Marvel Greatest Comics: 100 Comics that Built a Universe

by Melanie Scott, Stephen Wiacek, Joe Quesada (Foreword)

100 Marvel comics that built a universe.

Which comic books have helped define Marvel Comics and make them the pop-culture phenomenon they are today? Find out in the pages of Marvel Greatest Comics. From the trailblazing original Human Torch and his aquatic adversary Namor, the Sub-Mariner in 1939 to the game-changing 1960s Super Hero icons such as Spider-Man and the Avengers, to smart modern makeovers like Guardians of the Galaxy and Squirrel Girl, Marvel has set the pace.

This book's specially curated and expertly appraised selection is a stunningly illustrated and compelling history of Marvel Comics and its legacy through the comics that made the company great. These are the comics that changed the face of an industry. These are Marvel's greatest comics.

(c) 2020 MARVEL

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

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 20, 2020

Reviews

[Brittany McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is so much fun! Especially if you are newer to comics or want to relive the beginnings. It is a great way to find a place to start in different storylines of significant characters and where they came into the 'verse!

I loved the layout! I wish there were more about each comic, but then it would have been like ten times the size, haha

4 Stars

[Chris Aylott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A whirlwind tour of Marvel's most influential books, picked by a panel of long-time Marvel creators after spirited debate and (one hopes) occasional hair-pulling.

Any list is debatable -- that's half the fun. This one leans toward "let's make sure we mention all the building blocks of the Marvel Cinematic Universe", and it stretches credibility a bit towards the end as it tries to portray Marvel's recent history of reboots and cataclysmic "this changes everything until the next cross-over!" events as a creative peak. But most of the titles listed are classics by any standard, and the summaries, art samples, and musings on the historical place of each comic are fun and informative. Plus, Squirrel Girl gets her due!

[Macy Baldauf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, should this count towards my reading goal? Maybe not. Am I counting it anyways? Yes.

As a fairly big Marvel fan, I can say that I loved reading this. Page and pages of information and the events that lead to some of my favorite movies and characters made me fan girl at each page turn. I loved reading how creators used the current climate to create stories and heroes for the present time.

We’re there also a lot of pictures? Yes. Don’t judge me. Is this going to stay a coffee table book as an intricate part of my home decor? Also yes.

[Travis Duke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Browsed through this and read a good portion of the comics intros and they are great. A nice primer to learn about all the older titles that are corner stones to the marvel comics. Lots of great images and quick synopsis's of the comics. I especailly like the the paragraph intros that tell you the significance of this issue. DC has a great book just like this too.

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of this book can be found on my Youtube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/MiGHrH9vnQY

Enjoy!

[Fred Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good, but it mostly made me want to read the early comic books as opposed to read about them. Marvel comic plots are also so complicated at times that they are hard to follow without reading the actual comic books. I'll admit that I skimmed the parts that dealt with characters I was not that familiar with and the later comic books. Nonetheless, it was cool to see the artwork.

[Justin Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book! A perfect addition to any comic fan's or pop culture aficionado's shelf or end table. Full color illustrations of a variety of major moments from Marvel's history populate the pages. However, the text is fascinating, too! That isn't always the case with these perusal-style coffee table books. However, tons of behind-the-scenes factoids and anecdotes fill the text columns in this one.
There are two parts to the fun to be had with books like these: the nostalgia and the debate. The nostalgia here is on full force, as so many of these stories I've encountered in collections, trades, or even in my youth. However, there was still so much to learn and many side Marvel Wiki quests were spurred on by this book. The debate comes with the "Top 100" selection. Many here are no-brainers like the first appearances of key characters, launching issues of new series, deaths of important favorites. However, some of the choices surprised me, especially in the modern era's choices (Avengers #6 from the Aaron run...really?). I think that something from the Age of Apocalypse should have been included here, for my two cents. It was a huge publishing gamble at the time as well as a solid, impactful story. X-Men Alpha or Prime would have been a smart pick.
But, I digress. This was fun to read a few entries at a time in-between other books. I grew up with many DK books that filled in so much back information about heroes and their universes for me in the pre-Internet days. This was a very well designed and executed book!

[Book Club of One · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book clearly intended to celebrate the Marvel Comics Universe. A panel of Marvel insiders pick and defend their choices of the 100 Marvel Comics that established the universe.

Each of the featured comics gets anywhere from a third of a page to 4 pages. Included for all of them are the issue credits, the cover image, and a summary of the issue or story arc. Some of the more important issues discuss impact or larger trends as well as featured art panels.

Marvel Greatest Comics also serves as a somewhat skewed history of Marvel Comics as it is arranged chronologically, it shows the changing content and foci of Marvel. From superheros to historical and horror works, to mutants and anti-heroes. This book also reflects our contemporary society, in that it shows Marvel's greater emphasis on multiculturalism.

It also feels like a public course correction for the legacy of Stan Lee. Over and over it emphasized that Lee was most successful in partnership with others, such as Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby.

It was an informative read, but I think I'd like to see a more comparative history, or at least a more balanced one, that also addresses some of Marvels missteps or mistakes.

A few points of interest from my reading:
- During the Nixon presidency, government officials approached Marvel to write anti drug stories for Spider-Man to better reach their intended audience.
- The changing ideas of who reads comics.

[Goth Gone Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My inner Star Trek novel geek squealed at Peter David being included in this as a critic. I know that's by far not the most important thing here, but *squee!*

This is a collection of "best of" titles. They're not all printed within, you'll need to do some work to seek them out. Each gets a bit of a review, with the beginning ones having 2-4 pages of insightful justifications why it should be on the list, and the latter ones less. There's a few panels to a page for each one, which makes it a speed evolution of Marvel's art work.

As with any top anything list, there will be debates about if these are actually the 100 most meaningful comics. I'm coming at at this late in the game, I'm not a true comic connoisseur. Did you read "Marvel Cinematic Universe" there? Yeah, spot on. Thus, I'm looking at it more as a outsider, with interest. I can't recommend any better ones than what's shown, due to lack of knowledge.

It's interesting to see the intros for characters and what they've evolved into in the current generation, as well as what parts of their origin stories remained as core principles. This is a few hours of comic book history to enjoy, learn from, and see what else I may want to read more of.

Also - SPOILER - Groot spoke more than 3 words. Mind. Blown.

[Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books does a good overview of key moments within the Marvel Comics continuum through the choice of 100 issues that had a profound impact on the characters and situations within that continuum. Each issue is treated with a two or four-page spread with whole pages or single panels blown up to provide some insight or illustration onto the accompanying text.

One problem I had with the text was oft repeated phrases for character descriptions from one article to another. Also, while each article was introduced by one of the chose luminaries of the current or past Marvel creative/managerial team, the author puts some of those phrases into the text (without assignation). Even so, while sparse (100 out of the tens of thousands of issues published), it is still delivers a comprehensive flavor of the 80+ years of Marvel Comics' characters and the creators behind them; this could give readers an idea about where or how they might dip a toe into starting to read Marvel comics.

I wasn't keeping a strict count, but I think I've personally read about 75 of the 100 issues and was aware of another 15 key events taking place in titles that I wasn't actively reading at the time of their publication.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was one I was wondering about. Would I get enough out of it being I have been a comic book fan for over 30 years? I have read a number of books on the subject and more magazine articles then I would ever be able to count. I found myself enjoying this book not for the things that made me love Marvel Comic books, but the things I truly just forgot or had not thought about for years. This book single handedly made me more interested in checking out old school Fantastic Four books, which is a title even after owning thousands of comics I have under 50. Reminders about what S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for and its origins are such a welcome addition to reading the book. Do I agree with all the books mentioned? Nope. Do I think some titles are missing from my childhood that made me a deep fan and my friends as well. Yep. But this is an honest attempt at covering some serious decades worth of comics and I think if you are a fan of comics this book will be so pleasing and maybe make you want to hunt down a few original books to add to your own personal collection. Well done and very enjoyable.

[Brian Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of 100 short essays on a panel's votes for the 100 best marvel comics was a) lavishly illustrated, b) full of interesting observations and anecdotes for the selections up to 1998, and c) a great hate-read for the next 20 years worth of selections (OK, Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl are good). It's an incredible demarcation of how Marvel so radically changed its operating premises at the turn of the millennium that they should have done a continuity-wide reboot then.

And it shows how much an old curmudgeon I am. But reading the glowing statements of how the increasingly dark and increasingly muddled stories presented grabbed every higher market shares of an ever shrinking market just made me roll my eyes.

Still, it was a quick, enjoyable read - I just enjoyed the two segments in very different ways.

[John MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2nd ‘ Coffee Table Book ‘ since I started Goodreads , and I have to say I really enjoyed this !
I loved Marvel and DC Comics when I was young ( early 70’s) and like many folk , eventually grew out of them
My interest was re- ignited with the emergence of the MCU
While not really being into the Comic / Graphic Novel narrative these days , I’ve found I’m much more interested in the history, creative process, and how the artwork has evolved from the 1940’s through to the present day
It is also amazing to learn how current Screenwriters tie in characters and continuity, in the MCU from a myriad of comic series and offshoots over a 70 year span !
I would recommend this lovely volume, to anyone interested in the origins, art , and creativity involved,in this hugely popular cultural phenomenon 👌

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jon Romita Sr hizo mas por la Viuda Negra, que Scarlett Johansson.

Libro que nos habla de 100 comics que dejaròn su marca en el Universo Marvel, porque tenían algo único y especial ( la llegada de Steranko, lo rompedor de Neal Adams en X-Men...) y ayudaron a crear mas un universo en conjunto.,

LO BUENO: Hay unos comics que yo no conocía y dan ganas de leerlos, como cosas que hizo Michael Golden en Dr Extraño , la Imbatible Chica ardilla y su duelo con Galactus !!!, te despiertan el interés y los quieres leer rapidamente.

LO MALO: Hay obvios de obvios ( Spiderman y el ladrón, la llegada de Galactus) , y algo que me estreso fue la elecciòn de imágenes...cuando hablan de Secret Wars con el dibujo de Esad Ribic, se pierde más de una pagina con una viñeta simple, sin diseño, sin epicidad , y sientes que se perdió un espacio que pudo ser grandioso.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I paged through the whole book appreciating the beautifully, colorfully reproduced artwork from each comic. Each comic gets at least two pages and some get four. The cover is always there and each comic gets a bit more art as either an example of its style and technique or to show an iconic, memorable moment or scene from the story. All of the first issues are here. I really enjoyed reading about some of the comic issues that I’ll never forget, such as Amazing Spider-Man #33 “The Final Chapter (if you’ve read it, you know which scene is shown) and FF #51 “This Man…This Monster.” The text summarizes the plot (which sometimes needs to explain the story arc before it), explains its significance to the series or the individual character, and sometimes points out its uniqueness of style, such as perspective, point of view, fluidity, backgrounds, etc.

[Laureltmcglew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't the biggest fan of this list but I did really appreciate the justifications they provided for why certain issues were on the list. For instance, the final issue for One More Day would never be on most people's lists of great comics (something which they acknowledge by discussing how many people despise this issue). However, in terms of its greater impact on comics, it's arguably the most important Spider-Man issue of the past 20 years and has (for better or worse) shaped the path for writers going forward. So, it can still be a bad comic but if its impact was significant enough, it will warrant inclusion on the list. That was an interesting way to approach a top 100 list and I appreciated these different takes.

[Ryan Fohl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvel still has a deep vein of stories to mine for movies. I have a better understanding of how Marvel innovated, why the great artists are so great, and what the hell is going on with spider man clones and secret wars. A fun book to pick up a little each day.

What I learned: Iron man’s origin story is the best. The comic book code didn’t allow vampires, werewolves, or zombies until 1971. The jackal was a professor obsessed with Gwen Stacy, who blamed spider man for her death and made a clone of her. Chris Claremont’s X-men stories were influenced by all the survivors he met while working on a kibbutz.

[Brian Jackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read a handful of comics growing up, but knew about the Marvel comic characters from TV shows, video games, and other media. This book did a great job covering the most influential comics and history of Marvel. Additionally they talked about the writers, artists, and other folks credited with creating these characters and comic books.

It was very interesting reading about the major events and how those impacted future generations, current day movies, and more. I genuinely want to go read a number of these older comics but even if I can't I feel I have a better context of the history of Marvel and its characters.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great composition of truly ground-breaking comics. The assortment is really amazing, and I agreed with every single choices. It was a great walk down memory lane, containing many old comics, but it also had recent but significant ones. I liked the backstories and behind the scenes of them as well. It was great to see the ideas that went into each character and what they were designed to be or represent. The artwork was, of course, also beautiful, especially the more recent ones. Word of advice, don't read toward the end if you don't want to be spoiled with newer comics.

[R.J. Southworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who is most familiar with Marvel characters’ incarnations in mediums outside the original comics, I enjoyed reading this book and learning more about the comics’ history and the original stories that inspired Marvel films and TV - though, as this is meant as a collection of important stories rather than a comprehensive Encyclopedia, there are plenty of tantalising gaps for a relative novice like me.

[M.L.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just love all the clinging to the legend that Stan Lee created this, that, and the other all by his lonesome.

The comics chosen were pretty predictable. I was disappointed that the women on the selection team weren't quoted more frequently. I think it was fewer than 5 times out of the 100 comics, plus the bonus section.

[Sangita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe not everyone's top 100, but a great way to learn about Marvel character history. Awesome for an MCU fan wanting to know more about Marvel Universe back stories, crossovers and connections between characters. HIGHLY recommend!

[Andy Pregler · Rating 4 out of 5]

While less a critical look at the history of Marvel publishing, this book is a great way to consume the history of Marvel comics through the points of high creativity. If nothing else, this book will fill your Marvel Unlimited queue up with plenty of amazing stories from all of Marvel’s catalogue.

[Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful stroll through the most influential comics from Marvel's 80+ year history that should come with a coupon for a Marvel Unlimited subscription, as you'll definitely want to follow up by reading the actual comics.

[Rob Frampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Combining the virtues of giving pages of astute choice and analysis of Marvel's Greatest Hits with atrtwork and overviews that tempt you into reading the comics/ novels themselves, this is an essential book for even the most casual colmic reader or MCU viewer.

[Tyra Crumrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book for you if you’re a comic fan but haven’t gotten too much into the comics. It lost a star for me because some of the overviews of each comic were a little too long and I lost track of the plot. Very well written though and now I finally understand what Secret Wars is.

[Alex Margolies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun for both me and my eldest. Made me want to go and re-read some of the old comics, and search out some of the newer ones.

[Bethany]

This is definitely more of a coffee table book, and not really intended to be read all in one go. So, maybe I'll pick it up again eventually.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great trip down memory lane! And there’s a lot of interesting comics.

[Jesse Scobie · Rating 5 out of 5]

100 amazing, brilliant, fantastic (four haha), creative and unique Marvel comics that shaped it's nearly 75 year, colorful history!