Volume 13: Marvels

Marvels (1994)

Author: Kurt Busiek | Illustrator: Alex Ross

"I was learning a great deal about the world, and even more about the pain of a forced solitude.
I was aware of everything... understanding nothing."

The individual stories that Marvels was originally envisioned to tell would've been interesting reading, but the unified, multi-layered work that it became is something very, very special. Writer Kurt Busiek cites Tom DeFalco as the man that provided inspiration for turning many ideas into one idea, so kudos also to him.

It revisits iconic comic moments that span 35 years (1939 to 1974) by exploring those events from the perspective of the regular people that were directly affected by them. It's the Everyman story entwined with the story of a world unprepared for the threats that face it.

The eyes and voice of the work belong to Phil Sheldon, a freelance photo journalist. Phil can't climb walls or shoot fire from his fingertips, he can't even protect himself from being swept up by a changing public opinion, but when the superheroes begin to bleed into society he's there to capture it with his camera. Sheldon embodies the fear, awe and confusion that grips a person as they watch two 'Marvels' fighting for dominance, tearing up a city like it was paper.

Flipping the perspective from the heroes and villains to the common man replaced the usual metaphor device with a more overtly relatable truth. It emphasised the choices and consequences forced upon the ordinary citizens thrust into a world they'd no control over.

I wasn't familiar with all of the storylines that played out upon the city like a canvas, but it didn't matter, the book is written in such a way that a lack of knowledge doesn't exclude you from Phil's story. Even if Marvels is the first comic book you've ever read, it still astounds. It's a love song to an age of comics that can never be repeated, and a genre breaking advancement in narrative that works on many levels.

It's also notable for being artist Alex Ross' comicbook début. His fully painted art style is unmistakable. Using people as character models helped capture a sense of dynamic realism. His heroes are truth exaggerated but never twisted into impossible forms.

The book collects together Marvels #0-4.

Verdict: