Marvel 1985 Review

So I Recently read Marvel 1985, and I liked it quite a bit. Mark Millar tends to write stuff that's good. Some of it is fantastic, and then others aren't as much. But I will say that I've only ever had a problem with two books he's written, and that's The Unfunnies which is one of his way earlier works, and Superman: Red Son. Unfunnies I didn't care for at all but Red Son was okay, it just wasn't great. But back to my point, Millar, other than those two books, tends to write stuff that's pretty awesome. So I checked this out on that notion, not really knowing anything more than the basic premise. When I read this I was in a bit of a slump as far as comics go, and i really just couldn't get into anything, and then as soon as I read the first chapter, i breezed through the rest of it in one sitting.

The idea here is that in the year 1985 the "Real" world and the Marvel universe start blending together. So this thirteen year old boy slacker kid who reads comics starts noticing Marvel villains popping up all over his hometown. The rest of the story is basically him trying to convince people he's not crazy, and then him and his dad hanging out and trying to find a way to stop all this crazy shit. If that sounds like a cool idea to you, you'll probably dig this book, if not then maybe you won't. It's not like there's some hidden plot, and twist endings and stuff... it's transparent as far as plot goes, but it is pretty solid throughout. The first few issues are build, and then everything starts really kicking into high gear once you get into the ladder half of the book, especially the last two issues. The dialogue is great throughout and everyone sounds like normal people sound. The way this kid and his dad talk is almost exactly how my dad and I have talked since I was thirteen. And it's even more immersive when the main character is narrating. The way he describes certain characters is probably my favorite part. I will say that the one thing that makes this a little lower on the list as far as things Millar has written, while still being considerably high otherwise, is the fact that the main characters aren't really given a lot to do for a while. Basically while Toby, the main character, is trying to convince people he's right and look for a way to stop it all he's kind of just wandering around and arguing with people. Once the action does kick in it's kind of viewed from a third person perspective. There are some cool moments, just none that made me jump out of my seat. And he keeps making references throughout the book like: "Back then they didn't know just quite what my dad was capable of." And when it's revealed what role he played in it all, i thought it was a little lack luster. Not saying it was bad, just not as big as Toby made it out to be is all. Also, a mister Tommy Lee Edwards did the art, and I have to say that I wasn't really blown away by it. I didn't dislike it, and it never pulled me out of the book, but there was really nothing particularly to praise. Although there were some times when the Marvel characters would be standing in the same panel with the "Real" characters, and he did a good job making it so you could tell them apart, but other than that it was mostly "meh".

I'd definitely recommend reading it, and I'll probably even keep it to throw on the bookshelf and pick up from time to time. If you want to check it out, you can take a look on Amazon over to the right, or your local comic shop works too!


Thanks for reading!
James