The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' is an
encyclopedic
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
guide
A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom.
Travel and recreation
Expl ...
which details the
fictional universe
A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...
featured in
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
publications. The original 15-volume series was published in
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
format in 1982, followed by sporadic updates.
Origin
Jim Shooter
James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...
, Marvel's then
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
, conceived of the idea,
[DeFalco, Tom. "Bullpen Bulletins Special," Marvel Comics cover-dated March 1984.] envisioning a guide detailing statistics much in the manner of those found upon the backs of
baseball cards
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, sta ...
.
[Peter Sanderson (2005-01-28)]
"Comics in Context #70: Elektra Lite: Superheroes A to Z."
/ref> This initial project was to be called ''The Marvel Super-Specifications Handbook'' (the eventual title incorporating the term "Marvel Universe" was appropriated from Al Milgrom
Allen L. Milgrom (born March 6, 1950) is an American comic book writer, penciller, inker and editor, primarily for Marvel Comics. He is known for his 10-year run as editor of ''Marvel Fanfare''; his long involvement as writer, penciler, and inker ...
, who had used it as a working title for the anthology series ''Marvel Fanfare
''Marvel Fanfare'' was an anthology comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe.
Volume one
''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and settings ...
''). Shooter appointed Mark Gruenwald
Mark Eugene Gruenwald (; June 18, 1953 – August 12, 1996) was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler known for his long association with Marvel Comics.
Biography
Early career
Gruenwald got his start in comics fa ...
editor of the project, and Gruenwald developed the project to include all aspects of the Marvel Universe, although he noted it was not comprehensive. In addition to Gruenwald, contributing writers on the initial volume were Marvel editors Mike Carlin
Michael Carlin (born October 6, 1958) is an American comic book writer, editor, and executive. He has worked principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics since the 1970s.
Early life
Carlin attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, ...
, Eliot R. Brown, and Peter Sanderson
Peter Sanderson Jr. (born April 25, 1952) In print issue #1650 (February 2009), p. 107 is a comic book critic and historian, as well as an instructor/lecturer in the New York area concerning the study of graphic novels/comic books as literature.
...
. Josef Rubinstein
Josef "Joe" Rubinstein (born 4 June 1958) is a comic book artist and inker, most associated with inking Marvel Comics' ''The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' and the 1982 four-issue ''Wolverine'' miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank ...
was brought on by Gruenwald to be the sole inker
The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production.
The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...
of the entire 20-year project because he felt Rubinstein was best able to make the characters easily recognizable and to subvert his own style to that of the handbook's various penciller
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...
s.
Critics of the ''Handbook'' have argued that the level of detail within the guide effectively limited the ability of writers to innovate, a charge Gruenwald dismissed, reputedly stating that the information presented was only the most recent data and was subject to change.[Scott Tipton (2004-09-15)]
"Gone Too Soon: Remembering Da Gru."
Sanderson, one of the writers of the original guide, noted that "Mark sought to make the Marvel characters' super-powers as firm a basis in real science as possible. After the first version of the ''Handbook'', Mark decided that some of the explanations had grown too complicated, and asked me to simplify them."
The ''OHOTMU'' detailed the more significant characters, items and locations in the Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
, itemizing them into individual entries. Individual entries usually consisted of:
* A frontal full-body view of the character.
* Prose text describing the character's origin, powers, and other abilities and unique traits, as well as "statistics" such as place of birth, former aliases, height, weight, hair and eye color and so forth. The original edition opted only to describe the "origins" of characters (how they acquired their powers), instead focusing heavily on detailed explanations for how those powers functioned. In the ''Book of the Dead'' supplement, however, the handbook provided entire "histories" for the deceased characters, a trend which was then adopted for the main body of the ''Deluxe Edition'', allowing the entire life and career of the characters to be covered. Major important pieces of equipment were also given technical illustrations with breakdowns of their functions and features.
* Example images of the character in action, taken directly from the comics themselves.
In the original, characters were listed at one character to a page, although minor characters were sometimes listed at two to a page and major characters would occasionally receive more than one page. In the ''Deluxe Edition'', however, every character received at least one page, with significant characters receiving up to 3-5 pages. Both editions had wraparound covers that could be linked together to form a giant poster. In the late 1980s, a poster made up of the first twelve issues of the original ''Handbook'' was released. For the poster, several characters were added and others received up-to-date looks.
In the ''Master Edition'' (1990–1993) this changed and every character was allocated a double-sided loose leaf page. Later versions allocate characters different lengths of entry depending on their history and importance.
Publication history
There have been several versions of the concept since it was first published in 1982:
* 1982-1984: a 15-issue series. Issues #13-14 are titled the ''Book of the Dead and Inactive'', featuring characters and groups who were, at the time, believed dead or inactive. Issue #15 is titled the ''Book of Weapons, Hardware, and Paraphernalia'', featuring technical drawings of equipment such as Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
's shield and Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
's web shooters. One issue of the series (#9) can be seen in the movie ''Explorers
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
''.
* 1985-1988: a 20-issue ''Deluxe Edition'' is published; technical drawings of equipment are incorporated into individual characters' entries. Although numerous entries reference an Appendix, the Deluxe Edition Appendix is not published. This run was also collected in trade paperback format, in a series of 10 128-page volumes. The trade edition also feature updates of many characters. Supplements for licensed properties are published, including Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...
, G.I. Joe
''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...
, and the Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...
.
* 1989: An additional eight-issue supplement to the ''Deluxe Edition'', denoted ''Update '89'' on the cover, is published. This series covers primarily new characters and is notable for including numerous non-superhumans. This series also sported wraparound covers but, unlike previous versions, these did not link together.
* 1990-1993: A 36-issue ''Master Edition'' series is published, with each issue a shrink-wrapped pack of loose-leaf pages. A three-ring vinyl binder was also released for the pages to be inserted into.
* 2004-2005: Themed one-shot supplements are published, such as ''Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe: X-Men 2004''. Other entries in this themed, subtitled series include ''Spider-Man 2004''; ''Avengers 2004''; ''Hulk 2004''; ''Daredevil 2004''; ''Wolverine 2004''; ''Golden Age 2004''; ''Women of Marvel 2005'' and ''Avengers 2005''.
* 2006: A new 12-issue series, the ''All-New OHOTMU A-Z'', was published featuring new characters. A series of themed one-shot issues was also published in the same style as the 2004-2005 books, including ''Civil War Files'' which tied in with Marvel's ''Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
'' crossover series. The original ''Handbook'', original 20-issue ''Deluxe Edition'', and the ''Update '89'' edition were also reprinted in five '' Essential'' volumes.
* 2007: Four ''A-Z Update'' issues, six themed issues (including ''World War Hulk: Gamma Files'' and ''X-Men: Messiah Complex - Mutant Files'') and the first issue of the ''Marvel Atlas'' are published.
* 2008: All material from 2004-2007 is updated and printed in the ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Premiere HC'' set, divided into 14 volumes (each containing 240 pages). The second issue of the ''Marvel Atlas'' is published. Other publications included ''Ultimate Secrets'', ''All-New Iron Manual'', ''Secret Invasion: Skrulls!'', and ''Amazing Spider-Man: Brand New Day Yearbook''.
* 2009: The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Premiere HC'' set continued publication. A sister project to the ''Handbook'', the ''Official Index to the Marvel Universe'' monthly series, began publication in January. Other forthcoming titles include ''Dark Reign Files'' and ''Wolverine: Weapon X Files''.
Bibliography of ''Official Handbook'' series
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol. I
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol. II (Deluxe Edition)
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol. III (Master Edition)
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol. IV
Bibliography of other handbook titles
Gamer's Handbook of the Marvel Universe
Marvel Encyclopedias
Marvel Fact Files
Marvel Fact Files are a series of encyclopedic guides which detail the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The magazine series is published in the U.K. by Eaglemoss Publications starting in 2013.
Reception
Lawrence Henry Apodaca reviewed the original ''The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' in ''Space Gamer
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
'' No. 64. Apodaca commented that "Non-comic collectors should be able to find copies at stores which carry back issues - and should look for them. They are a valuable aid to science fiction or superhero RPGs."
See also
* The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection is a magazine series published by Eaglemoss Publications from 2005 to 2012, through which consumers can collect hand-painted lead figurines of the Marvel Comics characters. The figurines are produced at a 1:21 ...
* List of Marvel Comics characters
This is a list of Marvel Universe fictional characters which were created for and are owned by Marvel Comics. Licensed or creator-owned characters ( G.I. Joe, Godzilla, Groo the Wanderer, Men in Black, Conan the Barbarian, Mighty Morphin Power R ...
* List of Marvel Comics teams and organizations
The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them.
0–9 198
A A-Force
A-Next
A.I. Army
Because of his revelation that he is now a simulated A ...
* List of Marvel Comics publications
Lists of Marvel Comics publications cover publications by Marvel Comics, a publisher of American comic books and related media. The Walt Disney Company acquired the parent company, Marvel Entertainment, in 2009. The lists are organized alphabetic ...
* Official Marvel Index
The Official Marvel Index is a series of comic books released by Marvel Comics which featured synopses of several Marvel series. The books were largely compiled by George Olshevsky (who was for fourteen years the sole owner of a complete collection ...
* ''Who's Who in the DC Universe
''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' (1985–87), usually referred to simply as ''Who's Who'', is the umbrella title for a number of comic book series which DC Comics published to catalogue the wide variety of fictional cha ...
''
References
External links
OHOTMU
at the Marvel Universe
Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
Who Watches the Watchers OHOTMU Discussion Forum
Marvel Catalog at Marvel.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe
Marvel Comics titles
1982 comics debuts
Marvel Comics encyclopedias
Magazines about comics
20th-century encyclopedias
21st-century encyclopedias