Historical text from Comixfan:

Zach Kinkead

Sep 17, 2008, 10:06 pm

The December solicits are out so it’s time for our favorite game; So is This a Handbook or What? We’ve been playing this a lot over the past few years because of the multitude of handbooks and reference comics that weren’t marketed as such. I figured we might as well start out a thread for this sort of thing since it seems to come up every two or three months.

Now, based on the write-up, the Spider-Man: BND Yearbook appears to be a cross between a Handbook and a “BND Saga”-style recap. Is that accurate?

Is Secret Invasion Aftermath a reference comic? A “Saga” recap of SI? Is it a Handbook?

Is it safe to assume that none of the classified post-SI one-shots are Handbooks?

What is F4 Cosmic Special? There isn’t any information about it but it doesn’t seem to be SI-related so I don’t see why it’d be classified.




Eduardo M.

Sep 17, 2008, 11:00 pm

Zach Kinkead wrote:

The December solicits are out so it’s time for our favorite game; So is This a Handbook or What? We’ve been playing this a lot over the past few years because of the multitude of handbooks and reference comics that weren’t marketed as such. I figured we might as well start out a thread for this sort of thing since it seems to come up every two or three months.

Now, based on the write-up, the Spider-Man: BND Yearbook appears to be a cross between a Handbook and a “BND Saga”-style recap. Is that accurate?

Is Secret Invasion Aftermath a reference comic? A “Saga” recap of SI? Is it a Handbook?

Is it safe to assume that none of the classified post-SI one-shots are Handbooks?

What is F4 Cosmic Special? There isn’t any information about it but it doesn’t seem to be SI-related so I don’t see why it’d be classified.

I'd say the BND Yearbook is going to be like the recent Marvel: Your Universe one-shot in that it will have Handbook profiles in addition to some background info on BND.

The aftermath will most likely be a comic that sents up the new status quo and not a reference book.




Stuart V

Sep 18, 2008, 05:56 am

Eduardo M. wrote:

I'd say the BND Yearbook is going to be like the recent Marvel: Your Universe one-shot in that it will have Handbook profiles in addition to some background info on BND.

The aftermath will most likely be a comic that sents up the new status quo and not a reference book.

Correct. Yearbook is part Handbook, other releases that month not Handbooks (except for the Hardcover Vol. 6).




William Keogh

Sep 18, 2008, 11:08 am

The FF Cosmic thing will probably just be an oversized comic along the lines of Giant or King Sized comics.




Michael Regan

Sep 18, 2008, 12:04 pm


It will be a Saga still synopsis with some profiles.




Zach Kinkead

May 27, 2009, 03:04 pm


Same question RE the “X-Men Future History Messiah War Sourcebook” that I just noticed in Diamond’s shipping list. Is it a handbook? A saga recap? A sketchbook? Something else?




Sidney Osinga

May 27, 2009, 06:44 pm

Zach Kinkead wrote:

Same question RE the “X-Men Future History Messiah War Sourcebook” that I just noticed in Diamond’s shipping list. Is it a handbook? A saga recap? A sketchbook? Something else?

Something else. It's more of a files books, with short entries "written" by Cable about himself, the current X-Force, and Bishop.