Marvel Handbooks: Then and Now

March 7, 2008
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handbook_3.jpgI’m often asked by e-mail, forum postings and friends what is my most prized collected edition. That is a tuff question to answer. Should I base it on current market value and the rarity of the book? Sentimental value, favorite character or artist or writer? Or even did I get the book signed? All of these factors must be considered. When it comes down to it it’s hard to pick on true favorite, but the book that I find myself picking up and skimming through the most (these days anyway) are the Marvel Essential Handbooks.

Not exactly a storyline, but it does give the progression of the character, both familiar and obscure in the Marvel Universe. I’ve had enough of the Black and white however, and I have now decided to get the original issues bound into a very nice Hardcover. As I have stated in my podcast, the books lack color and therefore you, as the reader, are missing half the book. You NEED to see the color of the uniform, costume and body to get a full understanding of the character designs.

Now hers the kicker, I’ll do the same for the Marvel Deluxe Handbooks (including the Update ’89 series), but I plan of keeping that particular Deluxe Essential because in the back of the book Marvel added the extra pages that were included in the Color Trade Paperback editions. I’ll probably buy the Master Edition Essential, just because the original are so hard to find, not to mention the original binders (although I do have one).

Another few series I plan on having bound are what I like to call the Marvel’s Licensed Properties Handbooks. These include Conan the Barbarian, The Transformers and GI Joe. Conan has the most useful information, having had the luxury of a rich history, while Transformers and GI Joe were relatively new with not only comic book series but also their respective TV cartoon shows.

You may have heard that Marvel is republishing their 2004-2007 series of Handbooks in to the Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe A To Z Premiere Hardcovers. When all is completed this will be a set of 12 books, retailing for $25 and each will be approximately 240 pages. What’s different about this format from the original book is that Marvel will be filing everything in Alphabetical order. This is curious to me because a few characters have been featured in multiple books like Daredevil, Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four. Also the book will have updated information right up to the events of Secret Invasion. I have these original books to and have been mulling over weather or not to get these books bound (if I did I would probably do by year published). I guess I worry about that another day. But in the meantime, I think these new Handbooks will be available for a very long time and would hope that Marvel will release a yearly Handbook updating us all as to various events (including a full checklist) and character biographies.

Then there is DC Comics and their Who’s Who line of books. Yes, I’m getting those bound too, but I’ll save that for another day.

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