This is a new feature that I’m
posting on my blog and on the Comixfan site which I think will be of interest
to people. For the blog, each volume
will get a separate post. For the Comixfan site, all posts will appear at the
top for ease of references, with additions noted in the replies below. Illustrations always in colour unless
otherwise noted.
The Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe (first series) 1983-1984
Number of
Issues: 15 (32 pages plus covers)
Covers: Front
and back covers in a single image, first 12 issues combine to form a poster
that is three issues across and four down. #13-14 for a poster that is two
issues across. #15 is by itself. Every solo character with an entry depicted
(for #15, every wielder of a device depicted).
Colour backgrounds for all.
Formatting: The
inside front covers for all list the contents and credits.
#1-12: The body
usually covered all but the last two non-cover pages. Most entries were 1 page, though quite a few
were ½, with two ½ page entries in a row filed alphabetically. On rare
occasions entries took up 2 pages The last two non-cover pages were usually for
Alien Races (all but Human Races ¼-page each). #12 had only 6 instead of 8
races, and they were slightly earlier in the book due to the Appendix. The
Appendix, usually in the inside back cover was usually a full page of capsule
entries. In #1 it was only a ½-page at
the bottom due to a ½-page Editorial at the top of the inside back cover. In
#12, aside from the inside back cover (other than a small Special Announcements
Section at the bottom of that page), there was an addition 1 ½ pages of
Appendix entries.
#13-14 (Book of the Dead
& Inactive): The main section covered all but the last four
non-cover pages (#13) and all the non-cover pages (#14). Page counts remained
typically ½-1 page. There was a four page section on defunct teams in #13. The
inside back covers were basically a full-page discussion on an aspect of death
(the top of #13’s inside back cover has an editor’s note)
#15 (Book of Weapons,
Hardware, and Paraphernalia): Non-cover pages were typically about
½-page each (a few 1-pages). Inside back cover had entries on Adamantium and
Vibranium that were close to ½-page, though instead of illos of these there was
an Editor’s Note with ID card drawings for Avengers and SHIELD.
Interior Art:
New main illos. Some entries have a secondary illo taken from another series
(none in #13-14). Team entries are
usually headshots with no other illustrations. Locations typically have
maps. Some maps and diagrams have
captions that are typeset while others are hand lettered. Colour backgrounds
(this would not be used again until 2004).
Text Categories
(*= not for all entries; categories only used once or twice not noted):
Main Entries (Solo)(#1-14)
ENTRY NAME IN CAPS
Real Name
Occupation
Identity
Legal status
Former aliases*
Other current aliases*
Code-name in own language*
Place of birth
Place of death (#13-14)
Marital status
Known relatives
Group affiliation
Base of operations
First appearance (First modern
appearance for characters who first appeared prior to Fantastic Four#1)
Final appearance (#13-14)
Origin (#1-12)/History (#13-14)
Height
Weight
Eyes
Hair
Unusual features*
Powers
Weapons*
Legal status covers both location
and criminal record. Identity refers to if secret or not. Early issues in the Origin section would
cover how they got their powers and in some cases key early activities after
becoming active. Later issues were more
likely to go into more in depth into the careers of characters covered but that
was not a hard and fast rule.
#12-13 focussed on deceased
characters and therefore the Origin category was replaced by History and gave a
snapshot of their entire career up to their deaths or time inactive. Subsequent Handbooks have for the most part
stuck with the term History to cover back stories (Master Edition is a notable
exception).
In cases where characters first
appeared prior to Fantastic Four #1, only their first modern (i.e. post
Fantastic Four#1) appearance is noted, not their true first appearance.
See the Appendix notes below for a
discussion of the Roman numerals that appear in some #13-14 entries.
Main Entries
(Teams/Groups)(#1-14)
ENTRY NAME IN CAPS
First appearance* (later issues
only)
It was very uncommon in the early
issues to note the First appearance of teams. With rare exceptions, issue 9
appears to be the starting point and even then this was done inconsistently at
first.
For those team/group entries to
have headshots (a majority), they used the following format, which continues to
this day:
HEADSHOT NAME IN CAPS
(Real name/alter ego in
parentheses)
First appearance*
Active*
Main Entries
(#15)
ENTRY NAME IN CAPS
Description (untitled)
Alien Races
categories
ENTRY NAME IN CAPS
Origin Galaxy
Star System
Planet
Habitat
Gravity
Atmosphere
Population
Physical Characteristics
(Type/Eyes/Fingers/Toes/Skin color/Average height)
Special adaptations
Type of government
Level of technology
Cultural traits
Names of representatives
First appearance
The more prominent alien races
(Kree, Shi’ar, Skrulls) followed the team/group format (no headshots) and were
in the main body rather than the Alien Races section.
Appendix
entries
ENTRY NAME IN CAPS
Real name/aliases if known in
parenthesis (untitled).
In same paragraph as above, History
(untitled)
In same paragraph above: First
appearance and where died.
In some cases there would be a
mixing of different characters of the same name, in which case after the first
character was covered, the next version of the character would be covered in
the same paragraph.
In a few cases an entry was just a
cross-reference.
In cases in the Appendix and in
characters in #13-14, characters sharing the same name as another character
would be noted by a Roman numeral, with the first published version of a
character getting a I, the second a II, etc. (as opposed to the Deluxe and
later versions, in which the chronological rather than published earlier
version would get the earlier Roman numeral.
This is the only series to have a
general Appendix, those appendices for specific purposes would appear in later
volumes.
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