The Marvel Method, which turned the comic writing formula on its head, was critical to Marvel’s success and resulted in some of their finest works.
Martin Goodman founded Marvel in 1939, and the company quickly rose to prominence in the comic book industry. Slowly and methodically, the corporation rose to prominence in this market, expanding into other fields of entertainment. This was not done only by chance. Marvel has strived for quality and distinctiveness since its inception. The Marvel Method was one of the ways it accomplished this.
During the 1950s, Marvel used the Marvel Method to publish comic books. It required authors and artists to work together to develop their tales. Stan Lee basically produced an outline for his tale, incorporating just the most vital aspects. Following that, the artist in charge had to arrange everything, from the narrative to the page layout. This method was critical to Marvel’s success and produced some of the company’s most popular works.
It was implemented out of necessity.
Stan Lee established this technique in the 1950s after realizing that some of his artists, like as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, were perfectly capable of performing the hard work. Following Lee’s broad concepts at first, Kirby and Ditko began working on their own while Lee produced dialogue for the story. Other Marvel writers continued to work with entire scripts.
Soon after, it became clear that fans preferred Lee, Kirby, and Ditko’s storylines, so Lee fired all of the other authors, including Larry Lieber and Robert Bernstein, and started writing all of their publications alone. Lee converted all of Marvel’s artists to the Marvel Method in order to fulfill the assignments on time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to write Marvel comics on a regular basis. For long years, this was the sole method in Marvel.
It differs from the Full Script Method.
Given that comic books are a two, three, or even four-man business, miscommunications between editors, authors, and illustrators are critical. The easiest method to do this is for the authors to have as full a screenplay as possible for the artists to follow. The document must include as much information as possible, such as dialogue, page design, and a story synopsis. This is known as the entire script technique.
The Marvel Method is the polar opposite. Instead of creating a whole tale from start, the writer just describes the beginning and finish of the story while indicating which elements should be included. With this outline in hand, the artist may focus on the comic’s narrative and page design.
Stan Lee popularized it, although Jack Kirby and Joe Simon did it first.
The Marvel Method was associated with Stan Lee’s name. He systematized it and made it an important part of Marvel history. He did not, however, create it. Jack Kirby and Joe Simon of National Comics devised a comparable approach ten years before Marvel adopted the Marvel Method (now known as DC Comics).
Kirby invented this crude version of the renowned approach because he worked quicker than Simon. Given the time constraints, it was preferable to have Kirby plan and sketch first, with Simon writing afterwards. Of course, after Kirby joined Marvel, Lee recognized his skill and granted him more duties. Lee went along the same road as Steve Ditko after discovering his innate skill.
It was often mentioned in comic books.
The Marvel Method is well-known. For starters, it’s a novel approach to comic book writing. Second, Marvel’s most influential authors have never concealed this relationship from the public. For example, it’s often mentioned in featurettes intended to demonstrate readers the writers’ creative process. The featurette from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 from 1964 is one of the first instances of these allusions.
This three-page meta-story follows Ditko and Lee as they work on the same problem that readers are dealing with. In this tale, Lee and Ditko recall the process, from Lee’s first thoughts through Ditko’s actual implementation of those ideas. Other great tales, like as Fantastic Four Annual #5 and Avengers Annual #2, illustrate the same approach.
It was most likely the source of Stan Lee’s feud with Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko.
While the Marvel Method enabled Stan Lee and many other artists to lay the groundwork for the Marvel cosmos, it was also troublesome. Because it was developed to assist Lee with his overabundance of work, it frequently moved the majority of the labor to the artists, who now had to figure out the whole tale in addition to writing. This produced a lot of hatred against the Man, who ended up gaining credit for the majority of the tales written.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby co-created several characters, including Thor, the Hulk, the X-Men, and Black Panther, while Lee and Steve Ditko co-created Spider-Man. Kirby and Ditko, on the other hand, had a long-running quarrel until their deaths. This disagreement was most likely caused by the Marvel technique and the unfavorable working circumstances it imposed on Marvel artists.
It brought to life several significant characters.
Given that the Marvel Method was Marvel’s principal mode of operation for many years, many of Marvel’s classic characters were produced using this technique. For example, Stan Lee did not create the Silver Surfer, who first appeared in The Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966). Instead, Kirby used this cooperating approach to add him. In an interview in 1995, Lee described the character as “a nut on some type of flying surfboard” who was “in the center of the scenario [they] had so meticulously laid out.”
Kirby justified his conception, claiming that a cosmic force as strong as Galactus would undoubtedly have a herald. Concerning the surfboard, the artist said that he was weary of sketching spaceships. Furthermore, surfing was quite popular in the 1960s. Lee grew to enjoy the persona after first being hesitant. Despite his unintentional origins, Silver Surfer became a pivotal figure in Galactus and the Fantastic Four books. He even had his own television show.
Matt Fraction and David Aja Used It To Create The 2015 Hawkeye Run
Marvel did not apply the Marvel Method as a norm as of 2022 since it is unfair to the artists. This, however, does not imply that it was expelled. In fact, Matt Fraction and David Aja used this strategy to create Hawkeye, the suerphero’s most recognizable run to date.
Concerning this partnership, Fraction expressed concern about losing control of his screenplay writing process. Aja, on the other hand, believed it was a fantastic creative exercise and liked the freedom it afforded him. While the Marvel approach was not Fraction’s main creative process, it was certainly beneficial to the acclaimed Hawkeye run.
Fans may learn more about it by visiting Marvel’s 616 Docuseries.
The Marvel Method hasn’t been employed in many years, at least not on a daily basis, therefore it’s no longer central to Marvel. Given this, not everyone is aware of it. Fans interested in learning more about this process may watch the seventh episode of the Disney+ docuseries Marvel’s 616, which delves inside the Marvel world.
This episode follows Dan Slott, Pete Woods, and Christus Cage as they use the Marvel Method to develop Iron Man 2020. It examines its advantages and disadvantages while reviewing its history. Marvel’s 616 is a fantastic documentary for learning about the Marvel Method and Marvel in general.
