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All of the Marvels

An Amazing Voyage into Marvels Universe

Douglas Wolk

$39.99

Hardback

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English
Profile Books Ltd
30 November 2021
Over the last sixty years, the Marvel superhero comic books have grown into a gigantic mountain in the middle of contemporary culture. They are the longest continuous, self-contained work of fiction ever created: over half a million pages to date - and growing. Thousands of writers and artists have contributed to it. Every schoolchild recognizes its protagonists: Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men. And not even the people telling the story have read the whole thing - nobody's supposed to. So, of course, that's what Douglas Wolk did: he read all 27,000 comics that make up the Marvel universe thus far, from Alpha Flight to Omega the Unknown.

All of the Marvels is a landmark, but ludicrously fun, piece of cultural criticism. Trying to make sense of the ever-expanding mythology, Wolk shows how it reflects a funhouse-mirror history of the past 60 years, from the atomic night-terrors of the Cold War to the technocracy and political divisions of the present day. He observes the Marvel story's progressive visions and its painful stereotypes, its patches of woeful hackwork and stretches of luminous creativity. This is a huge treat for Marvel fans, but it's also a revelation for readers who don't know Doctor Strange from Doctor Doom. Here, truly, are all of the marvels.

By:  
Imprint:   Profile Books Ltd
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Edition:   Main
Dimensions:   Height: 236mm,  Width: 154mm,  Spine: 38mm
Weight:   700g
ISBN:   9781788169288
ISBN 10:   178816928X
Pages:   384
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Primary ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print

Douglas Wolk is the lead graphic novel reviewer for the New York Times Book Review, and has written about graphic novels and comics for Time, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and Print magazine, among others. His writing includes the 2014 comic miniseries Judge Dredd: Mega-City Two, as well as a Kindle Single about comics culture (Comic-Con Strikes Again!). He teaches comics writing at Portland State University, and has moderated panels at most of the major American comics conventions. He has been awarded the Getty/USC Annenberg Arts Journalism Fellowship and a Mid-Career Fellowship with Columbia University's National Arts Journalism Program. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews for All of the Marvels: An Amazing Voyage into Marvels Universe

A generous, freewheeling book ... Wolk is a capable guide, wry, friendly and astute [who] can elucidate not just the chemistry between writers and artists but also the underrated role of colourers and letterers -- Dorian Lynskey * Spectator * A fascinating pop culture journey ... Wolk is a knowledgeable, generous guide, lighting the potentially more confusing corners of the Marvel Universe with enthusiasm, humour and humility -- Martin Gray * Scotsman * Douglas Wolk's naked dive into the Marvel source code is a revelation, a tour both electrifying in its weird charisma, and replenishing in its loving specificity. As an account of how a motley gang of accidental collaborators created a vernacular mythology out of the dodgiest of commercial occasions, it's also a testament, and a tribute -- Jonathan Lethem Brilliant, eccentric, moving and wholly wonderful ... All of the Marvels is magnificently marvelous. Wolk's work will invite many more alliterative superlatives. It deserves them all -- Junot Diaz * New York Times Book Review * For anyone willing to take [a] step into the inconceivably vast and wonderful world that generations of creators have brought to us, issue by issue, month by month, year by year, All of the Marvels is an indispensable handbook. And for anyone seeking an explanation for the enduring popularity of our modern superhero mythology, Wolk has provided as well-informed and well-argued a thesis as you're likely to find * Forbes * The way Wolk makes sense of, finds beauty in, and connects all the different stories and details is masterful ... A must-read for all Marvel fans, from devotees to newbies, All of the Marvels is a colorful and heartfelt journey through the Marvel Universe, and highlights just what makes this epic feat of storytelling so special * Hypable * [a] love letter to Marvel comics ... Wolk is having fun and it communicates -- Teddy Jamieson * Herald Scotland * What sounds like a madman's quest turns out to be a deeply emotional hero's journey. The best work yet from the best writer about the medium of comics -- Brian K. Vaughan, author * Saga * Some of us are haunted by the memory of a childhood glimpse of some vast evocative dream; others exasperated by the slick iconography that has taken over our screens, wallets, and eyeballs. If you're like me, it's both. For all of us, Douglas Wolk's naked dive into the Marvel source code is a revelation, a tour both electrifying in its weird charisma, and replenishing in its loving specificity. As an account of how a motley gang of accidental collaborators created a vernacular mythology out of the dodgiest of commercial occasions, it's also a testament, and a tribute. Like Greil Marcus in Mystery Train or Manny Farber in Negative Space, Wolk pushes aside paraphrase to free up an encounter with what's been there all along, homegrown art -- Jonathan Lethem A genuine pleasure ...the joy of Wolk's writing is that it's so inclusive ... this book makes me want to track down those glorious tales from my youth ... [All of the Marvels] will rekindle a passion for a collection of stories so vast and interlinked, it defies belief -- Roger Crow * On Magazine *


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