Above:Sean Howe with his book (c)Photo by Stefano Giovannini, Brooklyn Daily
MARVEL COMICS: THE UNTOLD STORY
Sean Howe
Harper Books
Hardback
484 pp
Well, Mr. Brown gave me this book and told me “you’ll enjoy it!” This from a man who allegedly hates comics.
So what is it about? According to the blurb/info:
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.
And the reviewers say this:
“A WILD-RIDE ACCOUNT” —The Hollywood Reporter
“EPIC” —The New York Times
“INDISPENSABLE” —Los Angeles Times
“DEFINITIVE” —The Wall Street Journal
“SCINTILLATING” —Publishers Weekly
“FASCINATING” —GQ
“AUTHORITATIVE” —Kirkus Reviews
“GRIPPING” —Rolling Stone
“PRICELESS” —Booklist
“A MUST FOR ANY SUPERHERO OR POP-CULTURE FAN” —NY Post
“ESSENTIAL” —The Daily Beast
“A SUPERPOWERED MUST-READ” —USA Today
“REVELATORY” —The Miami Herald
“AS FULL OF COLORFUL CHARACTERS, TRAGIC REVERSALS AND UNLIKELY PLOT TWISTS AS ANY BOOK IN THE MARVEL CANON” —Newsday
Now I never ever bother with what other reviewers write. Why should
I? The whole point is that I review and make up my own mind. So, first
thing first: I had expected an illustrated book –photographs. There is
one small photo of Kirby & Lee from 1965 and that’s it. There are
more images on Howe’s site but why? If you buy the book you do not
expect to have to go to the author’s blog to see what should be in the
book.
That is my gripe because how many reading the book would know what Don Heck, John Verpoorten, John Romita, Herb Trimpe
et al look like? A photograph humanises the account more.
The book itself I opened preparing to read the worst of former Marvel
favourites. However, very few people come out well in this history
other than the old school creators and staffers –the Romitas, Trimpe,
the Buscemas, Heck and Stan Lee. I was surprised by the Stan Lee aspect
because, despite stating he was a loyal company man –Jeez, he built
Marvel up from the ground so he would be— Lee really was a fierce and
loyal supporter of his staff and freelancers.
There is the story of when Lee was forced to lay-off staff and how he
would give them the bad news then visit the toilet to throw up. A
process he had to repeat all day. It was after this that he decided “no
more” and began to build things up –the frustrated writer who wanted to
convince people that comics were not just for dummies but were an art
form. Lee desperately trying to get Marvel properties into movies.
At one point when Lee was planning on leaving Marvel he wrote a
letter to a friend stating how he would like to take Kirby and others
with him but pointing out that if he couldn’t no problem –they were so
talented they would land on their feet. As more of the behind the scenes
story played out (not all new if you are into comics history) my
respect for the old time freelancers and staffers grew. They did their
jobs and never messed around. Comics sold.
When it comes to Ditko my opinion was reinforced. He is one of the
great comic artists but a very “fractured” person. Yes, if you, as a
writer, create a character and describe his/her abilities, etc., to an
artist YOU have created the character. The artist coming up with the
design and art you can call “co-creator” and Lee even put this in
writing for Ditko regarding Spider-man (despite some of what Ditko said
and wrote) but Ditko wanted to be THE creator, not a co-creator. Ditko
made his own problems and to be honest yes, like Lee said and wrote,
Ditko was “co-creator” and if Ditko wants to be a pain and bleat about
semantics and imagined wrongs well…let him.
Jack Kirby and his various claims are also touched on. We all know
that certain people in comics adopted Kirby as a “down-trodden creator
bullied by Marvel” simply so they could snipe at Marvel. I have always
stated, and the facts are there, Stan Lee was not the mastermind behind
some sinister plot against Kirby. The problem was to be lain at the
people running Marvel.
There is the mention of Kirby’s signature being on a work-for-hire
document from, I believe 1972 and this was “unexplained” so are people
claiming this was forged? If so why were experts not called in to
examine the signature?
As I read a lot of what Kirby was alleged to have said/written or had
been said as coming from him over the years one thing became clear. I
think to some degree Kirby was being used but I also think Kirby was
having memory problems –I have one printed interview in which Kirby’s
wife is repeatedly noted as answering for him. And there were outlandish
claims made by Kirby –that Lee had never written a script, that he
never knew what was in a strip until Kirby turned it over and that he
created characters and wrote them himself.
Lee made a call when Kirby was on radio to wish him a happy birthday
and the exchange was pleasant. At a convention Kirby had said to Lee
that Lee had done nothing to be ashamed of. Then came another anti-Lee
rant. Lee, through his statements and recorded interviews, is genuinely
dumbfounded by all this –and there is enough recorded Lee history at
Marvel and after to show that he never said a bad word about Kirby or
Ditko (unless someone tried to trick him as in the infamous Jonathan
Ross interview for the documentary
In Search Of Steve Ditko).
Yes, I think Kirby should have gotten some reward for all the
merchandising based on characters he and Lee created and that were used
in toys, etc., but even Lee got no royalty –it was work-for-hire. The
problem lay in those money men running Marvel.
The rot set in when, as in the UK comic industry, the fans got in!
Drugs, drink and even worse. Yes, some good comics were created but we
now learn what was going on with stand-in story issues, very bad
continuity and other things that bugged us over the years.
It was the editors and writers who were back-biting, demanding
complete control of what they were working on, getting to edit their own
books and sneaking stories past their editors that they knew they
normally would not get away with. Quite honestly it is a wonder Marvel
never died an earlier death. Imagine a bunch of screeching, in-fighting
children who try to sabotage each other –and often dumb-ass editors.
It’s no wonder Lee quit.
Everyone wanted more money and to be in complete control: “get rid of
him or I’m quitting!” And these children continue this behaviour to
this day –even in court. I found it very difficult to feel sorry for
any of the later creators/staffers.
The complete corruption of an industry can be said to have started
with acid taking creators and ….I cannot think of adequately describing
the editors.
Doing the dirty of Sal Buscema and Don Heck and other loyal
freelancers makes me look at editors with no respect. Even one of my
favourites, Roy Thomas, doesn’t come out of this well.
Reading of the Shooter days I got the impression that at one point
Shooter was having a nervous breakdown but no one realised. That or he
became a real bastard because he was having to deal with problem
creators and just was not experienced enough to do the job (though he
wrote some good comics).
Then I got to the bit where Quesada and Palmiotti jumped in. Really,
you need to read this. I’ve not had much regard for Quesada but after
this book I’ve no regard for him at all.
The cover price hike-ups to “cover printing costs” were nothing of
the sort (as a lot of us knew) it simple was to screw the fans who
owners and creators seemed to have no respect for. “Put Wolverine in
every and any book because it will sell even if it stinks” was and is a
genuine company policy.
There is account after account of creators leaving Marvel and
swearing never to work for the scum again…until more money was offered.
Hypocrisy as a word does not even get close to covering it. How much
did creators care about fans and what they as creators were working on?
You’ll find quote after quote of creators who moan and complain that
they were working on “shit –but I made a barrel load of money out of
it!”
Seriously.
I know the people who go out and buy Marvel don’t care about any of
this so long as they get their Wolverine or Deadpool –even when they get
fewer pages for more money. Well, Marvel says it so I might as well
–screw ‘em.
As a plain straight forward comic historian there is only one thing I can say about this well indexed and referenced book.
It should be must reading.
It is well written and none of the quotes given at the start of this
piece are wrong. I wrote that a lot of this is not news to us oldies
but the thing is that Howe has set it all out in one concise and well
written book –there ought to be a reward for writing this.
Now we just need one on DC!
Once you start reading this you will not want to put it down. My copynis already referenced with post-it notes!!!!
Did I enjoy it, Mr. Brown….well, you tell me.
