|
Post by dlw66 on Oct 5, 2006 12:18:45 GMT -5
I leafed through this book at Barnes and Noble the other day. Highlight moments from Stan Lee's Marvel career, complete with audio commentary by "The Man". I did not listen to any of the tracks. If you have ever seen the children's books with the sound feature attached to the side of the book, that is what this is. The book is full of great Silver Age art, and there is text that explains just what went on in that section's "great moment". At $50 it seems a little pricey, but it is a big, thick book and I'm sure the sound feature adds to the cost. Perhaps it would have been cheaper (and better technologically) to have included a cd-rom instead of the present feature. I wonder about the battery running down or some other malfunction.
|
|
|
Post by Shiryu on Oct 7, 2006 15:47:02 GMT -5
Did you buy it then ? Would be nice to post a transcript of at least a few important sentences
|
|
|
Post by sharkar on Aug 1, 2007 20:21:06 GMT -5
I actually picked this up the other day, mostly because when I flipped through this at Barnes and Noble, I was bowled over by the abundance of fantastic Silver Age art. The colors weren't too glossy and the pages looked absolutely beautiful so I took the plunge and bought it (the fact that the price was reduced from $50.00 to $14.98 didn't hurt, either.) And I'm glad I did! This is a very readable book (Roy Thomas did the text), perfect for anyone who is interested in Marvel during the Silver Age. As dlw said, the premise is Stan's greatest Marvel moments, 50 to be exact; and the usual suspects are listed: FF#1, the first SA appearances of Spidey, Thor, Iron Man, Namor, Cap, Dr. Doom, Black Panther, Silver Surfer, Vision, et al.; the Galactus trilogy, "This Man, This Monster" (FF #51); Spidey lifting that massive wreckage, death of Gwen Stacey, death of Cap (the 1969 version), King-Size X-Men...and so on. But Stan also included less obvious choices such as the Gene Colan-illustrated Cap walking sequence (Cap #122); Thor revealing his identity to Jane Foster (as part of the Thor-Hercules saga); and Jane Foster becoming a goddess and failing. These, and a few other choices, were a nice balance to the more familiar greatest moments. As for the audio...sure it's corny--it's The Man, after all!-- but I like Stan's enthusiasm and passion. The book contains a disclaimer ("the batteries may not work") but the audio is enjoyable, pure Stan. Now for the most interesting aspect--to me, anyway. I have mentioned the glorious art...well, fully half of the art included here is Jack Kirby's. No other artist comes close in terms of the sheer number of illustrations in the book. Of the remaining half, about a third of it is Ditko's, followed by Buscema and Romita, and then smatterings of Wood, Everett, Steranko, Adams, Tuska, Miller, Colan, and some others. It is kind of sobering to see how vital Kirby was to Marvel during its flowering, yet we know he was so disgruntled and felt so under-appreciated...and to think of how for Stan, this book is yet another of his money-making ventures (of course Stan is extremely complimentary of all the creators in the book, including Kirby). Anyway, this book is worth the $50.00; and a must-buy at $14.98.
|
|
|
Post by Tana Nile on Aug 1, 2007 22:46:37 GMT -5
I guess I'll be heading over to Barnes and Noble this weekend! Thanks for the heads up.
Speaking of Marvel books, has anyone purchased that Marvel Vault book? It sounds really interesting, looking at all the various Marvel fan club merchandise.
|
|
|
Post by sharkar on Aug 2, 2007 19:10:27 GMT -5
I'll definitely pick it up when it's available--from what I see on-line, that won't be until mid-August. This looks like another must-have item!
|
|
|
Post by Shiryu on Aug 6, 2007 5:34:09 GMT -5
It's on Amazon I think, but still at full price. You may find a better deal on Ebay.
|
|
|
Post by dlw66 on Aug 13, 2007 22:10:40 GMT -5
I saw the Marvel Vault book at Chicago and all I can say is "wow". A very, very cool book and wonderful tome of nothing but nostalgia. It is definitely high-end, and would seem to be worth every cent even if you have to get it at full price ($50, right?). It is a horizontal, oblong hardcover and looks like it sets closed a bit strangely... but upon further review (read: opening the front cover , the browser sees that it is SPIRAL BOUND!! A nice touch! There is text throughout, and loads of artwork. I did not spend a tremendous amount of time looking at it due to the crowds (as well as the fact that when I bird-dogged it, my sons kept on walking), but I can testify to the beyond-coolest feature of the book: Every so often there is a plastic sleeve-page containing some reproduced piece of fandom gone by. For example, one of these inserts contains material from the MMMS; another contains 9 or 12 Marvel Value Stamps. The page immediately following the plastic is silver and serves as a legend to what is in the sleeve. This is on my must-have list. In fact, in another thread I posted a link to a business in Fort Wayne, IN who I've done some transacting with each of the past three years. I will see if they are carrying this book! EDIT: And, I can tell you a day later that they are not.
|
|
|
Post by The Night Phantom on Aug 14, 2007 17:05:38 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by dlw66 on Oct 15, 2007 7:44:41 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Tana Nile on Oct 15, 2007 10:09:51 GMT -5
I got my copy of the Marvel Vault in the mail Friday, but we have been so busy unpacking and getting organized at the new house that I have only had time for a cursory examination of it. I will say that the reproductions of Bill Everett's Sub-Mariner sketches are pretty darn cool! Once I have a chance to sit down and read it I'll post back here!
|
|
|
Post by The Night Phantom on Oct 17, 2007 5:32:02 GMT -5
My Vault arrived Monday, and I haven’t had much time to devote to it either. Still, I can say this: the reproduction collectibles are a hoot! Items from earlier eras have been antiqued (yellowing and browning pages)—I’m not sure that was necessary, but it does give the impression of handling the actual artifacts. I almost felt shocked that someone would dare pack “original” 1940s Namor and Torch sketches into a book that could go to just anybody!
|
|
|
Post by Tana Nile on Oct 17, 2007 10:10:07 GMT -5
The Marvel Value Stamps bring back a lot of memories - I 'ruined' a number of comics cutting those darn things out!!
|
|
|
Post by Doctor Doom on Oct 17, 2007 10:29:30 GMT -5
As I mentioned elsewhere, got my "Vault" from my long suffering girlfriend for my birthday amd it's fantastic. Like others, I want to spend more time with it before I say much more but d**n, what I read rocks.
|
|
|
Post by spiderwasp on Oct 17, 2007 11:48:28 GMT -5
The Marvel Value Stamps bring back a lot of memories - I 'ruined' a number of comics cutting those darn things out!! Tell me about it. For me that includes Hulk 181 (With Wolverine). Arghh.
|
|
|
Post by Tana Nile on Oct 17, 2007 13:39:39 GMT -5
The Marvel Value Stamps bring back a lot of memories - I 'ruined' a number of comics cutting those darn things out!! Tell me about it. For me that includes Hulk 181 (With Wolverine). Arghh. Oh no!! I feel for you, SW. That's something I have to constantly check on my 70's Marvel back issue purchases. Not too long ago I got a book from Mile High Comics, I believe it was Captain Marvel 29, and the stamp was missing. I had to exchange some emails before they would take it back and replace it with an uncut copy.
|
|
|
Post by dlw66 on Oct 18, 2007 10:25:25 GMT -5
No-prizes came up in the Avengers Classic #4 thread... Is there a facsimile of the no-prize envelope in the Marvel Vault?
|
|
|
Post by The Night Phantom on Oct 18, 2007 22:01:30 GMT -5
The Marvel Value Stamps bring back a lot of memories - I 'ruined' a number of comics cutting those darn things out!! Sadly, the Vault Value Stamps have nothing on the reverse except the word “reproduction”—a missed opportunity for even more incisive nostalgia! No-prizes came up in the Avengers Classic #4 thread... Is there a facsimile of the no-prize envelope in the Marvel Vault? No no-prize envelope, but there is a shrunk-down, abridged copy of the Marvel No-Prize Book! Here’s what you get: Item(!) | Legend page (beneath) | Eight one-sided sheets of sketches for 1941–1942 Sub-Mariner and Human Torch stories | 15 | Three double-sided postcards postcards Bill Everett sent to his daughter at summer camp in 1956, each sporting a single-panel color cartoon in lieu of a conventional letter | 59 | “Farewell party” poster drawn and colored by John Severin, on the occasion of Timely’s near-collapse in 1957 | 59 | Stan Lee’s typed two-page (single-sheet) outline of the origin story for Fantastic Four #1 | 67 | 1960s season’s-greetings postcard featuring the Thing (drawn by Marie Severin), to send to fan-club members and letter writers | 67 | Merry Marvel Marching Society “welcome kit”, consisting of a letter (one page); an “M.M.M.S. wants you!” sticker featuring the Thing (yes, it’s an actual sticker); an “I belong” sticker with an M.M.M.S. banner and the Thing, Spider-Man, and the Human Torch (again, a real sticker); and a membership card (double-sided) for Kenneth Quattro, signed by Benj J. Grimm himself | 99 | Program (four pages, plus cover) from the first official Marvel convention (March 22–24, 1975 at the Hotel Commodore in New York) | 123 | Sticker reproducing a Howard the Duck 1976 presidential campaign button | 123 | Ten Marvel Value Stamps (obverse only):- Series A #88: The Leader
- #7: Werewolf
- Series A #43: The Enchantress
- Series A #95: Mole Man
- #75: Morbius
- Series A #80: Ghost Rider
- Series A #26: Mephisto
- #1: Spider-Man
- Series A #6: Thor
- Series A #8: Captain America
| 133 | Shrunk-down, abridged edition of the Marvel No-Prize Book (1982) | 149 | 1982 Marvel visitor pass (single-sided) | 149 | Folding invitation to the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 and to “a special look back at their relationship in Marvel Saga #22” | 149 | Three double-sided trading cards (1990):- #161: Stan Lee
- #133: Wolverine Limited Series #1
- #82: Ghost Rider
| 159 | 1993 stock certificate (double-sided) indicating that Roy and Dann Thomas own 20 shares of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. | 159 | 1998 comic-book-style menu (8 pages, including covers) for the Marvel Mania Hollywood restaurant at Universal Studios | 169 | Four single-sided sheets of Andy Kubert sketches for Origin | 175 |
|
|
|
Post by dlw66 on Oct 18, 2007 22:10:55 GMT -5
Excellent information -- thanks for taking the time to post all of it!
|
|
|
Post by The Night Phantom on Oct 18, 2007 22:16:23 GMT -5
Excellent information -- thanks for taking the time to post all of it! You are welcome. It was a fun way of acquainting myself with the book’s “goodies”!
|
|
|
Post by Tana Nile on Oct 18, 2007 22:58:16 GMT -5
I managed to find some time to actually read the Marvel Vault tonight, but only through the 1940's and 1950's sections (saving the 60's for the weekend!). There was a lot of history there that I was completely unaware of. I had no idea of Timely's comics outside of the sueprhero genre, but after around 1946, the heroes largely disappeared. Initially they were replaced by funny animals, then teenage strips like Patsy Walker and Millie the Model. Timely would continue to follow every trend that came down the pike, including westerns, horror, crime, war, and eventually monster books (the prelude to the Marvel Age of comics).
Publisher Martin Goodman would just flood the market with whatever was popular at the time. That is, until some bad luck and possibly bad decisions left Timely without a distributor. They then had to make a deal with Independent News, a distributor owned by DC. This cut all their titles down to 8 a month! They wound up keeping 16 titles but going bi-monthly with them. It was a huge blow to Timely.
I was really impressed with the artwork of Joe Maneely. I have heard his name mentioned before but never had a very good idea of his work. He had a very realistic, rugged style - sort of reminds me of John Severin, who was a contemporary of his. It's a shame he didn't get to work on any superhero books.
|
|
|
Post by Tana Nile on Oct 19, 2007 0:02:08 GMT -5
One other thing I noticed: on some of the war comics from the 1950's, there's the famous "figure in upper left corner box", which was a regular feature on Marvel's superhero books throughout most of the 60's, 70's, and even 80's IIRC. I wonder if this was the first time it was used?
|
|
|
Post by dlw66 on Oct 19, 2007 7:37:09 GMT -5
Publisher Martin Goodman would just flood the market with whatever was popular at the time. That is, until some bad luck and possibly bad decisions left Timely without a distributor. They then had to make a deal with Independent News, a distributor owned by DC. This cut all their titles down to 8 a month! They wound up keeping 16 titles but going bi-monthly with them. It was a huge blow to Timely. I was really impressed with the artwork of Joe Maneely. I have heard his name mentioned before but never had a very good idea of his work. He had a very realistic, rugged style - sort of reminds me of John Severin, who was a contemporary of his. It's a shame he didn't get to work on any superhero books. Joe Maneely was well-known for his work on Jungle comics -- Lorna the Jungle Queen, and I believe some Tarzan along the way. Les Daniels' Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics is a very nice history of the company and also includes the anecdotes you've mentioned.
|
|
|
Post by von Bek on Oct 19, 2007 8:27:49 GMT -5
We have talked about Joe Maneely before. The Silver Age (and the history of comics in general) could have been very different had he not died in that tragic accident.
|
|
|
Post by sharkar on Oct 19, 2007 18:16:12 GMT -5
Timely would continue to follow every trend that came down the pike, including westerns, horror, crime, war, and eventually monster books (the prelude to the Marvel Age of comics). One of my favorite resources is the Silver Age Marvel Comics Cover Index, and I'm always amazed when I realize what was actually being published during the early 60s. Check out the "Months" tab, and start from July 1961. Pretty interesting to go through the months and see Marvel's development. www.samcci.comics.org/
|
|
|
Post by dlw66 on Oct 20, 2007 20:00:00 GMT -5
As always, one of the best resources on the 'net!
|
|
|
Post by Tana Nile on Oct 23, 2007 13:09:40 GMT -5
You know what I really wish they had included in the Vault? Two things: first, some copies of the old MMMS stationary, with the heroes around the border. And secondly, a miniature version of Steranko's FOOM poster! Sadly, FOOM seems under-represented in the Vault.
|
|
|
Post by The Night Phantom on Oct 25, 2007 18:18:04 GMT -5
Evidently I order a lot of strange things, for I’m on the mailing lists of some fairly strange catalogs. One catalog item that recently caught my eye was a book entitled Great Maps of the Civil War—not because I’m a big Civil War (Confederacy, not SHRA) or cartography buff—I’m not—but because emblazoned on the book’s cover are the words, “A MUSEUM IN A BOOK”! Sound familiar? Apparently the book includes pockets holding 32 removable reproduction maps. I wondered if this Museum in a Book might have been produced or designed by the same people behind the Marvel Vault Museum-in-a-Book. Although the MV fine print declares “A Museum-in-a-Book” (with the hyphens) a trademark, I found no connection to the Great Maps of the Civil War Museum in a Book (no hyphens; published 2004). But I did find that becker&mayer! [sic], the folks behind The Marvel Vault’s unusual format, have been busy making similar tomes. Due in bookstores next Tuesday (October 30) is The Star Wars Vault. If the Civil War book whetted your appetite for American martial history, you might try David McCullough’s 1776: The Illustrated Edition. If celebrities are your thing, you might want to look at The Jim Morrison Scrapbook or The Audrey Hepburn Treasures. Becker&mayer! also produces books in other unconventional formats. It turns out one of them is Stan Lee’s Amazing Marvel Universe, which was the topic of the very first post in this thread!
|
|
|
Post by sharkar on Oct 29, 2007 20:53:51 GMT -5
It is definitely high-end, and would seem to be worth every cent even if you have to get it at full price ($50, right?) You may find a better deal on Ebay. Amazon.com has The Marvel Vault for pre-order at $32.97 I went to my local Borders the other day and apparently they were having a special 25% off promotion (for any book), so The Marvel Vault's price was reduced to $37.46. I had a gift card with me--another $20 off. The cashier then told me I had some extra "Borders bucks" on my account (I was unaware of this)--so my final price (tax and all) came to: $9.76 (I still have not had a chance to sit down and really look at it, but from what I saw when flipping though it in the store--and from the posts here--it looks fantastic!)
|
|
|
Post by Tana Nile on Oct 29, 2007 22:09:11 GMT -5
It is definitely high-end, and would seem to be worth every cent even if you have to get it at full price ($50, right?) Amazon.com has The Marvel Vault for pre-order at $32.97 I went to my local Borders the other day and apparently they were having a special 25% off promotion (for any book), so The Marvel Vault's price was reduced to $37.46. I had a gift card with me--another $20 off. The cashier then told me I had some extra "Borders bucks" on my account (I was unaware of this)--so my final price (tax and all) came to: $9.76 (I still have not had a chance to sit down and really look at it, but from what I saw when flipping though it in the store--and from the posts here--it looks fantastic!) Fantastic bargain! Just be sure to give yourself plenty of time to sit back and take it all in! I'm really interested to hear your comments.
|
|
|
Post by dlw66 on Nov 3, 2007 16:02:22 GMT -5
I actually picked this up the other day, mostly because when I flipped through this at Barnes and Noble, I was bowled over by the abundance of fantastic Silver Age art. The colors weren't too glossy and the pages looked absolutely beautiful so I took the plunge and bought it (the fact that the price was reduced from $50.00 to $14.98 didn't hurt, either.) And I'm glad I did! This is a very readable book (Roy Thomas did the text), perfect for anyone who is interested in Marvel during the Silver Age. As dlw said, the premise is Stan's greatest Marvel moments, 50 to be exact; and the usual suspects are listed: FF#1, the first SA appearances of Spidey, Thor, Iron Man, Namor, Cap, Dr. Doom, Black Panther, Silver Surfer, Vision, et al.; the Galactus trilogy, "This Man, This Monster" (FF #51); Spidey lifting that massive wreckage, death of Gwen Stacey, death of Cap (the 1969 version), King-Size X-Men...and so on. But Stan also included less obvious choices such as the Gene Colan-illustrated Cap walking sequence (Cap #122); Thor revealing his identity to Jane Foster (as part of the Thor-Hercules saga); and Jane Foster becoming a goddess and failing. These, and a few other choices, were a nice balance to the more familiar greatest moments. As for the audio...sure it's corny--it's The Man, after all!-- but I like Stan's enthusiasm and passion. The book contains a disclaimer ("the batteries may not work") but the audio is enjoyable, pure Stan. Now for the most interesting aspect--to me, anyway. I have mentioned the glorious art...well, fully half of the art included here is Jack Kirby's. No other artist comes close in terms of the sheer number of illustrations in the book. Of the remaining half, about a third of it is Ditko's, followed by Buscema and Romita, and then smatterings of Wood, Everett, Steranko, Adams, Tuska, Miller, Colan, and some others. It is kind of sobering to see how vital Kirby was to Marvel during its flowering, yet we know he was so disgruntled and felt so under-appreciated...and to think of how for Stan, this book is yet another of his money-making ventures (of course Stan is extremely complimentary of all the creators in the book, including Kirby). Anyway, this book is worth the $50.00; and a must-buy at $14.98. How about a "must-buy" at $7.98??? Which is exactly what I paid for it about two hours ago at my Barnes & Noble!!
|
|