Has anyone on this board read the limited series Marvels from 1994?

[Avenger JD]

I stumbled upon Alex Ross a short while ago, and soon after discovered Marvels. I just read through #0-4 and was blown away by Ross's artwork. He is truly a master of his craft! Busiek's writing was also top notch, but the art is what attracted me to this series; That painting of Giant-Man as he loomed above New York, incredible. The human perspective was a nice change of pace. After reading so many superhero stories from their perspectives, it was interesting to get human reactions. Issue #2 made me feel especially sympathetic for the mutant race. I felt routinely frustrated throughout the issue, as the mutants did not at all deserve the disrespect and hatred that was, and is still, brought upon them. If you haven't read this series I would highly recommend it. For those of you who have indulged in this limited series, what did you think?

[gurkle]

It's a great series. Maybe a little overshadowed now by Ross's follow-up Kingdom Come, because that one actually features the super heroes as the stars and is sometimes easier to get into for that reason. But even though the Silver Age nostalgia of Ross and Busiek can be parodied (and was, by Warren Ellis, in Marvel's Ruins, a dystopian spoof of Marvels), it makes you understand what these characters were like to a reader discovering them for the first time.

And that's really what the book is about for me, the experience of being a comic book reader. The super characters let Phil see things he never expected to see, they broaden his mind and teach him not to be prejudiced about people who are different. In the end, as he gets older, he becomes frustrated with the heroes and the way their stories are changing, so Spider-Man's failure to save Gwen turns him off super heroes, like a Golden Age/Silver Age reader who got turned off by the Bronze Age. But in the end he realizes that young people will see the magic in these characters all over again.

The success of Marvels also led to Kingdom Come and Astro City and really helped open up the '90s movement to let old-school heroes be their old selves.

[FanboyStranger]

No. Never heard of it.

Just kidding. It's a wonderful series, and it's essential reading for any fan of the Marvel universe. The sequel, Eye of the Camera, is very good, too.

Also, if you haven't already, please treat yourself to Astro City. It's been the best superhero series of the past twenty years.

[klinton]

I kind of work under the assumption that everyone who's ever read Marvel Comics with any interest has certainly read 'Marvels'. It's a bit of a cornerstone read, that.

I haven't picked it up in many years now, but I did thoroughly enjoy it. It manages to capture and successfully convey the feeling you got reading these stories as a kid, with very lovely art.

If anyone hasn't read this one, it's def worth picking up. I assure you 110% that you'll enjoy it completely!

[Avenger JD]

No. Never heard of it.

Just kidding. It's a wonderful series, and it's essential reading for any fan of the Marvel universe. The sequel, Eye of the Camera, is very good, too.

Also, if you haven't already, please treat yourself to Astro City. It's been the best superhero series of the past twenty years.

I'll check them out.

[fmvgamer]

For marvel , Ross did a nostagic look back at the past of marvel superhero universe . For DC , he did a look at a somewhat bleak futuristic DC heroes timeline in Kingdom Come.

If you like Alex Ross , might want to try DC's Kingdom Come next.

[Hero]

Marvels is excellent. Must read for a Marvel fan.

[Billy Batson]

I'm more of a Ruins guy.

[Bob-el]

I think that Ross manages to merge the heroes into the landscape in such a believable way was one of the great strengths of Marvels. The Giant-Man shot were you have an excellent perspective of what that might look like if there really was a giant man walking across the city is an excellent example.

[Avenger JD]

I think that Ross manages to merge the heroes into the landscape in such a believable way was one of the great strengths of Marvels. The Giant-Man shot were you have an excellent perspective of what that might look like if there really was a giant man walking across the city is an excellent example.

That is the shot that convinced me to buy the series. The lighting and color make it look so real!

[tkitna]

Marvels was great. All the covers were awesome. I loved the Spiderman cover with the Green Goblin reflection in his eyes. Ross is the best in my opinion.

[jackolover]

I would have liked a series that started at the beginning of the Silver Age instead of at around Avengers # 5 Masters of Evil. The emergence of the Marvels in 1961 was such a strange occurrence, that it demands someone revisit again and put it under a microscope. It would start with Monsters all around, mixed with Aliens, and there is no one to confront them, (except the Unseen, Nick Fury, we suppose). Suddenly, a 4 appears in the sky and instead of it being more monsters appearing, these monsters are now helping, and it makes the MU more confident, instead of fearful. Now, there are people with abilities who are doing something to fight back against the monsters and the aliens, and now people are coming out in the streets again, instead of cowering in their homes.

The inversion, around this period of the emergence of the Silver Age, is palpable in the general Population, because it started as a siege of monsters and aliens in the MU, unstoppable and unending. It was like the MU was cursed during the monster age. People were disappearing to other planets, dimensions, into other bodies, while all sorts of strange beings were invading the security of their suburbs. And then it suddenly became controllable.