Historical text from Comixfan:

Eric J. Moreels

Jul 23, 2008, 07:31 am

Coming from Marvel in October:

OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z VOL. 5 PREMIERE HC

Written by JEFF CHRISTIANSEN, SEAN MCQUAID, STUART VANDAL, MIKE FICHERA, MADISON CARTER, MICHAEL HOSKIN, RONALD BYRD, ERIC J. MOREELS, CHAD ANDERSON, DAVID WILTFONG, JACOB ROUGEMONT, AL SJOERDSMA, GABRIEL SHECHTER, CHRIS BIGGS, RICH GREEN & JEPH YORK
Penciled by VARIOUS
Cover by TOM GRUMMETT

Does a super-revised and more comprehensive Marvel Handbook sound Impossible, Man? Do you seek the secrets of Infinity… Gauntlet? When you need a Hand, don't be a Hammerhead: Take the Initiative! This volume deals out favorite heroes including Havok, Hawkeye, Molly Hayes, Hellcat, Hercules, Hulk, Human Torch, Iceman, Invisible Woman, Iron Fist and Iron Man! Villains including the Hate-Monger, Hellfire Club, High Evolutionary, Hobgoblin, the Hood, Hydra, Hydro-Man, Immortus and Imperial Guard! Plus: HERBIE, Happy Hogan, Howard the Duck, Jarella, J. Jonah Jameson, Edwin Jarvis, the Heroes for Hire and so much more! Brought to you by the regular gang of Inhumans! Don't like it? Go to… Hellstorm?

240 PGS./Rated T+ …$24.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-3102-1
Trim size: standard




William Keogh

Jul 23, 2008, 11:07 am


Looking forward to this one, and as always, excellent cover....

...but Howard the Duck? :grind: Why? Unless it has Howards' obituary at the end. :hope: [img]file:///C:\Users\Andy\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif[/img]




Eduardo M.

Jul 23, 2008, 02:27 pm

Who is covered in this one? The solicts show off that we at least start with the Js but I kinda didn't like that the solicts didn't give an exact idea of from who to who.




Michael Hoskin

Jul 24, 2008, 05:30 pm

Eduardo M. wrote:

Who is covered in this one? The solicts show off that we at least start with the Js but I kinda didn't like that the solicts didn't give an exact idea of from who to who.

You may have noticed that the science of "from who to who" hasn't been quite exact in previous solicits.




Eduardo M.

Jul 24, 2008, 05:54 pm

Michael Hoskin wrote:

You may have noticed that the science of "from who to who" hasn't been quite exact in previous solicits.

true, but at least they tried and were often off by a name or two. This solict doesn't even try.




Stuart V

Jul 26, 2008, 09:02 pm

Eduardo M. wrote:

true, but at least they tried and were often off by a name or two. This solict doesn't even try.

I'm not sure if we are allowed to provide the "from XXX to YYY" if the solicit doesn't. What I will say, for the sake of honest advertising but at the risk of getting told off by those above, is that we do get into the J's in this volume, but, due to a few name shifts and late-in-the-day profile expansions earlier in the handbooks, some of the J's mentioned in the solicit might actually end up in HC #6.




Eduardo M.

Jul 27, 2008, 01:10 am

Stuart V wrote:

I'm not sure if we are allowed to provide the "from XXX to YYY" if the solicit doesn't. What I will say, for the sake of honest advertising but at the risk of getting told off by those above, is that we do get into the J's in this volume, but, due to a few name shifts and late-in-the-day profile expansions earlier in the handbooks, some of the J's mentioned in the solicit might actually end up in HC #6.

thanks for the info Stu. If you get any flak from above, blame me. I'm the nosey jerk who insisted someone say something. And I would ask in the future the solicts at least have some form of XXX to YYY info even if its off by a name or two. (that said, of course it would nice if it got as close as possible to the actual true contents.)




Sidney Osinga

Jul 30, 2008, 06:46 pm

In the Stating the Obvious dept., here's a list of the half page entires:
11 G's:
Gamecock
Gargantus
Gargoyle (Topolov)
Garko the Man Frog
Blackie Gaxton
Gazer
Generic Super Hero
Geometer
Ghoul
Gnome
Godseye

10 H's:
Headsman
Helix
Hellcow
Helleyes
Hero of the Day
Hidden Man
Hobgoblin (2211 A.D.)
HOMER
Hurricane (Kane)
Hypno Hustler

6 I's:
Iguana
Infinites
Inheritor
Iron Maiden
Iron Mask
Ixar




bigvis497

Jul 31, 2008, 09:28 am


So unless one of the G's gets expanded, we could be getting a new entry to fill the other half page. Groot from the Monster Files maybe?

I'm hoping that in this volume the early handbook entries, like X-Men 04, Spider-Man 04, Women 05, etc, get equal treatment to the really extensive entries that we've been getting lately in books like A to Z 2006, Mighty Avengers Most Wanted Files, etc. The other day I was looking at how awesome the entries for Norman Osborn and Storm were in the first A to Z update compared to their first outings, I was hoping for the same in the hardcovers with guys like Cyclops and Doc Ock. I've noticed these kinds of entries in the HC series have been updated with new artwork, but when it comes to the history, they've just had a couple paragraphs added to the end to let you know what they've been up to lately. I'd like to see the histories fleshed out a little more for the long-standing characters who really deserve it.

Looking forward to picking this up!




Sidney Osinga

Sep 7, 2008, 12:39 am


I hope that the Henry Gyrich entry, which will be the third one in, is two pages long. Although he is not a major character, he has been a strong supporting character in the Avengers, as well as the X-Men, Rom, and Thunderbolts at various points in their runs. I think that a two page entry will be able to do his history justice. Plus, if he only gets a one page entry, I feel that a lot of fans besides me will be angry.




Sidney Osinga

Sep 13, 2008, 11:49 pm


Also, I think that we might see a full page entry for Jack Flag, if the J's get started in this volume. Like Americop, he recently appeared in the Thunderbolts, but unlike him, he was a supporting character in Captain America for a while, so he has more history.




Sean McQuaid

Sep 14, 2008, 06:07 pm

bigvis497 wrote:

I'm hoping that in this volume the early handbook entries, like X-Men 04, Spider-Man 04, Women 05, etc, get equal treatment to the really extensive entries that we've been getting lately in books like A to Z 2006, Mighty Avengers Most Wanted Files, etc.

Every profile has its own unique circumstances in terms of how much updating or extra space the character might need, who's available to write it, and so on, so situations differ on a case by case basis. There are 2004/2005 profiles that remain at their original page count with a few tweaks and additions, while other profiles gain 1, 2, 3 or 4 pages or more if the subject needs the space, if the volume in question has the space to spare, and if the right writer's available to handle it.

We try to cover the essentials in every case: adding major new info, adding/changing pix as needed, and so on; but profile size is going to vary from character to character in terms of what the character really needs and what's achievable under the current circumstances.

bigvis497 wrote:

The other day I was looking at how awesome the entries for Norman Osborn and Storm were in the first A to Z update compared to their first outings, I was hoping for the same in the hardcovers with guys like Cyclops and Doc Ock. I've noticed these kinds of entries in the HC series have been updated with new artwork, but when it comes to the history, they've just had a couple paragraphs added to the end to let you know what they've been up to lately. I'd like to see the histories fleshed out a little more for the long-standing characters who really deserve it.

Some of the 2004-2005 characters are going to get expanded more than others, but as long as there aren't glaring gaps in terms of missing key images or omitted major info, I think that's okay. Cyclops got a whole additional page and Doc Ock didn't, but I don't think either character was poorly served by what saw print.

And some of the long-running characters get bigger boosts if they seem to need them. Cyclops' longtime teammate Angel, for instance, got two additional pages, having gone through a lot more changes than Scott over the years and having circulated a bit more widely in the broader Marvel universe beyond the X-Men.

Sidney Osinga wrote:

I hope that the Henry Gyrich entry, which will be the third one in, is two pages long...Also, I think that we might see a full page entry for Jack Flag

Without giving away specific details, one of your wishes came true and the other one didn't, but I think both profiles are in good shape as of the latest layout proofs.

-Sean




Sidney Osinga

Sep 15, 2008, 12:28 am

Sean McQuaid wrote:

Cyclops got a whole additional page and Doc Ock didn't, but I don't think either character was poorly served by what saw print.

While that is true and the entries do summarize most of their history, they don't have the in depth coverage that was given to the Hulk, Captain America, Ronin (Hawkeye), Iron Man, etc.

Sean McQuaid wrote:

Without giving away specific details, one of your wishes came true and the other one didn't, but I think both profiles are in good shape as of the latest layout proofs.

Then I hope it's Gyrich. He is a more important character and deserves the extra page.




Andy E. Nystrom

Sep 19, 2008, 06:50 pm

Sidney Osinga wrote:

Then I hope it's Gyrich. He is a more important character and deserves the extra page.

Me too. Unless, of course, the reason why one of your wishes isn't coming true is because Gyrich is three or more pages long.




Sidney Osinga

Sep 20, 2008, 01:10 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Me too. Unless, of course, the reason why one of your wishes isn't coming true is because Gyrich is three or more pages long.

.......

I never actually considered that. That would be frickin' sweet.




bigvis497

Sep 28, 2008, 03:10 pm


Question: How is the contents description inside of the dustjacket going to be done? Hopefully it's like volume 1, I've noticed that in volumes 2-4, the solicitation has just been reprinted instead of typing up something new. Which is fine, but the solicitations are often incorrect. Example in volume 4, it states the Hand was profiled, but they won't be seen until volume 5. This volume states J Jonah will get covered, yet he's on the cover of the next volume, I'm hoping that gets corrected.




Eduardo M.

Oct 17, 2008, 01:15 am


Is this coming out next week (the 22nd) or the 29th?




ToddCam

Oct 26, 2008, 07:58 pm


Did this come out?




Andy E. Nystrom

Oct 26, 2008, 09:26 pm

ToddCam wrote:

Did this come out?

Marvel's website says it'll be out this coming Wed.




Sean McQuaid

Oct 29, 2008, 01:53 pm


As the book's due out today, we can now confirm its content as follows...

Subjects profiled in this volume include Guardsmen, Gun Runner, Henry Gyrich, Gamecock, Gargantus (robot), Gargoyle (Topolov), Garko the Man-Frog, Blackie Gaxton, Generic Super-Hero, Geometer, Ghoul (mutant), Gnome & Dragorr, Godseye, “Cockroach” Hamilton, Hammer (Canty), Justin Hammer, Hammerhead, Hand, Hangman (Roland), Maya Hansen, Agatha Harkness, Harrier (Clendenon), Jonas Harrow, Hate-Monger (Hitler clone), Hate-Monger (Psycho-Man construct), Havok (Summers), Hawkeye (Bishop), Molly Hayes, Mark Hazzard, Headsman, Helix (Carago), Hellbent, Hellcat, Hellcow, Helleyes, Hellfire, Hellfire Club, Hellion, Hellions (Hellfire Club trainees), Hellions (Emplate’s), Hellions (King Bedlam’s), Hellions (Xavier Institute’s), Hellstorm, Hepzibah, HERBIE, Hercules, Hercules of the 24th Century, Here Comes Tomorrow, Hero of the Day, Heroes for Hire (Power Man & Iron Fist), Heroes for Hire (Oracle, Inc.), Heroes for Hire (Misty & Colleen’s team), Hidden Man, High Evolutionary, Maria Hill, Hindsight, Hitman (Kenyon), Hobgoblin (Kingsley), Hobgoblin (Macendale), Hobgoblin (2211 AD), Crusher Hogan, Happy Hogan, Pepper Hogan, Hollow (formerly Penance), Holocaust, Home Base, HOMER, Hood (Robbins), Horusians, Howard the Duck, Howling Commandos (Sgt. Fury’s), Howling Commandos (monster squad), Heather Hudson (Earth-3470), Hulk (Banner), Hulk (2099 AD), Hulkbusters, Hulkling, Human Robot, Human Torch (Hammond), Human Torch (Storm), Humbug, Humus Sapien, Huntara, Huntarr, Hunter in Darkness, Huntsman, Hurricane (Kane), Hurricane (Potter), Husk, Hybrid (Marks), Hybrid (Washington), Hydra, Hydro-Man, H’ylthri, Hyperion (Earth-712), Hyperion (construct), Hyperion (Earth-4023), Hyperion (Zhib-Ran), Hyperstorm, Hypno-Hustler, Icarus, Iceman (Drake), Iguana, Ikaris, Illuminati, Immortalis, Immortus, Imperial Guard, Impossible Man, In-Betweener, Infinites, Infinity (cosmic being), Infinity Gauntlet, Infinity Watch, Inheritor, Inhumans, Initiative, Shola Inkosi, Intruders, Inua (Northern Gods), Invaders, Invisible Woman, Iron Fist (Rand), Iron Lad, Iron Maiden (Vostakoff), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Iron Man (Teen Tony), Iron Maniac, Iron Mask, Iron Monger (Stane), Isbisa, Ixar, J2, Jack Flag, Jack Frost (Golden Age), Jack of Hearts (Hart), Jack O’Lantern (Levins), Jack the Ripper and Jackal (Warren).

-Sean




Eduardo M.

Oct 29, 2008, 02:47 pm


Wow. Now I really can't wait to get my hands on this.

Something I noticed right off the bat. What happened to Gazer?

Also, it is just me or does this volume have a large amount of new profiles?




bigvis497

Oct 29, 2008, 03:09 pm

Eduardo M. wrote:

Wow. Now I really can't wait to get my hands on this.

Something I noticed right off the bat. What happened to Gazer?

Also, it is just me or does this volume have a large amount of new profiles?

I'm guessing Gazer will be listed under his Four Horsemen name, wasn't he War?

I like idea of splitting profiles for Heroes For Hire, Hyperion, Hellions etc.

I was supposed to pick this up earlier today but the UPS truck was running late, grrrrr, gonna maybe head back to the LCS later today or tomorrow....




slevin87

Oct 29, 2008, 03:24 pm

Sean McQuaid wrote:

Inua (Northern Gods)

All new entry? :Biggrin:




Stuart V

Oct 29, 2008, 03:34 pm

bigvis497 wrote:

I'm guessing Gazer will be listed under his Four Horsemen name, wasn't he War?

Yes and yes.

slevin87 wrote:

All new entry? :Biggrin:

Inua, yes, all new.




Andy E. Nystrom

Oct 29, 2008, 08:22 pm

bigvis497 wrote:

I like idea of splitting profiles for Heroes For Hire, Hyperion, Hellions etc.

Agreed. Interestingly though there's been three previous Heroes for Hire entries, and each corresponds more-or-less neatly to a specific incarnation, so technically no splitting occurred in that one instance. There's also a new entry for the only Hate-Monger not to previously have his own entry, the Psycho-Man robot. Conversely infinity Gauntlet is now part of larger Infinity Gems entry.

Very nice volume as usual. Biggest surprise is 9 pages for the Initiative (while the 11-pager for Iron Man and 9-pager for Hulk are welcomed, they're less of a surprise, having already had extensive rewrites).




Andy E. Nystrom

Oct 29, 2008, 08:38 pm


Starting my usual list of changes discovered. As usual, there’s lots of material to eyeball so apologies in advance if I overlook anything.

X-Men: Messiah Complex Mutant Files
No entries this volume

Marvel Atlas#2
Only those atlas materials that are directly comparable to the main handbook noted.

The Gamma Base page from the United States of America entry incorporated into the Hulkbusters entry. The black text on green background now white for easier readability and one previously cut off line of text now visible.

Horror 2005

All: Superhuman Powers, Abilities, Paraphernalia replaced with Abilities/Accessories

Hangman: First Appearance expanded. History greatly revised and expanded, though a lot of original text still present (2nd and 3rd paragraphs merged). Note added. 2 new illos 91 captioned).

Hellstorm: expanded from 3 to 4 pages. Group Affiliation revised/expanded. History greatly revised and expanded, though a lot of original text still present. Note removed. 8 new illos (4 captioned)

Howling Commandos (S.H.I.E.L.D.): expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Known Members greatly expanded. History completely revised/expanded. 33 new headshots with First Appearances

Immortalis: new captioned secondary illo

Jack the Ripper: New sentence added to end of History. New captioned secondary illo

Avengers 2004

All: Marital Status deleted; Powers & Abilities, Paraphernalia merged as Abilities/Accessories; First Appearances moved from back of book to entries

Henry Gyrich: Aliases and Group Affiliation revised. History and Abilities/Accessories completely revised and expanded, though latter only two sentences.

Hercules: expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Vital Statistics and Abilities/Accessories greatly revised and expanded. History almost completely revised/expanded (slight bit of original text present). Original illo replaced with new main illo and 5 secondary illos

Iron Man (Tony Stark): expanded from 2 to 11 pages (entry mostly a revision of later entries). Vital Statistics greatly revised and expanded. History and Abilities Accessories completely revised and expanded. Original illo replaced with new captioned main illo with First appearance, 46 secondary illos (37 captioned with First Appearances, 4 more captioned). Additional page of armour specs (Bio/Metalo-Mimetic Suit Series Mk III)

Jack of Hearts: expanded from 1 to 3 pages. Group Affiliation and Education expanded. History and Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. Original illo replaced with new main illo and 4 secondary illos (3 captioned)

Wolverine 2004
No entries this volume

Spider-Man 2005

All: Known Aliases now Aliases. Marital Status removed. Superhuman Powers, Abilities, Paraphernalia merged as Abilities/Accessories.

Hammerhead: Known Relatives and Group Affili8ation expanded. Last History paragraph has the long final sentence removed but otherwise expanded. Power Grid revised. New captioned secondary illo

Crusher Hogan: Main illo reversed, new secondary illo

Hydro-Man: Real Name, Aliases, Group Affiliation tweaked. 2nd and 3rd History paragraphs merged except final sentence, which, with some tweaking, starts the new final paragraph. Abilities/Accessories greatly (not completely) revised (uses New Avengers Most Wanted text). 2 new captioned secondary illos.

Jackal: Aliases revised. Last sentence of 2nd last History paragraph replaced with 3 new ones. Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. 2nd illo captioned, 2 new secondary illos added.

Marvel Legacy: 1960s

All: Art Credits, Place of Birth, Power Grid added (Power Numbers for ½ pagers)

Gargantus: Vital Statistics beyond First Appearance added. New final History sentence incorporating Where are They Now? info. Original illo replaced with new main illo and 2 secondary illos

Gargoyle: Vital Statistics and History a somewhat revised, incorporating info from Where are They Now? Note added. Hair revised.

Gnome: new secondary illo added

Hidden Man: History expanded by 2 sentences, in part incorporating info from Where are They Now? New secondary illo

Happy Hogan (originally listed as Freak): expanded from ½ to 2 pages (mostly due to Iron Manual listing). Vital Statistics greatly revised/expanded. History and Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. Eyes revised. Original illos replaced with new main illo and 2 secondary illos (1 captioned)

Hulk: expanded from 1 to 9 pages (new entry mainly a revision of Gamma Files). Vital Statistics, History, Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. Original illos replaced with new main illo and 2 secondary illos (20 captioned)

Hurricane (Kane): end of History expanded, in part including info from Where are They Now? Abilities/Accessories a little revised. New secondary illo.

Iron Man (Tony Stark): expanded from 2 to 11 pages (entry mostly a revision of later entries). Vital Statistics greatly revised and expanded. History and Abilities Accessories completely revised and expanded. Original illos replaced with new captioned main illo with First appearance, 46 secondary illos (37 captioned with First Appearances, 4 more captioned). Additional page of armour specs (Bio/Metalo-Mimetic Suit Series Mk III)

Iron Mask: History somewhat revised (in part incorporating info from Where are They Now?). New sentence added to Abilities/Accessories.

Ixar: Citizenship and History tweaked to incorporate Where are They Now? info. Abilities/Accessories revised. Caption on main illo expanded, secondary illo captioned, new captioned secondary illo added.

Marvel Legacy: 1970s

All: Art Credits, Place of Birth, Power Grid added (Power Numbers for ½ pagers)

Hellcow: new sentence added to end of History. Background/dialogue removed from illo

Hypno-Hustler: Rel Name, Occupation, Group Affiliation a little revised. Where are They Now? info added to end of History. Main illo no longer cropped, background removed. New captioned secondary illo

Marvel Legacy: 1980s

All: Art Credits, Place of Birth, Power Grid added (Power Numbers for ½ pagers)

Generic Super-Hero: no significant changes.

Hercules of the 24th Century: Core Timeline Designation category added as per Where are They Now? First History paragraph a little revised; final paragraph expanded to include Where are They Now? update. 5 headshots removed but 14 illos added (12 captioned), in part replacing the missing headshots.

Heroes for Hire (Power Man & Iron Fist): Where are They Now? info added to 3rd and 4th history paragraphs, as well as a new 5th paragraph. New main illo (old one removed).

Iron Man (Tony Stark): expanded from 2 to 11 pages (entry mostly a revision of later entries). Vital Statistics greatly revised and expanded. History and Abilities Accessories completely revised and expanded. Original illos replaced with new captioned main illo with First appearance, 46 secondary illos (37 captioned with First Appearances, 4 more captioned). Additional page of armour specs (Bio/Metalo-Mimetic Suit Series Mk III)

Marvel Legacy: 1990s

All: Art Credits, Place of Birth, Power Grid added (Power Numbers for ½ pagers)

Hyperstorm: no additional significant changes

Infinity Gems (originally listed as infinity Gauntlet). Expanded from 1 to 3 pages. First Appearance expanded. History completely revised/expanded. New Properties category. Secondary illo re-captioned. 3 new captioned secondary illos

Iron Man (“Teen Tony”): Known Relatives reduced. First 2 History paragraphs merged, final paragraph expanded.




bigvis497

Oct 30, 2008, 12:28 am


UPS truck arrived late but luckilly I was able to pick it up before my LCS closed, read a few entries so far. Some yays! and nays...

Yays!

Visually, this volume is amazing. I've noticed that visually, not only have the volumes progressed from previous handbooks, but they've even been progressing from previous hardcovers! TONS of images added throughout. And as always, Tom Grummett's cover looks great! Everybody has a definitive "iconic" look.
That Initiative entry is GIGANTIC! I can't believe how in-depth the entry is for something that's only been around for a couple of years!
There's even additional illustrations for Hammer (Ike Canty). Nice!
Brand new entry - Inua (Northern Gods). QUESTION - What is the thought process behind creating a full-page entry from scratch like this one, or the previous Death Wreck? I understand where one would be created to fill the gap between the half-pagers, or where it's split from a previous entry like Citizen V or Brotherhood, but I'm not quite sure on these ones.
The Hellfire Club entry was very detailed! Liked how it was very in-depth about all the various versions, many of which I knew nothing about.
Man, the Hellions entries were all great. I'm guessing the New Mutants/New Mutants 2003/New X-Men will get the sam treatment? Will have to wait and see!
The "occult" characters get tons of lovin. I've learned a ton about this often neglected corner of the Marvel U from these handbooks.
Digging WAY into the bakwaters of X-Continuity and correctly listing Holocaust's first appearance as Stryfe Strike File. I remember originally reading that back in 93 and wondering who the heck he was, he didn't show up in an actual comic story until AOA a couple years down the line.
Nice expanded Imperial Guard entry.
A lot of really complicated characters like Immortus and Hyperion were given plenty of breathing space.
Infinity Gems, great choice for an entry. Definitely better then the Infinity Gauntlet entry.
First appearances for ALL Iron Man armor's helped a lot, especially since the armors were original artwork instead of taken from the comics.

Nays....
I hate the main illustration for Hulk, it looks like something from an action figure or video game package (kind of like Colossus' from the previous HC).
No Pacheco-designed costume illustration for the Human Torch? Yet there was space for his "Acrobat" costume? Umm...
Some of the illustrations are eye-strainingly microscopic, like the X-Factor Havok costume.
The main pic for th Hellfire Club...uggh.. There should have been a John Byrne illustration used or something along those lines. That main illustration was created for one of those Scholastic Encyclopedias or something like that, wasn't it? I prefer the illustrations that are used from the actual comics.
The "all-new" Ron Lim illustrations from the Iron Manual. Normally, I really like Lim's stuff, something seems off about these. I've got my degree in illustration, so I tend to nitice things like this. Generally, illustrations are reproduced roughly 1:2 or 3:4 scale from the original drawing size, it almost looks like these were reproduced at actual size, as a result the lines seem way too thick. They don't seem up to Lim's usual high standards.
Would have liked to see a Juan Bobillo illustration for Howard somewhere in his entry, he was drawn way different in the last mini-series, more realistic.
1 page for Hydro-Man? I'm sure he could have filled 2, especially if a bum like Hybrid can.

The positives outweight the negatives 1 million to 1. Can't wait for Volume 6!




Andy E. Nystrom

Oct 30, 2008, 12:52 am


Continued...

Alternate Universes 2005

Here Comes Tomorrow: Original illo now captioned. 5 new secondary illos

Core Continuum Designations: 3 final pages added to what was originally a 1-pager.

Mighty Avengers Most Wanted

Maria Hill: Originally History text somewhat revised, plus considerable amount of text added to end of 2nd paragraph.

Iron Man (Tony Stark): expanded from 8 to 11 pages. Some History paragraphs merged; bits of new text weave in and out of the old History text (individual instances sometimes small, but substantial overall). Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. New main illo (old one removed). New secondary illo of Tony. Some armours renumbered. Original illos replaced with new captioned main illo with First appearance, 46 secondary illos (37 captioned with First Appearances, 4 more captioned).

All-New Iron Manual

Guardsmen: Current and Former Members expanded. New sentence added to end of History. Main and one secondary illo now have First Appearances added.

Justin Hammer: Caption added to a secondary illo

Maya Hansen: new secondary illo

Happy Hogan: no significant changes

Pepper Hogan: Group Affiliation expanded. New sentence added to end of Hisory. One secondary illo removed, 1 added.

HOMER: no significant changes

Iron Man (Tony Stark): New sentence added to History paragraph starting with “As public sentiment…”; 2 paragraphs merged; 2 sentences added to final paragraph. Abilities/Accessories greatly revised/expanded. Some armours renumbered due to former Model 14 now being designated Model 13 Hulkbuster; 38 armours including main illo have First Appearances added. 5 new secondary illos (2 captioned). Stark Notes page removed.

Iron Monger: New sentence added to 2nd last History paragraph

Book of the Dead 2004
No entries this volume

Golden Age 2004

All Individuals: Marital Status deleted; Superhuman Powers/Abilities/Paraphernalia/Limitations merged as Abilities/Accessories

Howling Commandos (Sgt. Fury’s): expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Purpose, Known Members, Major Enemies removed. History completely revised/expanded. Fury’s legs partly cropped out of original illo. New secondary illo. 16 headshots with First Appearances added.

Human Torch (Hammond): expanded from 1 to 3 pages. Vital Statistics expanded. History almost completely revised/expanded (a little text remains in 1st paragraph). Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. 4 new secondary illos

Invaders: expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Purpose and Major Enemies removed. Members expanded. History completely revised/expanded. Note added. Original illo replaced with new main illo and 16 headshots (curiously including Angel, whom I can’t find any reference to in the text)

Isbisa: 1st 3 paragraphs merged (end of paragraph tweaked); last 2 also merged. Original illo recoloured, 3 new illos (2 captioned).

Jack Frost: Vital Statistics somewhat revised. History and Abilities/Accessories almost completely revised. New secondary illo added.

Marvel Zombies

Hellfire: no significant changes

Spider-Man 2004

All: Marital Status removed (except Hobgoblin); Powers & Abilities merged with Paraphernalia; First Appearances moved from back of book to main text

Hobgoblin (Kingsley): expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Citizenship, Known Relatives, and Group Affiliation revised. Aside from 1st and last paragraphs, history almost completely revised/expanded. Abilities/Accessories tweaked. Intelligence on Power Grid increased. New captioned illo of van; 5 classic Eliot Brown accessories specs added.

Fantastic Four 2005

All: Abilities, Superhuman Powers, Paraphernalia merged as Abilities/Accessories; Distinguishing Features and Marital Status removed

Human Torch (Storm): expanded from 3 to 4 pages. Vital Statistics somewhat revised. History considerably revised/expanded, though some old paragraphs intact. Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. Durability on Power Grid revised. Old illos removed, replaced with new main illo and 10 secondary illos (5 captioned).

Inhumans: expanded from 3 to 6 pages. “Known Members” split into 8 new categories and greatly expanded. History largely revised; a lot of old text still present, with new and altered text weaving through it with new paragraphs, paragraph breaks etc. (it’s hard to look at black text on blue background –the original format- but the additions are clearly substantial, especially later on). Main and secondary illos captioned; 3 new secondary illos (2 captioned). 96 new headshots with First Appearances added.

Invisible Woman: expanded from 3 to 4 pages. Vital Statistics somewhat revised. New sentence added to end of 1st paragraph; the former 3rd-last paragraphs moved to new paragraph; then 2nd-last and last paragraphs removed; depending on if you ould the split off part of former 3rd last paragraph, 8 new paragraphs added. Abilities/Accessories greatly but not completely revised/expanded. Given old format’s black text on blue background, I may be overlooking some changes. New main illo (old one removed), 7 new secondary illos (3 captioned).

Teams 2005

Heroes for Hire (Oracle Inc.): Base of Operations no longer includes Power Man/Iron Fist version info. First Appearance amended from Power Man/Iron Fist version to this version. End of 5th History paragraph’s last sentence expanded, new sentence added to 7th paragraph. Original illos replaced by new captioned illo and 18 headshots with Active/Employed issues (old main illo now the main illo for the Power Man/Iron Fist version). Note: while some might argue that this is a case of an entry-split, enough of the text remained the same that I felt it was more or less a simple revision of one entry, especially since the Power Man/Iron Fist version text was from Marvel Legacy: 1980s.

Imperial Guard: expanded from 1 to 3 pages. Vital Statistics revised. History completely revised/expanded. Old illo removed, replaced with new captioned main and 1 secondary illos, plus 27 additional numbered secondary illos with corresponding key.

Infinity Watch: New paragraph added to main of History. Main illo replaced with new captioned one; secondary illos now captioned.

New Avengers Most Wanted

All: Vital Statistics, Power Grid added; Abilities Renamed Abilities/Accessories; User Notes removed. Art credits added

Hydro-Man: History replaced with earlier Spider-Man 2005 text. 2 new captioned secondary illos.

A-Z 5

“Cockroach” Hamilton: Aliases tweaked. 2 new sentences added to end of History. Secondary illo captioned.

Harrier: expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Known Relatives and Group Affiliation revised. History and Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. Note added. Old captioned illo of Cardinal replaced with new one.

Jonas Harrow: new sentence added to end of History.

Hate-Monger (Hitler Clone): Final History paragraph now a Note with 2 new sentences added. Secondary illo captioned.

Hate-Monger (Psycho-Man Construct): Actually a new entry “inspired” by an existing entry, a la Brotherhood and Foolkiller (Everbest); in this case the new entry was derived from a one sentence reference in the Hitler version. ½ page entry with 1 illo.

Hawkeye (Bishop): Final History paragraph revised.

Helix: Physical Statistics and Power Numbers revised. New main illo (old one cropped into a headshot).

Hellbent: expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Known Members replaced with Current and Former Members and further revised. Base of Operations expanded. Traits greatly revised/expanded. History mostly revised/expanded. Headshots replaced with 12 secondary illos (11 captioned)

Helleyes: New sentence added to end of History. Power Numbers revised.

Hellions (Hellfire Club Trainees): 2-page entry derived from original 3-page general Hellions entry. Members and Base of Operations thus match Hellfire Club Hellions in original text. History constitutes the first 7 paragraphs of previous History. Headshots replaced with 2 new captioned secondary illos. Old secondary illos removed or shifted to other Hellions.

Hellions (Emplate’s): 1-page entry derived from original 3-page general Hellions entry. Members and Base of Operations thus match Emplate’s “Hellions” in original text. First Appearance added. History completely revised/expanded. Most illos removed. One illo retained mostly intact, another cropped, with captioned shared with a new illo, 5 additional new illos.

Hellions (King Bedlam’s): 1-page entry derived from original 3-page general Hellions entry. Members and Base of Operations thus match New Hellions in original text. First Appearance added. History completely revised/expanded. Most illos removed. 2 illos retained mostly intact (in fact 1 less cropped), 2 new secondary illos

Hellions (Xavier Institute’s): 1-page entry derived from original 3-page general Hellions entry. Members and Base of Operations thus match Hellions Squad in original text. First Appearance added. History constitutes the final 3 paragraphs of old History, but final sentence removed and replaced by 5 new ones. Most illos removed. One illo retained. New secondary illo.

H.E.R.B.I.E.: Main and secondary illos reversed. New secondary illo

High Evolutionary: expanded from 3 to 4 pages. Group Affiliation expanded. History largely expanded, with new text weaving in and out of one text, then new sentence added to end of old History followed be 2 new paragraphs. Abilities/Accessories paragraph split in 2 and expanded. 2 sets of four new secondary illos each sharing a caption plus one more new captioned secondary illo.

Hindsight: final History sentence replaced with longer new one.

Hood: expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Group Affiliation revised. First 1 History paragraphs 1 little revised/expanded, 2nd greatly, 3rd mostly (expansions are considerable); then 2 new paragraphs. Note added. Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. 2 new captioned illos

Howard the Duck: Citizenship expanded. Some History paragraphs merged; new paragraph added (though last sentence of old final paragraph moved to new one). Energy Projection on Power Grid revised. Caption added to secondary illos (2 now colourized).

Hulkling: final History paragraph replaced with new one.

Humbug: expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Vital Statistics somewhat revised. 6 paragraphs added to end of History, 2 to end of Abilities/Accessories. Strength and Durability revised on Power Grid. New main illo (old one now secondary), 4 new secondary illos

Humus Sapien: new captioned secondary illo

Huntara: Group Affiliation expanded. New secondary illo. Speed on Power Grid revised.

Hurricane (Potter): New sentence added to end of History. One secondary illo ropped/captioned, new secondary illo added.

Hybrid (Marks): Final History sentence expanded. Abilities/Accessories tweaked.

Hybrid (Washington): expanded from 1 to 2 pages. First Appearance expanded. History completely revised/expanded. Abilities/accessories mostly revised/expanded. 6 new captioned secondary illos

Hydra: Current and Former Members a little revised. Final History paragraph expanded. 4 secondary illos (2 captioned). Bob added to Headshots section.

H’ylthri: no significant changes

Hyperion (Earth-712): Vital Statistics somewhat revised. History greatly revised and expanded, with new text weaving in and out of the old. From the paragraph starting with “As noted…”-on, all paragraphs removed and used as basis for entries below; new paragraph added at end. Note added. Abilities/Accessories completely revised/extremely expanded. Secondary illos removed; 6 new secondary illos added.

Hyperion (Construct): basically new 1-page entry, though derived from Hyperion (Earth-712). Parts of the History paragraph in the old entry originally starting with “As noted…” revised and expanded into 2 new paragraphs. Rest of this entry is new. Has main illo and captioned secondary illo.

Hyperion (Earth-4023): basically new 1-page entry, though derived from Hyperion (Earth-712). The History paragraph in the old entry originally starting with “On Earth-4023…” revised and expanded into 2 new paragraphs. Rest of this entry is new. Has main illo and 2 secondary illos.

Hyperion (Zhib-Ran): basically new 1/2-page entry, though derived from Hyperion (Earth-712). History text derived from paragraph in old entry starting with “As noted…” but no text carry-over. All text is new. Illo brought over from old 712 entry (background removed but no longer cropped).

Immortus: expanded from 3 to 4 pages. History considerably revised/expanded, though a fair bit of original text remains. Speed in power Grid revised. A secondary illo background removed/no longer cropped, and is now new main illo (old one now secondary), one secondary illo cropped, another no longer captioned, 6 new captioned secondary illos

Infinites: Power Numbers revised, 2 new captioned secondary illos

Infinity: First Appearance revised. Fighting Skills on Power Grid reduced. 2 new secondary illos.

Shola Inkosi: 1 ½ sentences added to end of History. Strength and Energy Projection revised on Power Grid

Iron Lad: Aliases expanded. New sentence added to end of History. Speed on Power Grid revised.

J2: First Appearance corrected. New paragraph added to end of History. Main illo reversed.

Jack Flag: expanded from ½ to 1 page. Vital Statistics and Abilities/Accessories revised. History completely revised/expanded. Power Grid revised from Power Numbers.

Jack O’Lantern: Place of Birth, Known Relatives, Group Affiliation, Eyes, Hair revised.




Sidney Osinga

Oct 30, 2008, 01:33 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Starting my usual list of changes discovered. As usual, there’s lots of material to eyeball so apologies in advance if I overlook anything.

X-Men: Messiah Complex Mutant Files
No entries this volume.

If this is true, then where did the Ghoul entry first appear?

bigvis497 wrote:

The main pic for th Hellfire Club...uggh.. There should have been a John Byrne illustration used or something along those lines. That main illustration was created for one of those Scholastic Encyclopedias or something like that, wasn't it? I prefer the illustrations that are used from the actual comics.

Actually, I think it came from DK Books' Ultimate X-Men guide. That's where I first remember that picture from. Personally, I think it's an OK picture since it has clear images of most of the important members, which is the best for the entry.




Andy E. Nystrom

Oct 30, 2008, 01:51 am

Sidney Osinga wrote:

If this is true, then where did the Ghoul entry first appear?

Oops. Overlooked the 1/2 pagers. Very well:

Ghoul: Eyes reworded. Intelligence and Energy Projection in Power Numbers revised.




Stuart V

Oct 30, 2008, 09:16 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Immortalis: new captioned secondary illo

There's also some new text, incorporating information from a mention of him in Captain Britain and MI13.

bigvis497 wrote:

UPS truck arrived late but luckilly I was able to pick it up before my LCS closed, read a few entries so far. Some yays! and nays...

Yays!

Visually, this volume is amazing. I've noticed that visually, not only have the volumes progressed from previous handbooks, but they've even been progressing from previous hardcovers! TONS of images added throughout. And as always, Tom Grummett's cover looks great! Everybody has a definitive "iconic" look.

I'd agree, Tom's producing some stunning covers.

bigvis497 wrote:

That Initiative entry is GIGANTIC! I can't believe how in-depth the entry is for something that's only been around for a couple of years!

A small, but imo nice, bonus is that the Initiative writers were kind enough to provide the name for one of the Initiative teams we'd seen but not previously had identified, allowing the Handbook to have the exclusive first on revealing it.

bigvis497 wrote:

There's even additional illustrations for Hammer (Ike Canty). Nice!

It was tight with a single pager, but Hammer deserved to be shown before he'd been crippled.

bigvis497 wrote:

Brand new entry - Inua (Northern Gods). QUESTION - What is the thought process behind creating a full-page entry from scratch like this one, or the previous Death Wreck? I understand where one would be created to fill the gap between the half-pagers, or where it's split from a previous entry like Citizen V or Brotherhood, but I'm not quite sure on these ones.

It varies. Normally, as you note, we don't do "new" entries, so much as split off merged entries where appropriate and space permits. But maps are often in flux until the last minute, especially as characters can change identities or make a reappearance after years absence (so that someone who was allocated a half page now needs a full, or a one pager now needs two) and that creates anomalies now and then. Both of your examples are cases of that, though one is kind of the reverse of the other. In Death Wreck's case, we gained a page late on in the process, we suddenly had a page spare late in the D's and needed to find someone alphabetically near the gap to plug in, and since we'd already covered the other "Death" brothers, Death Wreck seemed the best option. In the Inua case, they'd been written for another title and then cut, so we fitted them back in here.

Something similar happened back in Spider-Man Back in Black - the Grizzly entry I was writing proved not to need 2 pages, and we had a page to fill. Grizzly's loss was Grim Hunter's gain.

bigvis497 wrote:

The Hellfire Club entry was very detailed! Liked how it was very in-depth about all the various versions, many of which I knew nothing about.

As the writer of that entry, thanks, glad you liked it. Yes, the Club has a much longer history than most realise (including me, prior to starting my research). And it's already out of date! There's new Inner Circle members just shown up in X-Men Legacy, but the publication dates were deemed too close together to risk the handbook spoiling their reveal in XML.

bigvis497 wrote:

Man, the Hellions entries were all great. I'm guessing the New Mutants/New Mutants 2003/New X-Men will get the sam treatment? Will have to wait and see!

Not necessarily, as it is a case by case basis. There's a bit more continuity between the New Mutant teams, whereas the Hellions really only share the name and an odd member.

bigvis497 wrote:

Digging WAY into the bakwaters of X-Continuity and correctly listing Holocaust's first appearance as Stryfe Strike File. I remember originally reading that back in 93 and wondering who the heck he was, he didn't show up in an actual comic story until AOA a couple years down the line.

We had a long discussion on this, and went to editorial to check if we should consider it the same character or not. The answer, as you can see, was yes.

bigvis497 wrote:

Nays....
I hate the main illustration for Hulk, it looks like something from an action figure or video game package (kind of like Colossus' from the previous HC).
No Pacheco-designed costume illustration for the Human Torch? Yet there was space for his "Acrobat" costume? Umm...

Not my entries, so not something I can comment on. Other than to say that Johnny's Acrobat costume is incredibly camp.

bigvis497 wrote:

The main pic for th Hellfire Club...uggh.. There should have been a John Byrne illustration used or something along those lines. That main illustration was created for one of those Scholastic Encyclopedias or something like that, wasn't it? I prefer the illustrations that are used from the actual comics.

As someone else noted, it comes from DK's X-Men Guide. It was a space issue as much as anything else - yes, there are group shots such as John Byrne's original Inner Circle one which would have been nice to include. I'd have liked to have included full body shots of many of the past members. But space proved too tight; especially with the new Hellfire activity in XML and elsewhere, the Club could do with 5 or 6 pages next time they get covered.

bigvis497 wrote:

The positives outweight the negatives 1 million to 1. Can't wait for Volume 6!

Sorry about the stuff you didn't like, but glad it met your approval overall!

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Invaders: expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Purpose and Major Enemies removed. Members expanded. History completely revised/expanded. Note added. Original illo replaced with new main illo and 16 headshots (curiously including Angel, whom I can’t find any reference to in the text)

He was shown to be a member in a flashback to 1943 in Fallen Son: Death of Captain America. We only know of him working with them for a single adventure, so the reference in the history (and the "Active" notes under the headshots) got cut for space reasons.

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Hellions (Emplate’s): 1-page entry derived from original 3-page general Hellions entry. Members and Base of Operations thus match Emplate’s “Hellions” in original text.

Not quite match. One of Emplate's minion was previously unidentified. Jay Faeber, who created her, identified her for us.

Sidney Osinga wrote:

Actually, I think it came from DK Books' Ultimate X-Men guide. That's where I first remember that picture from. Personally, I think it's an OK picture since it has clear images of most of the important members, which is the best for the entry.

And that's basically why it was chosen. It would have been nice to split it into pictures of the various incarnations of the early Inner Circles, but that would have required several images, and there wasn't space. This was a nice shot that clearly showed almost every major player from the Club's earlier years. I regret though that we couldn't enlarge it to spread it over two pages, so the figures were a little bigger - again, space.




Andy E. Nystrom

Oct 30, 2008, 06:47 pm

Note: I’ve temporarily misfiled by Age of Apocalypse volume and so will cover Heather Hudson once I find it.

X-Men 2005

All: Superhuman Powers, Abilities, Paraphernalia merged as Abilities/Accessories

Hellfire Club: Expanded from 2 to 4 pages. The various Members lists revised with new Employees category added. Base of Operations revised. History completely revised/expanded. One illo removed, other captioned. 7 new captioned illos (2 with Active issues). 20 headshots with Active issues added.

Husk: expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Vital Statistics somewhat revised. History and Abilities/Accessories mostly (not entirely) revised/expanded. Power Grid revised. 8 new secondary illos

World War Hulk Gamma Files

Godseye: no significant changes

Hero of the Day: no significant changes

Horusians: no significant changes

Hulk: expanded from 8 to 9 pages. Aliases and Known Relatives expanded. Some History paragraphs merged; end of three paragraphs have new text added to them (I could well be overlooking other pieces of texts embedded within these many paragraphs); last paragraph mostly revised/expanded. New main illo (old one now captioned secondary). 1 secondary shot removed, 12 added (10 captioned).

Illuminati: final 2 History sentences replaced with 2 new ones, followed by new paragraph. New secondary illo.

Inheritor: final line of History no longer cut off.

Initiative: expanded from 3 to 9 pages. Vital Statistics completely revised and expanded, with different membership categories. History considerably revised and expanded (though a lot of the original text remains). 8 new illos (7 captioned). 6 headshots removed, 108 added; of old ones, alter egos removed, some have new illos/statuses

Avengers 2004
No entries this volume

Hulk 2004

All: Abilities, Superhuman Powers, Paraphernalia merged as Abilities/Accessories; Distinguishing Features and Marital Status removed

Home Base: Former Members and Base of Operations added. History completely revised. Secondary illo removed. 12 headshots with First Appearances added (just to clarify, Incredible Hulk#134 was when she first went by S-3?)

Hulk: expanded from 6 to 9 pages (mostly due to later Gamma Files entry). Vital Statistics revised/expanded. History and Abilities/Accessories greatly revised and expanded, though some of the original text still present for both. Secondary llos removed, replaced with 24 new ones (20 captioned).

Hulkbusters: expanded from 1 to 4 pages. Members added. First Appearance expanded. History completely revised/expanded. Main illo now captioned. 9 headshots with First appearances, 4 other captioned secondary illos (3 with First Appearances). Gamma Base page from Marvel Atlas#2 added.

A-Z 2

Molly Hayes (originally listed as Bruiser): Aliases, Citizenship, Group Affiliation a little revised. Final History paragraph greatly expanded. Original illos removed. New main illo with captioned secondary illo.

Update 1

Garko the Man-Frog: Real Name tweaked.

Hammer: first History paragraph revised. 2 new secondary illos

Mark Hazzard: final History paragraph slightly expanded

Human Robot: final History sentence replaced with two new ones. New captioned secondary illo of creator

Huntarr: no significant changes

Hunter in Darkness: 1st 2 History paragraphs merged, final paragraph slightly expanded.

Ikaris: Occupation and final History paragraph revised. One secondary illo removed, the other cropped to make room for a new captioned one.

Impossible Man: new captioned secondary illo

In-Betweener: Some of the History moved to an earlier part of the History., resulting in the 2nd paragraph being split in 2.

Update 2

Gun Runner: Energy Projection increased on Power Grid

Hitman: caption removed from secondary illo

Hulk (2099) (originally listed as 2099 A.D.): 2nd and 3rd History parapgraphs merged, with alter egos added in what was the 2nd paragraph. New captioned secondary illo.

Iron Maiden: 2 sentences added to end of History

Iron Maniac: no significant changes

Update 3

Geometer: no significant changes

Huntsman: no significant changes

Intruders: 2 sentences added to end of History. Note added. Most headshots removed (Muphy intact while Lightbright less cropped to make more of a body shot). Other two illos removed and replaced with new illo with members captioned.

Update 4

Heroes for Hire (Misty & Colleen): all Current Members now listed as Former Members. 1st 2 and last 2 History paragraphs merged; end of final paragraph revised/expanded.

Daredevil 2004

Hand: expanded from 2 to 4 pages. Members and Base of Operations added. History considerably revised and expanded (some portions of original text still intact). Old illos removed. New main illo plus two captioned secondary illos and 54 Headshots with First Appearances.

X-Men 2004

All: Marital Status deleted; Powers & Abilities, Paraphernalia merged as Abilities/Accessories; First Appearances moved from back of book to entries

Havok: expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Vital Statistics revised/expanded. History completely revised/expanded. Abilities/Accessories also completely revised, though word count appears reduced. Fighting Skills on Power Grid increased. Original illo removed. New main illo and 7 secondary illos (5 captioned).

Iceman: expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Aliases, Identity, Group Affiliation revised. History completely revised/expanded. Abilities/Accessories mostly revised/expanded (a little bit of old text intact). Power Grid revised. Original illo removed. New main illo and 14 secondary illos (8 captioned).

Annihilation Nova Corps Files
No entries this volume

Women of Marvel 2005

All: Marital Status removed; Superhuman Powers, Abilities, Paraphernalia merged as Abilities/Accessories

Hellcat: expanded from 1 to 4 pages. Vital Statistics extensively revised/expanded. History and Abilities/Accessories completely and extensively revised/expanded. Strength increased on Power Grid. Old illo removed. New main illo and 6 secondary illos (5 captioned).

Hepzibah: expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Aliases, Relatives, Group Affiliation revised. History and mostly (not completely) revised/expanded. Abilities/Accessories somewhat revised. 2 new secondary illos

Marvel Knights 2005

All: Abilities, Superhuman Powers, Paraphrenalia merged as Abilities/Accessories; Marital Status removed

Iron Fist: expanded from 3 to 4 pages. Aliases and Group Affiliation expanded. History and Abilities/Accessories greatly revised/expanded, though a lot of the original text still present. Energy Projection increased on Power Grid. New main illo (old one reversed as secondary illo). 5 new secondary illos. [A first for this volume: two entries actually share the same illo: the cover illo to Power Man & Iron Fist#50 appears in both the original Heroes for Hire and Iron Fist entries].

Mystic Arcana

Agatha Harkness: new captioned secondary illo

Spider-Man: Back in Black

Blackie Gaxton: new secondary illo

Headsman: no significant changes

Hobgoblin (2211 A.D.): new captioned secondary illo

Iguana: 4 sentences added to end of Abilities/Accessories

New entries

As discussed above, Hate-Monger (Psycho-Man Construct) was very loosely based on hate-Monger (Hitler clone) and the Hyperion (Earth-712) entry was the basis for 3 new Hyperion entries. Beyond that:

Inua: 1 page entry with 3 captioned illos. Categories: Known Members, Base of Operations, First Appearance, Traits, History.




slevin87

Oct 30, 2008, 09:02 pm


You forgot Jason Macendale, who's now listed as Hobgoblin.

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Spider-Man: Back in Black

Blackie Gaxton: new secondary illo

Headsman: no significant changes

Hobgoblin (2211 A.D.): new captioned secondary illo

Iguana: 4 sentences added to end of Abilities/Accessories

Andy E. Nystrom

Oct 31, 2008, 01:40 am

slevin87 wrote:

You forgot Jason Macendale, who's now listed as Hobgoblin.

I had a feeling I was overlooking somebody somewhere. Okay:

Hobgoblin (Macendale): originally listed as Jason Macendale. One caption rewritten for clarity. ["Hobgoblin" still listed under Aliases, an inadvertent redundancy due to the entry name change]




skippcomet

Oct 31, 2008, 03:14 pm

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Avengers 2004
No entries this volume

I think you've overlooked the entry for Jack of Hearts.




Andy E. Nystrom

Oct 31, 2008, 06:32 pm

skippcomet wrote:

I think you've overlooked the entry for Jack of Hearts.

Actually in this instance I made a typo. That should have read Avengers 2005, not 2004. So Avengers 2005 has no entries this volume, while Avengers 2004 has Henry Gyrich, Hercules, Iron Man (Tony Stark), and Jack of Hearts, all covered in an earlier post.




Sidney Osinga

Oct 31, 2008, 11:57 pm


I hate to point out more mistakes, but....

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Hellions (Emplate’s): 1-page entry derived from original 3-page general Hellions entry. Members and Base of Operations thus match Emplate’s “Hellions” in original text. First Appearance added. History completely revised/expanded. Most illos removed. One illo retained mostly intact, another cropped, with captioned shared with a new illo, 5 additional new illos.

Hellions (King Bedlam’s): 1-page entry derived from original 3-page general Hellions entry. Members and Base of Operations thus match New Hellions in original text. First Appearance added. History completely revised/expanded. Most illos removed. 2 illos retained mostly intact (in fact 1 less cropped), 2 new secondary illos

In Hellions (Emplate's), the pictures of Murmur and Vincente are actually uncropped pictures from the original entry. On a similar note, in Hellions (King Bedlam's), both the pictures of Feral and Switch are expanded versions of the ones from the original entry, making Paradigm's the only new one.

Also, on the inside flap, it says that Jarella, J. Jonah Jameson, and Edwin Jarvis were included. Obviously, that was from the initial press release and someone forgot to change it.


DragynWulf

Nov 1, 2008, 12:28 pm

bigvis497 wrote:

Nays....
No Pacheco-designed costume illustration for the Human Torch? Yet there was space for his "Acrobat" costume? Umm...

No good images could be used. He was either in flame mode while everyone else had great images showing off the costume or shown in the background with the costume on, which was too small to use. The very few times he was shown up close with the costume, he had his side turned so the costume wasn't shown very good or it was a view from the back.

FF #415 the team switched to the white/blue costume for only two issues. No good image to use shown.

FF #1 (1997) the team switched to the Counter-Earth costumes.

FF #1 (1998) the team switched to the black/blue costumes.

FF #12 (1998) the team switched to the white/blue Pacheo costume. From #12-25, there were no good images showing off the costume. There were some, but they were too small to use (he was shown in background type images) and when shown up close, he was in flame mode.

FF #26 (2000) he switched to the utility type costume.

FF #35 (2000) he switched his costume back to the white/blue Pacheo costume. Still with no good image to show it off properly.

FF #38 (2001) the team switched to the black/blue costume with no "4" on it and no real significant deal to add that version to the profile.

FF #39 (2001) the team placed the "4" on the black/blue costume.

On the bright side, we explained how Johnny can breathe while in flame form. :htorch:




ultrabasurero

Nov 5, 2008, 01:18 pm

I just got my copy in yesterday. Great job to the writers and the others involved in another great volume. One question thought, why did Invisible Woman's entry say anything about her being replaced by Lyja in SI? Was there not enough time, because that issue of SI:FF was early in the summer I think.




slevin87

Nov 5, 2008, 03:22 pm


The Earth-295 Wild Child's name is hyperlinked in the appendix. I assume that means he's going to appear in a future volume?




Sean McQuaid

Nov 5, 2008, 03:41 pm

ultrabasurero wrote:

I just got my copy in yesterday. Great job to the writers and the others involved in another great volume. One question thought, why did Invisible Woman's entry say anything about her being replaced by Lyja in SI? Was there not enough time, because that issue of SI:FF was early in the summer I think.

It was partly a matter of saving time/space during the prep of an already very full profile, partly the minor scale of the event (it was a very brief substitution as opposed to what happened to people like Pym and Spider-Woman), and partly the fact that some story threads connected with that event weren't going to pay off until after HC5 saw print -- and it's awkward form to highlight an unfinished storyline that's just going to keep dangling in the profile for as long as these HCs are in circulation. Better all around to omit the Lyja story from the IW profile, though this event will get some coverage in the Lyja profile, she being the character most affected by all this.

-Sean




Sean McQuaid

Nov 5, 2008, 03:52 pm

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Biggest surprise is 9 pages for the Initiative (while the 11-pager for Iron Man and 9-pager for Hulk are welcomed, they're less of a surprise, having already had extensive rewrites).

The Initiative affects so many MU characters and comics, many of them on an ongoing basis, that they absolutely needed a much bigger profile. The 3-pager they got back in the Hulk handbook was way too small for the subject even when it first saw print, and the Initiative's only gotten bigger and more complicated since then.

In fact, we easily could have filled way more than nine pages -- the profile was approved for ten pages at one point (though it ended up getting mistakenly slotted for nine pages in the layout plan), and even that original ten-page plan underestimated the scale of the topic. While it's still relatively new, the Initiative is already one of the richest, meatiest subjects in the MU by far.

-Sean