

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[Juke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely a good book. It talks about the history and background of Marvel as a company, along with the history of some of Marvel's most well-known characters. It talks about Marvel as far up to at least 2006. However, it didn't talk about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it goes into the information of Marvel's background, along with some of Marvel's best writers, artists, and publishers.

It mentions Stan Lee, Steve Ditco, and Jack Kirby, along with Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk. It talks about the Silver Surfer, the X-Men, and Galactus, and more. However, it missed out on talking about some of Marvel's other big characters like Ms. Marvel, Bucky Buchanan (as the Winter Soldier), and the other Hulks, but it's still an incredible book.

It really educates you on the history of Marvel, and the successfulness and struggles it's gone through as a company, along with the kind of impact Marvel had on society up to before the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's a great insight into the immense history of Marvel as a company.

After you read this book, I'd suggest reading about Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in more detail, along with Jack Kirby, along with a ton of other of Marvel's superheroes and villains. There's Sentry, Cable, X-Man, Miles Morales, and Wonder Man. Don't forget to read about some of Marvel's worst heroes, along with some of their best ones as well.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall the book is a great overview of a lot of Marvel history and many of the most popular characters. Being published in 2014 I expected more recent movies and television references. It was surprising when recent movies were not discussed and a lot of the more "recent" Marvel popular culture presented doesn't go past the early 2000s. While reading the book it felt out of date, particularly towards the end.

[B. Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice history of Marvel comics and some of the main characters from the comics through TV and movies.