The Marvel Comics Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to the Characters of the Marvel Universe

click here for more details, find new or used items	Inc. Dorling Kindersley, Marvel Comics Group Our price £18.03 (£20.03) New from £13.06 Used from £11.40 Pages: 352 (Hardcover) ISBN: 0756623588 Pub: Dorling Kindersley Australia Pub date: 2007-02 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9800

Reader Reviews:

Excellent resource for the serious fan (9/10 people found this helpful)

I've been wanting to buy this for some time. It's relatively expensive and I didn't know if it justified the money.
One day, I bought it on a whim and all I can say is that I haven't regretted it a bit!
The book is quite extensive, covering hundreds of characters. There are some errors, but that's understandable on such wide-ranging tome. The art is great, obviously.
This made me remember characters from stories I read decades ago, that were long forgotten. Awesome.

DO NOT BOTHER WITH THIS PIECE OF CRAP (14/26 people found this helpful)

Just bought the Marvel Encyclopedia, after reading the DC Encyclopedia and the OHOTMU and what can I say other than it was a waste of money. There are numorous inaccuracies in his book, like mistaking Captain Britain for Maelstorm and Jean Grey for Emma Frost. Most of the Marvel entries have not been updated despite the fact that some of the most important Marvel story line happend in the last year like the House of M. For example, Emma Frost's occupation is listed as Headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy. She's been with the X-Men for a considerable time now. According to the Encyclopedia, she is teaching Generation X. There is no mention of her relationship with Cyclops or the fact that she has a secondary mutation that allows her to turn to a diamond form. Anyone reading the Encyclopedia to get caught up on the Marvel U is going to be in for a surprise when they pick up the comics.
You'd be better off picking up the OHOTMU or the new updates which are out in comic stores.

Great, now I have to buy the DC Encyclopedia too! (6/11 people found this helpful)

I've been waiting for this to come out for quite some time and I haven't been dissappointed.
To compress very-nearly 50 years of history and continuity into a managable volume was always going to be a struggle, but I think the contributors have just about pulled it off. Granted, some of the characters' histories feel a little too compressed, with the editors obviously concentrating on the origins of each character rather than the ensuing adventures. This of course makes complete sense, unless you want the book to be 10,000 pages long!
Overall a damn fine effort that should reside on every comic book fans' coffee table.
Like the title of this review says, I now have the hankering to buy the DC edition of this series, which is probably the best review this book could have...

Similar Products

The DC Comics Encyclopedia

The Marvel Vault: A Museum-in-a-book with Rare Collectibles from the World of Marvel

How to Draw Comics the "Marvel" Way

Ghost Rider Visual Guide

X-Men the Ultimate Guide: Fully Updated for the Release of X-Men 3 (X Men)

Categories

Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories: