The Marvel Vault Review (3.5/5)

Marvel have certainly had an infamous history of peaks and troughs, and no better is that demonstrated in hardback compilation The Marvel Vault: everything from the comic company's illustrated inception to the line of tie-in film adaptations released in the early noughties is covered. Sadly, though all the inclusions of past content does make for an over-extended book that drags on for way too long and uses too much material that only the hardcore fan devotees will care for. For example, a hefty portion of the release is spent covering the Human Torch vs Sub-Mariner comics that kick-started the comic publisher's career, as opposed to how webbed legend Spider-Man was thought up and why The Incredible Hulk was originally pulled from retailers. In addition, it's a shame there's no sign of an updated version of the Mavrel Vault, as that it only reaches the third Spider-Man film and thus covers none of Robert Downey Jr's exploits or the Avengers story arc that grows with each of the new blockbuster releases feels disappointing to say the least. But looking at the Vault for its merits, the pull-out covers, merchandise and concept illustrations give a sense of true substance and that real thought went into the selection of included interactive material. Such an iffy release will either prove disappointing or just a hitch for hardcore fans, but there's no doubt that casual readers who paid £30 to see how Marvel started will feel more than a bit overwhelmed.