Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The original 15-volume series was published in comic book format in 1982, followed by sporadic updates.

Origin

Jim Shooter, Marvel's then editor-in-chief, conceived the idea of envisioning a guide detailing statistics much in the manner of those found upon the back of baseball cards.[1][2] 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, who used it as a working title for the anthology series Marvel Fanfare).[2] Shooter appointed Mark Gruenwald 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, Eliot R. Brown,[2]

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's shield and Spider-Man's web shooters. One issue of the series (#9) can be seen in the movie Explorers.
• 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, G.I. Joe, and the Transformers.
• 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.

Bibliography of Official Handbook series

Bibliography of other handbook titles

Reception

Lawrence Henry Apodaca reviewed the original The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe in Space Gamer 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."[80]

See also

• The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection
• List of Marvel Comics characters
• List of Marvel Comics teams and organizations
• List of Marvel Comics publications
• Official Marvel Index
• Who's Who in the DC Universe

External links

• OHOTMU at the Marvel Universe
• Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Who Watches the Watchers OHOTMU Discussion Forum
• Jeff Christiansen's Master List
• Marvel Catalog at Marvel.com