Bring on the Bad Guys by Stan Lee

Bring on the Bad Guys is a history of the development and "origins" of some of Marvel comics most infamous villains (Doctor Doom, Dormammu, Loki, The Red Skull, The Green Goblin, The Abomination, and Mephisto are profiled). Each villain is introduced in a short text section, followed by excerpts from the actual comics revealing the "origins" of the villain. I suppose that I before I go on, I should probably indicate that by "origins" I mean the general raison d'etre for the villain and his villainousness - i.e. why has this particular individual chosen to don tights and cape (or whatever) and side with the forces of darkness?

As noted above, each villain is introduced in a short text passage. These passages are probably the weakest part of the book, as the overly jocular and bouncy tone in which they are written tends to irritate after a short while (In addition, as a Classics student, I strongly disagree with, and even resent, Lee's comment that "The Odyssey the The Iliad were probably the Marvel Comics of their day" [p. 83] - but that's merely personal bias). Despite the tone, There is some interesting information to be gleaned from the text introductions, as Lee gives the reader insights into how and why the particular villain ended up appearing the way he did.

However, the most interesting parts of the book are the excerpts from the old Marvel Comics themselves. Some of the stories, in this cynical age we live in, will probably appear laughably naive and simple - others, less so. The art, in most cases, is of good quality, and those who have come lately to comics collecting will be interested in the background information revealed about many of the major characters. Of particular interest to me was the way the book allowed for easy comparison of the different reasons for becoming an "arch-villain;" accident, chilhood trauma, and just general "badness" are among the reasons presented.

In conclusion, I would recommend _Bring on the Bad Guys_ to anyone with an interest in collecting or creating comics, and to anyone with an interest in the history of the genre.

Reviewed by Patrick Conway on January 17, 1997.