Welcome to Litsy!

The author read every marvel comic published since 1961 and groups his musings into themes. The moral positioning in the intro was a bit off-putting (we all know there‘s toxic, white males in comics fandom) but once the analysis started it was compelling for a few hundred pages, then I started to lose interest as we got to the end and Wolk‘s themes were stretched a bit thin, running out of steam. Credit to Wolk for taking on such a monumental task

Donald Trump is part of the Marvel Universe. Now we need to figure out who‘s going to play him!

Check out Verity Willis reading Douglas Wolk's fantastic All of the Marvels in this Al Ewing story.

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/OE4srNeEdts

Enjoy!

Before the introduction of the MCU films, comic books were telling stories in print that were reflective of a progressing society. All of the Marvels highlights important issues on the social and political spectrum from the criticism of the government, the feminist movement, civil rights, and promoting diverse and inclusionary stories. Author Douglas Wolf showcases an essay and compiles significant issues for any comic book fan!

This book was so much fun to read!!! I was never a comic book aficionado but do enjoy the Marvel movies and characters. The author read all 27,000 comic books and discusses their history, the writers, illustrators, various reoccurring themes, timelines, plots, etc. His love for the stories is infectious, and I especially enjoyed the last chapter and the appendix.

#litsylovereads
#bookspinbingo

118/150 I can't imagine what went into writing this book, reading every single Marvel Comics comic book since the beginning seems like an overwhelming task. This isn't the history of Marvel, but the history of the continuous story Marvel has been telling since 1961. The author obviously loves comics, and it shows in his writing, but not oblivious to their short-comings and flaws. 4 ⭐ 1/2

The twenty-seven thousand or so superhero comic books that Marvel Comics has published since 1961 are the longest continuous, self-contained work of fiction ever created: over half a million pages to date, and growing.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Douglas Wolk contends that the marvel universe is the longest continuous, self contained work of fiction ever created & read all the marvels to prove his case. The book has a great history of marvel, & while you can tell he‘s a fan , that‘s not a bad thing. He gets at the cultural significance of comics while acknowledging it was all a ploy to relieve kids of their lunch money.If you like Marvel comics , this is a book you‘ll savor!

I had a great time strolling down a few of Marvel's many lanes with Doug Wolk. Most of the book is a daisy chain of brief comments on particular issues that Wolk has selected for their artistic, thematic, or commercial significance. This book is the ultimate sampler platter: a bit of history, a bit of art criticism, a bit of cultural context, and a taste of all the Marvel characters without nearly exhausting any single story.

"At the very end of the gigantic Marvel story, Reed [Richards] does exactly the same thing he did at its beginning, building a rocket and bringing his family on board with him. The first time he's trying to break free of the Earth, and this time he's trying to break free of the collapsing reality of his narrative."

"And Mississippi's poll tax, the last one in America, was struck down by an appeals court ruling on April 8, 1966, four days before Fantastic Four #52 [Black Panther's debut] went on sale"

Wolk is really good at nuanced readings of comics, such as Master of Kung Fu (Shang-Chi), that contain narrative and artistic achievement alongside racist and sexist material.

Wolk read basically every Marvel comic from 1961 to 2017 and wrote this book for people unsure of where to start.

This month I managed to read all but one of my planned reads and even then I'm about half way through it. For the most part I enjoyed pretty much all of the list maybe only one was kind of a dud.

8 Physical
0 eBook

I've gotten a sort of slowish start to my #BuriedAliveChallenge with only 255 points and an average of 65 points per qualifying book.
#JanuaryWrapUp

#BookReport
This week I finished two really good books that were drastically different from one another. They weren't exactly forecasted but worth the deviation.

#WeeklyForecast
My goal this week is to finish at least one of my two current reads. They are both a lot of tiny words per page and a naturally slower pace so while I am enjoying them they are definitely taking me longer than I expected. If I manage to finish one my BookSpin is up next.

This was a great tour of some of the overarching themes and storylines in the Marvel Comics Universe. Very beginner friendly. It reads like part literary criticism and part art history narrative but not in a dry academic way. Rather than go through chronologically in publication order he takes certain themes and character arcs an highlights the issues that are important to them.

I‘m dying because I just noticed what this book was shelved under. I put it on hold so I didn‘t grab it from the shelf myself but I would never have thought to look for it under graphic novel. This is 100% prose and the only illustrations are sporadic small insets of comic pages. If anything I‘d classify it as lit crit. At least I‘m enjoying it.

Starting this tonight. I never read comics as a kid so I only really have a pop culture awareness of the Marvel universe. I thought this might make a nice overview.
#CatsOfLitsy

I still can‘t decide which fiction flavour I feel like, so I started my Friday with another chunk of ALL OF THE MARVELS. I‘m up to the bit where Wolk discusses his experience with Hickman‘s Avengers, which I‘ve read and found very cool, and his enthusiasm‘s bringing it all back for me.

This book makes so many cogent points that it‘s easier for me to just tell you to read it than to quote ‘em all, but I‘ve got to share this one because it‘s important. It sets my teeth on edge when I see people talk about the “illustrations” in the comics they read. “Art” (or “artwork” if you wanna be fancy) is more appropriate when you discuss comics, AND it uses up less of the character limit on social media platforms where that‘s an issue.

Today‘s excellent library haul. I‘m especially excited for the tagged book, which I requested after Jay & Miles talked to the author, but this‘s a pretty great bunch all around. I‘m glad to have new(ish) stuff from Ruth Ozeki, Jordan Ifueko, and Kim Thúy, I‘ve anticipated Jesse Wente‘s story for a long time, I‘m hoping to find some recipes for Sinterklaas, and I couldn‘t resist grabbing a Christmassy Jenny Colgan off the shelf.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Not so much focused on the company‘s and creators‘ histories, but rather on the actual characters, canon, arcs, shifts, trends, and how the universe connects. Inspired by his son, Wolk read over 27,000 Marvel stories resulting in this phenomenal rundown. I‘ve read only a few of the comics, but like many, I love the MCU films. The cultural impact is fascinating! Perfect companion to Marvel Comics: The Untold Story and A Marvelous Life.

Thanks SO much for this marvelous birthday gift, Cindy! 🤩 It‘s been such a pleasure getting to know you through our love of books over the last few years. 💚 Thanks a bunch for getting the celebration started for my 40th next week! 🤗😙