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Marvel 1985 #1-6
Marvel 1985
Before Secret Invasion... before World War Hulk... before Civil War... the most powerful super-villains in the Marvel Universe gather their might to wreak havoc on the one place they've never before set foot - YOUR WORLD! As mankind's enemies cut a swath of destruction with unprecedented ferocity and ruthlessness, the fate of the planet rests in the hands of one person: Toby, a 13-year-old boy who holds the key to uniting his comic-book idols, the Marvel Heroes! Superstars Mark Millar (Civil War, Fantastic Four) and Tommy Lee Edwards (Bullet Points, The Question) deliver a Marvel Event the likes of which you've never seen! Collects Marvel 1985 #1-6.
172 pages, Paperback
First published August 5, 2009
About the author
Mark Millar
1,533 books2,585 followersMark Millar is the New York Times best-selling writer of Wanted, the Kick-Ass series, The Secret Service, Jupiter’s Legacy, Jupiter’s Circle, Nemesis, Superior, Super Crooks, American Jesus, MPH, Starlight, and Chrononauts. Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2, and The Secret Service (as Kingsman: The Secret Service) have been adapted into feature films, and Nemesis, Superior, Starlight, War Heroes, Jupiter’s Legacy and Chrononauts are in development at major studios.
His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.
Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.
His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.
Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
October 9, 2019
2.5 stars
I'd never heard of this (for good reason, it turns out), but the premise sounded pretty cool.
The gist is that a kid (in 1985) who reads comics finds out that the villains from Marvel are invading his hometown. On top of that, he's dealing with his mother's remarriage and his dad's slacker attitude about life. From a kid's point of view, I can see how the dad is a victim/hero. But as an adult woman? Yeah, I would have divorced his stupid ass and remarried the responsible guy with the job.
Sorry. I know that isn't romantic, but there you have it.
And as far as the Marvel villains invading our world? It was kind of lame and mundane. Especially considering MARVEL VILLAINS ARE INVADING OUR WORLD!
Plus, how did no one else recognize Fin Fang Foom?! On top of all the other weird stuff, I would think shit like him and a guy with a literal Red Skull running around might have tipped them off.
Or not.
Anyway, it was a bit too little lost boy fantasyesque for me to really get into it. Not the worst thing I've ever read, but not all that great, either. Unless you're a Millar completionist, I don't think there's any need to seek this one out.
I'd never heard of this (for good reason, it turns out), but the premise sounded pretty cool.
The gist is that a kid (in 1985) who reads comics finds out that the villains from Marvel are invading his hometown. On top of that, he's dealing with his mother's remarriage and his dad's slacker attitude about life. From a kid's point of view, I can see how the dad is a victim/hero. But as an adult woman? Yeah, I would have divorced his stupid ass and remarried the responsible guy with the job.
Sorry. I know that isn't romantic, but there you have it.
And as far as the Marvel villains invading our world? It was kind of lame and mundane. Especially considering MARVEL VILLAINS ARE INVADING OUR WORLD!
Plus, how did no one else recognize Fin Fang Foom?! On top of all the other weird stuff, I would think shit like him and a guy with a literal Red Skull running around might have tipped them off.
Or not.
Anyway, it was a bit too little lost boy fantasyesque for me to really get into it. Not the worst thing I've ever read, but not all that great, either. Unless you're a Millar completionist, I don't think there's any need to seek this one out.
October 5, 2011
A young boy and his divorced father bond over their mutual love of Marvel comics only for - gasp! Marvel villains to show up in their sleepy, backwater town and begin to wreak havoc! Suddenly it's up to the boy to save the town somehow while we discover the dark past of his father - is he the loser his mother told him about or is he something more?
I've read enough Mark Millar to know this guy knows how to write a damn fine superhero comic so ordering this was a no-brainer - weird year to pick but then I trust this writer to tell an entertaining story.
Eep - seems I was wrong! While he is generally awesome, "1985" is by no means a flawless, or even half good, book.
The story is too slight to be stretched over 6 issues. We see the same thing repeated over and over - boy struggles with reconciling his divorced father's situation of no money compared to his mother and step father who do have cash, he retreats into comics, then witnesses a Marvel character appear in real life. After a while it becomes predictable, and frankly the boy and his father's story just wasn't strong enough to sustain a full 6 issues.
Also, the build-up about his father's "dark past" and "that one day" is such a cop out in the end, revealed in a couple of pages in an offhand way as to seem like nothing in the overall story.
Then the superheroes - the villains seep over to the real world until the final issue and then the heroes show up and save the day. All the characters are bland and do the usual superhero things, minus any dialogue, and the whole book is tied up neatly with an admittedly kind of cool ending.
Overall it's quite a bland and unexciting read with some, at times fantastic art, other times too inky and scratchy as to be annoying. The superhero storyline is never really pulled off and the real world story not nearly interesting enough to hold up the book - "1985" is far from Millar's best and by no means an essential read for comics fans.
I've read enough Mark Millar to know this guy knows how to write a damn fine superhero comic so ordering this was a no-brainer - weird year to pick but then I trust this writer to tell an entertaining story.
Eep - seems I was wrong! While he is generally awesome, "1985" is by no means a flawless, or even half good, book.
The story is too slight to be stretched over 6 issues. We see the same thing repeated over and over - boy struggles with reconciling his divorced father's situation of no money compared to his mother and step father who do have cash, he retreats into comics, then witnesses a Marvel character appear in real life. After a while it becomes predictable, and frankly the boy and his father's story just wasn't strong enough to sustain a full 6 issues.
Also, the build-up about his father's "dark past" and "that one day" is such a cop out in the end, revealed in a couple of pages in an offhand way as to seem like nothing in the overall story.
Then the superheroes - the villains seep over to the real world until the final issue and then the heroes show up and save the day. All the characters are bland and do the usual superhero things, minus any dialogue, and the whole book is tied up neatly with an admittedly kind of cool ending.
Overall it's quite a bland and unexciting read with some, at times fantastic art, other times too inky and scratchy as to be annoying. The superhero storyline is never really pulled off and the real world story not nearly interesting enough to hold up the book - "1985" is far from Millar's best and by no means an essential read for comics fans.
June 19, 2019
*UPDATE
I accidentally read this twice. Didn't even realize that I'd read it before until I went to put it here on Goodreads. It should be noted that I have a TERRIBLE memory. In case you weren't sure.
I guess it says something about the book. If you don't remember some of the details, that's one thing, but to not even remember THAT I read it? That's not a good sign.
But there's nothing wrong with it. It's just one of those quick here and gone stories. Nothing super intense or memorable?
Damn, I just blew the inscription I had planned for my tombstone. Oh, well.
*Original Review
Well, it's impossible. Mark Millar went for the Last Action Hero story.
For anyone who was...I don't know how you wouldn't know about this movie even if you weren't born yet. I feel like people who died before its release still know about it somehow. But for anyone who doesn't know about Last Action Hero, the premise is basically that Arnold Schwarzenegger comes out of the movies and into real life. So Arnold plays an Arnold-like action movie character who is summoned into the "real world" by a golden movie ticket, at which point we see some stark contrasts between the action movie world and the real world.
Most would probably consider Last Action Hero a fairly spectacular failure. I mean, the premise was definitely stupid. Arnold considered it the beginning of the end of his film career, although he actually decided to launch an advertisement for the movie INTO FUCKING SPACE, AS IN SPACE WHERE THE PLANETS LIVE, so I can't hold him blameless. That said, there were some good moments.
Most of them provided by Lt. Decker, the movie-in-the-movie version of the police lieutenant who shouts about taking people's badges away and where's that goddamn paperwork. You've destroyed 14 cruisers in as many days. That kind of stuff. One of my favorites:
"I've got the chamber of commerce doing cartwheels in my cocoa factory!"
Ah, Lt. Decker. Check it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ8Ena...
In Marvel 1985 Mark Millar decides to go ahead and try to Last Action Hero the Marvel universe, basically. Baddies start showing up, and a boy has to go into their universe to bring the heroes through. There's a little twist in there, but I'll leave that to you if you decide to read it.
I'm not really sure why this idea is so compelling, the Last Action Hero premise. Something where a character exists in comic books within the comic books, movies within movies, or video games within video games, and then that character is sucked into the "real world". I use quotes there because even the real world is the movie version of the real world. Which means everyone is about 50% hotter and 75% more athletic. And they all tend to be in the right place at the right time.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Last Action Hero, Superman: Secret Identity, there are lots of examples where the story is based around the idea of the fictional world encroaching on the "real world." There's gotta be a Doctor Who episode based around this, right? I feel like they've done enough episodes at this point where someone must have done this on some level.
I get the appeal. At least from a writing standpoint. You get to do some cute stuff. When the kid from Marvel 1985 enters the Marvel Universe, he finds that he can basically escape danger via Deus ex Machina every time. And although things seem to be left to chance, it's a world where people are lucky over and over again. "Thank goodness I had my webshooters on!" That kind of stuff.
The first problem, for me, is that this cuteness wears off fast. I'm probably alienating some people here, but the first season of Mad Men. It seemed like they were almost obsessed with reminding us that it was the 50's, and isn't it wild how people would let their kids play in dry cleaning bags? That stuff is fine and all, but it doesn't really create much in terms of story. There's no characterization in that stuff other than informing us that this person exists in the 50's. It's cute and it's clever, but I don't really dig cute and clever.
Here's the other thing. I'm up for a stupid premise if it gets us somewhere good. In the last 5 or so years Dan Slott has introduced at least 3 premises that sound extremely stupid when you try to explain them out loud. "Oh, Doctor Octopus swapped his mind into Spider-Man's body." Good. Then him and Gilligan and the Skipper managed to get the Harlem Globetrotters back to the mainland?
What Dan Slott does, and what I like about what he does, is he lays it all out, then we accept the premise and move on. The story isn't focused on convincing the reader of the plausibility of an implausible premise. Instead, the premise is made clear as the tool that gets us to the story.
In other words, the bizarre premise is in place because it gets us to good stories. Not as a story in and of itself.
Um. Also, I don't want to sound like an unfeeling asshole here, but if we could put off stories where the magic lies in the heart of a young boy who has turmoil in his personal life, I would appreciate that. Yes, it was very fun to be 13 in that the boundaries between reality and magic were still just the tiniest bit blurry. And I know that a child is more likely to be open to the possibility of comic book characters invading the real world. But come on. How many times do you have to see MODOK leading people to drowning in a swamp during your adult life before you accept that rinsing off your face isn't going to solve anything and something fucked up is going on?
I accidentally read this twice. Didn't even realize that I'd read it before until I went to put it here on Goodreads. It should be noted that I have a TERRIBLE memory. In case you weren't sure.
I guess it says something about the book. If you don't remember some of the details, that's one thing, but to not even remember THAT I read it? That's not a good sign.
But there's nothing wrong with it. It's just one of those quick here and gone stories. Nothing super intense or memorable?
Damn, I just blew the inscription I had planned for my tombstone. Oh, well.
*Original Review
Well, it's impossible. Mark Millar went for the Last Action Hero story.
For anyone who was...I don't know how you wouldn't know about this movie even if you weren't born yet. I feel like people who died before its release still know about it somehow. But for anyone who doesn't know about Last Action Hero, the premise is basically that Arnold Schwarzenegger comes out of the movies and into real life. So Arnold plays an Arnold-like action movie character who is summoned into the "real world" by a golden movie ticket, at which point we see some stark contrasts between the action movie world and the real world.
Most would probably consider Last Action Hero a fairly spectacular failure. I mean, the premise was definitely stupid. Arnold considered it the beginning of the end of his film career, although he actually decided to launch an advertisement for the movie INTO FUCKING SPACE, AS IN SPACE WHERE THE PLANETS LIVE, so I can't hold him blameless. That said, there were some good moments.
Most of them provided by Lt. Decker, the movie-in-the-movie version of the police lieutenant who shouts about taking people's badges away and where's that goddamn paperwork. You've destroyed 14 cruisers in as many days. That kind of stuff. One of my favorites:
"I've got the chamber of commerce doing cartwheels in my cocoa factory!"
Ah, Lt. Decker. Check it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ8Ena...
In Marvel 1985 Mark Millar decides to go ahead and try to Last Action Hero the Marvel universe, basically. Baddies start showing up, and a boy has to go into their universe to bring the heroes through. There's a little twist in there, but I'll leave that to you if you decide to read it.
I'm not really sure why this idea is so compelling, the Last Action Hero premise. Something where a character exists in comic books within the comic books, movies within movies, or video games within video games, and then that character is sucked into the "real world". I use quotes there because even the real world is the movie version of the real world. Which means everyone is about 50% hotter and 75% more athletic. And they all tend to be in the right place at the right time.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Last Action Hero, Superman: Secret Identity, there are lots of examples where the story is based around the idea of the fictional world encroaching on the "real world." There's gotta be a Doctor Who episode based around this, right? I feel like they've done enough episodes at this point where someone must have done this on some level.
I get the appeal. At least from a writing standpoint. You get to do some cute stuff. When the kid from Marvel 1985 enters the Marvel Universe, he finds that he can basically escape danger via Deus ex Machina every time. And although things seem to be left to chance, it's a world where people are lucky over and over again. "Thank goodness I had my webshooters on!" That kind of stuff.
The first problem, for me, is that this cuteness wears off fast. I'm probably alienating some people here, but the first season of Mad Men. It seemed like they were almost obsessed with reminding us that it was the 50's, and isn't it wild how people would let their kids play in dry cleaning bags? That stuff is fine and all, but it doesn't really create much in terms of story. There's no characterization in that stuff other than informing us that this person exists in the 50's. It's cute and it's clever, but I don't really dig cute and clever.
Here's the other thing. I'm up for a stupid premise if it gets us somewhere good. In the last 5 or so years Dan Slott has introduced at least 3 premises that sound extremely stupid when you try to explain them out loud. "Oh, Doctor Octopus swapped his mind into Spider-Man's body." Good. Then him and Gilligan and the Skipper managed to get the Harlem Globetrotters back to the mainland?
What Dan Slott does, and what I like about what he does, is he lays it all out, then we accept the premise and move on. The story isn't focused on convincing the reader of the plausibility of an implausible premise. Instead, the premise is made clear as the tool that gets us to the story.
In other words, the bizarre premise is in place because it gets us to good stories. Not as a story in and of itself.
Um. Also, I don't want to sound like an unfeeling asshole here, but if we could put off stories where the magic lies in the heart of a young boy who has turmoil in his personal life, I would appreciate that. Yes, it was very fun to be 13 in that the boundaries between reality and magic were still just the tiniest bit blurry. And I know that a child is more likely to be open to the possibility of comic book characters invading the real world. But come on. How many times do you have to see MODOK leading people to drowning in a swamp during your adult life before you accept that rinsing off your face isn't going to solve anything and something fucked up is going on?
October 29, 2016
This is actually the second time I've read this, though the first was so long ago that I don't remember any details. Which is odd, because this is quite good. I really liked it.
"In nineteen sixty-one, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Marvel Comics Universe. Or so they thought ..."
Toby Goodman lives a fairly ordinary life. He's an avid reader of comics, an average student in school, his parents are divorced ... But there are creepy things happening at the old house of one of his father's childhood friends. Toby's pretty sure he saw someone dressed as the Red Skull through an upstairs window. And then there's a photo of a winged man who's a dead ringer for the Vulture. Toby lives, ostensibly, in the "real" world, but somehow villains from the Marvel Universe are starting to show up and wreak havoc ...
This was lots of fun to read. The idea of superheroes and villains in the real world is certainly not new, but Millar and Edwards do an excellent job of bringing it to life. The peril escalates steadily, the ending is satisfying ... I really liked this. Yes, Mark Millar has done better work. The reason for everything that's happening is a bit of a cliche, but the writing, in general, is strong enough that I'm willing to forgive him. Recommended!
"In nineteen sixty-one, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Marvel Comics Universe. Or so they thought ..."
Toby Goodman lives a fairly ordinary life. He's an avid reader of comics, an average student in school, his parents are divorced ... But there are creepy things happening at the old house of one of his father's childhood friends. Toby's pretty sure he saw someone dressed as the Red Skull through an upstairs window. And then there's a photo of a winged man who's a dead ringer for the Vulture. Toby lives, ostensibly, in the "real" world, but somehow villains from the Marvel Universe are starting to show up and wreak havoc ...
This was lots of fun to read. The idea of superheroes and villains in the real world is certainly not new, but Millar and Edwards do an excellent job of bringing it to life. The peril escalates steadily, the ending is satisfying ... I really liked this. Yes, Mark Millar has done better work. The reason for everything that's happening is a bit of a cliche, but the writing, in general, is strong enough that I'm willing to forgive him. Recommended!
August 23, 2018
Epeydir yorum yazmıyordum ama bu kitap bana gerekli motivasyonu sağladı. Tek kelimeyle bayıldım. Hem Mark Millar'ın hem de Marvel'ın en iyi işlerinden biri. Zaten yazar bana göre en iyi Marvel çizgi romanı olan Civil War'u da yazmıştır. En yakın zamanda dilimize kazandırılması gerekiyor.
May 1, 2024
Kind of a weird "true life" Marvel superhero comic, that has more goofy Stephen King vibes that you might expect. 1985 works, though, largely because Mark Millar is at the helm, so the whole thing is infused with warmth and high spirits.
The gist is that a Marvel comic nerd is the first person to notice that a rift has opened in an old Victorian mansion - a rift that appears to be leaking Marvel villains into the wrong universe. There's a "why" for the rift that's pretty satisfying (definitely a slow burn). The human elements are great - the Marvel elements are so-so. Too much generic death and destruction at the hands of brief cameos. 1985 might have been a stronger book without the Marvel tie-in.
The gist is that a Marvel comic nerd is the first person to notice that a rift has opened in an old Victorian mansion - a rift that appears to be leaking Marvel villains into the wrong universe. There's a "why" for the rift that's pretty satisfying (definitely a slow burn). The human elements are great - the Marvel elements are so-so. Too much generic death and destruction at the hands of brief cameos. 1985 might have been a stronger book without the Marvel tie-in.
January 9, 2020
Better than I thought a Graphic Novel could be - absolutely incredible.
January 23, 2016
I had never heard of this before, but stumbled upon in while searching our group Comixology.com account for something to read. I saw Mark Millar's name on it and decided to give it a chance. Millar is hit or miss for me. I love some of his stuff like Old Man Logan. I loathe other stuff like Wanted. This actually falls somewhere in the middle which is kinds rare as far as his work is concerned.
The story that Millar brings us is about a 13 year old kid whose parents are divorced. The kid's dad had a childhood friend that was really into comics and the 2 used to trade comics back and forth. Something happened in their childhood that left the other kid in mental institution. In the present, the main character and his dad go by the home that the dad's friend who is now institutionalized used to live in. The kid sees the Red Skull in the window of the house, but just thinks it was someone in a mask. He later discovers that Marvel supervillains are somehow entering our world. He tells his dad what he knows. The dad says to drop it because nobody will believe him. The kid knows that his dad knows more about the situation than he is letting on.
As more and more villains start causing havoc throughout town, the boy and his dad part ways. The dad goes to rescue his ex-wife. The kid, whom dad had left with the National Guard, decides to solve the problem himself. He travels to Marvel universe through a dimensional rift in the basement of his dad's friends former home. The dad rescues his ex about the time that Galactus shows up. As the couple "marvel" at Galactus, the rest of the villains surround the van the couple is in. They call the dad by name and say they learned all about him from their master. The kid, in the Marvel universe, gets Spider-man to believe his story and round up the rest of the heroes. The kid and all his new friends show up just in time to save the kid's parents. As a family, they go off to resolve the situation.
Millar's story is set at a time when both he and myself would have been the kid's age. I loved the characters from Marvel back then and it is easy to see how much Millar loved the Marvel universe too. This whole story is a nostalgic trip through yesteryear when stories were lighthearted and lines between good and evil were quite clear. The story is told from the naïve view of a child that was exposed to those stories that all took place before the anti-heroes of the 1990's became so popular and so many characters operated in the gray areas where the lines blurred between good/white and evil/black. For some reason, I kept comparing this story to the TV series Kidd Video from the 1980's where the main cast got sucked into a cartoon world. The overall tone of this tone of this story reminds me of Goonies or Monster Squad where the kids are on an adventure. Writing gets 3 stars.
The art for the series is provided by Tommy Lee Edwards. I'm pretty sure that is a pen name and Edwards is really the woman that drew the infamous courtroom sketch of Tom Brady during the Deflategate hearing. That picture of Brady is pretty much what all of the art that takes place in the "real world" looks like. It is pretty awful. The art in the Marvel universe looks pretty good and much less sketchy, but there isn't a whole lot that actually takes place there. The art ranks pretty low as a whole. It is on par with some of the worst comic art I've ever seen. art gets 1 star.
This book gets a total rating of 2 stars out 5. The story was fairly enjoyable, but the art was atrocious that it brought the overall enjoyment of the book down. I really can't recommend this to anyone.
The story that Millar brings us is about a 13 year old kid whose parents are divorced. The kid's dad had a childhood friend that was really into comics and the 2 used to trade comics back and forth. Something happened in their childhood that left the other kid in mental institution. In the present, the main character and his dad go by the home that the dad's friend who is now institutionalized used to live in. The kid sees the Red Skull in the window of the house, but just thinks it was someone in a mask. He later discovers that Marvel supervillains are somehow entering our world. He tells his dad what he knows. The dad says to drop it because nobody will believe him. The kid knows that his dad knows more about the situation than he is letting on.
As more and more villains start causing havoc throughout town, the boy and his dad part ways. The dad goes to rescue his ex-wife. The kid, whom dad had left with the National Guard, decides to solve the problem himself. He travels to Marvel universe through a dimensional rift in the basement of his dad's friends former home. The dad rescues his ex about the time that Galactus shows up. As the couple "marvel" at Galactus, the rest of the villains surround the van the couple is in. They call the dad by name and say they learned all about him from their master. The kid, in the Marvel universe, gets Spider-man to believe his story and round up the rest of the heroes. The kid and all his new friends show up just in time to save the kid's parents. As a family, they go off to resolve the situation.
Millar's story is set at a time when both he and myself would have been the kid's age. I loved the characters from Marvel back then and it is easy to see how much Millar loved the Marvel universe too. This whole story is a nostalgic trip through yesteryear when stories were lighthearted and lines between good and evil were quite clear. The story is told from the naïve view of a child that was exposed to those stories that all took place before the anti-heroes of the 1990's became so popular and so many characters operated in the gray areas where the lines blurred between good/white and evil/black. For some reason, I kept comparing this story to the TV series Kidd Video from the 1980's where the main cast got sucked into a cartoon world. The overall tone of this tone of this story reminds me of Goonies or Monster Squad where the kids are on an adventure. Writing gets 3 stars.
The art for the series is provided by Tommy Lee Edwards. I'm pretty sure that is a pen name and Edwards is really the woman that drew the infamous courtroom sketch of Tom Brady during the Deflategate hearing. That picture of Brady is pretty much what all of the art that takes place in the "real world" looks like. It is pretty awful. The art in the Marvel universe looks pretty good and much less sketchy, but there isn't a whole lot that actually takes place there. The art ranks pretty low as a whole. It is on par with some of the worst comic art I've ever seen. art gets 1 star.
This book gets a total rating of 2 stars out 5. The story was fairly enjoyable, but the art was atrocious that it brought the overall enjoyment of the book down. I really can't recommend this to anyone.
April 27, 2017
Simply Amazing! This remarkable Marvel tale was created by Mark Millar, the man who brought us Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Chrononauts, Superior, Superman: Red Son, Starlight, Huck, Book 1: All-American, and many other great graphic novels. Mark Millar's writing genius knows no bounds. He just knows how to write a great story. This book was published in 2009 and it was definitely a surprising read. Millar takes one of the greatest comic book mythos and brings it into our real world. Actually this story takes place in 1985 the height of modern comics popularity. Millar makes good use of 80s references in the story by including popular culture, the slang, and style of the era. One of the biggest takeaways from this book for me is the question of is Clyde Wnycham arguably the most powerful Marvel character? And more importantly will Marvel writers ever reference this story in the future? I think all this sounds cool and this book was all around fun. I do not want to give away much but basically in 1985 we follow a young middle age boy Toby who is a Marvel comic enthusiasts and spends his days in his books trying to runaway from his estrange mom, his stepdad, and trying to remain close to his down on hid luck father. But soon reality and fantasy collide when Marvel Super villains begin arriving and begin their conquest of Toby's town and soon the world. These turn of events force Toby & his father to work together to survive the villain onslaught and become the heroes of their own comic book tale. I really cared about the main characters and the story was well paced. Readers will be surprised how the story ends. The artwork by Tommy Lee Edwards gave the story some real world grit. This definitely a different type of superhero tale which Millar excels at richly and is probably one of the best Marvel books I have ever read.
October 15, 2013
I give this a big fat 'meh'. Based on the cover I was all set for some intense good versus evil showdown...Instead, I got mostly a kid who reads too many comic books and obviously wanted to be part of something. The bad guys move into the real world at a house where his dad's best friend used to live, and no one believes the kid until it's too late (except maybe his dad). Then of course the kid is the only one who can do anything about it...which I'll leave you to discover on your own.
There's nothing wrong with this, but nothing that really jumps out and says WOW. It's a miniseries, kinda ho-hum.
Read if you like, but I didn't get much out of it. I suppose some will talk about how it's everything about the power of comics and belief in yourself and stuff like that, and how they related, but nope, not me. There's some solid art, but the story is just kinda boring to be honest...I was expecting a lot more.
There's nothing wrong with this, but nothing that really jumps out and says WOW. It's a miniseries, kinda ho-hum.
Read if you like, but I didn't get much out of it. I suppose some will talk about how it's everything about the power of comics and belief in yourself and stuff like that, and how they related, but nope, not me. There's some solid art, but the story is just kinda boring to be honest...I was expecting a lot more.
May 29, 2016
First and foremost, the art is the only reason this book gets a star at all. Leave it to Millar to start a story incredibly well and have it completely unravel by the end of it.
I love the concept of this story, but Jesus Christ, I hate casual deaths. Innocent bystanders are decapitated left and right. Moms and babies drown themselves. Soldiers get their faces melted. What was the point of all that mutilation when you have a main character who is so obviously unaffected by it? And my god, what a lame ass climax...
(Also, how does this small town have military helicopters, tanks, and special forces??? What a mess...)
Millar loves senseless violence like it's an aphrodisiac. I'd bet he's a huge advocate of women in refrigerators too.
I love the concept of this story, but Jesus Christ, I hate casual deaths. Innocent bystanders are decapitated left and right. Moms and babies drown themselves. Soldiers get their faces melted. What was the point of all that mutilation when you have a main character who is so obviously unaffected by it? And my god, what a lame ass climax...
(Also, how does this small town have military helicopters, tanks, and special forces??? What a mess...)
Millar loves senseless violence like it's an aphrodisiac. I'd bet he's a huge advocate of women in refrigerators too.
April 18, 2023
3.5 stars. I think the art really works well with this story since there wasn’t an obvious disconnect between worlds when they collided. I enjoyed the sketchy type of art a lot, actually. I also enjoyed the story. And a few books through his bibliography, I’m pretty convinced that Mark Millar thinks all comic book fans are losers.
March 25, 2009
Cute concept, very nostalgic. Probably won't remember this book in a year.
September 19, 2020
Поганці з Всесвіту “Марвел” потрапляють у реальний світ зразка 1985-го року і чомусь поводяться у ньому саме як поганці. Ось про що цей комікс. Ви ж не очікуєте, що у реальному світі злочинець буде півгодини викладати своїм заручникам злодійський план, аж поки не з’явиться супергерой, який йому наваляє? Саме такого і немає у цьому коміксі. Поганці просто вбивають людей чи коять щось недобре без зайвого пафосу та перерв.
Тобто так, це комікс з референсом на комікси. З непоганим сценарієм, який у фіналі видає не те, чого зазвичай очікуєш від подібних історій. Ні, це був не сон головного персонажу. Ні, це не були галюцинації чи видіння, щоб прикрити психологічну травму головного героя. Це було дещо інше.
Діалоги, стиль малюнку, постановка - все на місці. Українською не бачив.
Тобто так, це комікс з референсом на комікси. З непоганим сценарієм, який у фіналі видає не те, чого зазвичай очікуєш від подібних історій. Ні, це був не сон головного персонажу. Ні, це не були галюцинації чи видіння, щоб прикрити психологічну травму головного героя. Це було дещо інше.
Діалоги, стиль малюнку, постановка - все на місці. Українською не бачив.
June 26, 2018
I thought this was a cool book and deserves a higher rating. Marvel comic characters enter the real world where comics are fiction and wreak havoc. Little kid gets mixed up in it all. Fun story. 4 stars.
January 30, 2021
This is such a fun read, and it carries enough heart and emotional pull to round it out. It feels both personal and like some kind of Marvel event extravaganza, which is a nice touch.
This is my second time reading it, and it holds up well. Definitely worth a read!
This is my second time reading it, and it holds up well. Definitely worth a read!
December 21, 2025
Страшно прям, з мріями треба бути обережнішими. Кінець щасливий, але все що до цього - уууууу
November 21, 2021
“+Geliyor musunuz, gelmiyor musunuz?
-Tabii ki de gelmiyoruz.
+İyi madem. Ben de dünyayı kendi başıma kurtarırım.”
Keyifli bir one-shot okumalık oldu. Çizgi roman okurları dünyasını, okur psikolojisini, dükkan sahibi ruh halini, o dünyanın tüketicilerinin fotoğrafını basitçe ama güzel çekmiş. Tüm dertlerin çözülebildiniz 24 sayfalık bir fasiküller dünyasına (gerçek dünyadan) sığınan okurlar.
Çizgi romanlarda okunan Marvel evreninden bizim evrenimize açılan bir portal. Finalde açıklanan motivasyonu çok tutmasam da beğendim. Bu arada çizgi roman okuru olarak advance seviyede olmanıza gerek yok (bazen bu janr okuyucuya fazla ödev yüklüyor, hoşlanmıyorum). Ben de bu kitapta geçen kötü adamların çoğuna detaylı hakim değilim ama bir ayağı bizim dünyamızdaki hikayeyi keyifle okumak için şart değil. Hikaye ister anlatıldığı gibi fantastik gerçeklikte olsun, isterse tek özelliği çizgi roman okumak olan birer loser örneği “rahmetli” baba ve çocukluk arkadaşını, üvey baba yanında büyüyen çocuğun onurlandırma hayali olsun fark etmez, başarılı. Paralel evrenlerin bizimkinde daha koyu, Avengers evreninde daha pastel renklerle ayrılması basit ama işleyen bir fikir. Finali babanın bir nevi beşinci duvarı yıkan deadpool haliyle kısmen pembe şekilde kapamış.
“Loser” görünen “geek” tayfanın kendilerini kanıtlama şansı bulmasıyla, (üvey baba ile sembolize edilen) hırsla dolu gerçek dünyadan sembolik bir intikamı olmuş.
-Tabii ki de gelmiyoruz.
+İyi madem. Ben de dünyayı kendi başıma kurtarırım.”
Keyifli bir one-shot okumalık oldu. Çizgi roman okurları dünyasını, okur psikolojisini, dükkan sahibi ruh halini, o dünyanın tüketicilerinin fotoğrafını basitçe ama güzel çekmiş. Tüm dertlerin çözülebildiniz 24 sayfalık bir fasiküller dünyasına (gerçek dünyadan) sığınan okurlar.
Çizgi romanlarda okunan Marvel evreninden bizim evrenimize açılan bir portal. Finalde açıklanan motivasyonu çok tutmasam da beğendim. Bu arada çizgi roman okuru olarak advance seviyede olmanıza gerek yok (bazen bu janr okuyucuya fazla ödev yüklüyor, hoşlanmıyorum). Ben de bu kitapta geçen kötü adamların çoğuna detaylı hakim değilim ama bir ayağı bizim dünyamızdaki hikayeyi keyifle okumak için şart değil. Hikaye ister anlatıldığı gibi fantastik gerçeklikte olsun, isterse tek özelliği çizgi roman okumak olan birer loser örneği “rahmetli” baba ve çocukluk arkadaşını, üvey baba yanında büyüyen çocuğun onurlandırma hayali olsun fark etmez, başarılı. Paralel evrenlerin bizimkinde daha koyu, Avengers evreninde daha pastel renklerle ayrılması basit ama işleyen bir fikir. Finali babanın bir nevi beşinci duvarı yıkan deadpool haliyle kısmen pembe şekilde kapamış.
“Loser” görünen “geek” tayfanın kendilerini kanıtlama şansı bulmasıyla, (üvey baba ile sembolize edilen) hırsla dolu gerçek dünyadan sembolik bir intikamı olmuş.
June 26, 2014
Wow! The best comic I've read in years, and among my favorites of all-time. A perfectly constructed story of the "real" world infiltrated by the comic-book world. With equal parts action, nostalgia, horror and hope, Millar creates a story that is fresh yet familiar. Every idea, every beat, every panel works so brilliantly, it is as if all the events within were pre-destined. In the far-flung Marvel Universe, I want to believe that they were.
June 21, 2014
Chilling and nostalgic, this turned out to be more than an homage to the era of comics I grew up in - Millar tapped into something out of Poe or Lovecraft, the world of Marvel crossing into Twilight Zone territory in a perfect blend of otherworldly and real-world horror. Not for kids:)
April 10, 2016
Set in 1985 for no good reason that I can see except for maybe the epilogue. But it's more violent and unpleasant than I was looking for. I don't have any problem with the above but when you title this 1985, I was expecting it to be kind of like the 1985 of Marvel. Missed opportunity.
January 17, 2010
Phenomenal artwork and charming story! I wish I could be a twelve year old boy rather than just look like one sometimes.
August 11, 2010
I liked this.
March 27, 2013
A nice nostalgic look at the comics I grew up with, but not a particularly deep one.
January 18, 2014
1985 was pretty good I seem to remember it better than it was once I re-read it.
June 5, 2014
Amazing art,but a very cheesy story.
June 17, 2016
People who like comics will get this...depicts the marvel universe as a parallel to ours and boy's journey across...fell below the initial potential it showed
December 31, 2016
I try to get my hands on whatever Mark Millar my library has to offer, so I grabbed this tome. It was sort of an interesting take on the Marvel universe, though I've never been a Marvel comics fan.
December 26, 2016
I'm surprised I hadn't heard of this Millar story before I saw it on the shelf at the library. Decent story, a little predictable, but made infinitely better by the amazing artwork.
January 9, 2023
Worlds collide in 1985 with Mark Millars ‘Marvel 1985’! A 6 issue mini-series that shows us a 13 year old protagonist in Toby Goodman. He’s the child of divorced parents and isn’t the biggest fan of his step-father. It also doesn't help that there’s a chance he’s going to have to move to England, far away from his friends and father. With a lot going on in his life, his one escape is through the pages of his favorite Marvel comics. He gets it from his father who was a huge fan growing up and it’s a world they share together. After they visit the home of one of Jerry’s (Toby’s father) old friends they see that the house is being turned into some sort of nursing home, or hotel, and there is a strange looking man giving away the old comics of Jerry’s friend. While being outside the house Toby sees a “familiar” figure inside the house that kinda looks like the Red-Skull. There’s also multiple reports on the news that a flying man in a bird suit is going around the city. They even caught footage of him and he looks a lot like the Vulture. Toby knows there’s something going on and he decides to revisit the house where he swears he saw the Red-Skull. What happens next is something he couldn’t even have dreamt of. He sees someone who appears to be Doctor Doom talking to that strange looking man from earlier but now he can tell it’s the Mole Man. Things get even crazier when he’s spotted and tries to escape further into the woods, but he bumps into something INCREDIBLE. He now stands 5 feet away from the Hulk! If he didn’t know it was real before, he does now. Somehow the world of his favorite comic books are merging with his, and the most gruesome of villains are wreaking havoc on his town. It’s up to him and his father to figure out how to stop this chaos and also hope to survive on what could be their final adventure together.
I feel like this was a different kind of story from Millar and more in a good way. I think the overall premise is super fun and his approach to tell the meta type tale makes it feel fresh. He writes a great emotional character in Toby and his reaction to the madness that is happening to him feels so real. There are great descriptions and narration as Toby comes face to face with the characters of his favorite comic pages. There’s also a really dark twist to it; when I say that these comic book villains are wreaking havoc, that’s really an understatement. They are going on a rampage and killing everyone in sight. It adds a horror-like element to the read and I think it’s cool to see Millar write that way as it’s not something I’m used to from him. Even with the story only being 6 issues it feels like it wraps up pretty well and the pacing throughout the book was actually done really great. It’s a nice change of pace for Millar with a lot of familiar elements showing the best of this writer who gets a mixed rep (sometimes deservingly so).
Partnered with Millar this cool mini-series is Tommy Lee Edwards on artwork., who before this project I was unfamiliar with. I gotta admit I wasn’t too crazy about it at first but as the series went on it really did grow on me. His splash and spread pages did a really good job of showing the impact of these fictional characters coming into the non-fictional world (even though it’s still fiction haha). His style is also very rough and sketchy, which in most cases helps the whole horror feel of some of the issues. His villains look scary and more in an eerie/taboo kinda way instead of just the powerful/threatening way that they are normally displayed as. Edwards also does all art duties with pencils, inks, and colors, which to me is always bonus points.
Overall; I know people feel mixed about this mini-series, and sure it’s not perfect, but I do think it’s a fun and different kind of read from Millar. I also really enjoyed the artwork and thought it was a great pairing for the kind of story being told.
I feel like this was a different kind of story from Millar and more in a good way. I think the overall premise is super fun and his approach to tell the meta type tale makes it feel fresh. He writes a great emotional character in Toby and his reaction to the madness that is happening to him feels so real. There are great descriptions and narration as Toby comes face to face with the characters of his favorite comic pages. There’s also a really dark twist to it; when I say that these comic book villains are wreaking havoc, that’s really an understatement. They are going on a rampage and killing everyone in sight. It adds a horror-like element to the read and I think it’s cool to see Millar write that way as it’s not something I’m used to from him. Even with the story only being 6 issues it feels like it wraps up pretty well and the pacing throughout the book was actually done really great. It’s a nice change of pace for Millar with a lot of familiar elements showing the best of this writer who gets a mixed rep (sometimes deservingly so).
Partnered with Millar this cool mini-series is Tommy Lee Edwards on artwork., who before this project I was unfamiliar with. I gotta admit I wasn’t too crazy about it at first but as the series went on it really did grow on me. His splash and spread pages did a really good job of showing the impact of these fictional characters coming into the non-fictional world (even though it’s still fiction haha). His style is also very rough and sketchy, which in most cases helps the whole horror feel of some of the issues. His villains look scary and more in an eerie/taboo kinda way instead of just the powerful/threatening way that they are normally displayed as. Edwards also does all art duties with pencils, inks, and colors, which to me is always bonus points.
Overall; I know people feel mixed about this mini-series, and sure it’s not perfect, but I do think it’s a fun and different kind of read from Millar. I also really enjoyed the artwork and thought it was a great pairing for the kind of story being told.
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