Do you like the newer Marvel Encyclopedias or do you prefer one of the versions of the Official Handbook?
For me, it never got better than the Official Handbook…Deluxe Edition. The only way they could improve upon that is to put it online.
Your thoughts?
I’d love to get some of the new Marvel Encyclopedias, but I can’t get them around here. (Along with most of the better comics these days. Have to settle for the basic Batman, Spider-Man, Superman and X-Men titles).
I still have my old Marvel Handbook and DC Who’s Who issues. They make some of the lame heroes and villians seem so much better than they really are. So much more enjoyable that actually reading the comics sometimes.
What are the Marvel Encyclopedias like, anyway? Are there any sample pages online?
Anyhoo…
Wow, I just sold my entire run of Who’s Who earlier tonight on eBay! And I parted with my Marvel Universe Handbooks (the Deluxe Edition, of course) last year. But they were both great, and turned me into a comic book geek as I was growing up in the '80s. I only wish they’d come out with similar editions, but completely updated. DC’s Secret Files and Origins books can’t even compare.
Thanks for the link, Hey you! How much do those hardcover Encyclopedia’s cost, anyway?
I just can’t get my head around the fact that Marvel lists Wolverine’s height at 5’3". I know he’s supposed to be short, but he’s not a dwarf. That just seems much too short to me. (And my opinion has nothing to do with the movie Wolverine.) Is he related to Puck? They’re both Canadian, apparently. 
Anyhoo…
Darnit…I’d hoped that this would be a discussion about undead creatures in the Marvel Comics canon.
OHOTMU all the way! It’s got the cooler acronym. 
The recent hardcover encyclopedias are, IMHO, overpriced crapola.
If they wanted to do it right, they’d update the old Official Handbooks, maybe add new art, and reissue THOSE in hardcover, or perhaps on CD-ROM. The old books were downright comprehensive, although some of the material has been rendered obsolete due to retconning.
That’s what I first though when I read the title of the thread (considering the recent discussions about the new Dawn of the Dead film, and the thread about whether zombies “poop”)…
This just in…
Check out the new Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men 2004
That X-Mansion looks pretty sweet.
I loved both series from the mid-to-late 80s. Not so enamored with their more recent incarnations. I ordered a set of Who’s Who on Ebay and it was the midt-to-late 90s version, which I wasn’t happy with at all. Too much art, too little description and background.
Understand, of course, that I’m a sourcebook freak…I put money down on most of the 80s to 90s AD&D/D&D library and rarely played. I just bought them for the reading.
The OHOTMU was the gold standard during the mid-80’s, but in hindisght it’s surprising how much is missing. I mean, there’s not even any entry for The Defenders in the Deluxe Edition, despite the fact that the book was well over 100 issues at the time. There are pages and pages about the Serpent Crown (perhaps because the Marvel 2-in-1 arc about the Crown was written by OHOTMU editor Mark Gruenwald?), but plenty of characters from Power-Man and Iron Fist are wholly absent.
Of course, there’s nothing now that even makes a pretense of comprehensiveness – at least OHOTMU gave it a shot.
–Cliffy