Waid intentionally places each character deliberately throughout the comic like a chess match in which hes the only one capable of knowing the outcome. Each piece blends so well with the other and every move is planned out in advance showing readers the time and involvement in order to orchestrate this amazing task at hand placing readers in checkmate. Read Full Review

While a bit dry at times, one cant help but marvel at the herculean effort that goes into researching, cataloguing, and telling the story of the Marvel Universe as a cohesive whole. There is so much information conveyed in this book and its done so in such an efficient way. While most comics can be breezed through in 10-15 minutes, this book really gives you bang for your buck, leaving you with a ton of information to dissect and digest. If nothing else, it gives you plenty of fodder you can use to show off your Marvel knowledge – all in a beautifully illustrated package. Read Full Review

History of the Marvel Universe #2 brings us to the Golden age and does it in a remarkable and exciting way. Mark Waid's writing keeps you interested, while Javier Rodriguez's art demands all of your attention, and rightfully so. Despite some questionable debuts for some characters throughout this issue, it's enjoyable.If you didn't read the first issue, it's important that you do so. Or wait until the trade is released, as the story would definitely read better all at once. Read Full Review

Ultimately,The History of the Marvel Universe reads exactly like what it's intended to be: an historical document. In that way, it's a bit dry, stuffy, almost academic in nature. It's very well-done for what it is, but doesn't exactly make for a compelling narrative. Read Full Review

Its all a jumble...but then: thats the Marvel Universe. There had been noble intentions to keep it all together in a single world shared by characters, writers, artists, and editors. Far too many people were involved to make it all coherent, however. Waid and company continue to soldier on in an attempt to condense it all, but without a strong unifying narrative force, it feels like a largely disinteresting outline of events. Read Full Review

One can appreciate the lesser-known details of continuity it ropes in along the way, like a reference to the Gibborim that features on the same page as one related to Peter Parker and the establishing of S.H.I.E.L.D, but it never seems in service of a deeper point than noting that one event happened after another. Read Full Review

No matter how beautiful this comic might be, it remains an indecipherable mess at its core, one without a clear purpose or audience. Read Full Review

Great art and don’t know what everyone is expecting out of this besides a art showcase of the marvel history... it’s eight there in the title

Great stuff! Again, this is required reading for anyone who does not know much about the Marvel universe. I like to think I know quite a bit but this issue also gave some history I never knew. Some areas could have used one more text panel but all in all, this is great.

This is my kinda reading. It has that abridged encyclopedia feel to it with some fantastic art by Javier Rodriguez. Obviously if you were looking for a story to link the massive 80 years of History, then you'll be disappointed because that book will likely never be able to be made. It's an insane undertaking to tell the tale of the continuous Marvel U and Waid and his research team did well.

I really love how the continuity is interwoven here. I'm a pretty big nerd about it.

Visualize any of Ennis's wartime Frank Castle stories. Now they're set in the "Siancong" war, where Frank fights Asian super-criminals in search of the magic "Dragon's Breath." Yeah, doesn't really work, does it?

This series remains gorgeous and scrupulously-researched, but I strongly object to the retconning.