It’s only been in the past few years that my love of comics has led me down the long and twisted road of comic book history – especially with modern comics of often resurrecting forgotten characters and plot points from bygone eras. Especially with my forays into drawing my own comics, knowing WHY I’m drawing comics and the efforts and styles of all of the artisans who preceded me has a real value.

Running Press recently released The Marvel Vault, an extra large spiral-bound, glossy, full-color history of the Marvel Universe, and it’s a beautiful thing. Not only does it capture the general feeling of every era throughout Marvel’s history (up until the time of the X3 and Ghost Rider movies, and the ‘Civil War’ in the comics), but it discusses important, era-defining plot points, paralleled with the artists who came and went from the books and the greater context of everything. Every detail is accompanied by large, clear reproductions of comic pages, sketches, photos, and ephemera by way of illustration. It’s a great jumping-on point for anyone who wants a brief history of the Marvel Universe in terms of both artists and the evolution of various characters and stories.

But that isn’t what makes The Marvel Vault impressive. Spaced throughout the book are a dozen clear pages that are studded with pockets, and in each page are a handful of reproduced collectibles from throughout Marvel’s history. Among these are the original Sketches of Namor the Sub-Mariner (Marvel’s very first super-character), trading cards, stickers and letters from the Marvel fan clubs and conventions, a Marvel Comics stock certificate, and my favorite, a mini Marvel No-Prize comic that details a series of hilarious errors that were accidentally left within the pages of Marvel comics. If Marvel’s been anything throughout their entire history, it’s self-effacing underneath Stan Lee’s riotously overblown (and always semi-sarcastic) statements of greatness. All of these ‘museum’ items are paper, so while the ‘Howard the Duck for President’ badge is no longer a badge, it is a nifty vinyl sticker now. He’s my write-in vote this year anyhow.

There could always be more, but it’s definitely enough.

Because all of this stuff is in pockets, every item can be removed and inspected. Some are branded with a tiny indication that they are indeed ‘REPRODUCTIONS’, but it doesn’t distract from the fact that there’s some neat stuff hidden within the pages. The book doesn’t rely on what could easily be seen as gimmickry, nor does it rely solely on a well-grasped (but general) understanding of the history of Marvel and its artists and writers. It holds both of these aspects in fair balance, making for a neat addition to the Marvel shelf. It’s like a whole collection that’s already been pre-collected for you, and if you’re after the genuine articles, this is a great place to start the hunt. And above all, it’s FUN.

The book has a cover price of $50, so if you’re buying it from your local bookstore, get a SEALED copy. The many removable parts will surely provide far too much temptation to the sticky-fingered browsers of the graphic novel section. So, while buying it sealed will guarantee completion, also be warned that the loosely-bound spiral pages (and oversized cardboard cover) have a tendency to bend and ding very easily, and some of the ‘museum’ items have been slid into their pockets with bent corners & such – though I see this as just one more step towards authenticity. And there’s a Star Wars Museum-in-a-Book too!

Ultimately, it’s a pleasing and interesting addition to the Marvel-related library.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 19th, 2008 at 1:01 am and is filed under collecting fyi, reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.