Marvels

Marvels was a four-issue mini-series released in 1994, written by Kurt Busiek and painted by Alex Ross (yes, this comic is actually painted). Set in the Marvel universe from the 1940s to the 1970s, Marvels tells the story of freelance photographer Phil Sheldon, who finds himself enthralled by the appearance of superheroes and their impact on society and politics. Everyone's favourite Marvel heroes appear and we get to see an in-depth look at the so-called Golden Age of Marvel, the era before upstarts like Spider-man and the X-Men became the face of the company.

At first glance, Marvels sounds like the sort of book that only people interested in the Marvel universe would enjoy, and yet I feel this setting is really irrelevant to what makes the book so engrossing. Marvels is really an examination of how society reacts to life-changing events, and this could be done just as effectively with real events, such as 9/11 or the 1960s American civil rights movement. What Marvels really proves is Kurt Busiek’s incredible ability to deconstruct society and write characters as real, believable people in the face of momentous change. The structure of Marvels constantly shifts between a documentary about the superheroes and the more conventional story of Phil Sheldon as his career and family life are affected by his obsession with superheroes. The two elements are intertwined in such a manner that feels incredibly natural and I honestly wasn’t aware of the changes when they took place. The flow of the story was consistently steady, never breaking until the end of a chapter.

Now despite my earlier statement, I can’t deny that the presence of superheroes defines Marvels as a piece of literature. Despite that they speak very little, offering next to nothing of their own personal opinions, it is actually this distance between the superheroes and the “everyman” that makes them feel particularly real, compared to the traditional adventures we see them in. A fight between Namor the Submariner and the original Human Torch takes on completely new meaning through the eyes of the “everyman” who simply cannot predict what will come about from the battle. In addition to this, Kurt Busiek offers some fresh perspectives on important events in the Marvel universe, such as invasion of Galactus or the celebrity marriage of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. But two events particularly stand out in my mind. The first event is the initial wave of paranoia against mutants. The rioting and the mobs make this a very human story, touched with a particular sadness as Sheldon discovers that his daughters have been hiding a mutant girl from the mob in his basement. Having been unable to understand how mutants saw themselves in society, this event is an eye-opener for Sheldon and helps define the development of his character. The second event is the death of Gwen Stacy, a character famous in comics for being Spider-man’s girlfriend. It was quite a surprise to see Gwen Stacy play such a fundamental role in Marvels because I had never once associated her with the “everyman”. I find Gwen an interesting demonstration of how one character can blur the line between our perception of the real and of the imaginary.

As a side-note, it’s interesting that the chronology of Marvels stops just short of having to explain why the Marvel characters don’t age with time. This decision is perfect for securing the illusion of Marvels as a story set in the real world. Even knowing how later Marvel stories would play out, it’s easy to imagine that the superheroes would be getting older within the context of Marvels.

Alex Ross’s artwork is a perfect accompaniment to Kurt Busiek’s writing, not only in the quality of the painted panels, but in the choice of painting from photographic references. As a technique that I often see employed by artists who want to capture important historical events, the use of it here only further develops the sensation that Marvels captures something real and significant to human interests. As much as I would normally prefer the presence of pencils in comic books, I do not think pencilled artwork would have the same impact on Marvels as Alex Ross’s paintings.

Overall, Marvels is a fantastic book that delves into the everyman’s perspective of the incredible and provides a good alternative history of the Marvel universe to boot. It should be in everyone’s collection.

A Raien Review