Source: spiderfan.org

9. Comic Wars

Marvel Comics' bankruptcy is one of the most important real-life moments in comic book history. And it’s also one of the most surprising.

Looking at them now, it's shocking to imagine that the entire company almost went under within the last 30 years. But they did. And Dan Raviv's book analyzes the hell out of it.

Perelman, Icahn, Perlmutter, Arad…All are depicted in detailed fashion and with crazy skill. The book was released in 2002, years before Marvel found their way back to world renown, which prevents it from coming off with a navel gaze-y "Oh, look at their struggles before they made it" attitude. Marvel was still scrapping when it was written and when it was released. And this is at its heart a book on business, not comics. It's the business of comics, but it's boardrooms and bankers, not capes and tights.

But for someone who wants to be able to understand Marvel's darkest chapter to its true core, this is a must-read.