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Marvel Comics: The Untold Story

Sean Howe

4.05 · Rating details · 6,504 ratings · 863 reviews

An unvarnished, unauthorized, behind-the-scenes account of one of the most dominant pop cultural forces in contemporary America

Operating out of a tiny office on Madison Avenue in the early 1960s, a struggling company called Marvel Comics presented a cast of brightly costumed characters distinguished by smart banter and compellingly human flaws. Spider-Man, the Fantastic Fo An unvarnished, unauthorized, behind-the-scenes account of one of the most dominant pop cultural forces in contemporary America

Operating out of a tiny office on Madison Avenue in the early 1960s, a struggling company called Marvel Comics presented a cast of brightly costumed characters distinguished by smart banter and compellingly human flaws. Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, the Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, the X-Men, Daredevil—these superheroes quickly won children's hearts and sparked the imaginations of pop artists, public intellectuals, and campus radicals. Over the course of a half century, Marvel's epic universe would become the most elaborate fictional narrative in history and serve as a modern American mythology for millions of readers.

Throughout this decades-long journey to becoming a multibillion-dollar enterprise, Marvel's identity has continually shifted, careening between scrappy underdog and corporate behemoth. As the company has weathered Wall Street machinations, Hollywood failures, and the collapse of the comic book market, its characters have been passed along among generations of editors, artists, and writers—also known as the celebrated Marvel "Bullpen." Entrusted to carry on tradition, Marvel's contributors—impoverished child prodigies, hallucinating peaceniks, and mercenary careerists among them—struggled with commercial mandates, a fickle audience, and, over matters of credit and control, one another.

For the first time, Marvel Comics reveals the outsized personalities behind the scenes, including Martin Goodman, the self-made publisher who forayed into comics after a get-rich-quick tip in 1939; Stan Lee, the energetic editor who would shepherd the company through thick and thin for decades; and Jack Kirby, the World War II veteran who'd co-created Captain America in 1940 and, twenty years later, developed with Lee the bulk of the company's marquee characters in a three-year frenzy of creativity that would be the grounds for future legal battles and endless debates.

Drawing on more than one hundred original interviews with Marvel insiders then and now, Marvel Comics is a story of fertile imaginations, lifelong friendships, action-packed fistfights, reformed criminals, unlikely alliances, and third-act betrayals— a narrative of one of the most extraordinary, beloved, and beleaguered pop cultural entities in America's history. ...more

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Hardcover, 485 pages

Published October 9th 2012 by Harper

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Feb 10, 2013 Kemper rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, comics, bidness, non-fiction, 2013

Super-heroes have gotten darker and more violent over the years, but compared to some of the people in charge of Marvel during that time Wolverine and the Punisher seem about as threatening as a glass of non-fat milk. Killers with razor sharp unbreakable claws and large guns are no match for the carnage a corporate executive worried about the stock price can create.

Sean Howe gives a comprehensive history of how the pulp publishing company founded by a Depression-era hobo named Martin Goodman eve Super-heroes have gotten darker and more violent over the years, but compared to some of the people in charge of Marvel during that time Wolverine and the Punisher seem about as threatening as a glass of non-fat milk. Killers with razor sharp unbreakable claws and large guns are no match for the carnage a corporate executive worried about the stock price can create.

Sean Howe gives a comprehensive history of how the pulp publishing company founded by a Depression-era hobo named Martin Goodman eventually became a comic book empire that was bought by Disney for $4 billion in 2009. The book tells the familiar story of how Goodman’s nephew Stan Lee working with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko saved the struggling company in 1961 by coming up with a line of new characters like the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, X-Men, and others that you can see at your local movie theater on a regular basis today. Then it details the many trials, tribulations and triumphs the company would have as its characters became iconic parts of pop culture.

As a perpetually cheerful and energetic editor and spokesman, Stan Lee built a myth via the Bullpen Bulletin and Stan’s Soapbox column that appeared in the comics that Marvel was a wacky wonderful place where the writers and artists worked in a happy state of constant brainstorming about their stories. In reality during these early years, Lee worked with a small staff in cramped offices while Jack Kirby drew in the basement of his home, and things were never as merry as Stan portrayed them to the fans. After Goodman sold the company Marvel would be bought and sold to various corporations and business people most of who had no interest in doing anything other than squeezing every dime possible out of the characters while denying any kind of ownership or royalties to the people who created them.

The stories of how creators were screwed out of rights have become legendary, and the constant law suits and bickering over who actually created the characters have become so common place as to not even be newsworthy any more. (A fun fact that I learned in this is that at one time Marvel put a boilerplate waiver on the backs of paychecks so that signing it to get the money became a forfeiture of potential royalties.) The battles over the rights between the company and the creative people would pale in comparison to the many financial and legal fiascos Marvel would get into over the years due to the many buy-outs and chronic mismanagement.

Howe does a nice job of showing how all the behind the scenes turmoil impacted the stories being churned out. The Secret Wars mini-series started out as a promotional tie-in for a new line of toys, but became the prototype for the crossovers that are all too frequent events today. The surprise success of rolling out a specialty cover on Todd McFarlane’s new Spider-Man book had the corporate execs and Wall Street demanding sales increases every year and forced the editors to come up with a parade of gimmick covers and new #1 issues constantly to hit those numbers. This led to the speculator bubble of the early ‘90s that nearly destroyed the industry when disgruntled fans stopped buying.

With the sale to Disney and huge success of movies like The Avengers, you might think this story has a happy ending, but Marvel still faces challenges today. In the digital age, the idea of buying pricey paper comics that can be read in minutes is a tough sell, and many question whether the money made in movies and merchandising has made the comic book obsolete. Aging fan boys grumble over the constant character deaths and crossovers, yet those remain the top selling books. Balancing the continuity demanded by long-time fans while still being accessible to new readers has become a nearly impossible task. (Dan and I have some great ideas on how to resolve this issue if anyone from DC or Marvel reads this and would like to pay us a consulting fee.)

Many of these individual stories have been told before, but Howe gives not only a history, but a detailed picture of the ways that all the creative, business and legal issues have had a profound impact on the characters and the industry. That’s what really makes it an informative and interesting read.

Excelsior! ...more

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Feb 16, 2016 Dan Schwent rated it really liked it

Shelves: comics, confession-time, comics-to-upload, 2016-books, 2016

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story is the story of Marvel Comics, from its beginnings in the late thirties until fairly recently, with all the highs and lows in between.

Confession Time: For most of my life, I've been a comic book fan. I've got around 2000 of them in boxes in my nerd cave and have numerous super hero shirts.

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story was a very gripping read for me. I read the sanitized version of some of the events in Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comi Marvel Comics: The Untold Story is the story of Marvel Comics, from its beginnings in the late thirties until fairly recently, with all the highs and lows in between.

Confession Time: For most of my life, I've been a comic book fan. I've got around 2000 of them in boxes in my nerd cave and have numerous super hero shirts.

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story was a very gripping read for me. I read the sanitized version of some of the events in Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics but I wasn't completely prepared for some of the things I learned.

The story starts with Martin Goodman cashing in on the comic book craze but really gets interesting when he hires his nephew, a kid named Stan Lee, to do some editing. Once Joe Simon and Jack Kirby create Captain America, things kick into high gear until the 50's, when Seduction of the Innocent nearly kills the industry. Things circle the drain until a fateful golf game with the head of DC comics prompts Goodman to order Lee to create a team of superheroes. The Fantastic Four is created and the Marvel Age of comics kicks into full swing.

The book covers a lot of behind the scenes info, like creators getting fucked out of royalties and original art. Anyone who's into comics has probably heard about that. The things I didn't know about, like a bunch of guys being into drugs, DC and Marvel negotiating for Marvel to license some DC characters, and what a tyrant Jim Shooter was, were much more interesting. It must have been maddening to work with Shooter after Secret Wars.

While it might be boring for some, I found the inner workings of Marvel when it was being bought and sold several times in rapid succession to be fascinating. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of The Death of WCW. How could people be handed the golden ticket only to wipe their asses with it?

Jim Shooter seemed like a dictator but I think Tom DeFalco's throw everything against the wall and see what sticks strategy played a bigger part to the near death experience the comics industry suffered in the 90's. Also, Stan Lee seems even more like a hack and a tool than he did before I read the book.

Speaking of the 1990s, Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefield come off as huge pieces of crap. I think we're all quite lucky Marvel survived the black hole of the 1990's comic market. It's crazy to think how many half-brain dead tyrants Marvel had at the helm before Quesada and Palmiotti finally turned things around.

For a lifelong comic nerd, this book was one hell of a read. 4 out of 5 stars. ...more

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Aug 12, 2015 Sam Quixote rated it liked it

I’m gonna do something a little different here: I’ll review the book properly first, then talk generally about what I read. These post-review comments are peripheral to the review, so I’ll keep them separate. They’re just things that interested me and might be interesting to others who haven’t read this, might not read this, but are into Marvel comics. I’ll tell you when I switch.

*

The review:

Sean Howe’s Marvel Comics: The Untold Story is a comprehensive look at the company that was founded as ...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Brad rated it liked it

Shelves: history, comic-books, marvel-comics, biography

I finished this book a while back, but I needed to let it sit and marinate before tackling my review. I'm not sure why that is exactly. It's not for fear of bias getting in the way of my review (I've long ago lost any pretension of objectivity when reviewing anything); it's not because I didn't have things to say. Perhaps it is simply that my enjoyment of the book and its quality don't match, and I needed to reconcile that in and for myself before sharing it with others.

My enjoyment -- I run a c I finished this book a while back, but I needed to let it sit and marinate before tackling my review. I'm not sure why that is exactly. It's not for fear of bias getting in the way of my review (I've long ago lost any pretension of objectivity when reviewing anything); it's not because I didn't have things to say. Perhaps it is simply that my enjoyment of the book and its quality don't match, and I needed to reconcile that in and for myself before sharing it with others.

My enjoyment -- I run a comic review website. Clearly I am a comic nerd. So I am of this book's target audience, and it serves me and my brethren well. It is, essentially, a history of the creators and writers and artists and bureaucrats and greedy bastards and corporate villains who made Marvel the biggest comic book company of all time, and nearly drove it into the ground over and over and over.

It's the story of Stan Lee maybe co-creating most of the big characters with Jack Kirby, and Jack Kirby maybe creating the big characters on his own, and Marvel the entitiy screwing Jack Kirby royally regardless of the role he had (Lee likes to claim he was in the same boat as Kirby and that he understood all along that his creations weren't his own, but then Lee was working for the family in the family business when he created the big guns. Hardly the same boat, is it?).

It's the story of psychedlic trippiness, cosmic tales, and LSD inspired deadline pushes. It's the story of creative infighting, of creative teams coming together and splitting apart. It's the story of how Marvel's liberal politics were always -- and quite by mistake -- at the forefront of social change and then pulled back when things got too hot. It's the story of selling comics to kids, and ringing as much money from the wet towel as they possibly could in every way they possibly could.

And that's all the fun stuff.

The quality --I know I've been implying that the quality isn't all it could be, and it isn't, but it is important to note that it isn't Howe's writing that is lacking quality. He writes fine. It is his courage that is lacking.

We are left -- in those moments I mentioned where Howe discusses the behind the scenes drama -- with a sense that there is more, much more, that Howe knows that he's not telling us. This book is touted as an "unvarnished" and "unauthorized" take on Marvel Comics and when a book take that's stance it has to be braver by far than Marvel: The Untold Story.

Surely Howe discovered more about the Kirby/Lee battle over character creation. Where are the interviews with their colleagues? Howe mentions these folks, mentions that they know things or don't know things, but he never tells us what those things might be. Where is his investigation into the controversy? Where is his opinion? Where are his conclusions? Not here, that's for sure, and this isn't the only time he steers away from controversy. There's no discussion of how John Byrne's Canadian super-hero, Northstar, a character of the 80s, was a gay man becoming mysteriously and gravely ill, of how we, the readers, all knew that Northstar was suffering from AIDs, and how Byrne's plans were tossed aside right at the moment he fled to DC and took over Superman. These and other stories like them are where the real "untold" stuff sits, and Sean Howe simply didn't do enough to fulfill the promise of his title. So ... quality lacking.

But there is one more quality issue, and that's that this book will do very little for anyone with a passing interest in comics and nothing for people with no interest. It is for fanboys and no one else.

I wish it had been for everyone as I think it could have been. Perhaps that task will fall to someone else (or to Sean Howe once the players he's protecting have passed away). ...more

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May 26, 2015 Sean Gibson rated it it was amazing

4.5 Stars

I reviewed this engaging narrative for Kirkus Reviews a while back: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re... ...more

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Dec 26, 2013 Michael rated it it was amazing

Shelves: about-comics

I read the heck out of this book but having read it I feel the need to rant.

Until Howe's book I never had issues with Stan Lee beyond his irritating cameos in Marvel films and his tug-of-war with Jack Kirby. Even if half of what's in the book is true, Lee is by turns a relentless huckster, a boo-hoo victim, a master manipulator and a kind of unappreciated naif who always wanted to write poetry and novels and shit like that but never got the chance. Now I'm amazed that so many people buy into his ...more

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Jun 26, 2020 Timothy Boyd rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I have been a comic collector for almost 50 years. I actually owned a comic store for a few years. I would have told anyone i was pretty well versed in Marvel Comics history, at least the 1950s-1970s. Boy was I wrong. This book was so detailed in the history I was learning something ever minute I listened to it I think. It must be because the writer is a journalist by trade and obviously investigated this story like a high profile crime. Very detailed and well researched. If you want to learn EV ...more

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Dec 02, 2013 First Second Books added it

Shelves: gina

This is a fascinating glimpse into the early years of the superhero comics industry.

If you’ve read it: I’m pleased to report that the office environment at First Second is nothing like the office environment in the early years at Marvel Comics.

For one thing, no one here has ever come to work to find that their desk has been turned into an aquarium.

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May 31, 2019 Brandon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, ebook, 2019

In Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, author Sean Howe conducted over 100 interviews with employees past and present in an effort to present a comprehensive history of the comics giant.

Howe takes the reader through the company’s early years in the 40s and 50s before the explosion of popularity they would see in the 1960s. From there, things take a downturn in the 70s as the whole comic industry sees a dip in popularity. With the 80s, we get visionaries like Frank Miller, who take Marvel’s heroes i In Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, author Sean Howe conducted over 100 interviews with employees past and present in an effort to present a comprehensive history of the comics giant.

Howe takes the reader through the company’s early years in the 40s and 50s before the explosion of popularity they would see in the 1960s. From there, things take a downturn in the 70s as the whole comic industry sees a dip in popularity. With the 80s, we get visionaries like Frank Miller, who take Marvel’s heroes into gritty territory before the commercial boom of the early 90s. While the company hovers close to bankruptcy in the late 90s, the course is corrected as the company soars into massive success before being sold to Disney for $4 billion in 2009.

One thing this book certainly did was challenge my opinion of Stan Lee. I’m not denying his talent and contributions to the industry (and pop culture in general), but I believe he got far too much credit for what he did – at least in terms of being a writer. During his time as editor (and head writer), he created what became known as The Marvel Method. With this style, Stan would meet with an artist and present him with a summary of what he wanted to happen in the story. The artist would then leave and draw the entire comic leaving the dialogue for Stan to complete when finished. While this was hugely successful for Marvel, it left Stan with the sole writing credit, which really isn’t fair. Simply filling in speech balloons should hardly count as being the lone writer, especially when Stan had only presented the artist with an idea of a plot and for that artist to then fully realize and flesh out the story.

That alone wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t also throw in the lack of royalties. Sure, ideas and plots are nice, but they’re nothing without the hard work of the artist. If you created a character while working for Marvel, they would retain complete creative control of the work after you left. They’d even sneak in fine print on your paychecks that by signing for the cheque, you would be handing over completed ownership to Marvel. After that, they were free to then take your creation and license it to the moon with toys, clothing, movies and other merchandise while you would never see a dime. This is a constant point of contention that is brought up again and again in the book – with good reason. It’s the main reason that artist Jack Kirby and Stan Lee never truly reconciled after their falling out in their early days.

While some people saw it as cheapening the art form, excessive licensing was probably for the best – especially when they entered into the 1970s and the comics industry as a whole took a dip in popularity. Howe explains how with television – in a mix of both live action and cartoons – allowed the characters to become part of the cultural zeitgeist. I bet in its wildest dreams Marvel could not have predicted the success they would have with the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) all those years later especially considering those film flops from their early years.

In the 80s, Howe discusses the popularity boom spearheaded in style by Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil as well as Marvel head honcho Jim Shooter’s penchant for cross-over and event series. Who could blame Shooter though (lots of people, apparently)? He was approached by Mattel to put together a story that would help them sell toys. The first time around is all right – even if the story is lacking – but to keep repeating this over and over so often, you run the risk of drying out the well, which when the 90s came around, actually happened when they put excessive profits over the importance of creative quality..

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story is the true definition of a “deep-dive” into a subject. Almost everything you could ever want to know about the publishing and entertainment juggernaut is contained between the covers here. While I did find a lot of the talk about numbers and sales a tad dull at times, it makes up for it with the constant infighting and internal politics. ...more

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May 07, 2014 Mike rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned-and-read, couldnt-finish-it, ridiculously-excited

Depressing
Short shrift
Fascinating

Depressing, to see just how much Stan Lee and many others did some grand over-fucking of the painfully naive creators in whose backs this company was built.

Short shrift, as in a great many sub-stories just beg to be told, but only get a passing reference amidst all the musical chairs of the corporate/management foolishness.

Fascinating, imagining what it would've been like to be part of a rag-tag group of folks just blazing trails without any idea if any of this ...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Bmj2k rated it it was amazing

This is a great book for comic book fans, but beware: This will not tell you if Thor can beat the Hulk, or if any of Cable's origins are true. What this book will do is give you an appreciation for the men behind the characters, and a look into how the corporate world conspired to destory the men and their books. In many ways it is the simple story of Jack Kirby, a man who almost by himself created the Marvel Universe and defined the look and feel of their comics, yet at the same time was treate ...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Peter rated it really liked it

This is an extremely readable and quite detailed history of Marvel Comics through the years, but exceedingly grim. It certainly shatters much of the Merry Marvel Mystique, for good or ill. As a result I found it rather sad to look behind the glittery curtain and see the bleak and crass reality. Regardless, Excelsior!

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Jan 09, 2017 Vinton Bayne rated it it was amazing

An awakening glimpse behind the curtain. I wish there were (or will be) decade by decade, artist by artist, alternative view and continuing history sequels. I would love more looks into the comic industry like this.

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Dec 20, 2019 Thomas rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, nonfiction, humanities

Marvel Comics! All those iconic heros and villains. It must have been such an odyssey! I couldn’t wait get into the fantastic journey.

Well, it was, more often than not, a bloodbath. More people coming in and out than I could keep straight and endless office politics and corporate mismanagement. It makes you wonder how Marvel even survived.

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Oct 31, 2012 Alex rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

An essential, must-read history of the most recognizable comic book and entertainment company in the world. Sean Howe's meticulously researched and pitch-perfectly written book chronicles the story of Marvel from its early days as a pulp hero publisher before WWII to its current, mass-media juggernaut incarnation. Along the way, he introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters, including the eager to please Stan Lee, the tragic Jack Kirby, everyman Herb Trimpe, power-mad Jim Shooter and m ...more

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Apr 17, 2018 F.R. rated it liked it

I’m not a bloke who reads a lot of comic books. I do retain a fascination with comic book heroes from my wasted childhood, and Mrs Jameson and I are mid-way through watching the whole of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (IRON MAN 3 is next), but to actually pick up some Marvel or D.C. printed offering and see what’s illustrated between the pages is something I would almost never do.

However, in the last couple of years, I have read a couple of books taking a look behind the scenes (as it were) of co ...more

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Jan 25, 2020 britt_brooke rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction

Probably more than you’d ever need to know about Marvel, but quite entertaining. So much drama! Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Marv Wolfman and so many more fought, created, and persevered. This is also a decent history of the comic book industry. I haven’t read a ton of comics, but enough to appreciate this and the process. Hoye is a phenomenal narrator!

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Nov 25, 2012 Jill rated it liked it

I did not read books as a child. Rather, I grew up on "Archie and Veronica," "Millie the Model," "Tales From the Crypt," and "Superman," inter alia, not to mention my favorite comic compilation – "Mad Magazine." What I really appreciated, even then, was how social and political change was reflected in the comics.

Thus it was with nostalgic pleasure as well as the thirst for background that I dove into Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. As it turns out, I wasn’t that thirsty! To me, there is a littl ...more

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Apr 20, 2015 Luke Boyce rated it really liked it

I've been wanting to read Sean Howe's Marvel book for awhile. I grew up a DC fan, never reading any Marvel books outside of a few Spider-man comics. So not having that foundation in my childhood always made me reluctant to get into Marvel characters as I was worried about understanding the canonical intricacies. With the movies, it made things easier to ease into but I really wanted to get the full Marvel story so I knew the historical context behind these characters. Often, that's what really h I've been wanting to read Sean Howe's Marvel book for awhile. I grew up a DC fan, never reading any Marvel books outside of a few Spider-man comics. So not having that foundation in my childhood always made me reluctant to get into Marvel characters as I was worried about understanding the canonical intricacies. With the movies, it made things easier to ease into but I really wanted to get the full Marvel story so I knew the historical context behind these characters. Often, that's what really helps me fall in love with something, whether a movie or book or anything.

What I wasn't expecting with this book was just how damning it was to Marvel as a company. I certainly didn't expect to read a book about a company with a long history of screwing over artists and numerous corporate takeovers. I'd heard all my life in the annoying Marvel vs. DC crap that Marvel was a better company, better writers, better artists, but it seems that most writers and artists started at Marvel and we're forced out eventually because of mistreatment or just general frustration with the corporate management system.

For instance, when the press about what DC was doing with the Batwoman comic came out it was frustrating to me and I would be mad at them and hear people telling me how DC sucks and Marvel would never do something like that. I believed them, but the truth is that Marvel has done just as much horrible stuff and even worse in some cases. If anything, this book lifted that veil of this company being this wonderful safe haven of artistic freedom. Truth is, it's anything but. A struggle for artists and writers throughout it's history. Just like DC, just like anybody else. They need to make a profit. They're beholden to their corporate owners and with that comes corporate bullshit just like anybody else. If anything it made Marvel human. It made the Marvel vs. DC concept irrelevant. They may sell more comics, but they're not a "better" company by any means. They're just like everybody else.

That was a relief reading this. The book is very much not flinching in it's condemnation and spends the majority of it's time going through one conflict after the other. It can get exhausting after a while to be honest, but there's also tons and tons of interesting stories within. And hearing about the writers and artists and where they went and what they did was very interesting. And understanding Stan Lee's role finally, what he was to the company and when he stopped being that was interesting. And even Stan's hands are not clean. Though he has gotten his own fair share of crap in the past couple decades from the corporate heads.

All in all, it was a great book, and I honestly wish they had one for DC. While there's some great stuff out there detailing DC's history, it's all from the perspective of the characters and milestones. It doesn't deal in the day-to-day drama of the company itself. The leaders and the problems associated. Hearing all the instances of when this one person went to DC in this book made me want to hear what happened to them once they got there, but those stories are, obviously, not told here.

Generally, I think I'd give the book 3.5 stars out of 5, but you can't give a half star on the rating system so I enjoyed it enough to round up. I would have liked to have spent a little more time hearing about the different character storylines, but they did still have those moments from time to time and I know this book could have easily have been even longer. ...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Eric rated it it was amazing

I'm so verklempt!

This book is on the one hand, a great trip down memory lane, and on the other hand, an open-eyed visit to the sausage factory. As an longstanding fan of Marvel Comics, I can't separate myself from my fandom enough to be able to tell you what this book can say to a non-fan. But to me, it brings back a lot of memories of characters and creators I've grown up (and into middle age) with. These characters and stories have been the backdrop of my life since, as a young DC fan, I first I'm so verklempt!

This book is on the one hand, a great trip down memory lane, and on the other hand, an open-eyed visit to the sausage factory. As an longstanding fan of Marvel Comics, I can't separate myself from my fandom enough to be able to tell you what this book can say to a non-fan. But to me, it brings back a lot of memories of characters and creators I've grown up (and into middle age) with. These characters and stories have been the backdrop of my life since, as a young DC fan, I first picked up the odd Marvel issue that always had "CONTINUED NEXT ISH! 'NUFF SAID" at the bottom of the last panel.

I love the razzmatazz energy of Sixties Marvel, led by wildly imaginative artist/plotter Jack Kirby, extrovert/huckster/scripter/editor Stan Lee, introvert libertarian Steve Ditko and the rest. I also love the current era of wide-screen panels and smart, savvy dialogue. But perhaps my favorite era was the anything goes era of the early seventies, in which superheroes, swamp monsters, vampires, werewolves, demon-possessed motorcycle daredevils, blaxploitation private eyes, spacemen, kung-fu masters, and jungle lords all vied for attention and interacted with one another.

You'll feel bad for a lot of the comic creators whose stories are told in this book. There's Kirby, who should have been a bazillionnaire, having created most of the characters who've made hundreds of millions for Marvel. There's Stan, who, although he did just fine financially, left the only thing he was ever good at (scripting and editing) in the early seventies and became an irrelevant sideshow barker, schmoozing with C-list Hollywood talent all through the 70s and 80s, until other, more connected and skilled negotiators achieved the movie dreams Stan had always coveted. Probably the saddest thing about Stan is his failure to appreciate the value of what he did. He still, at age 89, regrets not becoming a novelist or screenwriter. There were writers Steve Englehart, Doug Moench, Don McGregor, and Steve Gerber, who brought new sophistication to the comics of the seventies, but who (to a man) all got raw deals.

You'll sneer at the venal, clueless corporate raiders who asserted their whims on the company in the eighties and nineties, and nearly destroyed it, although they lined their pockets nicely on their way out, as such people do. May history forget all of their names. I won't name them here.

You'll nod your head in recognition at an example of the Peter Principle when Jim Shooter takes charge as editor-in-chief. He had always been a decent comics writer, but as an editor, he was a petty martinet who imposed storytelling rules that stifled creativity for years.

If you lived through the turn of the millennium as a Marvel fan like I did, you'll reluctantly give due credit to company president Bill Jemas, who though considered unlikable by most fans at the time, was probably responsible for the junking of the creatively stultifying Comics Code Authority, and goosed the company into being more adventurous with content.

One writer who gets short shrift in the book is Peter David, who maintained a high level of quality on the books he wrote throughout the mediocre eighties and nineties. A true unsung hero. ...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, finishedreviewcopy

According to Goodreads, which likes to judge me for slowness, I've been reading Marvel Comics: The Untold Story since February 18th. Something taking me over a month to read is pretty much unprecedented, especially since I actually found this nonfiction audiobook pretty damn fascinating. What happened? Well, see, most of the chapters in Marvel Comics are an hour long on audio, and I typically just listen to 20-30 minutes as I get ready for bed at night or up in the morning. Stopping in the middl According to Goodreads, which likes to judge me for slowness, I've been reading Marvel Comics: The Untold Story since February 18th. Something taking me over a month to read is pretty much unprecedented, especially since I actually found this nonfiction audiobook pretty damn fascinating. What happened? Well, see, most of the chapters in Marvel Comics are an hour long on audio, and I typically just listen to 20-30 minutes as I get ready for bed at night or up in the morning. Stopping in the middle of a chapter is anathema to me, so finding sizable chunks of time to fit a chapter in was a serious pain.

I think most book bloggers have certain kinds of reviews they find really tough to write. Well, one of the kinds I really don't know what to do with is non-fiction, but I'll do my best, I guess. I can't evaluate the accuracy of the info, because my only knowledge of Marvel going in was pretty much entirely limited to the film versions of their comics. I know you judge me comic book fans, but it's impossible for me to read ALL of their stuff, so I can't really read any of it.

If you want to know about Marvel, this is a great resource. Now, it doesn't go very in depth into the comics, so if that's what you want, look elsewhere. What Howe does is give the inside scoop on all of the office politics and drama, and, oh lord, was there a ton of it. Basically, I'm not convinced that Marvel was run by a bunch of petty backstabbers. The history is just battles between management and creators.

Oh, I'm also fairly certain that the comic book industry is where this stupid trope of characters dying and coming back to life, popping back into place like punching bags, came from. Not cool, comic books publishers. Other things that were not cool about comics: the racism and the treatment of women. Even more horrifying, there's still so far to go on those portrayals. Like, at one point in the 1960s, they wanted to target a female audience, so they had men write some titles like Night Nurse and She-Devil. Yeah, they really understand women.

The thesis of Howe's book seems to be the difficulty the comic book industry has had finding a niche. Marvel has been near bankruptcy a dozen times, but always managed to find a way back into the market. In modern times, film adaptations and merchandising are pulling Marvel through, but something else is needed in the future, as less people actually seem to be reading comics. Basically, the comic book industry, like the rest of publishing, has to plan for the future.

Stephen Hoye does a nice job narrating Marvel Comics, and it was pleasant to listen to, even though I would have gotten through faster with more chapter breaks. If you've ever been curious about the comic book industry from early days to the present day, Howe's written a book just for you. ...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Osvaldo rated it really liked it

Shelves: comics-related

This book was fantastic. I'd say four-and-a-half-stars.

Comprehensive, well footnoted, easily readable, funny, poignant, balanced and reasoned - this is a fantastic read for any lover of the comics industry. Essentially the history of Marvel Comics is the history of a perennially mismanaged company that repeatedly treated its writers and artists (even the successful ones) as replaceable cogs and seemed to have no sense of what made what worked work. The ongoing push and pull between the corporate This book was fantastic. I'd say four-and-a-half-stars.

Comprehensive, well footnoted, easily readable, funny, poignant, balanced and reasoned - this is a fantastic read for any lover of the comics industry. Essentially the history of Marvel Comics is the history of a perennially mismanaged company that repeatedly treated its writers and artists (even the successful ones) as replaceable cogs and seemed to have no sense of what made what worked work. The ongoing push and pull between the corporate nature of the publishing endeavor and the creative determination of writers (with editorial moving back and forth between the camps) makes for a fascinating read.

The wacky boys' club of pranks of the 60s, the mind-altering drug-fueled creations, the bitter politics of creators versus company-men, the misguided attempts to draw more women and minority readers, the failed development of countless film treatments, the tragic treatment of Jack Kirby, the nearly criminal mishandling and manipulation of the speculators market that led to the boom and bust of the 90s – it is all there.

I devoured it.

The half-star is lost for two reasons:

1) A book about comics should have pictures and illustrations of the comics and characters and creators that it is about. I know that it may have been difficult for Howe to get the rights to the Marvel Comics images, but certainly he could have gotten old and/or public photographs of the various writers, artists and locations in the history of the comic company. The book is already very long, so another 15 to 20 pages of images would not have been a problem, I think.

2) As a reviewer somewhere else pointed out, for a book as much about the culture of the infamous Marvel Bullpen as its actual business history, more time could have been spent exploring what that was like for black writers/artists and also women as well. The atmosphere for minorities in the comic world has had some serious acccusations against it in the past (consider Christopher Priest's blog, and then there's this and this), so for a book that tries to give different points of view of what it was like to not include this is kind of glaring.

Overall, however, I give this a hearty recommendation. ...more

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Apr 17, 2017 Brian Rogers rated it really liked it

This was a really engaging history of the company, carrying from its beginnings up to the sale to Disney, and filled in a lot of my knowledge gaps even in the areas I thought I knew. It's very well researched, well told and even handed. It's hard to walk away with a sense of winners and losers for many of the eras - the highly creative writers and artists of the 70's decrying against the evil editorial team who kept forcing them to do things like 'make deadlines', but also the editorial team try ...more

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Jun 19, 2017 Arun Divakar rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

The characters of Marvel comics have captured the imaginations of a multitude of audiences across the world. You see them on almost every other kind of merchandise and with the uber-successful Marvel universe brand of movies, this fame has hit the stratosphere. If the hype is paused for a moment then the characters themselves show signs of patterns running across their storylines. For instance most of the superheroes from the Marvel stables ( or DC for that matter) began life as crime fighters o The characters of Marvel comics have captured the imaginations of a multitude of audiences across the world. You see them on almost every other kind of merchandise and with the uber-successful Marvel universe brand of movies, this fame has hit the stratosphere. If the hype is paused for a moment then the characters themselves show signs of patterns running across their storylines. For instance most of the superheroes from the Marvel stables ( or DC for that matter) began life as crime fighters or vigilantes who brought a sense of security to the common populace. With the passing of the decades and with creative juices flowing in from new writers, they took on new life as players in storylines which spanned planets, galaxies and celestial systems. The heroes go toe-to-toe against gods, supernatural entities and aliens and their personal lives are closely enmeshed with all this drama. Also somewhere along the way there began the endless cycle of deaths and eventual rebirths for a lot of the characters. Behind the stories and the fiery colored costumes ticks the brains of desk bound writers, artists and editors. As the name of the book suggests, this is the untold story of the men ( mostly men since there are very, very few women in this line of business at Marvel) whose sweat and blood has built the Marvel of today.

The narrative is a sprawling history of Marvel from its early days as an artistic venture which was still unsteady on its feet to the gargantuan money making machine of today. Very early in the story and in the formative years of the company, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are introduced whose shadows linger all through the scope of the book. This is hardly a surprise since the creative minds of these two men gave rise to almost all of Marvel’s bestselling characters. More and more writers, artists and editors find their footing with the company and slowly the organization grows larger. As the company scales more heights, the inevitable fallout happens wherein a corporate grows too large and slowly starts moving away from the personal touch it shares with the employees. Also since the employees in question are all ones with an artistic mind-set that seethes at any kind of authoritarian leashes placed on them, the fissures slowly start appearing. In case of Marvel this unrest snowballs over the years into the form of a battle for the ownership of the characters between the artists and the company. The other interesting aside is how the ownership of the company moves between people who have zero idea or interest about comics or art in particular.

The crisp and unbiased style of writing captures Marvel’s story from both sides of the fence – firstly, from Martin Goodman to Disney who have owned the company and also from Stan Lee to Joe Quesada who have taken on the role of editor-in-chief for Marvel. Axel Alonso who is the current editor-in-chief is only hinted at and the story mostly winds up with how Marvel fully overhauled itself at the time of Quesada. The characters we meet along the way are more colorful and dynamic than their comic creations – Steve Ditko, Jim Shooter, Marv Wolfman,Chris Claremont, Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee are only some of the names in this ensemble cast and the ups and downs that they have taken Marvel through makes for excellent reading. A timeline of this creative behemoth is unveiled through the changing fortunes of Spider-Man, The X-Men, The Avengers and others in the global marketplace.

Marvel and its characters have left a lasting impact in the minds of generations of readers and TV audiences and this book is a highly successful attempt at delving into the history of the hard work, persistence and sometimes plain luck of the people who built the Marvel universe.

This book can be recommended on two separate levels – one as a history of one of the two largest comic publishing houses of today and secondly as a case study of the finer nuances of how a creative corporation has evolved over the years. ...more

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Jul 12, 2013 Antonio Nunez rated it liked it

I used to think of myself as a Marvel comic book fan. I have read the comics since 1976 and into the 1990s (the clone saga did it for me, it was my Kronstadt) and have collected some of the key titles. I own an almost complete run of the John Byrne Uncanny X-Men, the Frank Miller Elecktra (per the cover) introduction story in Daredevil and a complete run of Amazing Spiderman into the 1980s (granted, parts of it are made up of the Italian and Colombian versions, but still...). After reading this I used to think of myself as a Marvel comic book fan. I have read the comics since 1976 and into the 1990s (the clone saga did it for me, it was my Kronstadt) and have collected some of the key titles. I own an almost complete run of the John Byrne Uncanny X-Men, the Frank Miller Elecktra (per the cover) introduction story in Daredevil and a complete run of Amazing Spiderman into the 1980s (granted, parts of it are made up of the Italian and Colombian versions, but still...). After reading this book, I stand corrected. I knew nothing or nearly. Here it is, in all its lurid glory, the story of Marvel comics.

Virtually all important creators were nutters: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Gerber. Don't let's even mention Steve Ditko. And I don't mean that in a nice way: they were geniuses, but by the end of their lives they all seem to have become unmoored from reality.

The company has spent a third of its story surviving bankruptcy after been driven into the ground by unscrupulous empire-builders, greenmailers and speculators (particularly ghastly were Ron Perelman and Carl Icahn).

Another third has been about infighting between management and talent, between artists and scriptwriters, between the lawyers of all the preceding categories (virtually everyone has sued Marvel at some point in time); official mascot Stan Lee is quoted in the book as having said the following:

"I've created a number of characters for Marvel that have been successful, but when I created them, I knew they were the property of the company. That was the understanding; that had always been the procedure. For me to suddenly start saying, `Wait a minute, I wrote that, I'm going to sue,' to my way of thinking, that would be dishonest. I had the right to leave at any time and if I felt I was so good I could create characters and make a fortune, I had every right to do it. And I think any artist or writer who doesn't want to work for us doesn't have to sign the contract, he's perfectly welcome to, with no hard feelings."

Howe, Sean (2012-10-09). Marvel Comics: The Untold Story (Kindle Locations 4269-4274). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

However, a company bearing his name, created by him and an scrupulous operator, has sued the company for intellectual property rights. I'm told this wasn't Lee's choice, nor will it benefit him personally.

And the remaining third of Marvel's life seems to have been spent in political infighting of a remarkable beastliness. Jim "Trouble" Shooter (editor-in-chief between 1978 and 1989), who joined the company as an intern aged 14, appears to have been a particularly nasty piece of work. The book is full of unpleasantness, backstabbing, rampant egotism and dirty games. So reading about decent, talented people like the John Romitas (senior and junior) and the Buscema brothers (both mistreated at Marvel) comes in like a breath of fresh air. For me, Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson as portrayed by Romita senior are still the loveliest females depicted in comics.

Reading the book, contrary to my expectation, made me like Marvel less. It is truly a "warts-and-all" portrait. Also, I sometimes got lost in the layers of Bizantine intrigue, in spite of being familiar with most or all the writers, artists and characters, and many of the storylines ("narrative arcs"). The book would make a good case study for a business school strategy course, since it highlights the inherent contradiction in running a business dependent on unusual talent, but without being too dependent on said talent (which is why management always took characters away from their creators). This explains the cross-over craze (where complex and convoluted plots develop across many or all company titles so that they are impossible to follow unless you read -buy- all of them). It also explains the overexposure of once thrilling characters like Wolverine, Elektra or Spiderman and the withering of many others taken off the spotlight to focus on those the public likes at a particular time. And the reason why some Marvel character movies are schlocky (v.gr., Daredevil, Elektra or the Fantastic Four) whereas others are pretty good or even great (v.gr., Spiderman, X-Men, Iron Man, Avengers) and others never get made (v.gr., Dr. Strange): short-sighted managers looking for their next bonus often sold TV, movie or merchardising rights to whomever would pay regardless of whether a quality portrayal could be expected. It also explains the reason for the periodic killing of iconic characters or the relaunch of the same, to the annoyance of the fanboys and the indifference of pretty much everybody else. Comics seems to be a dying art form, at least at the majors (DC and Marvel). Indisputably its best days are behind.

And yet... The book also describes the creative processes that led to that amazing burst of creative energy of the early 60s that gave us The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spiderman, The Mighty Thor and other formidable characters that gave joy to generations of children. These children are now adults, and it seems some never outgrew them, since according to the book the typical Marvel reader is a 30 year old male (aka Fanboy). Attempts to reach the next generation of eight year olds have been failing at least since the mid-80s. But what we felt when we read these comic books for the first time 20, 30 or 40 years ago will never entirely vanish.

I take away one star because the book is mainly for insiders and even those that feel well informed may struggle to keep up. I take away another because the Kindle version has no photographs of the people mentioned in the book (a huge cast) or of Marvel artwork. If you cannot make up your mind whether to purchase this book and you like comics, I recommend that you go and purchase the recent Marvel Essentials about Adam Warlock. The second part, which includes the Jim Starlin years, will show you Marvel at its best, when creativity and talent were allowed to run amok.

Excelsior! ...more

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Dec 05, 2018 Adam rated it really liked it

Shelves: overdrive, audiobook, history-read, non-fiction-read, almost-a-favorite

4.5 stars. If even half of it is true, it makes Mad Men look like an episode of Joy of Painting hosted by Bob Ross. It's amazing that Marvel's comics got published at all, then and now.

One (of many things) this book shed a light on was how much of a badass Jack Kirby (co-creator of most of Marvel's most iconic characters) was. The guy was a workhorse and creative genius. While Stan Lee seems to get 99% of the credit today, Kirby deserves his 50% (and maybe more?).

My one area of concern is that t ...more

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Oct 18, 2019 David Albee rated it really liked it

Shelves: audible, not-the-final-draft-book-club

**Estimated read period**
—
This book was fascinating and helped me understand the history of comics and Marvel.

Want to read more like this.

Could get a tad boring if you don’t like comics, but boy oh boy does Marvel Comics have some good tea.

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Jun 18, 2017 Elina Gomberg rated it really liked it

This book is a historical review of Marvel comics from the time of its formation until recent years. If you're looking for a book that takes a stance, this is not it. This book lets the reader decide which version of events or which motive of people they prefer most. However, the book becomes a lot less detailed as it reaches the time Ike Perlmutter took over Marvel. Also I would have proffered more dates within the book itself to make the time jumps clearer.
Despite the lack of stance, this boo ...more

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Dec 03, 2019 Jay rated it it was amazing

Engrossing and well-written, Howe alternates between the drama of Marvel writers and artists and their characters. Like with most businesses, a peek under the hood shows a mess and people just trying to figure things out. Don't meet your heroes, I guess. ...more

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Jan 06, 2013 David rated it really liked it

I enjoyed Marvel Comics a great deal - I like history, I like comics, and I was a huge, gonzo, ultra-mega-mega Marvel reader in the late 80's through early 90s (I probably collected ~50-60 titles monthly).

This is a rollicking, gossipy tale of office politics and corporate excess which clearly takes sides in some of the somewhat-known disputes (Kirby vs everyone, Ditko vs everyone, etc), and there are definitely some folks who come out of this worse for the wear. I was surprised at how complete t I enjoyed Marvel Comics a great deal - I like history, I like comics, and I was a huge, gonzo, ultra-mega-mega Marvel reader in the late 80's through early 90s (I probably collected ~50-60 titles monthly).

This is a rollicking, gossipy tale of office politics and corporate excess which clearly takes sides in some of the somewhat-known disputes (Kirby vs everyone, Ditko vs everyone, etc), and there are definitely some folks who come out of this worse for the wear. I was surprised at how complete the book is - it manages to cover events all the way into 2012, including the successful theatrical release of The Avengers (although a bit thinly).

Now, what comic-book history would be complete without heroes and villains?

First and foremost, Stan Lee comes across as (and this was the most surprising accusation in the book) largely absent in anything other than the early years of Marvel - he is portrayed as focused on movie deals and expanding the Marvel brand into other media and not focusing on the day-to-day comic writing or editing (at least after he left the workday scripting environment in the 60s).

Kirby really shines - he is shown as the progenitor of the whole medium: the "new style" artist and writer (but not scripter) who was able to change the way pretty much everyone told sequential art stories. I had always liked his work, but hadn't appreciated how much comics could be divided into before and after-Kirby periods. Now, some of this may be overstated - there were others who were clearly extremely important and influential, but he is portrayed as a towering figure both in his work and his influence on the artists who followed.

Chris Claremont gets the role of Marvel martyr (which, given how badly Kirby is treated, is saying something) - he shepherds the lowest selling books (the X-men) into the giant franchise only to see all of them wrenched from him during the proto-Image phase, and he gets to watch while all of the years of characterization he put into the books is cast aside for the crowning moment of awesome. It was actually right about this time that I left comics for nearly 20 years, and never really went back to Marvel.

But the big villains in the books are the folks running the show - it seems the inmates run the asylum, and between the idiotic attempts at brand expansion (which turn into dilution), massive reorganizations, the juvenile office politics (honestly, I'd lose my job if I acted half that badly), editorially-driven mandates (specifically ultra-mega crossovers), and penny-wise/pound-foolish behavior, it's a miracle (nay, a marvel) that the company survived at all! The foolishness basically comes down to this: the company spent an inordinate amount of time focusing on things other than making good stories (specifically, good stories which people wanted to buy), and let short-term thinking crowd out long-term stewardship of the characters.

The current success of Marvel movies rescued the company from oblivion, but it's notable that most of the stories and characters which form the backbones of the movies were ones which were introduced in the 60s through 80s - Marvel (comics) is having to try to keep up with the success of the movies, which are again mining out that excellent work which was done in the past. What's going on now? I find no particular jumping-on point - I tried a few times, and really couldn't get back into it, because the characters did not grab me. I'm still collecting the trade paperback releases of stuff from the 80s and earlier, because it's great, but the current stuff is missing the mark and wallowing in nostalgia and cheap thrills.

But back to the book - it's a great read if you want to see how a company can be spectacularly mismanaged and still manage to survive and produce some great work even in a hostile environment. It's not as depressing as The Bonfire of the Vanities, but some of the same wretched excess makes itself known here too. ...more

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About Sean Howe

Sean Howe

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Sean Howe is a former editor at Entertainment Weekly and The Criterion Collection. His writing has appeared in New York, the Los Angeles Times, Spin, and the Village Voice. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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“Although Jerry Siegel didn’t bring it up with people, a swirl of whispers followed as he made his way in and out of the office: That guy co-created Superman. DC Comics won’t even let him in their offices anymore” — 2 likes

“Over the decade that movie producer Menahem Golan had retained the rights for Spider-Man, he’d managed to involve half a dozen different corporate entities. Golan had originally bought the Spider-Man rights for his Cannon Films; after leaving Cannon, he transferred them to 21st Century Films. Next, he raised money by preselling television rights to Viacom, and home video rights to Columbia Tri-Star; then he signed a $5 million deal with Carolco that guaranteed his role as producer. But after Carolco assigned the film to James Cameron, Cameron refused to give Golan the producer credit, and the lawsuits began. By the end of 1994, Carolco was suing Viacom and Tri-Star; Viacom and Tri-Star were countersuing Carolco, 21st Century, and Marvel; and MGM—which had swallowed Cannon—was suing Viacom, Tri-Star, 21st Century, and Marvel.” — 1 likes

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