... [a] brilliant, eccentric, moving and wholly wonderful attempt to distill it all into a coherent narrative.

Rather than take a linear approach, listing who appeared when and what everyone was up to, chapters follow individual characters through time.

Mr. Wolk is quick to point out that his book is not a syllabus—one of the many charms of this highly enjoyable volume is its spirit of inclusivity: He is against the idea of Marvel as the special province of some grizzled, in-the-know crowd who have followed Marvel stories for most of their lives (a crowd that includes Mr. Wolk himself, who worked in a comic-book shop in the mid-1980s).

This isn’t any kind of definitive atlas, this is a hiking map. Wolk to his credit says as much throughout, maintaining from the beginning that it’s not really designed to be exhaustive - he calls it a 'strange, looping route' designed to lead past numerous trailheads.

... the book bears the alluring scent of the completionist, someone who reached the end.

... so busy exploring the tunnels and byways in his great pile of Marvel comics that he sometimes forgets other genres and ideas exist.

Comics and music critic Wolk brings an insightful and affectionate eye to this cultural behemoth as he catalogs the long and winding road Marvel superheroes have followed over the years. Wolk makes no attempt to capture the full breadth and depth of the Marvel comics universe, a task that would be both impossible (for Wolk) and near incomprehensible (for readers). Instead, he dedicates chapters to the superheroes, creative partnerships, events, and idiosyncrasies that have made Marvel what it is, from the familiar (Black Panther, the X-Men) and the justly or unjustly forgotten (Master of Kung-Fu, Linda Carter). The result is an affectionate, lively, charmingly footnoted whistle-stop tour through Marvel Comics that acknowledges the many places where the comics stumble as well as the many where they shine. Wolk is unwavering in his belief that comics are for everyone, and he offers numerous jumping-on points for new readers. Every comics fan needs this book..

... while you might be able to quibble a bit with beginnings and endings, [Wolk's] demarcations are pretty solid; his analysis of the various foci definitely tracks.

Wolk pulls off an extraordinary feat in this tour-de-force.

The author’s exhaustive and mostly uncritical approach will appeal to those who share his passion for this self-sustaining superhero culture, understanding that in a story as big as Marvel’s, everythingcan be a reference to the past'.