At probably the biggest intersection in Whimsieville, we have what is known as Coffee Table. It mainly serves as an eatery for Miss Chrissy and Mr. Russ, as it sits just opposite the biggest Movie Theater in town, but on occasion Coffee Table also functions as a Library.
“Coffee Table Book” is a phrase you may have heard before, and though here in Whimsieville books do not usually sit on top of Coffee Table, there is one very specific book I personally adore that spends most of its time on the bottom shelf. (Take a look at the picture below, you can just see it there, right next to Barnabus Collins’ coffin. Don’t ask. That’s a whole ’nother story, and I might tell you about it someday.)
From this picture (which, if the internet is working the way it should, is now on the left), you may not be able to tell what my favorite book is all about, so give me just a moment here…I’ll scurry on up to Coffee Table, reach underneath… grab the book, pull it up on to the… top…Jeez! This thing weighs a TON! Whew! Okay, now you can see it! And you can clearly see that the title of the book is The Art of Marvel Studios.
This is a book all about the superheroes I love so much! So you can imagine how many times when I am moseying by Coffee Table, I like to get my exercise by lugging this book off the bottom shelf and setting myself up for a good Look.
I say “Look” instead of “Read,” because the whole point of a good “Coffee Table Book” is that it is something that LOOKS great, with lots of fabulous photos or artwork. It’s not really the kind of book where you have to do a lot of actual reading, it’s more about skimming through and enjoying the artwork. I think originally the idea was that you would get yourself a nice big cup of delicious coffee (if you like that sort of thing…), sit back on a sunny Saturday afternoon, or cold Winter’s evening, when going outside simply isn’t in the cards, and relax and simply let yourself get lost in the pages, transported to another world.
Well, I don’t particularly like coffee (I much more prefer to sneak a sip of Mr. Russ’ cream soda whenever he is not looking! Shhh…don’t tell him!) But it doesn’t matter what I like to drink, because I would never want to 
drink (or eat) anything while looking at such a beautiful Coffee Table Book! I would be much too afraid of ruining the glossy pages of these gorgeous books.
And here I say “books,” because as you can see, the “book” called The Art of Marvel Studios is in reality a collection of four different books, each one showcasing a different Marvel superhero. (Though, strangely, Iron Man has two books, when Thor has only one, which I don’t really understand, because…really??? WHY???)
The Thor book is of course my favorite, because (as everyone knows…) Thor is my favorite of all the superheroes. And in this book, not only do we have a lot of great pictures of Thor, but we also see a lot of Asgard, which is so mystical and picturesque, but perhaps best of all, we also get to meet all of Thor’s friends.
To tell you the truth, my very favorite pages in this book are not so much about Thor himself, but actually about one very special lady: Sif, the girl warrior who sometimes fights beside him. As you can see here, Sif has some pretty cool outfits! Don’t you think? Very shiny!
Of course, these picture are just an artist’s idea of what Sif might look like, with her long, dark beautiful hair. We happen to know what Sif really looks like, because a while back she showed up on one of our very favorite TV shows, *Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, and you might recall, we talked about her when we saw her on that show.
But I don’t want to spend all my time here talking about Sif and Thor and Asgard. Despite the fact that Iron Man is unfairly represented in two of the four books, I do have to mention that most of what we see of him and his world in those two books is actually pretty cool. Miss Chrissy tells me that Iron Man is actually her favorite of all the Avengers, but if you ask me, I think it’s because she mostly likes his alter-ego,Tony Stark, because he’s both so funny and so sexy.
Mr. Russ prefers Captain America, and my fellow Whimsies…well, they all just say they like Thor best of all, I think mostly because they know that I like Thor best of all, and they don’t want to get me started on outlining my long list of all the reasons why Thor is the best Avenger ever. (And by the way, Miss Chrissy…Thor…ALSO very funny and very sexy!)
Anyway, there you have it. A Marvelous Coffee Table Book right here in Whimsieville. I can’t wait until Miss Chrissy and Mr. Russ make another trip to Barnes and Noble! Who knows what they might come up with next?
