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Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Deluxe Edition, Vol. 2
Full-blown infotainment marks the halfway point of the encyclopedia of the Marvelous - highlighting members of the Avengers and the X-Men, and most of the Fantastic Four! Iron Man! Luke Cage! The Punisher! The horrors of Hydra and the menace of the Maggia! Magneto, Mystique and more! Special Feature: mapping the mysteries of Marvel's Manhattan! Collects Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Deluxe Edition #8-14.
496 pages, Paperback
First published June 14, 2006
2 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Mark Gruenwald
918 books44 followersGruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity. Before being hired by Marvel, he wrote text articles for DC Comics official fanzine, The Amazing World of DC Comics. Articles by Gruenwald include "The Martian Chronicles" (a history of the Martian Manhunter) in issue #13 and several articles on the history of the Justice League in issue #14.
In 1978 he was hired by Marvel Comics, where he remained for the rest of his career. Hired initially as an assistant editor in January 1978, Gruenwald was promoted to full editorship by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter in 1982, putting Gruenwald in charge of The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider Woman, and What If. During this period, he shared an office with writer/editor Denny O'Neil, whom Gruenwald considered a mentor.
In 1982, Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo co-wrote Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, the first limited seriespublished by Marvel Comics. As a writer, Gruenwald is best known for creating the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and his ten-year stint as the writer of Captain America during which he contributed several notable characters such as Crossbones, Diamondback and U.S. Agent. He made a deliberate effort to create villains who would be specific to Captain America, as opposed to generic foes who could as easily have been introduced in another comic.
His 60-issue run on Quasar realized Gruenwald's ambition to write his own kind of superhero. However, he considered his magnum opus to be the mid-1980s 12-issue miniseries Squadron Supreme, which told the story of an alternate universe where a group of well-intended superheroes decide that they would be best suited to run the planet
In 1978 he was hired by Marvel Comics, where he remained for the rest of his career. Hired initially as an assistant editor in January 1978, Gruenwald was promoted to full editorship by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter in 1982, putting Gruenwald in charge of The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider Woman, and What If. During this period, he shared an office with writer/editor Denny O'Neil, whom Gruenwald considered a mentor.
In 1982, Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo co-wrote Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, the first limited seriespublished by Marvel Comics. As a writer, Gruenwald is best known for creating the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and his ten-year stint as the writer of Captain America during which he contributed several notable characters such as Crossbones, Diamondback and U.S. Agent. He made a deliberate effort to create villains who would be specific to Captain America, as opposed to generic foes who could as easily have been introduced in another comic.
His 60-issue run on Quasar realized Gruenwald's ambition to write his own kind of superhero. However, he considered his magnum opus to be the mid-1980s 12-issue miniseries Squadron Supreme, which told the story of an alternate universe where a group of well-intended superheroes decide that they would be best suited to run the planet
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 23, 2010
2.5 stars. These are pretty good reference books for Marvel character backgrounds and histories. Could be done better but they are certainly superior to the version put out by DC.
April 14, 2024
I don't know. The more of this series I read, the more I am struck by how much wasted potential there is and has been in comics from the Big Two. Because of a constantly rotating bunch of editors, writers, artists, etc., there ends up being a chaotic mess of interconnection and dropped balls. Characters with really cool ideas behind them that were never well explored. Or worse, the ones who were written about extensively, but not well (Silver Surfer, I'm looking at you!).
Some of it was the time. Some of it was the sales model. Some of it was the creators themselves (Stan Lee!). Whatever the case, there's a lot of cool stuff, but most of it is lost in the noise.
I found myself playing a game. I'd look at the art, read the name, and try to guess which major character an entry was associated with. I think Spider-Man has the goofiest supporting/rogues gallery.
Anyway, if you really want to see a snapshot of where Marvel comics were at in 1986 and 87, check this out. Otherwise, if you need info on a character, the internet exists.
Some of it was the time. Some of it was the sales model. Some of it was the creators themselves (Stan Lee!). Whatever the case, there's a lot of cool stuff, but most of it is lost in the noise.
I found myself playing a game. I'd look at the art, read the name, and try to guess which major character an entry was associated with. I think Spider-Man has the goofiest supporting/rogues gallery.
Anyway, if you really want to see a snapshot of where Marvel comics were at in 1986 and 87, check this out. Otherwise, if you need info on a character, the internet exists.
April 17, 2013
Encyclopedia Superheroiana, pars secunda
Da es nur der zweite Band einer dreiteiligen, identisch aufgemachten Reihe ist, gilt alles, was ich für den ersten Teil gesagt habe, auch für den zweiten Band:
Wer schon immer mal wissen musste, wieviele Tonnen das "Ding" im Vergleich zum "Silver Surfer" heben kann, oder wie eigentlich die Geschichte des "Crimson Dynamo" war, oder einfach alles mögliche über diesen oder jeden Nebenhelden oder -bösewicht lesen will - der ist hier richtig. In einer Zeit, in der an Wikipedia noch nicht zu denken war, wurden hier die fiktionalen Eigenheiten von praktisch jedem Charakter des Marvel-Universums ausführlichst geschildert, mit Illustrationen von diversen Künstlern.
Lesen am Stück kann man das nicht, man liest ja auch nicht den Brockhaus. Zum Nachschlagen findet man die Informationen wohl heute auch im Netz; daher ist dies ein Kuriosum für Fans, und bei den Fans hauptsächlich für die Komplettisten.
Und man kann die Freundin damit beeindrucken, wie extremnerdig man ist, indem man diesen Band aus dem Regal zieht und über seinen Lieblingshelden diskutiert.
Da es nur der zweite Band einer dreiteiligen, identisch aufgemachten Reihe ist, gilt alles, was ich für den ersten Teil gesagt habe, auch für den zweiten Band:
Wer schon immer mal wissen musste, wieviele Tonnen das "Ding" im Vergleich zum "Silver Surfer" heben kann, oder wie eigentlich die Geschichte des "Crimson Dynamo" war, oder einfach alles mögliche über diesen oder jeden Nebenhelden oder -bösewicht lesen will - der ist hier richtig. In einer Zeit, in der an Wikipedia noch nicht zu denken war, wurden hier die fiktionalen Eigenheiten von praktisch jedem Charakter des Marvel-Universums ausführlichst geschildert, mit Illustrationen von diversen Künstlern.
Lesen am Stück kann man das nicht, man liest ja auch nicht den Brockhaus. Zum Nachschlagen findet man die Informationen wohl heute auch im Netz; daher ist dies ein Kuriosum für Fans, und bei den Fans hauptsächlich für die Komplettisten.
Und man kann die Freundin damit beeindrucken, wie extremnerdig man ist, indem man diesen Band aus dem Regal zieht und über seinen Lieblingshelden diskutiert.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews