The Full-Color Guide to Marvel Silver Age Collectibles: From MMMS to Marvelmania

I agree with the first review of this book except with the statement that this is one of the finest guides in comicdom; instead, I would say that it is The Finest guide in the history of comicdom. Of course, this statement is made with a heavy bias towards Marvel – and specifically Marvel in the Silver Age. Tell me, what other guide has color pictures and articles on each and every collectible in it? What amazes me about this book is that it contains Marvel information and history that you cannot find anywhere else. The book presents in-depth research gleaned from fan clubs, long-forgotten fanzines, merchandising, comic conventions, ads, letter pages, the fans themselves, and – of course - Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Flo Steinberg. The result is a story that’s never been told. As a lifelong Marvel fan and someone who considers himself an advanced collector, this book is refreshing because it does not re-hash origin stories we already know, it does not reprint comic covers we’ve already seen a gazillion times, it does not employ the BAM! POW! approach in its exposition, and most importantly it does not endlessly speculate on the whys-and-wherefores behind who created what and when – or who didn’t create what - and the age-old sob story / conspiracy theory about why Ditko and Kirby left. Instead this book focuses on something very subtle: how Marvel fandom began, how it evolved, and how Marvel became a pop-culture phenomenon in the 1960s and beyond. Even more, it explores that rarely addressed symbiotic relationship that exists between comic books and merchandising. And on that note, I would say that it is especially interesting to see the secret origin of Spider-man himself that develops in the costume factories of Ben Cooper, Inc. in the 1950s. Here are the top 5 reasons why this is a truly great book: 1) For the first time ever, factual research-based information is provided on how to distinguish between authentic and counterfeit early Marvel collectibles such as no-prizes, buttons, bullpen pin-ups, and correspondence from Marvel itself. 2) This new edition has a breakdown of the appearances of when characters first appeared on merchandise and also what the rarest Marvel collectibles of the 1960s are. This information has never been compiled anywhere before this to my knowledge. 3) The coverage of the gumball machine merchandise is absolutely amazing and 100% complete with pictures of everything. 4) The histories of the Merry Marvel Marching Society and Marvelmania International fan clubs are the most complete ever written to date, and I love the M.M.M.S. comic that I had never seen before. How has this gem been overlooked by Marvel fans for over four decades? 5) It seems a large number of dedicated fans contributed pictures and anecdotes to make the coverage of this book complete; it is a true product of modern fandom much in the spirit of the early days of comic fandom in the 1960s but with all the perks of modern technology; i.e., over 1400 color pictures! As happy as I was with the first edition of this book, I am a hundred times happier with this one. And as anxious as I was for the second edition to come out, even though it took seven years, I can confidently say that it was well worth the wait. It is a truly magnificent book and an asset to Marvel fans and collectors everywhere. Need I say that I look forward to the upcoming companion book on Bronze Age collectibles? And I hope I live long enough to see a third edition of this guide!

Excellent service by seller. Super fast shipping. Great book.

If you, like me, are of a certain age and were collecting/reading comics in the early to mid 60's; then this will be a fun book to have. I had most of these toys and promos that are shown here and; like many of those comic pros who commented in the book, I want to haunt Ebay now and buy them, but the budget would be awful. Back then Submariner and Daredevil for instance were promoted just about as well as the FF and Spidey; and the idea that toys and tshirts, etc., were made of them and those gorgeous posters; is just astonishing. Makes me really want Marvel to re-release these items! I mean, the Green-and-white Capt. MArvel ts-shirt...which I had until I was about 14!! Ahh, those were the days.

At last a book that finally tells the real story behind the Ben Cooper Spider-man costumes from the 1950s and 1963. This book was the first to tell the story. A great amount of research went into this book, and it shows. Many of the Marvel topics addressed have either never been written about before or have only been touched upon. The coverage of the Merry Marvel Marching Society is the best I've read and a thousand times more comprehensive than anything written about it to date. A wonderful book. I look forward to the one about the 1970s.

Its an OK book. It does certainly show things that I am sure are rare and hard to find. A little frenetic at places and feels like there is just a lot of objects on each page without a lot of white space, so its a little hard to just flip through and find things.

This book is more involved than a Ph.D. dissertation analyzing the ruins of the ancient Mesopotamians. I have no idea how he managed the research. I know a lot about the topic yet Ballmann wrote about things that I didn't even know existed. It gets my highest rating. Thank you, Mr. Ballmann.

Too much about letters and correspondences from the marvel staff. Too boring to read. The pictures of things you really want to see are too compact like the see a show slides

pretty nice book. I enjoy it!

Fantastic! Terrific! Smash-ing! Just a few plays on words from some UK 1960's Marvel comics that hardly ever get a mention Stateside, but all that has been put right thanks to this book!Mr. Ballmann, I salute you!There's not a lot more to say that hasn't already been said in the previous reviews and I agree 100% with every one of them.From a UK Marvelite,John South (Soul-Slider).

Great book. Superbly illustrated with great photographs. Incredibly well researched. Perhaps for hardcore fans and collectors only but I think it works for anyone with a love of silver age marvel.

A pure joy for an Marvel fan.

This takes you back to an enjoyable and less complicated time! It also reminded me of when enjoyment and passing the time away with a great imagination was so simple and cheap!

Great Guide, needs to be updated regularly to reflect the changes in the Marvel Universe