The DC Vault
By Martin Pasko
The Marvel Vault
By Roy Thomas and Peter Sanderson
Running Press Books
$49.95
Ask any comic fan in your local comic book store who their favorite comic company is and more often than not, they will list the two top: Marvel Comics and DC Comics. For as long as the comic business has been around, it seems as though DC and Marvel have always been in battle with one another. When one prospers, the other is not far behind and when one is failing to appeal to fans, the other is sure to come along and pick them up. Everything is a competition with one another and so it is no surprise that both companies would commission books made to spotlight the evolution and history of their respective comic brands.
The Marvel Vault and The DC Vault, both published by Running Press, are massive coffee table books that double as handheld museums. The idea is simple: Each book is broken into chapters and showcases the history of both each comic book publisher. Along the way, there are these nifty plastic pages that hold various reprints of mementos published under each company. Want to see a letter by editor Dick Giordano asking for Jeanette Kahn’s permission to kill Supergirl during Crisis of Infinite Earth? Or how about an invitation to the nuptials of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson? Both books are packed with rare items such as sketches, Christmas cards, and reprinted ashcans that have, until now, not been shown to the public.
Along with these cool inserts, there are also interesting tidbits about DC and Marvel and how both became the company they are today, including at one point in time, both companies were run by a “Lee,” (Stan Lee, running Marvel, then called Timely, in his teens and Jack Liebowitz, who owned DC comics in its early stages.). Fans must take note though: While both books offer a history of each company, there is hardly any in depth coverage nor are there any highlights on the less flattering stories. There is hardly any mention of Stan Lee’s many battles with his co-creators and DC seems to still hold a grudge with Alan Moore, reducing his significant role in reshaping DC and the comics industry as a whole, with only a mere one sentence mention of his comic Watchmen.
So who wins in the battle of the museums books? While Marvel edges out DC slightly with both their inserts and richer history, it is clear that the true winner is the average comic fan. Both of these books, while priced at under $50, can be found at an affordable price online and offer just a lot of nostalgia for fans of comics and offers a whole new world to any new fan that opens any of these books up. These books are must have for anyone who has read a comic book.
The Marvel Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the World of Marvel
The DC Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the DC Universe
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