The Marvel Universe is huge, it’s interwoven, has history, and can seem kind of daunting when trying to figure out where to jump in. DK Canada’s new book, Marvel: Greatest Comics – 100 Comics That Built A Universe, provides a look at standout, iconic issues that helped create all that came after them.

It’s easy to be dismissive of early issues, stories were simplistic, and seemed to be variations on a theme from issue to issue, but when you take into account first appearances of characters like The X-Men, Thor, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel and their enduring legacies, as well as events (Civil War) that a book like this can help you sort the wheat from the chaff.

Featuring cover art, and panels, Scott and Wiacek have done their due diligence, and created a wonderful book filled with insight and commentary that speaks to their love of the splash page, the panels, the heroes, and the villains that populate the Marvel Universe.

Their commentary discuss layouts, moods, design, writers, influences, and the effect it would have on titles and characters. It’s heavily researched, but doesn’t get bogged down in dense dialogue, instead, the text reads easily and informatively, chronicling the issue, how it fits into the Universe, and why it is important.

This book, consequently, is not only a look at essential Marvel issues, it serves as a historical document that chronicles the rise of the Marvel Universe and its lasting impact on comic books and fans.

Marvel has been with me since I was a child. We had an estrangement in my late teens, but we’ve come back together. And while I don’t know all the ins and outs of the universe, the DK Books series of Marvel books lays the universe out in a fun and accessible way, and this newest addition, Greatest Comics, to the pantheon, directs new and veteran comics fans to the building blocks of a universe with 100 important issues.

This is a book for comic historians, for fans new and old. Not everyone wants to go through all the issues of a title, and there are countless titles in the Marvel Universe, but Greatest Comics highlights the issues that helped cement the universe into place, and are, subsequently, must reads for every Marvel fan.

Just like this book; another gorgeous addition to the Marvel library

DK Books’ Marvel Greatest Comics: 100 Comics That Built a Universe is available now.

Make Mine Marvel.