MARVEL STUDIOS VISUAL DICTIONARY

A few weeks ago, I bumped into an old friend of mine from college, named Greg, and as you'd expect, we started to speak about 'the good old days', about the stuff we said, the people we met, and the things we got up to when nobody was looking. After a while, though, we gradually stopped our 'walk down memory lane' and started to talk about something else. Something we both were commonly known for back in the day: Comic Books. Or to be more specific about it, the status of their current cinematic counterparts. The conversation went something like this...


Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary (Hardcover)


GREG: So, are you seriously trying to tell me that you run a website about comic books, Dave?

ME: Yeah, and movies too.

GREG: Well I'll be a monkey's uncle! Who would have imagined all that talk about Batman and Blade would someday turn into a career. So are you making much out of it?

ME: I do OK. I'm no millionaire, but I can live on beans and noodles.

GREG: How about those comic book movies then? You must be watching those!

ME: Yeah. I've watched most of them. Not religiously, mind you, because as you may remember, Greg, I've always preferred following a story than trailing a trend.

GREG: What? Are you trying to say that comic book movies are a trend?

ME: Yes. Most definitely. They're a fluctuating trend that's a mixture of both positive and negative attributes. On the one hand, comic book movies are a selection of morality tales about the fight between good and evil. While, on the other hand, they're a blatant cash-in on a preexisting mythology. After all, the word 'business' is in 'show business'.

GREG: Well, that might be so, but I still wouldn't call them a trend. Popular, yes! Trend, no!

ME: Why not? Cowboy movies were a thematic trend, that's for sure, and we all saw what happened to that particular genre of movie! Back in the day, Hollywood made hundreds of them every single year! Heck, between the 1920's and the 1960's, they produced at least one hundred Westerns per year until they were satirized, plagiarized, and exploited into extinction.

GREG: So do you think comic book movies would eventually die out?

ME: No. Not at the moment, they won't. There's too much money invested and too many stories to tell. Stories, I hasten to add, which are generally geared towards the non-comic book reader, rather than the long term fan.

GREG: Go on. Elaborate, egghead.

ME: Well, so far, most of the comic book movies are a mixture of stories lifted directly from the comic books, with the screenwriters taking a little bit from here, a little bit from there, before mixing them both together to make it more palatable for the audience. 'Infinity War' is a great example of this, especially if you've already read 'The Infinity Gauntlet' mini-series created by Jim Starlin, George Pérez, and Ron Lim. It was published in 1991 and it basically laid out the framework for what happens in the movie! Really, it's as simple as that.

GREG: Damn it, Dave. You always knew your stuff. So, what else would you recommend for me to read before the next Marvel movie comes out?

ME: Well...

Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary

Author: Adam Bray.
Format: Hardback.
Publisher: DK Children.
Price: £20.00.
Size: 260x237mm.
Page Count: 200 pages.
Age Range: 8 years and over.

Synopsis: If you want to find out how Captain America got his shield, how Thor got his hammer, or how Iron Man got his cappuccino, then please stand back, take a deep breath, and have a look at this great new book about the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Overall, this is a well-crafted large format hardback book, and it's filled to the brim with stunning imagery, interesting facts, and useful information about what goes on behind-the-scenes at Marvel Studios. This includes facts and figures focused on the characters, the props, the backgrounds, the buildings, the stories, the technology, and anything else you can think of that populate the MCU. So go on, what are you waiting for? Another snap by Thanos? Pick up this book today, and I promise you, you won't get shafted by Hawkeye's arrows.

For more information on 'Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary', please check out DK Books official website, facebook, and twitter pages.