Not a Very Good Deal on the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe

When I was in elementary school in Kitimat I used to sell my old comics upon reading at a discount, an exception being the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, which I kept as reference. One person who bought stuff from me wanted a deal on those as well so he suggested that I buy a second copy of each then-upcoming issue of the Handbook at full price and then sell it to him as a discount.  To this day I don’t know if he really thought that was a good deal for both parties or if he thought I was that gullible; it’s not like I was going to read both copies after all.  Regardless I declined this generous (for him) offer.

The Evolution of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Marvel Encyclopedia

Marvel Encyclopedia 2002-2004

I debated whether or not to include these. Ultimately the deciding factor was a number of elements now in the Handbooks appeared here.

Number of Issues: 6 (240 pages plus covers and dust jacket), of which only five were actually encyclopedias.  As such only v1-2, 4-6 covered below

Dust jacket: 2 colour images on colour backgrounds (1 front, 1 back); introductory text on flaps; only key characters depicted

Covers: Colour image with colour background spanning both sides; only key characters depicted

Formatting: Inside covers colour but blank. Credits and new art before chapters. Some Chapters introduction/history pieces, with reprinted art.  Start of main body variable. Some volumes have separate sections for separate subject categories.  For sections with entries, entries typically ranged from 1/3-page to 4 pages. Volumes 4-6 have an Appendix section.

Interior Art: Artwork is usually reprinted; I think some of the larger entries have a new main illo.  Text is always in a white background.  While this is not a hard and fast rule, generally, entries a page or more tend to have white backgrounds for the art while entries that are less than a page tend to have the colour backgrounds that the art was originally taken from.

Text Categories

In all instances where there’s a First Appearance category, a Roman numeral indicates which series it is (if unclear) and the date of the issue is given; the latter continues to present day Handbooks

Main Entries (Solo)

ENTRY NAME IN CAPS

Real Name

First Appearance

Height

Weight

Eye Color (if entry 1 page or more)

Hair Color (if entry 1 page or more)

Untitled history section

Powers/Weapons (bullet points)

Untitled power grid with:

·         Intelligence

·         Strength

·         Speed

·         Durability

·         Energy Projection

·         Fighting Skills

The Power Grid, introduced here, continues to the present day with the same categories, though here it’s a line with dots rather than its present format.

Main Entries (Groups/Teams)

ENTRY NAME IN CAPS

Membership (not all entries)

First Appearance

Untitled history section

Appendix entries

Note: No category names given in Appendix entries, just the actual data

In one row:

Entry name (bolded)

Real name if known (bolded)

First appearance (italicized)

Description/history (plain text)

Between the main entries and the Appendix, the Fantastic Four volume as two additional sections:

Alternate Earths

ENTRY NAME IN CAPS

Designation

First Appearance

Untitled history section

Alternate Earths Appendix

Note: No category names given in Appendix entries, just the actual data. Instead of being listed in order of entry name, this section is listed in order of First Appearance.

In one row:

First appearance (italicized)

Designation (bolded)

Description/history (plain text)

In the latter two sections, Designation refers to the Earth number. This was the first series to assign Earth numbers to the various realities. Of course the term is a bit of a misnomer because the Earth is only a small portion of the reality and in rare cases like the pre-Big Bang reality there isn’t even an Earth present.

The Evolution of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Master Edition

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe – Master Edition (fourth series) 1991-1993

Curiously this series claimed to be the third series again. It was actually the fourth.

Number of Issues: 36 (48 pages plus cover)

Covers: The front cover had a colour image of a key character plus headshots of the other characters, on a colour background, with contents. In #1-12 the contents were on the bottom, in #13-36 they were on the left, which non-solo entries noted in a blurb in the artwork.

There were no back covers.

Formatting: The inside front cover have either an editorial with credits (sometimes with additional entry info for those characters who needed more than two pages), an explanation of the special ability categories, or a glossary.

All entries are exactly two pages.  Loofleaf format. Unlike previous titles, where the alphabetizing spanned the entire run, each issue has its own alphabetizing.

Interior Art: For solo entries, the front side of each entry have three illos each with the character facing front, left, and back; these were all pencilled by Keith Pollard and inked by Josef Rubenstein. If there is room, some entries have reprinted illos on the back of the character in action.  For team entries, the front side have new art from other artists showing the team in action; there is rarely art in the back for those entries unless the team’s supporting cast is depicted (see below).  Some sheets show a hero in action on the front (new art). Usually but not always the back side show headshots of the character’s supporting cast (new art).

Text Categories (*=not all entries)

Roman numerals according to in universe chronology were common.

Main Entries

ENTRY NAME IN CAPS (both sides; sometimes the front side entry name different from the back side entry name)

Rest of the categories back side only, divided into sections in caps, with bars around the sections.  There were slight differences in the biographical section if the character was deceased at the time.

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Real name

Other current aliases / Alias at time of death

Former aliases

Dual Identity

Current occupation / Occupation at time of death

Former occupation

Citizenship

Legal status

Place of birth

Place of death *(deceased characters only)

Marital status

Known relatives

Known confidents

Known allies

Major enemies

Usual base of operations / Base of operations at time of death

Former bases of operations

Current group membership / Group membership at time of death

Former group membership

Extent of education

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Height

Weight

Eyes

Hair

Other distinguishing features

POWERS AND ABILITIES

Intelligence

Strength

Flight speed*

Stamina

Durability

Agility

Reflexes

Fighting skills

Special skills and abilities

Superhuman physical powers

Superhuman mental powers

Special limitations

Source of superhuman powers

PARAPHERNALIA

Costume specifications

Personal weaponry

Special weaponry

Other accessories

Transportation

Design and manufacture of paraphernalia

BIBLIOGRAPHY

First appearance

Origin issue

Significant issues

So this series breaks things down further than most series do, separating out similar categories that are normally lumped together.  Citizenship refers to country while Legal status refers to criminal records. Education is the main new carry-over into future editions, though some of the Ability categories may have inspired the Power Grid and may in turn have been inspired by the Marvel Superheroes Role-Playing Game being published at the time.  Allies and Enemies, while interesting categories, have not proven to have longevity, probably because the History normally covers that.  This is the only volume to not have a History section as is normally perceived, though the Significant issues section covers key events with issues noted; unfortunately being the last section of the sheet and being limited to one sheet of text it tends to get cut off a lot.

Team Entries

ENTRY NAME IN CAPS (both sides; the front side usually refers to a specific line-up but that is not the case with the back sides).

Rest of the categories back side only, divided into sections in caps, with bars around the sections.  Most team entries spanned multiple issues.  The first time a team entry appears, it follows the following format:

ORGANIZATION

Purpose

Modus operandi

Extent of operations

Relationship to conventional authorities

Base of operationsFormer bases of operations

Major funding

Known enemies

Known allies

MEMBERSHIP

Number of active members

Number of reserve members

Organizational structure

Known officers

Known current members

Known former members

Known special agents

Membership requirements

Note*

HISTORY

Founders

Other leaders

Previous purpose or goals*

Major campaigns or accomplishments

Major setbacks

TECHNOLOGY AND PARAPHERNALIA

Level of technology

Transportation

Standard uniforms

Standard weaponry

Standard accessories

BIBLIOGRAPHY

First appearance

Origin issue

So far more extensive in terms of categories than any other volume’s team entries, though at the extent of a typical History entry.

Most teams have additional pages with MEMBERSHIP ROSTER data on the back. These followed the following patterns per member

CHARACTER NAME IN CAPS

Real name

Current status

Membership record

Note

For those team entries that have a supporting cast section, see In Action sheets below

IN ACTION Sheets

Some of these have equipment instead. The front side is labelled as per what was being depicted, then for the same character the back has text, usually SUPPORTING CAST for the same character.

SUPPORTING CAST entries used the following categories

CHARACTER NAME IN CAPS

Current occupation

Relationship

First appearance

The PUNISHER IN ACTION sheet has PUNISHER’S ARSENAL on the back. This is a unique occurrence but it’s likely had the series continued, these categories would have eventually reappeared.

ARSENAL NAME IN CAPS

Caliber

Action

Capacity

Weight

Note

The Evolution of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Update '89

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe – Update ‘89 (third series) 1989

Number of Issues: 8 (48 pages plus covers)

Covers: Front and back covers in a single image again; select characters only, facing forward; colour background.

Formatting: The inside front covers for all list the contents and credits, plus a humour cartoon. #1-14 have an editorial section called From the Doghouse in #1-3 and In the Doghouse in #4.

Non-cover pages are the main entries, all 1-4 pages. A single-entry Deceased section appears at the end of #8; the final non-cover page of #8 has the start of the Data Corrections section (this series; continues in inside back cover).

Inside back covers: Data Corrections: #1-6, Data Updates #6-7 (all for the Deluxe Edition), Data Corrections: #8 (this series); #2 also has Marvel Assistant Editor Awards for 1988 and Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards for 1988 forms. #3 also has an amended Chameleon entry (instead of illos of the Chameleon, there’s a cartoon Peter Sanderson figure explaining what happened). #4 also has a discussion on the Atlanteans. #5 also has another cartoon. #8 also has a poster merging the covers of first series #1-12 with some modifications as per an actual poster sold at the time, being the art to the then-present day.

Interior Art:  Main illos: new art.  Considerable use of secondary illos including action shots, all also new art, making this the only series to be entirely composed of new art. If team members head an entry elsewhere they’re usual depicted with a headshot; if not, they are drawn full body in their ¼-page sub-entry.  Some entries had a full-page colour background, some had a colour square background, some had a white background.

Text Categories (*= not for all entries; categories only used once or twice not noted):

Once again, text in this series used cross-references, many to a non-existent but planned at the time Appendix; this was the final volume to make use of cross-references.  Roman numerals according to in universe chronology were common.

Main Entries

As per Deluxe Edition with two key exceptions: All entries now have a Known superhuman powers category (often the answer is “None”) and pre-Fantastic Four #1 characters now have both a First appearance category and a First modern appearance category, the modern covering their true first appearance and the latter covering their first post-Fantastic Four#1 appearance.  Starting here the “modern” appearances would fall more and more out of favour, probably due to a combination of more Golden Age stories being seen as in continuity and due to the 1960s becoming too far into the past to be considered modern.  Indeed, Fantastic Four#1 is now further in the past in the present than Motion Picture Funnies Weekly#1 was at the time of the first Handbook.

Main Entries (Teams/Groups)

Again, this follows a pattern similar to Deluxe. However, entries with no sub-entries are more likely to depict full body shots rather than headshots, with or without First appearance.  This is the final series to use ¼-page sub-entries.

The Evolution of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Update '89

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe – Update ‘89 (third series) 1989

Number of Issues: 8 (48 pages plus covers)

Covers: Front and back covers in a single image again; select characters only, facing forward; colour background.

Formatting: The inside front covers for all list the contents and credits, plus a humour cartoon. #1-14 have an editorial section called From the Doghouse in #1-3 and In the Doghouse in #4.

Non-cover pages are the main entries, all 1-4 pages. A single-entry Deceased section appears at the end of #8; the final non-cover page of #8 has the start of the Data Corrections section (this series; continues in inside back cover).

Inside back covers: Data Corrections: #1-6, Data Updates #6-7 (all for the Deluxe Edition), Data Corrections: #8 (this series); #2 also has Marvel Assistant Editor Awards for 1988 and Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Awards for 1988 forms. #3 also has an amended Chameleon entry (instead of illos of the Chameleon, there’s a cartoon Peter Sanderson figure explaining what happened). #4 also has a discussion on the Atlanteans. #5 also has another cartoon. #8 also has a poster merging the covers of first series #1-12 with some modifications as per an actual poster sold at the time, being the art to the then-present day.

Interior Art:  Main illos: new art.  Considerable use of secondary illos including action shots, all also new art, making this the only series to be entirely composed of new art. If team members head an entry elsewhere they’re usual depicted with a headshot; if not, they are drawn full body in their ¼-page sub-entry.  Some entries had a full-page colour background, some had a colour square background, some had a white background.

Text Categories (*= not for all entries; categories only used once or twice not noted):

Once again, text in this series used cross-references, many to a non-existent but planned at the time Appendix; this was the final volume to make use of cross-references.  Roman numerals according to in universe chronology were common.

Main Entries

As per Deluxe Edition with two key exceptions: All entries now have a Known superhuman powers category (often the answer is “None”) and pre-Fantastic Four #1 characters now have both a First appearance category and a First modern appearance category, the modern covering their true first appearance and the latter covering their first post-Fantastic Four#1 appearance.  Starting here the “modern” appearances would fall more and more out of favour, probably due to a combination of more Golden Age stories being seen as in continuity and due to the 1960s becoming too far into the past to be considered modern.  Indeed, Fantastic Four#1 is now further in the past in the present than Motion Picture Funnies Weekly#1 was at the time of the first Handbook.

Main Entries (Teams/Groups)

Again, this follows a pattern similar to Deluxe. However, entries with no sub-entries are more likely to depict full body shots rather than headshots, with or without First appearance.  This is the final series to use ¼-page sub-entries.

The Evolution of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Deluxe Edition

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe – Deluxe Edition (second series) 1985-1988

Number of Issues: 20 (64 pages plus covers)

Covers: Front and back covers in a single image again; all solo characters included, plus those with sub-entries.  #1-15 combine to form a single image, as do #16-20.  Images continue to the right in subsequent issues, no poster style with one issue above another. have the characters facing right; white backgrounds.  #16-20 (Book of the Dead issues) have ghostly versions of the characters facing forward; blue background.

Formatting: The inside front covers for all list the contents and credits, as well as an editorial section that frequently spills into the back cover. In some of the later issues the editorial section is in the form of a list of data corrections. 

For the non-cover sections, the entirety of #1-14 is the regular entries, as is the first half of #15. Entries are typical 1-2 pages, often 3-4, a few higher. No ½-pagers; however, some team entries have ¼-page sub-entries (a few sub-entries ½-page). The second half of #15 is ¼-page Alien Races entries. #16-20 constitute the Book of the Dead, with entries in the same format as the regular entries except as noted below.  No defunct teams/groups unless the entirety/majority of the team is deceased at time of publication.  In #20, the editorial (Data Corrections) section spills over to the last non-cover page.

Due to colouring errors in #8, the middle section of #9 has the colour-corrected versions of those pages (4 pages).

Inside back covers: #1-4: Glossary.  Appendix: Alternate Dimensions#5-15. #16 is devoted to Strength Levels in the Known Marvel Universe. #17-18 lists series set in the Marvel Universe, Editorial section from inside front cover spills over into back in issues #2-5, 7-9, 11-13, 15, 18-20. #15 has a second editorial at back plus 2 additional Alien Races as described above. #19-20 have no additional sections other than the editorial (Data Corrections) started on the inside front cover.

The editorial section is Data Corrections in #8-9, 11, 13, 18-20.

Interior Art:  Main illos: Either new art or art taken directly from the original series; in the latter the art is sometimes modified somewhat to make it more current.  Considerable use of secondary illos including action shots taken from various comics. If team members head an entry elsewhere they’re usual depicted with a headshot; if not, they are drawn full body in their ¼-page sub-entry. Some entries have weapons and paraphernalia specs embedded in the entry, some new, some adapted from #15 of the previous series. The Alien Races section has been completely redrawn. White backgrounds.

Text Categories (*= not for all entries; categories only used once or twice not noted):

Text in this series used cross-references, many to a non-existent but planned at the time Appendix.  Roman numerals according to in universe chronology were common.

Main Entries

ENTRY NAME IN CAPS

Real Name

Occupation

Identity

Legal status

Former aliases*

Other current aliases*

Code-name in own language*

Place of birth

Place of death (#16-20)

Marital status

Known relatives

Group affiliation

Base of operations

First appearance (First modern appearance for characters who first appeared prior to Fantastic Four#1)

Origin

Final appearance (#16-20)

History

Height

Weight

Eyes

Hair

Unusual features*

Strength level

Known superhuman powers*

Former superhuman powers*

Other abilities*

Abilities*

Limitations*

Weapons*

Origin has a different meaning than in the first series. Here it refers to which issues have a character’s Origin stories.  First appearance and Origin sometimes merged together as First appearance and origin. History now covers characters’ careers in greater depth.

As should be evident above, the specific combat related categories are determined by the nature of the character.

Main Entries (Teams/Groups)

ENTRY NAME IN CAPS

First appearance

The First appearance category was now standard.

For those team/group entries to have headshots, they used the following format as per the original series:

HEADSHOT NAME IN CAPS

(Real name/alter ego in parentheses)

First appearance*

Active*

Some entries, where the members are too minor to have their own entries and where this wouldn’t result in too large an entry, ¼ page sub-entries are used. Sub-entries work similar to main entries; however, categories are further abridged for space reasons.

Alien Races categories

ENTRY NAME IN CAPS

Origin Galaxy

Star System

Planet

Estimated population

Physical Characteristics (Type/Eyes/Fingers/Toes/Skin color/Average height)

Special adaptations

Type of government

Level of technology

Names of representatives

First appearance

So Habitat, Gravity, Atmosphere, and Cultural traits have been dropped from the first series, and Note added.  This the final series to have ¼-entries on Alien Races as separate sections, though larger such entries do appear in later volumes with very different categories.

Once again, certain key alien races received full group entries in the body of the text, following the group format.  No headshots except for the Kree.

Appendix: Other Dimensions categories

ENTRY NAME IN CAPS

Type

Environment

Usual means of access

Dominant lifeform

Prominent inhabitants*

Comments

First appearance

This is the only series to have this section, though some dimensions later get full entries.

There was also a 10-volume trade paperback series based on the Deluxe Edition with a few new entries and some removed (including all the Alien Races and inside cover material). The new entries follow the same pattern as the rest of the Deluxe Edition.  In addition some of the existing entries were modified either cosmetically (e.g. a different costume) or extensively.