Review- Marvel Comics: The Untold Story

Marvel Comics: The Untold Storyby Sean Howe

Longtime fans of Marvel Comics are no strangers to the ups and downs the company has had over the years. Whispers of editorial interference, animosity towards Stan Lee, who spent years as the face of the company, and not to mention the startup of Image Comics in the 90s, which occurred when four Marvel artists grew weary with the politics of the industry. Though this did little to stop readership throughout the times, it did make for a tumultuous history. Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, a new book by Sean Howe, details the company’s history.

Howe holds back very little in his retelling of the history of Marvel, documenting nearly everything from the early years as Timely Comics straight through to the blockbuster 2012 release of The Avengers in theaters, and the whole gamut in between. He treads carefully to avoid interjecting his own opinion on certain events, choosing to merely report on things as they happened. Though he drops a few snarky comments into the mix, such as Marvel’s fanning of the speculation fire in the 90s “comics boom”, most of the book is an objective look back at how the company did business.

Like a good comic book, Marvel Comics manages to find a few villains throughout the years. From Stan Lee in the 50s, after having to layoff a number of high profile artists who vowed never to work for Marvel again, to Jim Shooter in the 80s, whose editorial pig-headedness led to more than a few unhappy employees, to marvel itself in the 80s and 90s, who continued to OK bad ideas like “collector’s editions” comics, ignoring the very idea that good stories will sell issues. (While it didn’t seem Howe’s intention to portray these villains as such, this was the impression I got from them.) What I like best is how Howe divides the book logically, group chapters by time periods or editorial reign, similar to the way Marvel now writes for trades with clear beginnings and endings of their series.

1983 photo of Stan Lee// Photo credit: Eliot R. Brown

From the moment I first heard about Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, I was excited to pick it up. As a self-professed Marvel Zombie, I wanted to know everything I could about the company. Though I had known a lot of what I read, like the fallout between Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and…well, Stan Lee and almost anybody, I learned a few shocking tidbits. For example, the on-again, off-again relationship between Marvel and Howard the Duck creator Steve Gerber, including the legal embitterment that surround the Duck.

Much of the later years of Marvel are glossed over, with the last two decades being summarized in a few chapters. The incarnation of Image Comics is given little consideration, as is Marvel’s legal battles between Ron Perelman, who purchased Marvel in 1989, and business magnate, Carl Icahn, who had his sights set on taking over Marvel and its trademarks (however, the entirety of this story is covered thoroughly in the 2002 book Comic Wars by Dan Raviv).

From the opening page, Marvel Comics: The Untold Story is mesmerizing. Howe gets into great detail about the legacy Marvel has left behind, having interviewed a number of people who were involved with the company over the years. Even the most pain-filled moments are included, such as the lonesome death of production manager John Verpoorten in 1977. (Verpoorten’s role at Marvel wasn’t explored at length, but he made a lasting impression at the company and his death hit them hard.)

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story is a raw look at a business that has been the apple of many investor’s eyes and is known by a majority of the population. I recommend any comics fan to read this book to get a better sense of how Marvel came up through the years. I would also recommend many employees of Marvel and even DC Comics to read the book as a reminder of what worked and what didn’t. In a cyclical industry like comic books, companies are bound to make mistakes. Marvel has already made most of those mistakes and I’d hate for them to make them again. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” goes the quote from George Santayana. We can only hope that Marvel’s mistakes can help future business leaders to succeed.  

Bad-Ass Pumpkin Line-Up 2012

October is back! Well, actually, it's more than half over so I suppose I'm a little late with this. But since it's been a bit of a tradition here at Caution: Idiot At Play, I needed to do a new Bad-Ass Pumpkin Line-Up.

There are always tons of creative people creating brand new pumpkins each year. Though many of them turn out to be pretty crappy, there are quite a few that kick all kinds of ass. Here are a few that I found on this great big internet. (Feel free to revisit our past BAPLUs for more face-melting awesomeness.)

Ghostbusters & Hunger Games

A couple of simply carved yet recognizable pumpkins here. I'm a huge fan of Ghostbusters so finding this was a joy. And with the popularity of Hunger Games, there's no doubt that the Mockingjay would be coveted by millions. (Unfortunately, I don't know the carver of the Ghostbusters pumpkin so if you know who did this, let me know!)

By Ramsey The Arab

Calvin And Hobbes
Bill Waterson wasn't the kind of guy to sell his soul to the devils of advertising which is why you don't see a lot of Calvin and Hobbes merchandise everywhere. But as it's one of the most recognizable comic strips of all time, it's got a ton of fans who want to pay tribute to the imaginative young boy and his pet stuffed tiger. While it's not the iconic image of Calvin pissing on Ford or Honda or the New York Yankees, this pumpkin is a lot classier.

By 50an6xy06r6n

Raccoon Mario

Remember Super Mario Bros 3 and the joy of flying through the air after collecting the feather as Raccoon Mario? Relive that moment with this sweet, highly-detailed pumpkin.

Found on Some Girl from Canada

Iron Man

Speaking of highly detailed, you can almost feel the heat coming from the lasers on the Iron Man pumpkin. If there was ever something that epitomized "bad-ass", it's this.

Found on Techeblog

Wonder Woman

This particular pattern seems to have been done over and over but it's a very striking image. Iconic in it's delivery, it is highly recognizable and very well done.

Found on I Heart Wonder Woman

Gremlins

Who doesn't love Gizmo? Even despite all the rules that need to be followed to keep a pet Mogwai, I wish I had one as a kid. This particular pumpkin is carved in a less traditional way, but that doesn't stop it from oozing bad-assity. 

By Villafane Studios

Charizard

Though not the first Charizard pumpkin I've featured here at C:IaP, this one is jaw-dropping. The character pose is highly dynamic and the detail is stellar. I'm a sucker for Pokemon so this one is outrageous.

Found on Techeblog

My Whovian Home

It all started with this.

When I saw that mailbox, I knew that I needed it. I don't even have a house yet, but I wanted a mailbox because, DUH. It's a TARDIS. But the more I started the think about it, the more I wanted to fashion my entire home in a Doctor Who theme. But to be honest, I wasn't sure where to even start.

Good thing I have the internet.

Almost everywhere I went, I was given ideas on how to Doctor Who up my future home. The next one that I found was a backyard shed, complete with a stand-alone Dalek.

I'm not sure what I would need the shed for. Maybe a lawnmower and my fiance's planters and crap like that. But if I have enough room in the backyard for a shed, you better believe it's going to be a TARDIS shed.

So far I’ve got only the outside of my house covered. So what about the inside? Considering how many books I own and how little space I have to store them, I need to think about ways to maximize the space. So finding this online was a miracle.

What I love about this is the way the doors swing open. It really makes seem bigger on the inside, which is, of course, important for a TARDIS. I was hoping that the person that made it would have included instructions or something so that I can find someone to build it for me, but no such luck. If anyone wants to fill this in, feel free to email me.

Along the same lines as that book cabinet, someone decided to turn it into something more appropriate for grown-ups. A TARDIS liquor cabinet. I can just see this sitting in my house filled with bottles of rum, vodka, and Verdi. Though it does seem to be a lot of wasted space so it might be important to add a few extra shelves in there.

But finally, I stumbled on this over on Think Geek the other day. A TARDIS trashcan! While I don’t like the idea of throwing garbage away in a TARDIS, I do like the design and can totally see this sitting in the corner of one of my rooms.

And this is just the beginning! Think of everything else I can do, like paint my front door like the TARDIS. Hell, I can even paint my WHOLE HOUSE like a TARDIS. Just thinking about it makes me really excited to buy my own house. 

The Slippery Slope of Creating a Macro

I know it’s a little childish, but I’m a fan of macros. Love ‘em. Especially the funny ones. Like the Ermahgerd one, and Guido Jesus. Even some of the Your Ecards are humorous, at least the more offensive ones anyway. But there is a new macro that I spotted on Facebook that almost made me lose my shit.

Yes, the macro is from an idea that can into existence in 1985, paired with one from a movie from 1998. For the simplicity of math, the first is over 25 years old, the second is nearly 15 years old.

I know some people will think I should calm down. After all, it’s just an innocuous image of a screencap from Nintendo’s Duckhunt transposed with a shot of John Goodman from The Big Lebowski holding an orange NES zapper, making reference to his "Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?" line. It’s nothing to get upset about.

Maybe you’re right, but it still annoys me. Why? Because this macro was made by some kid that was born in the late 90s, at least 15 years after this game was popular, and thinks he’s clever because he played Duckhunt on Nintendulator and truly believes that no one has ever felt that way before. The sad part? Anyone who ever had an original NES, and knows the irritation of having to blow into the game cartridge in order to get it to play properly, has always wanted to shoot that fucking dog!

This macro would be like me, who was born in 1980, making a macro image of Neil Armstrong on the moon, and asking “Did anyone else expect him to do the moonwalk?” It’s ridiculous because I wasn’t alive when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, so for me to have any expectations of the event is just nonsensical. (There’s also the fact that the moonwalk wasn’t around yet either, which is just as idiotic.)

I don’t want to discourage anyone from creating macros. A vast majority of them are absolute shit, but there are quite a few that are really funny. But can we at least not create macro images that are so completely outdated that most of society can’t relate to them?

And now, just to liven the mood, I leave you with this, which will one day become outdated but is currently relevant, which makes it funny…

Really people? A Resse Witherspoon Death Hoax?

This is probably the biggest example of the stupidity of humanity.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/371806/20120808/reese-witherspoon-dead-die-stabbed-twitter-rumor.htm

This supposed "death hoax" sprung up as a bad joke about the woman's last name. If you're unfamiliar with the joke, it goes a little something like this:

While death hoaxes about some big name celebrity are not rare (I mean, Eddie Murphy dies about once a month now), a person like Reese Witherspoon is not important enough to contrive a death hoax about. It's silly to think someone actually sat in their basement asking the question "Who should die this week?" and came up with Reese Witherspoon. I mean, if I was gonna pick a young, popular actress, I'd probably spread the rumor about Katie Holmes first. Given her marriage to Tom Cruise, it would probably be believable.

A Lesson In Super Hero Economics

Posting this just because.


Click image to see a larger versionSuperhero Economics: Bruce Wayne vs. Peter Parker via H&R Block

A Vacation for Rachel?

I originally posted this on my Facebook page but felt that it would be better served as a blog post.

I saw this yesterday and my only reaction was "Are you kidding me?"

http://www.indiegogo.com/Chick-fil-A-Rachel

This Indiegogo campaign began as a reaction to the video someone posted online showing him confronting a Chick-Fil-A employee during Wednesday's "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation day". The guy was wrong in every sense of the word and actually lost his high-paying executive job over the incident. But that's not my point.

The campaign's description begins "Rachel, an amazingly awesome and happy Chick-Fil-A employee was treated with great disrespect by a customer during Chick-Fil-A appreciation day." The harshest words she had to deal with were "I don't know how you can live with yourself working here". Disrespectful? Sure. Did she deserve it? No, especially considering the hard economic times we live in and the lengths people will go to put food on their tables at home (a point well expressed by this article). But I would bet the farm that that's FAR from the worst thing she's had to deal with. She probably takes worse abuse from customer's who've had their drink orders messed up. ("I said diet lemonade and you gave me regular! What are you, a fucking retard?!")

The last time a "vacation fund" was set up was for Karen Klein, the grandmother who was verbally abused by a bus-full of school kids. The difference there; Karen WAS abused, unlike Rachel. So this campaign to send Rachel on a vacation belittles what happened to Karen, which was far, far worse.

Shit, yesterday a customer called me a "fucking stupid-ass cracker". Do I get a vacation?

The very notion of sending Rachel on a vacation over that video is ridiculously silly and is clearly the brainchild of someone who has never worked in the service industry.