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7/09/2020 1:35 am  #31


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

One more question: For Art Credits, why is the pencilller but not the inker credited? Some inkers have pretty distinct styles in their own right (Frank Springer, Vince Colletta being two examples).

Partially it is a space issue. Adding more text to the page would mean removing space somewhere else - so maybe smaller images, maybe less history text. It's not as simple as adding a single name per image. Sometimes there are multiple inkers per issue that the art came from, and pinning down who did what is tricky. It's not entirely uncommon for the credited inkers to have actually shared the inking with others who went uncredited. It's also not uncommon for art to be re-inked digitally for the handbooks. So while we'd love to be able to give credit where it is due - and inkers certainly do deserve recognition for what they bring to the finished product - it's unfortunately not practical to do so here.

 

8/20/2020 6:22 am  #32


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

One question that just occurred to me: Is it possible (though unlikely due to the sliding timescale and other factors) that one of the realities set in the future will be redesignated 616/Prime, because we catch up to that reality's point in time and it turns out that they never diverge? I don't think, for example that the main 2099 timeline has diverged as yet.


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8/20/2020 11:00 am  #33


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

One question that just occurred to me: Is it possible (though unlikely due to the sliding timescale and other factors) that one of the realities set in the future will be redesignated 616/Prime, because we catch up to that reality's point in time and it turns out that they never diverge? I don't think, for example that the main 2099 timeline has diverged as yet.

In theory, yes.

 

8/24/2020 8:36 am  #34


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Here's a fun question, partly tongue in cheek: Can a writer declare something to be canon on Twitter, or can only editorial do so? The writer of Thor just (playfully) declared a cartoon where Mr. Rogers lifts Mjolnir as canon.
https://www.cbr.com/thor-mr-rogers-lifts-mjolnir/


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8/24/2020 10:40 am  #35


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Loki wrote:

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

One question that just occurred to me: Is it possible (though unlikely due to the sliding timescale and other factors) that one of the realities set in the future will be redesignated 616/Prime, because we catch up to that reality's point in time and it turns out that they never diverge? I don't think, for example that the main 2099 timeline has diverged as yet.

In theory, yes.

Marvel seems to have hinted that 2099 is in fact THE future of 616.
https://www.cbr.com/marvel-officially-reveals-2099-true-future/
https://screenrant.com/marvel-comic-universe-2099-future-canon/
I'm doubtful however that Marvel will actually stick to that constraint over the next 79 years of publishing or that their comics in 2099 will actually resemble Marvel 2099.

Yeah, even in 2099 I bet it will still only have been about 15 years since the FF's orignal rocket trip! 

Last edited by zuckyd1 (8/24/2020 10:44 am)

 

8/24/2020 12:07 pm  #36


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Here's a fun question, partly tongue in cheek: Can a writer declare something to be canon on Twitter, or can only editorial do so? The writer of Thor just (playfully) declared a cartoon where Mr. Rogers lifts Mjolnir as canon.
https://www.cbr.com/thor-mr-rogers-lifts-mjolnir/

Short answer: No, a writer's twitter comment can't declare something canon.
Longer answer: Writers and editorial can provide "word of God" comments on stuff, clarifying things that are confusing. However, twitter isn't the best place for anyone to do so, as the limited word count kills nuance, and there's no oversight by other parties to confirm whether someone's off the cuff statement, which might be a jest, is actually official or not. Obviously a writer can get stuff made canon by including it in a comic, but in that instance there is oversight by editorial, and even there it's not always definite it is canon - mistakes can still happen (the female Ghost Rider being given the wrong surname, Blaze, for example). Obviously who the person making the statement is has an impact on whether it is likely canon or not; as a senior editor, for example,. Tom Brevoort's twitter comments on what is and isn't canon have more weight than most, though again, even he can get something wrong. And, of course, nobody is immune from retcons. Something might be canon, only to stop being canon.
 

 

8/24/2020 12:10 pm  #37


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

zuckyd1 wrote:

Loki wrote:

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

One question that just occurred to me: Is it possible (though unlikely due to the sliding timescale and other factors) that one of the realities set in the future will be redesignated 616/Prime, because we catch up to that reality's point in time and it turns out that they never diverge? I don't think, for example that the main 2099 timeline has diverged as yet.

In theory, yes.

Marvel seems to have hinted that 2099 is in fact THE future of 616.
https://www.cbr.com/marvel-officially-reveals-2099-true-future/
https://screenrant.com/marvel-comic-universe-2099-future-canon/
I'm doubtful however that Marvel will actually stick to that constraint over the next 79 years of publishing or that their comics in 2099 will actually resemble Marvel 2099.

Yeah, even in 2099 I bet it will still only have been about 15 years since the FF's orignal rocket trip! 

Yes, at the moment the stance appears to be that 2099 is 616's actual future. The next question should then be, which 2099? Because the original 2099 had a definite end to Spider-Man 2099's story, and that's not on track anymore thanks to him spending time in the modern era. 

And as you say, I doubt they'll be able to hold to that being the definite future over the next 79 years. New writers and new editors will come in, and may have different plans. 

 

8/24/2020 1:32 pm  #38


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Loki wrote:

Writers and editorial can provide "word of God" comments on stuff, clarifying things that are confusing. 

For example:

 

8/24/2020 3:46 pm  #39


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

zuckyd1 wrote:

Loki wrote:

Writers and editorial can provide "word of God" comments on stuff, clarifying things that are confusing. 

For example:

Yes. In reference to all those people who insist that Marvel has its own Omniverse separate from other companies' fictional realities, and then cite their proof to be writers who use Omniverse in ways that support this (e.g. when they should be saying multiverse), I refer them to Al Ewing's statement above and the wisdom of the man below:

 

9/21/2020 10:46 am  #40


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Is it only me or we can't connect to the forum via a cell phone ?

 

9/21/2020 10:48 am  #41


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Why don't we get a LGY numbering on the next handbooks ?
I mean there is nothing more representative of a legacy than the handbooks, no ?

 

9/21/2020 12:33 pm  #42


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

RVcousin wrote:

Why don't we get a LGY numbering on the next handbooks ?
I mean there is nothing more representative of a legacy than the handbooks, no ?

No idea. As with scheduling, that kind of thing isn't in the remit of the handbook writers.

 

9/21/2020 4:57 pm  #43


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

RVcousin wrote:

Is it only me or we can't connect to the forum via a cell phone ?

That's annoying if this is an issue. On Facebook someone with a cell phone did test out Boardhost to ensure people with phones could access the site. I  do know that the site sometimes goes down for a few minutes. Could you have tried connecting during one of those down times?


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9/23/2020 1:45 pm  #44


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

RVcousin wrote:

Is it only me or we can't connect to the forum via a cell phone ?

That's annoying if this is an issue. On Facebook someone with a cell phone did test out Boardhost to ensure people with phones could access the site. I  do know that the site sometimes goes down for a few minutes. Could you have tried connecting during one of those down times?

It works fine on my iPhone.

 

9/23/2020 4:11 pm  #45


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

zuckyd1 wrote:

It works fine on my iPhone.

That's good to know. I'll definitely look into anything that affects multiple users, but if most people can access it, it's likely beyond what Boardhost can do anything about.


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9/25/2020 8:22 am  #46


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

RVcousin wrote:

Why don't we get a LGY numbering on the next handbooks ?
I mean there is nothing more representative of a legacy than the handbooks, no ?

Just from the POV of another reader, one tricky thing here with Legacy numbering is there are a number of borderline cases. Do the hardcovers count? While heavily rewritten overall some profiles do have minimal or no changes. If yes, do the softcovers count due to the Appendices? What about the Encyclopedia series that immediately preceeded the modern era, and which is mostly Handbook-esque, and if so do you count the Hulk book, which does its own thing? What about Saga/Handbook combos such as Fear itself: Fellowship of Fear? Or New Avengers: Most Wanted, which is a cross between a Handbook and a Files book? Or Annihilation: Nova Corps Files, which is generally considered a Files book but does have plenty of stats? Or Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica, which has different categories? I suspect that as fun as it would be to have legacy numbering, we'll never see it due to all the special cases.

 

Last edited by Andy E. Nystrom (9/25/2020 8:23 am)


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11/05/2020 7:37 pm  #47


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Since I'm a big fan of mutants and know that the Handbooks have given names to many, many interesting minor characters over the decades, I thought I'd inquire if the Handbook writers and/or Marvel in general have names on file for the following very distinctive-looking characters:

* The rodent-like guy with radar dish ears from Emplate's Hellions. The Appendix calls him "Mole," not to be confused with the Morlock. I noticed the Handbooks named the other unnamed member (Nocturne), but not this guy.

* The "board members" of Clan Akkaba, aside from Frederick Slade, who turn Chamber into a Horseman. In particular, the two snazzily-dressed gents (brothers? father and son?) who seem to have inherited a bit more of Apocalypse's physical peculiarities than the others.

* The insect-human girl who was murdered by the U-Men for her wings in the Morrison Annual. Killer design, gets a big dramatic intro panel, and then promptly dies offscreen.

* The huge Michelin Man lookalike who served as Gorgon's chief legbreaker in the Wolverine arc that introduced him. Was thinking about him due to his boss getting a great deal more prominent recently.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

11/06/2020 7:27 am  #48


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

Since I'm a big fan of mutants and know that the Handbooks have given names to many, many interesting minor characters over the decades, I thought I'd inquire if the Handbook writers and/or Marvel in general have names on file for the following very distinctive-looking characters:

* The rodent-like guy with radar dish ears from Emplate's Hellions. The Appendix calls him "Mole," not to be confused with the Morlock. I noticed the Handbooks named the other unnamed member (Nocturne), but not this guy.

* The "board members" of Clan Akkaba, aside from Frederick Slade, who turn Chamber into a Horseman. In particular, the two snazzily-dressed gents (brothers? father and son?) who seem to have inherited a bit more of Apocalypse's physical peculiarities than the others.

* The insect-human girl who was murdered by the U-Men for her wings in the Morrison Annual. Killer design, gets a big dramatic intro panel, and then promptly dies offscreen.

* The huge Michelin Man lookalike who served as Gorgon's chief legbreaker in the Wolverine arc that introduced him. Was thinking about him due to his boss getting a great deal more prominent recently.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Don't think the rodent guy has been named in any handbooks. Unsure about the others, but I'll check with the team.

 

11/06/2020 7:48 am  #49


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Loki wrote:

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

Since I'm a big fan of mutants and know that the Handbooks have given names to many, many interesting minor characters over the decades, I thought I'd inquire if the Handbook writers and/or Marvel in general have names on file for the following very distinctive-looking characters:

* The rodent-like guy with radar dish ears from Emplate's Hellions. The Appendix calls him "Mole," not to be confused with the Morlock. I noticed the Handbooks named the other unnamed member (Nocturne), but not this guy.

* The "board members" of Clan Akkaba, aside from Frederick Slade, who turn Chamber into a Horseman. In particular, the two snazzily-dressed gents (brothers? father and son?) who seem to have inherited a bit more of Apocalypse's physical peculiarities than the others.

* The insect-human girl who was murdered by the U-Men for her wings in the Morrison Annual. Killer design, gets a big dramatic intro panel, and then promptly dies offscreen.

* The huge Michelin Man lookalike who served as Gorgon's chief legbreaker in the Wolverine arc that introduced him. Was thinking about him due to his boss getting a great deal more prominent recently.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Don't think the rodent guy has been named in any handbooks. Unsure about the others, but I'll check with the team.

Thank you! Eager to hear back!

 

12/03/2020 9:44 am  #50


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

In honor of King in Black, here's a new question.

Marvel has a whole lot of cosmic beings representing entropy, the death of the universe, and stuff like that. Oblivion, the Rot, the Hunger, Mikaboshi, the Griever, Black Winter, and the one at center stage right now, Knull. That's probably not even all of them. This is obviously because this is simply a cool occupation for a "superboss" character to have, but it's become a running joke among fans that there's almost inexplicably so many of these evil gods with basically identical functions.

Is there any canonical connection between all of them? I recall an issue a few years back that implied Oblivion and Mikaboshi are on some level the same being, but are we to take that as true for all of them?

Last edited by Pinball_Lizard (12/03/2020 9:47 am)

 

12/04/2020 10:43 am  #51


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

In honor of King in Black, here's a new question.

Marvel has a whole lot of cosmic beings representing entropy, the death of the universe, and stuff like that. Oblivion, the Rot, the Hunger, Mikaboshi, the Griever, Black Winter, and the one at center stage right now, Knull. That's probably not even all of them. This is obviously because this is simply a cool occupation for a "superboss" character to have, but it's become a running joke among fans that there's almost inexplicably so many of these evil gods with basically identical functions.

Is there any canonical connection between all of them? I recall an issue a few years back that implied Oblivion and Mikaboshi are on some level the same being, but are we to take that as true for all of them?

I'm not personally aware of any confirmed link between them, any more than the various death gods are directly linked to Death, but I've asked the other handbook writers just in case.

 

12/12/2020 8:06 pm  #52


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

And I thought of another one about evil cosmic entities. Is the One Below All from Ewing's Immortal Hulk intended to be the same character as the vanished original ruler of Hell mentioned in Gillen's Journey into Mystery?

 

12/12/2020 11:44 pm  #53


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

And I thought of another one about evil cosmic entities. Is the One Below All from Ewing's Immortal Hulk intended to be the same character as the vanished original ruler of Hell mentioned in Gillen's Journey into Mystery?

I think that's a "they might be one and the same, but nothing has been shown to confirm it to be the case."

 

12/14/2020 6:37 pm  #54


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Thank you for all the info you've given me!

 

12/22/2020 9:13 am  #55


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

The handbook team has finally had time to get back to me with answers for some of the queries raised on recent books, so I'll be reposting those responses.

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

Since I'm a big fan of mutants and know that the Handbooks have given names to many, many interesting minor characters over the decades, I thought I'd inquire if the Handbook writers and/or Marvel in general have names on file for the following very distinctive-looking characters:

* The rodent-like guy with radar dish ears from Emplate's Hellions. The Appendix calls him "Mole," not to be confused with the Morlock. I noticed the Handbooks named the other unnamed member (Nocturne), but not this guy.

* The "board members" of Clan Akkaba, aside from Frederick Slade, who turn Chamber into a Horseman. In particular, the two snazzily-dressed gents (brothers? father and son?) who seem to have inherited a bit more of Apocalypse's physical peculiarities than the others.

* The insect-human girl who was murdered by the U-Men for her wings in the Morrison Annual. Killer design, gets a big dramatic intro panel, and then promptly dies offscreen.

* The huge Michelin Man lookalike who served as Gorgon's chief legbreaker in the Wolverine arc that introduced him. Was thinking about him due to his boss getting a great deal more prominent recently.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

None of these characters were featured in any of the profiles in the X of Swords Handbook, so there was no opportunity for us to provide names to them. Until a profile that references one of these characters comes up we won't be able to do so, unfortunately. Hopefully a story or profile will reveal their names someday!

 

12/22/2020 9:13 am  #56


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

In honor of King in Black, here's a new question.

Marvel has a whole lot of cosmic beings representing entropy, the death of the universe, and stuff like that. Oblivion, the Rot, the Hunger, Mikaboshi, the Griever, Black Winter, and the one at center stage right now, Knull. That's probably not even all of them. This is obviously because this is simply a cool occupation for a "superboss" character to have, but it's become a running joke among fans that there's almost inexplicably so many of these evil gods with basically identical functions.

Is there any canonical connection between all of them? I recall an issue a few years back that implied Oblivion and Mikaboshi are on some level the same being, but are we to take that as true for all of them?

Unfortunately, this isn't something the OHOTMU staff would be able to answer without working on a "gods of entropy" profile, or some such. Hopefully, someone in editorial or a series writer will tell a story that resolves your question some day!

 

12/28/2020 4:32 pm  #57


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

I have a question regarding Avengers membership. In Avengers #1 (2010), it opens with Captain America asking asking characters if they want to join the Avengers. The next 2 pages depict various characters agreeing (until it gets to Wonder Man). All the characters shown ended up as part of  one of the Avengers teams or something officially connected to them, such as Avengers Academy. However, the members of the "Young Avengers" were included, and yet unlike the others, were not considered members of Avengers until much later. Why was that?

 

12/29/2020 5:32 am  #58


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

Sidney Osinga wrote:

I have a question regarding Avengers membership. In Avengers #1 (2010), it opens with Captain America asking asking characters if they want to join the Avengers. The next 2 pages depict various characters agreeing (until it gets to Wonder Man). All the characters shown ended up as part of  one of the Avengers teams or something officially connected to them, such as Avengers Academy. However, the members of the "Young Avengers" were included, and yet unlike the others, were not considered members of Avengers until much later. Why was that?

Steve Rogers asked if they were interested in being on a team in Avengers (2010) #1 but before the plan to bring them in officially could take effect, the kids’ actions in Children’s Crusade brought the offer into question. However, by Children’s Crusade #9 they had proven themselves, removed doubt of their worthiness, so Cap finally made it official. 

 

12/29/2020 6:16 pm  #59


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

We know that Marvel Multiverse reality numbers are assigned by such groups as the Time Variance Authority, the Timebreakers, and Merlyn's agents. Do we know the source of numerical designations for realities outside the Multiverse (Ultraverse, Shadowline, etc.)?

 

12/30/2020 3:39 am  #60


Re: The Official Handbooks General Q&A Thread

zuckyd1 wrote:

We know that Marvel Multiverse reality numbers are assigned by such groups as the Time Variance Authority, the Timebreakers, and Merlyn's agents. Do we know the source of numerical designations for realities outside the Multiverse (Ultraverse, Shadowline, etc.)?

We know those groups use the CCDs (Core Continuum Designations). We don't know which of them assigns the numbers, or indeed if someone else does. Since those three seem to use matching numbers for known realities (i.e. all of them call the main Marvel Earth 616), they are presumably all getting the numbers from the same source, whether that be some scientific method for calculating a given number (I know one writer apparently suggested it's something to do with the vibrational rate of a given reality) or a decision to adopt one group's numberings over any others that might have been in use. 

There's no reason to believe that the same individual or group isn't also assigning numerical designators for realities outside the Marvel multiverse. If they know a reality exists, no matter where it is located within the Omniverse, they assign a number to it.

 

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