(Strand)om Stories: Marvels Companion Review
Though more cynical in nature and less expertly illustrated, these issues carry the vision of Marvels beyond the original series' breadth
—by Nathan on May 25, 2026—
In my last review, we examined a genuinely delightful love letter to the Golden and Silver (most Silver) ages of Marvel comic publishing. From the birth of Captain America to the death of Gwen Stacy, Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross' Marvels is a celebration of the House of Ideas' iconic heroes, focusing on the eras in which many of them were born. The series was a blockbuster hit, selling well netting Eisners, a shining beacon in the midst of excessive darkness within comic continuity. Three decades later, it remains a must-read for comic fans, and while that may be a subjective assessment, I am not the only person who would say it.
As in so many other things, Marvel saw the success of this well-written, brilliantly illustrated self-titled-but-made-plural series and decided: We need more. I hope it isn't too cynical to believe the company wanted to replicate the series' success by creating similar stories, grasping at the nuance and shimmer Busiek and Ross generated in their magnum opus. I'm assuming all this, but one look at the title of today's volume and you'll easily note the "Companion" in the title. This collection of issues is meant to be read side-by-side with Marvels, supplementary stories which tackle a similar idea.
Marvels is a beautiful examination of a beloved period of comics history, drawing together disparate characters and arcs to give a fuller picture of that era, presented through the eyes (or, in Phil Sheldon's case, eye) of regular folks, like you and me, to provide a personal perspective on a world of superhuman heroes. I picked up this volume, curious to see if it maintained the same burning passion for Marvel's heroes and history…or if it was puffed out like a water-drenched Human Torch.
Marvels Companion
Writers: Mike Baron, Mariano Nicieza, Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Chuck Dixon, and Warren Ellis
Pencilers: Shawn Martinbrough, Bob Wakelin, Studio Infinity, Igor Kordey, Tristan Shane, Brad Parker, Terese Nielsen, Vincent Evans, Daerick Gross, Paul Lee, John Marasigan, and Cliff Nielsen
Inkers: Shawn Martinbrough, Bob Wakelin, Studio Infinity, Igor Kordey, Tristan Shane, Brad Parker, Terese Nielsen, Vincent Evans, Daerick Gross, Paul Lee, John Marasigan, and Chris Nielsen
Colorists: Shawn Martinbrough, Bob Wakelin, Studio Infinity, Igor Kordey, Brad Parker, John Marasigan, Terese Nielsen, and Chris Nielsen
Letterers: Richard Starkings, Comicraft, Chris Eliopoulos, John Marasigan, and Jon Babcock
Issues Collected: Tales of the Marvels: Inner Demons #1, Tales of Marvels: Blockbuster #1, Code of Honor #1-4, Tales of Marvels: Wonder Years #1-2, Conspiracy #1-2, Ruins #1-2
Volume Publication Date: October 2014
Issue Publication Dates: April 1995, August 1995-September 1995, January 1996, January 1997, March 1997-May 1997, February 1998-March 1998
I probably spent more digital space above hyping Marvels than I did these supplementary stories. Busiek and Ross' series is genuinely a joy. I can't praise it enough. Understanding why it works is vital to understanding these stories as well, because you end up with an interesting perspective: what these one-shots and limited series want to be versus what they are.
None of these are bad stories. I don't want to sound like I'm going to rag on these issues for their quality. I intend on discussing my interest and personal enjoyment more deeply in a bit. But if you look at this volume as a whole, you see how snugly it rests under the shadow cast by Busiek and Ross. These are a series of painted narratives, taking place at some point in Marvel's past (running from the 60s to the early 90s), using fairly regular folk to reflect on the mounting strangeness of the superhuman-infused world around them. They don't necessarily stick to the same scope as Marvels, examining years of continuity beyond Gwen's death, which is another benefit I'll discuss later. Each one-shot, each limited series knows the time period and tale it wants to tell and sticks to that time period and tale.
I said no issue or series is bad, and I feel I should augment that by heaping more praise: these are all fairly solid stories, on their own merits. The assembled writers recognize the fun one can find leaping into the past and pulling out certain stories or characters to frame their individual tales. Several elements which made Marvels tick work here as well: there's an emphasis on drawing together characters who normally would not have interacted in the Lee/Kirby/Ditko days, such as having the amnesiac Prince Namor battle the Enforcers shortly before the Sub-Mariner's own memories are restored and the Enforcers first fight with Spider-Man. There's the consistent emphasis on everyday folks, from cops dealing with mayhem throughout New York to tenants whose lives are irreparably changed when the Silver Surfer damages their building. And there's the wonderfully inserted Easter eggs, from the Miracle Man's first monster to references to the X-Men's "Inferno" event. Careful crafting has been used here.
Regular people live at the heart of these stories, and it's perhaps here where the most significant comparison to Marvels occurs. Each tale tries to present us with another "Phil Sheldon," another "everyman" narrator we want to support, follow, relate to, and watch grow. The writers more or less present fine examples; their strongest characters are those who are given room to change in relation to their superhuman interactions–a homeless man turns his life around after befriending Prince Namor, a police officer is plagued by his uncertain future on a force that cannot handle heroes and villains, a young woman wrestles with her fangirl obsession over Wonder Man. Their internal development is based on how their stories collide with the fantastic without allowing the fantastic to supersede their development.
Our costumed characters aren't just window-dressing, providing genuine impact on the world around them. These tales tend to take a less hopeful stance than Marvels, even if Phil Sheldon allowed his initial mirth to mature over the decades. Emphasis is put on how our heroes damage the world around them, from that tenement building and other examples of property damage, to toxic fandom, to the violence inflicted upon regular folk, to conspiracy theories. Heck, Warren Ellis' two-part Ruins takes this to its most extreme end, warping the Marvel Universe as we know it into a world where all the events which made our heroes go absolutely wrong. The Hulk? Even more of a morbid monstrosity than his typical green self. Mutants? Caged underground and tortured. Matt Murdock? Killed as a child after exposure to radiation. A lot of people develop cancer. Several people die violently. Oh, what a world.
Instead of the fairly persistent yet not outrageously optimistic perspective we receive in Marvels, these companion pieces offer something that, I would wager, is meant to be more realistic and reflective of how comics themselves matured. What would actually happen if you were a police officer guarding the same streets the Punisher stalked? What if you ran into the Abomination or mutant dinosaurs? What if you were a reporter who learned that the government was funding the bizarre science promoted by Reed Richards, Hank Pym, Tony Stark, Otto Octavius, and others? Certainly could explain all these weird accidents that keep creating superhumans…if it's true! Our heroes are somewhat tarnished in several of these stories, not outright obliterated from a public perspective but scuffed here and there. Perhaps this volume as a whole presents a view that leans too heavily towards pessimism, but given one story at a time, I wouldn't think the writers were attempting to be despondent. Just real. Real people would struggle with the emotional toll of dealing with guys who can bust through walls and bring down buildings. Real people would be blinded from radiation and develop cancer instead of superpowers.
Most of the fun found in this collection, in between those dour reflections, is how these stories, largely, move beyond the scope of Marvels. I know Busiek eventually returned to Marvels for a sequel that explored the period past Gwen's death, but even a few years after the original series' publication, we have complimentary material uninterested in treading the same ground. Oh, some Golden and late Silver Age references remain, such as Namor's memory and appearances by tiara-wearing Luke Cage, but we find ourselves more firmly in the 80s and 90s for most of these pages. As a fan of the former decade and as someone with mounting begrudging respect for the latter, this was completely fine by me. I was thrilled to see Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett use their obsessed Wonder Man fan to explore the reaction to his death in the first issue of Force Works, which Lanning and Abnett also wrote. Chuck Dixon, in the Code of Honor limited series, wonderfully layers in multiple Marvel arcs, including part of Walt Simonson's "Surtur Saga," Chris Claremont and John Byrne's "Dark Phoenix Saga," the original Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15. We're given a timeline of events through the perspective of one man, a notion Dixon symbolizes through the repeated use of Warren Worthington III and his costume changes over the years.
Engaging as these tales are, and as well as writers fulfill their duties, the same cannot be said wholeheartedly about the art. The writers are aware enough to make each issue feel like Marvels in some way without compromising their own integrity as creators. The various artists, on the other hand, seem to have been selected for their painterly styles, a method clearly intent on aping Alex Ross. Some go for more distinct visuals and crisp characters, while others prefer to maintain an atmosphere of colors and shapes. Code of Honor suffers a tad from switching artists each issue, and even if this was intentional, it means there's little artistic coherence between chapters, the visuals falling along a range somewhere between "photorealistic" and "uncanny valley." The effect is jarring, and I found myself preferring stories which maintained a distinct style that didn't sacrifice character design and storytelling for supposed beauty or realism.
Obviously, while this volume should slide right to Marvels on your shelf, it doesn't carry the same prestige. Each story pulls in what made Marvels strong and unique and tries to adapt those methods for its own purposes. The effect works well enough for each story told, generating fairly well-written narratives with some effective central characters that tend to be a tad affected by the chosen art styles. Though not proper "sequels" to Marvels, these stories are smart to carry the ball further down the chronological court, allowing some fun exploration in the timeline outside Busiek and Ross' scope. That does mean, it seems, these stories tend to be a bit darker, but they're each thoughtful in their own right. Marvels is a masterpiece, not to be outdone by these younger siblings, but these stories possess enough strengths to not feel like copy-and-paste cashgrabs.