If you are a comic book reader or comic book collector, you should not pass up the opportunity to pick up one of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe issues. Typically, you can find these in dollar boxes or you can purchase them in trade form (look here). These issues (or trades) can give you a greater understanding of the characters you have grown to care deeply about.
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition
What Was the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe?
Original published in 1983, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe was a series of issues which explored characters in encyclopedic form. A picture or pictures would be given along with the origin, history, and basic information of each character. Marvel introduced a Deluxe Edition to the series a few years later with more information, an Update ’89 a few years later which told about the changes since the Deluxe Edition, and a few other editions over the next 15 (or so) years. DC Comics introduced the Who’s Who? books, but they were not as detailed as what Marvel introduced and did not give the amount of detail to low-level characters which the competitor did.
Know the History
Most of the characters which are making an impact in the Marvel Universe today were around in the 1980s when the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe was originally introduced. Do you know all of their origins? Do you know who their early enemies were? You will learn the answers to these questions within the printed pages of these issues.
How They Have Changed
I love to see how characters have changed over the years. In the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, you can see how outfits have changed dramatically in the last few decades. In some cases, such as with Doctor Strange, you will find that the costumes sometimes barely change at all. In many cases, characters will have gained or lost powers.
Who is That?
There are characters which made impacts in the 1970s and 1980s which have barely been heard from since. Are you familiar with the Serpent Society? How about Angar the Screamer? Do you know how the Interloper fit into the Marvel Universe? You will be exposed to dozens, if not hundreds, of characters you never knew about before.
Who is Coming Next Month?
Marvel likes to go through their archives and bring characters out which have not been seen for years to mix things up. Note how Thanos, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ultron have all been dusted off recently. If you have a copy of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, you can know something about the character before many of your friends do. In many cases, the write-up in these issues are larger than those on Wikipedia or even on Marvel’s own wikia.
If you are at a comic book convention, check out the dollar boxes for these issues. You will be glad you did. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe will open up doors in the Marvel Universe which you never knew existed.
