The year is 1939, and man plays God. In a lab, scientist Phineas Horton creates an android that when exposed to air, becomes a burning pyre. This technological breakthrough was shown to a crowd of journalists, who deemed the flaming man a menace to society. So like everything man fears, they hid it away in the darkness, where they dared not look upon him, for in doing so they would admit their fear for all things different. But the truth will always ring out. Nobody contain a thing that shines so brightly, a Human Torch is born, and with it, a Golden Age of Heroes. The first of many Marvels.
In 1994 a creative powerhouse of Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross, created a 4 part mini series called Marvels. This was not simply a book about super heroes, at least not in the traditional sense. This was a story about humanity, and it's reaction to the heroes it saw on a day to day basis. The book follows a freelance photographer named Phil Sheldon, a man who through his skills as a photographer, the world would see the full golden age of heroes. And while this world may not exist, the people in it and their sentiments, almost always echoes through Sheldon, are as real as writing gets.
By stepping outside of the usual costumes and needs for a steady flow of action-to-action transitions, Busiek is allowed to give a very human feeling to comics that is not often seen in Marvel books. However, this is not to say the sentiment is always pleasing. As all good writing should, Marvels is not afraid to show us humanities flaws, commenting on racism, war and our devotion as a species to the media.
But it is also a celebration of the Golden Age of comics, through the book we get a solid understanding of not only the time period in which the comics were set, but how wonderfully constructed those original books were, in terms of character, story arches and sheer artistic visionary for the medium of comics itself. It is a homage to the great creators of the era, Lee, Kirby, Ditko, Heck, Wood and many more pioneers of the field, without whom not only this book would not have existed, but arguably the whole world of comics and the culture surrounding them, that we get to enjoy today.
While Busiek's writing on this book is absolutely stellar, it is undoubtedly matched by the art of Ross. Each panel is beautifully rendered, to a level of photorealism rarely seen in comics before or since this book. Busiek undoubtedly provides the soul of the book, but Ross' work could tell a tale all of it's own.
But this is not to understate the beautifully laid type of Richard Starkings. Starkings decision to use a serif typeface in the books prologue is one of the greatest typographical choices made in the world of comics. It is so obvious to look at, that to the average reader it just blends into the background, but not only does this choice of type compliment the time period and art style, but it establishes the tone for the whole graphic novel. This is a serious piece of work, it is more than a comic, it is something to Marvel at.
Starkings opts to use a traditional hand rendered font for the rest of the books speech, that is so effective, you will step away from Marvels forgetting you've read a thing, and more that you've experienced something on a whole other level.
There are no words this reviewer can use to influence your decision to buy this book (and nor should there be), but it is in the most sincere efforts, that this reviewer urges you to seek out Marvels. It is a timeless effort that is not only beautifully crafted, but is a celebration of comics as a whole. Yes, the book deals with some issues and yes, there is quite a lot of dialogue as apposed to action sequences, but this could be argued as a refreshing change of pace.
If you claim to like comics, even in the loosest sense, you owe it to yourself to read and enjoy Marvels, as despite your preference to art or story, the book is the most shining example of a work in which it is impossible to pick a stronger part, and that dear reader, is something to Marvel at.
No comments:
Post a Comment