Everything You Wanted To Know About The Marvel Age of Comics...But Were Afraid to Ask!
This book, a PDF, began at the dawn of the Marvel Age. This book refers to the real, original comics and was written when the comics were originally published, over sixty years ago. Of course, it’s been updated. As fans of the movies and comics know, Marvel
had a shared Universe and heroes and villains popped up in many books. The full descriptions of the thousands of comics were actually written when the comics were originally published.
I include decades of original
comments and quotes by the Marvel creators made just for this publication.
They include: Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella, Jim Steranko, Rich Buckler,
Dick Ayers, Joe Sinnott, Julius Schwartz, Carmine Infantino and several others.
Stan
Lee really really liked this book! (makes me
feel great.!) In fact, he included this
book when he donated his papers!
Jim Steranko wrote me to say, “Your overview of the genre is spectacular--and elevates Marvel history to areas that have not yet been defined by so many others. Congratulations, amigo!”
By making the book a PDF I did not have to limit its size - this is over 1,400 pages! There are over 1,000 images, scanned from the original comics!
This 1,400 page PDF contains:
There is a list of ALL the comics and the artist who drew EVERY COVER along with the street date for every comic. There is also a similar section for the Magazines!!! (See below)
An entry for every single
comic and story of the Marvel Age 1961-1977.
It has a full description of each story,
complete credits including the cover artists; the publication AND the street
date, important facts plus references to other comics when necessary. These are
full descriptions, not a synopsis so the stories are NOT spoiled and surprises
not revealed. Important: I abide by the “Temporal Prime Directive!”
That is, since these descriptions were all written at the time the comics were actually published, I do not reveal future events, so nothing is spoiled. I also use a five-star
rating system for each comic.
The
Magazine Section features
the contents of the Marvel Magazines of the 1970s. I stress its connection the Marvel
Age comics.
A Timely History of
Marvel:
Starting at the beginning of the 20th century, this section lists
the important events that lead us up to and carries us through the Timely,
Atlas and Marvel Ages. There is also a chart for each year listing what comics
were published and when they were published. It emphasizes the contributions and importance of Lee, Kirby and Ditko and in later years, Jim Steranko who took Marvel out of the cold war. It containing a grid for each year, starting in 1939 and listing every Marvel comic published. It describes the business of comics and behind the scenes material, as well as what was going on in the actual comics at the time. It is followed by many essays on the rise of Marvel, the creation of the M.U. and even the decline of Marvel in the mid 1970s. After all the Marvel Age does end.
The Character Map:
For over 1,000 heroes and villains, it lists their appearances in chronological
order and displays each comics publication date.
Being There: A Memoir
of the Marvel Age:
To me, my favorite part of the book. It looks back at the Silver Age of Comics and
what it was like living through the Marvel Age.
Not Necessarily the Marvel Age:
Marvel published many
comics and magazines not associated with
their comics. This includes a magazine
on Streakers (believe it or not); Evel Knievel, Pussycat, Captain Britain,
Spidey Super-Stories, MarvelMania, FOOM and many others.
There are sections on the Marvel Value Stamps, In-House Ads of Marvel Merchandi$e; a listing
of all Timely/Atlas comics; Credit section that lists the individual
credits of the creators, a reading order, and much more.
If you don’t like
the book, I’ll give you your money back. Really!!!!!
This book has been 60 years in the making.
Introducing: Jack Kirby

Back then I used to say that sI enjoyed reading the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-Men etc.
I then began to realize I enjoyed reading that it was Lee, Kirby, Ditko and Heck. Marvels were re-readable so I kept them.
DC comics seemed to be aimed at younger readers, I was growing older and DC was not growing with me. Marvel was. The difference in writing and plotting between the two companies is demonstrated throughout the book.
. I would keep track of
the history of each title, listing the series, name changes and anything else
that cropped up.