Comtois is not the most inspiring writer: he is over-fond of fond of exclamation points and can be very informal in his style.
But, ignoring those quibbles, as this is not high art we’re discussing here, this book is simply fabulous. Well-researched, knowledgeable, “Marvel Comics in the 1960s” selects the very best Marvel comics from 1961 to 1969, arguably Marvel’s most inspiring period, and reviews each with regard to plot content, scripting, art quality and its place in the wider pantheon.
Comtois is particularly adept at picking out the strengths of the various artists who worked with writer Stan Lee, and later Roy Thomas and others and is on-the-money with due praise to Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck and John Buscema.
The real key to Marvel’s initial success was the development of “the Marvel Method” allowing dynamic story-telling with many elements of either fantasy (in Thor and Fantastic Four) or human interest (in Spider-Man, Daredevil and X-Men). Each comic’s part of wider Marvel universe was also crucial as it was all one world, one story. Comtois is able to see this bigger picture and how the various comic titles, and even individual comics, contribute to this.
This is sterling stuff which makes you want to revisit the original comics, which is surely the point.