The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Vol. 2: Clea to Gaea

by Peter Sanderson

Provides detailed biographies and physical descriptions of all the costumed heroes and villains in Marvel Comics publications

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Nonfiction, Reference, Superheroes, Graphic Novels, Pop Culture

Paperback

First published November 1, 1986

Reviews

[Fred Klein · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a bit of this and browsed a bit, but didn't read most of it. It's just too much text for me, not enough of the comics themselves. Don't just tell me how great the comics are; show me! I would only recommend this if you are obsessed with the Marvel Universe.

[Sejong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lengthy guide to the Marvel Universe by Peter Sanderson is incredibly nostalgic to me on a personal level. I bought it on my first trip to Florida as a 11 year old and it served as my primary education in Marvel comics. Re-reading this again a decade and a half later was a real thrill.

Sanderson manages to pack some decent synopsis and gentle analysis of Marvel's greatest characters, themes and storylines into the relatively concise bursts of texts that adorn each chapter, accompanied by a fair amount of some of Marvel's most stunning artwork from the Jack Kirby era all the way to the 1990s.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this book is the fact that it was published in the '90s, a time when Spider-Man and the X-Men reigned supreme for Marvel above all else. Current Marvel staples like Iron Man, Thor and Thanos get only a scant mention, a reflection of their lesser popularity and importance at the time. In a sense then, this book captures the 1990s epoch well. It was a time when, bolstered by the popularity of Marvel cartoons and video games, Marvel's flagship franchise (the X-Men) were just about the only comic book series that mattered.

Overall this is a decent coffee table book. A nice balance between images and text, decent writing from Sanderson and a real time-capsule of a book.

[Kristiyan Bonev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to Marvel Ultimate Universe. The most important information about the most common characters. It is really a set up manual for the comics reading.

[Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

My nerd bible.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve owned this book for over 20 years, but just decided to read it. I’m glad I did. While not quite as full of revelations about the Marvel universe compared to other books on the subject, this was still very enjoyable and full of history of both the fictional characters as well as the creative folks who brought them to life. The truly wonderful part is the wealth of illustrations from the 1930s all the way the mid-1990s (when the book was published). These gorgeous pics elevates it to the 4 star status.

[Ian Massey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Large part encyclopedia, smaller part analysis, but more readable than either of those definitions sounds, this book explores the Marvel Universe from its beginnings to the mid-1990s, but mainly covering the "heavy hitters".

There's information I haven't come across before, a lot I had and, at times, a slightly irreverent tone. Best of all, though, it made me want to go back and read some of the comics.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comprehensive overview of the Marvel Universe of comic-book characters, noting key storylines and influential creators, from the company's beginning through early 1996. 'Nuff said!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

insghtful summary of the evolution of the Marvel Universe. interesting introductions to the vast aray of characters

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.
General pre-1996 knowledge of Spider-man/X-Men/Fantastic Four/Daredevil/Dr. Strange/The Avengers/and quite a few lesser know characters such as Sub-Mariner, The Original Human Torch, Man Thing, Howard the Duck etc..
It's interesting to see characters that are HUGE today because of the new Marvel movies (Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow) put onto the sidelines of the encyclopedia. I think Black Widow had one paragraph, Hawkeye had a sentence or two, Iron Man had about four pages.


Illustrations are organized but not comprehensive. The encyclopedia only touches on the main points of each characters stories.

[Nik Havert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice overview of Marvel through the late 1990's. It's full of great art and the chapters are devoted to the mainstays of the company with sidebars for some of the lesser-known characters like the western heroes. I was happy to see an entire chapter devoted to the horror characters. I was also happy to see the writer (an obvious Marvel fan) didn't shy away from how convoluted the plots of many comics became during the 1990's (especially the X-Books).

[Liston Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at how the comic book industry made it's comeback after the era of "the ten cent plague." Mild marvel fans like myself stand to learn a few things about the Marvel superheroes.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a nice nostalgic look at some of the comic characters I grew up with, well-illustrated.

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book to skim through but you really do need to read ALL the comics first