Chris Giarrusso

Chris Giarrusso’s Mini Marvels Complete collects both his Mini Marvels series as well as the Bullpen Bits that appeared in the late 1990s and early 2000s in Marvel comics, here retitled Mini Marvel Classics. Giarrusso, Sean McKeever, Marc Sumerak, Paul Tobin, and Audrey Loeb wrote the stories while Giarrusso illustrated all of them. The stories and clean lines display a remarkable familiarity with Marvel’s history and well as Giarrusso’s effort to incorporate Easter eggs wherever possible, all in his signature cartoon style. Skottie Young is currently popular for his cute, cartoon versions of comic book characters, but I grew up with these delightful strips from Giarrusso and love everything about them. This book is a great treat for anyone who enjoyed these works during the 1990s and 2000s or as an introduction to Marvel for younger readers, as they work well to establish the characters and honor their histories without being too plot-heavy or requiring a deep background knowledge of decades of canon.… (meer)