All of the Marvels

A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told

By: Douglas Wolk

Narrated by: Douglas Wolk

Winner of the 2022 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book

The first-ever full reckoning with Marvel Comics’ interconnected, half-million-page story, a revelatory guide to the “epic of epics”—and to the past 60 years of American culture—from a beloved authority on the subject who read all 27,000-plus Marvel superhero comics and lived to tell the tale

“Brilliant, eccentric, moving and wholly wonderful. ... Wolk proves to be the perfect guide for this type of adventure: nimble, learned, funny and sincere. ... All of the Marvels is magnificently marvelous. Wolk’s work will invite many more alliterative superlatives. It deserves them all.” (Junot Díaz, New York Times Book Review)

The superhero comic books that Marvel Comics has published since 1961 are, as Douglas Wolk notes, the longest continuous, self-contained work of fiction ever created: over half a million pages to date, and still growing. The Marvel story is a gigantic mountain smack in the middle of contemporary culture. Thousands of writers and artists have contributed to it. Everyone recognizes its protagonists: Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men. Eighteen of the hundred highest-grossing movies of all time are based on parts of it. Yet not even the people telling the story have read the whole thing—nobody’s supposed to. So, of course, that’s what Wolk did: He read all 27,000-plus comics that make up the Marvel Universe thus far, from Alpha Flight to Omega the Unknown.

And then he made sense of it—seeing into the ever-expanding story, in its parts and as a whole, and seeing through it, as a prism through which to view the landscape of American culture. In Wolk’s hands, the mammoth Marvel narrative becomes a fun-house-mirror history of the past 60 years, from the atomic night terrors of the Cold War to the technocracy and political division of the present day—a boisterous, tragicomic, magnificently filigreed epic about power and ethics, set in a world transformed by wonders.

As a work of cultural exegesis, this is sneakily significant, even a landmark; it’s also ludicrously fun. Wolk sees fascinating patterns—the rise and fall of particular cultural aspirations, and of the storytelling modes that conveyed them. He observes the Marvel story’s progressive visions and its painful stereotypes, its patches of woeful hackwork and stretches of luminous creativity, and the way it all feeds into a potent cosmology that echoes our deepest hopes and fears. This is a huge treat for Marvel fans, but it’s also a revelation for listeners who don’t know Doctor Strange from Doctor Doom. Here, truly, are all of the marvels.

©2021 Douglas Wolk (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

Selected as a top book of 2021 by Mother Jones, New Hampshire Public Radio, and the Maine Edge

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice

“Highly enjoyable . . . Mr. Wolk brings to his task insight, humor and a deep love of Marvel.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Wolk, an engaging and generous critic, structures [All of the Marvels] as a part-guide, part-reflection on the nature of Marvel’s decades-long, interconnected narrative, which he consumed in its entirety. . . . He uses his experience to become the best kind of inclusive host.”—Mother Jones

“For anyone willing to take [a] step into the inconceivably vast and wonderful world that generations of creators have brought to us, issue by issue, month by month, year by year, All of the Marvels is an indispensable handbook. And for anyone seeking an explanation for the enduring popularity of our modern superhero mythology, Wolk has provided as well-informed and well-argued a thesis as you’re likely to find.”—Forbes

Solid and fun

We'll written and read. Has pushed me to get back into Marvel comics. Great and well worth my time.

Nerd out!

it's a deep dive and not for nubes. I found it entertaining and made me inspired to reread my old collection

Inspired me to read comics again…

Loved this…deep and thoughtful with insight into the Marvel stories I had not thought about in a long time. This is a fantastic book to understand the story woven by Marvel and all that this can teach us about ourselves.

"Some of the Marvels"

I'll start off by saying that overall, I enjoyed this book.. I grew up a fan of Marvel Comics, having read many of the pre-2000s comics Wolk discusses, and somewhat curious about the current (at least as of 2018) state of Marvel Comics.
Douglas Wolk's decision to read "all the Marvels" was a herculean task, and the book describes his efforts to accomplish that, resorting to various media and methods to make his way through the thousands of issues published by Marvel in its 60 year history.
Wolk's tour through Marvel history is framed in an unusual, but effective way. Rather than cover characters, series, themes and events chronologically, Wolk leaps backward and forward through time, touching on particular issues, and occasionally weaving them into the larger framework.
The book's major weakness is what it leaves out. Obviously, the author can't be expected to include every B-Lister or passer-by who made an appearance over the years, and at the beginning of the book, Wolk discusses some of the titles he wouldn't be including in this book (but that he did read), mostly toy tie-ins, Westerns, fantasy and anything not set in the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, while the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Spider-Man and select others (including, perhaps inexplicably, Shang-Chi) are discussed at length, several other significant series and events aren't discussed at all.
Early on in the book Wolk devotes entirely too much time lamenting those comics fans who are critical of "Legacy Heroes," and spends the better part of the chapter not defending these characters' merits, but rather impugning the motives of the critics. It seemed a little childish, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
If you're a fan of Marvel Comics, then you might enjoy this thematic interpretation/introduction to Marvel history. I did--it was pretty good. But for anyone not already a fan and a bit of a historian, you probably shouldn't bother.

Flat out AWESOME!

I absolutely loved this book. What a great listen. The writer/narrator is truly passionate about comic books and all things Marvel. When it ended, I really wanted more. As a huge comic book fan myself, I loved getting lost in the Marvel story. This author needs a podcast to keep telling Marvel history as it unfolds.

A great and intriguing listen!

While slow to start, once “All The Marvels” start rolling? Our Author/Narrator drops some serious knowledge on the table, and passes it around. I loved this book and will definitely listen again at some point 👍👍

Highly Recommended if you are, like me, interested in the mysteries and complexity of Comic Book Culture.

Not exhaustive in its scope, but fun.

left many, many, long and interesting story arcs merely skimned over (Winter Soldier, Secret Empire) with a deep examination of more modern characters (Kamala Kaun, Squirrel girl) I still enjoyed it thoroughly. Been reading comics since 1972 and highly recommend to any longtime reader. Casual MCU fans might find it a bit tedious.

I only wish there was more!

I wanted to hear about dr strange! otherwise I really enjoyed it! Thank you for your exhaustive work!

great book! wish it was longer

absolutely love this book deeply, but the way the narrator pronounces Xavier as "Zavier" instead of the obvious "Ecks-avier" baffled and annoyed me

All (mostly) of the the marvels

When I first saw that there was going to be an audiobook about the in-universe history of marvel comics I was thrilled. When I pick it up months later I can say that it was a great book to listen to. It made me want to follow some of the plot threads and explore more of the marvel comic book. It is really helpful if you you want to start to read superhero comics. Also there is a twist at the end that makes the book even more special.