I know that Marvel's paperback prose novels have been around for quite a while. I understand that Otto Binder wrote an Avengers novel or two in the early 70's. I had read Claremont's X-Men novel ( Children of the Atom? ) in the early 80's and had also read the Avengers novel that was published around the same time.

Other than movie adaptations, has anyone read the more recent prose efforts? I'm pretty sure that there was an Iron Man novel written somewhere in the mid-to-late 90's but I'm not sure how well it struck the readers.

Is anyone planning on picking up any titles for Marvel's new prose imprint? I've heard the first title out of the gate is going to be Wolverine ... (yawn)...

I think Dark Horse also has a new prose imprint ... any interest there?

Jim Lawless

Save the film adaptations, I have all of the Spider-Man novels that have come out in the 90s and 00s. Probably 15-20 in total.

-Comp

Yes, but what did you think of them, Compster?

Most of them are very good. My favorites are the three <i>Time's Arrow</i> books, which is a crossover between Spider-Man and the X-Men, written by Tom DeFalco with a different co-writer for each installment. Excellent books.

-Comp

My brother swears that Peter David's Hulk novel was fabulous, but I've never read it.

His novels are pretty good. I was forced to read a couple of his Star Trek novels, and they turned out to be quite good, even for those that don't normally like that sort of thing....like me!

Darren forced to read? I don't believe it!

Aside from the Batman movie adaptation, I don't think I've ever read any super-hero books. Well, a few of the Wild Card novels/anthologies, but those don't count for this particular question.

I do have an old Hulk novel around here someplace, a book that was given to me. Haven't gotten around to reading it, tho'...

DC-wise, I did have (or maybe my brother had it, I'm not sure) a Superman Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book.

At the time I wrote the original post, both Marvel and Dark Horse were making big noise about their forthcoming prose lines.

Did anything other than movie adaptations see print? ( Was there a Mary Jane novel or something like that? )

Jim Lawless

I've read that Hulk novel that PAD wrote. It was really good, and it felt kind of like a movie of a TV show that came out while the TV show was still running. It took the story in a strange new direction involving the Maestro, Doc Samson, and She-Hulk too, IIRC.

Also, it featured some really nice George Perez illustrations.

I bought Judith O'Brien's Mary Jane novel for my niece. She really liked it. Her teacher wouldn't let her do a book report on it since it was about a comic book.

Some pretty fond memories of the Marvel novels I read in the seventies. David Michelinie's Avengers book The Man Who Stole Tomorrow is excellent -- I remember seeking out their comics after reading that one and being disappointed the team wasn't as cool as he'd presented them there. I liked Paul Kupperberg's Hulk/Spider-Man Murdermoon too.

Wasn't as fond of Marv Wolfman's FF Doomsday, though. If I'd known the word then I probably would have called it overwrought. Sue's lip was always quivering.

Michelinie wrote some cool Iron Man and Avengers stories back in the early 80's. I wonder what he's up to nowadays...

Jim Lawless

I have always enjoyed Peter David's Star Trek novels. I never read any of his Marvel ones.

I have a 1970s Avengers novel. I don't have access to it at the moment (It's boxed up somewhere in my cave.)

Check out the second story here for the answer

http://www.boblayton.com/Archive/June%2 ... torial.htm

Cool! Thanks Ian.

That's the one that I had as a kid. I remember liking that quite a bit. Don't ask me to describe the plot to you now, though! (Someone finds a way to control the Hulk and sends him to fight Spidey. I remember THAT much!)

I've only read one of the latter day Marvel novels. I don't remember the title, but it starred Spider-Man and Electro was one of the villains. It wasn't bad, but I think it only took me a few hours to finish it. They might as well have just drawn the story and made it a comic book!