Review: The History Of The Marvel Universe #1-6

The History of the Marvel Universe is a walk down memory lane made astounding by incredible artwork. On some level this book reads like those flashcards on the back of classic G.I.Joe figures enumerating the basic origins of a dizzying cast of characters. But what truly lifts this beyond a simple timeline of origins is artwork encapsulating these origins in new and exciting ways.

The story and individual chapters are book-ended by a conversation between Franklin Richards and Galactus. As the ultimate creator and ultimate destroyer within the Marvel Universe they stand at the end of this universe and reflect back upon its history. Galactus has gained the ability to ingest the knowledge of the worlds he consumed and through this has gained the knowledge of the Watchers. He uses this to give Franklin all the highlights of Marvel lore that we know and love.

The comic functions like a museum tour of the key moments of Marvel characters and history. As the tour guides, writer Mark Waid and especially artist Javier Rodriguez give special attention where they see fit. Certain aspects, such as Marvel’s Cosmic Beings have their stories compressed, while others are given space to breath as the creators give more room to their favorite moments.

By far the most powerful moments of the series lie within interesting juxtapositions, representative art of large crossovers and astounding origin sequences. Waid is proceeding in order by time which causes some odd character moments to be placed together as an image in parts. Half of Elektra’s face at the time of her death will be set against the other half of Monica Rambeau’s face as she gains her powers. The origins of six different cosmic races will be combined into a connected tableau.

The series becomes more and more artistically interesting as we get to specific crossovers and character origins. we often see artistic rendering of heroes origins encapsulated but the inventiveness and varying perspectives throughout these book perfectly encapsulate the heroes even while giving us the nostalgia of those moments. Similarly the single page artwork for certain crossovers will have you yearning for books you never thought you’d read again. Somehow Rodriguez makes event the Clone Saga and Onslaught look like great moments.

The only true weakness of this book is that a tour this broad depends on your familiarity of the elements. There are so many moments packed into some pages that they seem to blur together. For new readers it would be a task to simply read the book. Certain characters and moments just don’t seem important enough to warrant inclusion. Must a book this filled to the brim include The Sentry, X-Statix or Werewolf By Night?Â Does every crossover need to be represented? But for seasoned readers it serves as a quick visit to many old friends all at once. And all readers can slow down and just appreciate the craft put into each and every page.

This book is a glorious feat, pulling in moments of Marvel History you know and love and presenting them in dramatic new ways. It will make readers want to run to their back issues and relive these moments. We forget how many truly epic Marvel moments there are over the course of its history. It is wonderful to have a book that reminds us what makes comics and comic history matter. That it is represented by art so glorious it could melt your eyes out is enough to bring readers back to this book many times over for decades to come.

Writing: 4 of 5 stars
Art: 5 of 5 stars
Colors: 5 of 5 stars

Overall: 4.7 of 5 stars

Writer: Mark Waid
Pencils/Colors: Javier Rodriguez
Inks: Alvaro Lopez
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.