Marvel Year in Review: 2000-2001, Fanboys and Badgirls, Bill and Joe’s Marvelous Adventure

    (Marvel, 2002)
™ and © Marvel Entertainment Group

Big. Beautiful. Gripping. Self-indulgent. These are but a few of the adjectives to describe this glossy, hardcover volume compiled by Jim McLauchlin.

While readers might expect it to be little more than a glorified issue of Marvel Age, it’s actually pretty interesting. We get wide-angle peeks behind the curtain and a few items of dirt revealed. Unfortunately, we don’t get as much dirt as if it had been published by a party other than Marvel itself.

The stories behind Origin, Ultimate Spider-Man, the no-reprint policy, and dropping the Code are all here. Revamps of series like Hulk and X-Force are also discussed. But, while Marvel acknowledges that certain moves were controversial (calling order forms an “I.Q. test” for retailers, for example), you don’t hear much “we dropped the ball on that one.”

Portions are skewed. The silent “’Nuff Said” event, a topic of fan debate for months, merits two paragraphs and is simply referred to as a “shot in the arm” for creators.

The absolutely most annoying bit is the constant reference to DC as “AOL Comics,” à la Bill Jemas. Save it for the letters pages or “Bits of Bullpen Business.”

While biased, this volume reflects an exciting, tumultuous period in Marvel history. If you’ve watched Marvel at work and wondered, “What were they thinking?” this is your chance to find out.

— Jack Abramowitz
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#1 (Hardcover Edition by Kaare Andrews)


Cover Price: $25.99
1 copy available for $15.00 		Jim McLauchlinFrank Quitely, Joe Quesada, Chris Giarrusso, Mark Bagley, Alex Ross, Carlos Pacheco, Tom Raney, Salvador Larroca, Todd McFarlane, John Romita Jr., Kevin Nowlan, John McCrea, Bryan Hitch, Adam Kubert, Alan Davis, J.G. Jones, Phil Hester, Matt Wagner, Kaare Andrews, John Cassaday, J. Scott Campbell, Duncan Fegredo, Glenn Fabry, Mike Allred, Sean Phillips, Ian Churchill, Ariel Olivetti, Tim Bradstreet, Tim Sale, Trent Kaniuga, Mike McKone, Steve Dillon, Greg Horn, Bruce Timm, Jae Lee, Leinil Francis Yu, Eduardo Risso, Richard Corben, David Finch, Andy Kubert, Barry Windsor-Smith, Bill Sienkiewicz, Steve Ditko, David Mack, Michael Gaydos, John Romita Sr., Mike Deodato Jr., Igor Kordey, Joe Kubert, Sam Kieth, Alex Maleev, Jim Mahfood, Udon Studios, Yoshitaka Amano, Ashley Wood, Stuart Immonen, Humberto Ramos, Mike Wieringo