Historical text from Comixfan:


Eric J. Moreels
May 20, 2008, 07:13 pm
Coming from Marvel Comics in August...

OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z VOL. 4 PREMIERE HC
Written by JEFF CHRISTIANSEN, SEAN MCQUAID, DAVID WILTFONG, STUART VANDAL, RONALD BYRD, CHAD ANDERSON, MIKE FICHERA, JACOB ROUGEMONT, MADISON CARTER, MARK O'ENGLISH, MICHAEL HOSKIN, ERIC J. MOREELS, CHRIS BIGGS, GABE SHECHTER, AL SJOERDSMA & RICH GREEN
Cover by TOM GRUMMETT

Continuing the most exciting and comprehensive Marvel Handbook ever assembled! This twelve-volume guide to the Marvel Universe features more than 100 huge entries in each tome! This issue – from the Elf with a Gun to Guardians of the Galaxy! Spotlighting people (Eternity, Exodus, Falcon, Fin Fang Foom, Emma Frost, Nick Fury, Galactus, Gambit, two Ghost Riders, Gravity, Guardian), places (Genosha), teams (Excalibur, Exiles, Fantastic Four, Frightful Four, Generation X, the Great Lakes Initiative, the Hand), species (Eternals) and more!

240 PGS./Rated T+ …$24.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-3101-4
Trim size: standard

William Keogh
May 20, 2008, 07:36 pm
So, I know everyone on the cover except the guy beside the Grim Reaper and Fury, and below Fin Fang Foom. A little help?

Stuart V
May 20, 2008, 07:50 pm

William Keogh wrote:

So, I know everyone on the cover except the guy beside the Grim Reaper and Fury, and below Fin Fang Foom. A little help?

I believe it is Forge's current look.

William Keogh
May 20, 2008, 07:57 pm
Thanks. I guess Forge generally is a character who doesn't really have a stand-out look to begin with.

Andy E. Nystrom
May 20, 2008, 10:41 pm
Looking forward to it, though I've spotted an error in the solicitation: It apparently goes up to Guardians of the Galaxy, but the Hand's supposedly one of the teams covered. I'll take a guess (admittedly 50-50) that the first part is correct that that the Hand will have to wait until volume 5?

Regardless, I suspect we're in for some pretty nice updated team entries in this one.

ultrabasurero
May 20, 2008, 10:54 pm
Shouldn't the solicits list 3 Ghost Riders? Blaze, Ketch and 2099?

DragynWulf
May 21, 2008, 12:43 am

ultrabasurero wrote:

Shouldn't the solicits list 3 Ghost Riders? Blaze, Ketch and 2099?

Maybe... or maybe not. :Biggrin:
Seems one was overlooked during the solicits.
I blame Mephisto for it myself. :Devil:

ToddCam
May 21, 2008, 01:12 pm
Is Happy Hogan going to profiled for the Hardcovers, or will it be solely his Freak aspect in Volume 4?

Stuart V
May 21, 2008, 01:20 pm

ToddCam wrote:

Is Happy Hogan going to profiled for the Hardcovers, or will it be solely his Freak aspect in Volume 4?

He'll be covered in full.

bigvis497
May 21, 2008, 11:17 pm
I'm looking forward to this one a lot more than others, mostly just due to the fact that there's a ton of 2004/2005 entries that will get their fair share in the new format. Can't wait to read updates on Emma, Gambit, Nick Fury, Galactus, Firestar, Enchantress, Ghost Rider, Fin Fang Foom, etc. Also, surprised to see that Frog Man made it to the cover! I'm hoping Tom Grummett is signed on for all twelve of these, his covers are always spectacular!

Eduardo M.
May 22, 2008, 12:20 am

ToddCam wrote:

Is Happy Hogan going to profiled for the Hardcovers, or will it be solely his Freak aspect in Volume 4?

It would not surprise me if the Freak does not get an entry in the hardcovers since both people who have assumed the identity (Happy Hogan and Eddie March) have entries under their real names.

now I don't know if Eddie March will be in the hardcovers since his first entry came in the Iron Manual about a week ago. However, even if he doesn't get into the hardcovers, since the Freak's entry in the 60s handbook was about Hogan, we can assume there won't be an entry on Freak in volume 4.

Michael Hoskin
May 23, 2008, 01:32 pm

bigvis497 wrote:

Also, surprised to see that Frog Man made it to the cover!

That was my call - I hoped Grummett would use him to bring a little levity to the cover and he did!

Andy E. Nystrom
May 23, 2008, 10:23 pm

Michael Hoskin wrote:

That was my call - I hoped Grummett would use him to bring a little levity to the cover and he did!

He's a good choice for the cover because he's an excellent goodwill ambassador: despite more setbacks than most superheroes, he never stops trying to get it right.

Sidney Osinga
May 24, 2008, 03:11 pm
Here is a list of half page entries we'll see in this issue, based on what entries we've all ready seen:

2 E's:
Earthmover
Empathoid

6 F's:
Faceles Ones
Father Darklyte
Flux
the Fox
Freedom Ring
Fusion
maybe we'll see Friday from the Iron Manual, I'm not sure.

And since the Hand will kick off #5, I assume we'll see the G's.
11 G's:
Gamecock
Gargantus
Gargoyle (Topolov)
Garko the Man Frog
Blackie Gaxton
Gazer
Generic Super Hero
Geometer
Ghoul
Gnome
Godseye

Sean McQuaid
May 24, 2008, 05:33 pm

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

It apparently goes up to Guardians of the Galaxy, but the Hand's supposedly one of the teams covered. I'll take a guess (admittedly 50-50) that the first part is correct that that the Hand will have to wait until volume 5?

Page layouts change on occasion as we repeatedly revise the contents, so yes, the Hand will be waiting until volume 5.

Regardless, I suspect we're in for some pretty nice updated team entries in this one.

That's the plan...

-Sean

Sean McQuaid
May 24, 2008, 05:37 pm

Eduardo M. wrote:

now I don't know if Eddie March will be in the hardcovers since his first entry came in the Iron Manual

Eddie will be in the hardcovers, as will any other Handbook-style Iron Manual profiles that fit within the hardcovers' alphabetical run from this point onward.

-Sean

Eduardo M.
May 25, 2008, 12:54 am

Sean McQuaid wrote:

Eddie will be in the hardcovers, as will any other Handbook-style Iron Manual profiles that fit within the hardcovers' alphabetical run from this point onward.

-Sean

That's cool. It's too bad poor Bethany Cabe and Bambi Aborgast came too late to be Vol.2. Oh well. Maybe next time.

ultrabasurero
May 25, 2008, 03:20 am
Is Excalibur broken up between Excalibur and New Excalibur?

Stuart V
May 25, 2008, 05:52 am

ultrabasurero wrote:

Is Excalibur broken up between Excalibur and New Excalibur?

Nope. There was enough continuity between the two incarnations to make it viable to cover in a single entry.

skippcomet
May 26, 2008, 02:59 am

Stuart V wrote:

Nope. There was enough continuity between the two incarnations to make it viable to cover in a single entry.

I assume the same won't be said for the Exiles (team of Axis villains in support of the Red Skull) and the Exiles (team of constantly changing multiverse-travelling alternatie counterparts of heroes and villains). :dance:

I hope all the upcoming team entries feature identifying head shots and captions for all the members. I reread my copy of the Teams 2005 Handbook and still couldn't figure who the handful of members shown for the First Line were save for Pixie and Oxbow, and I couldn't figure out who any of the members of Euroforce in the picture were.

Stuart V
May 26, 2008, 06:21 am

skippcomet wrote:

 
I assume the same won't be said for the Exiles (team of Axis villains in support of the Red Skull) and the Exiles (team of constantly changing multiverse-travelling alternatie counterparts of heroes and villains). :dance:

Totally different teams who happened to have the same name, so no, they will have separate entries. However Excalibur and "New" Excalibur are more akin to the differing Avengers, Defenders or X-Men team incarnations - same team, with a few breaks in their history where the team was inactive.

skippcomet wrote:

I hope all the upcoming team entries feature identifying head shots and captions for all the members. I reread my copy of the Teams 2005 Handbook and still couldn't figure who the handful of members shown for the First Line were save for Pixie and Oxbow, and I couldn't figure out who any of the members of Euroforce in the picture were.

The intention for team entries is to show all members as far as possible, and to identify them in their pictures or headshots.

Sidney Osinga
May 26, 2008, 07:21 pm

Sean McQuaid wrote:

Eddie will be in the hardcovers, as will any other Handbook-style Iron Manual profiles that fit within the hardcovers' alphabetical run from this point onward.

-Sean

So, that does mean that Friday will be included, which will make 7 half page F's. Now, as to who I'd like to see fill the spaces, I'm sticking with Golden Age characters: Falcon (Burgess), Fighting Yank, Flexo the Rubber Man, the Fourth Musketeer, or the Flying Flame for the F's, and Gary Gaunt, the original Golden Girl (Ross), or the Great Video from Marvel Boy for the G's.

Stuart V
May 27, 2008, 11:50 am

Eduardo M. wrote:

That's cool. It's too bad poor Bethany Cabe and Bambi Aborgast came too late to be Vol.2. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Right from the start we have had a strategy in place for this kind of problem. By our alphabetical nature, we considered the possibility of some entries causing problems, such as Wonder Man hypothetically changing his name to "Mr. Strong" after we got past M but before we got to W. In such instances, attempted alphabetical escapees will be rounded up and placed in the final volume under whatever name they finally decide to stick with.

Sidney Osinga wrote:

So, that does mean that Friday will be included, which will make 7 half page F's.

Friday will be included.

Sidney Osinga
May 27, 2008, 02:43 pm

Stuart V wrote:

Right from the start we have had a strategy in place for this kind of problem. By our alphabetical nature, we considered the possibility of some entries causing problems, such as Wonder Man hypothetically changing his name to "Mr. Strong" after we got past M but before we got to W. In such instances, attempted alphabetical escapees will be rounded up and placed in the final volume under whatever name they finally decide to stick with.

Let me get this straight. In vol. 12, there will be an "appendix" of characters that got entries after their letter rolled around (such as Mrs. Aborgast and Bethany) as well as characters who "jumped" in the alphabetic order? Will this also include characters who need significant rewrites after their initial entry?

And no hints about who might get a new entry in this volume? Please toss us a bone.

Eduardo M.

May 27, 2008, 02:55 pm

Sidney Osinga wrote:

Let me get this straight. In vol. 12, there will be an "appendix" of characters that got entries after their letter rolled around (such as Mrs. Aborgast and Bethany) as well as characters who "jumped" in the alphabetic order? Will this also include characters who need significant rewrites after their initial entry?

And no hints about who might get a new entry in this volume? Please toss us a bone.

I don't know about you, Uber, but I'd rather be surprised. Its more fun that way

Stuart V
May 27, 2008, 03:51 pm

Sidney Osinga wrote:

Let me get this straight. In vol. 12, there will be an "appendix" of characters that got entries after their letter rolled around (such as Mrs. Aborgast and Bethany) as well as characters who "jumped" in the alphabetic order? Will this also include characters who need significant rewrites after their initial entry?

More or less. Yes, the plan is that as far as space permits the final volume will include those who skipped their letter for whatever reason. There is no plan at present to include updates for other characters who got covered earlier in the hardcover run but then have significant changes happen, as (1) that might be half the run for all we know, and (2) that's what new Handbooks down the line would logically be for.

Sidney Osinga wrote:

And no hints about who might get a new entry in this volume? Please toss us a bone.

I'd imagine "Zola, Arnim" is a likely candidate for #12.

Sidney Osinga
May 29, 2008, 03:08 pm

Stuart V wrote:

More or less. Yes, the plan is that as far as space permits the final volume will include those who skipped their letter for whatever reason. There is no plan at present to include updates for other characters who got covered earlier in the hardcover run but then have significant changes happen, as (1) that might be half the run for all we know, and (2) that's what new Handbooks down the line would logically be for.


I'd imagine "Zola, Arnim" is a likely candidate for #12.

OK, that's cool. I guess that means there is still hope for expanded entries for Cannonball and Carnage.

And don't be a smart ass. That's my job. I meant what new entries might we see in vol. 4. (I'm the type of guy who flips to the end of a novel to see how it ends.)

Stuart V
May 29, 2008, 03:51 pm

Sidney Osinga wrote:

OK, that's cool. I guess that means there is still hope for expanded entries for Cannonball and Carnage.

Not currently on the cars, but not impossible.

Sidney Osinga wrote:

And don't be a smart ass. That's my job. I meant what new entries might we see in vol. 4. (I'm the type of guy who flips to the end of a novel to see how it ends.)

Hmm. The volumes are kind of running together with me, since we just finished proofing 3, and are working on 6 right now with some 5 stragglers. 3 has a few surprises; honestly can't recall right now who is in 4. I do know all the volumes include some vastly expanded entries.

Sidney Osinga
May 29, 2008, 09:04 pm

Stuart V wrote:

Hmm. The volumes are kind of running together with me, since we just finished proofing 3, and are working on 6 right now with some 5 stragglers. 3 has a few surprises; honestly can't recall right now who is in 4. I do know all the volumes include some vastly expanded entries.

That's good to know. I hope that all the entries that need expanded get it (that's the problem I have with the Cannonball and Carnage entries). I pretty much assume that all the entries from the first year and a half will get expanded, especially the ones from the Women of the Marvel Universe Handbook.

Also can you at least tell us if vol. 5 is coming out in September?

William Keogh
May 30, 2008, 12:51 pm

Sidney Osinga wrote:

Also can you at least tell us if vol. 5 is coming out in September?

I believe they release the hardcovers every other month, so probably in October.

Sidney Osinga
Jun 2, 2008, 03:24 pm

William Keogh wrote:

I believe they release the hardcovers every other month, so probably in October.

The thing is that the series was originally announced as a monthly. I'm just hoping that it will get back on track.

Eduardo M.
Jun 2, 2008, 07:23 pm

Sidney Osinga wrote:

The thing is that the series was originally announced as a monthly. I'm just hoping that it will get back on track.

Or hopefully something equally cool will come out that month. September is my birthday and I hope I can celebrate it with some sort of Handbooky goodness.

Captain Speedbump
Jun 22, 2008, 10:51 pm
Unfortunately, it seems to me that the entire run of hardcover Handbooks is destined to come out bi-monthly as opposed to monthly as was originally stated (although if someone knows if they will be moving to a monthly schedule at some point, I would love to be proven wrong). In the interim, it looks like other recent handbook type material is being put into hardcover as well (the Atlases and the Iron Man book in September). I hope the Hardcovers are finished soon, because I'd love to continue with new entries and there are still many characters who I'd love to see new entries for.

Captain Speedbump

ultrabasurero
Jun 27, 2008, 02:09 pm
Is Norman Osborn under Green Goblin in this volume or is he under Norman Osborn.

Eduardo M.
Jun 27, 2008, 03:17 pm

ultrabasurero wrote:

Is Norman Osborn under Green Goblin in this volume or is he under Norman Osborn.

My guess is he's going to be in a future volume under Norman Osborn. If he was going to be in volume 4, I'm sure he would have made the cover and been mentioned in the solicts.

While we're on the subject, I'm guessing Phil urich will also be listed under his own name and not Green Goblin. And I'm sure the same goes for Harry Osborn.

Eduardo M.
Jun 28, 2008, 11:14 pm

Sidney Osinga wrote:

And since the Hand will kick off #5, I assume we'll see the G's.
11 G's:
Gamecock
Gargantus
Gargoyle (Topolov)
Garko the Man Frog
Blackie Gaxton
Gazer
Generic Super Hero
Geometer
Ghoul
Gnome
Godseye

I don't think the Hand will be the first entry in Vol. 5. Volume 4 goes up to the Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm missing a couple of handbooks so I might be missing names but to the best of my knowledge that would mean volume 5 would still need to have the entries for at least Guardsmen and Gunrunner. So the 1/2 G's will be there.

Sidney Osinga
Jul 7, 2008, 05:44 pm
I wonder if we'll see an entry for Sally Floyd, Quesada's second favorite character after Sentry, in this edition?

William Keogh
Jul 7, 2008, 07:18 pm
Quiet, Sid! We haven't heard anything from the Worlds' Most Sanctimonious Reporter in months!  

Stuart V
Jul 7, 2008, 07:36 pm

William Keogh wrote:

Quiet, Sid! We haven't heard anything from the Worlds' Most Sanctimonious Reporter in months!

I've heard that if you say Sally Floyd's name three times while looking in a bathroom mirror, she will appear from nowhere to write an expose on you!

William Keogh
Jul 7, 2008, 07:51 pm
Sally Floyd, Sally Floyd, Sally Floyd...

Sally: Are the rumors true that you've used medical marijuana? Was that you in that explicit video with the Senators' daughter? Am I not the most outstanding journalist of all time?

:scared: Run away! Run away! The Floyd is loose!

Madison Carter
Jul 8, 2008, 10:13 am
I guarantee Sally Forth is not in any of the upcoming Handbooks. Heck, she isn't even a Marvel character.
Wait. Sally FLOYD?

My bad.

Dunno about her.

PaxHouse
Jul 11, 2008, 03:02 pm
OK.... just two questions regarding the entries for This latest Handbook....

1.) Will EXCELSIOR {aka THE LONERS} be included within this Handbook {or will that be under L for Loners :dunno:}.....

2.) Will there be an entry for ENERGIZER {of POWER PACK}; only this one is from within the MC2's/SPIDER-GIRL Universe in which she's a member of the AVENGERS NEXT Team.....??

Eduardo M.
Jul 11, 2008, 04:11 pm

PaxHouse wrote:

OK.... just two questions regarding the entries for This latest Handbook....

1.) Will EXCELSIOR {aka THE LONERS} be included within this Handbook {or will that be under L for Loners :dunno:}.....

2.) Will there be an entry for ENERGIZER {of POWER PACK}; only this one is from within the MC2's/SPIDER-GIRL Universe in which she's a member of the AVENGERS NEXT Team.....??

1. My guess the team will be listed under L for Loners since that's the group's current name.

bigvis497
Jul 11, 2008, 06:42 pm

PaxHouse wrote:

OK.... just two questions regarding the entries for This latest Handbook....

1.) Will EXCELSIOR {aka THE LONERS} be included within this Handbook {or will that be under L for Loners :dunno:}.....

2.) Will there be an entry for ENERGIZER {of POWER PACK}; only this one is from within the MC2's/SPIDER-GIRL Universe in which she's a member of the AVENGERS NEXT Team.....??

I don't think Loners will make it in as they never received an entry before, same thing with Energizer, who will receive some coverage since Power Pack had an entry in Teams 2005. Unless I'm missing something...

Moira Brandon
Jul 14, 2008, 06:51 am
I´m afraid the only entry for Energizer will be in the "P" of "Power Pack since any member of this team have had an entry in the past handbooks.... :No:

ultrabasurero
Aug 26, 2008, 02:14 pm
I guess this is out tomorrow. Should we expecting a bunch of surprises, maybe new entries?

Sean McQuaid
Aug 27, 2008, 04:35 am

ultrabasurero wrote:

I guess this is out tomorrow. Should we expecting a bunch of surprises, maybe new entries?

It being Wednesday in North America by now, details of the volume's contents can be made available as follows:

Earthmover, Elf with a Gun, Elixir, Elysius, Holly-Ann Ember, Empathoid, Emplate, Enchantress, Enforcers, Epoch, Equinox, Ereshkigal, Eric the Red, Ero, Eternal Brain, Eternals, Eternity, Euroforce, Euro-Trash, Eurth, Excalibur, Exemplars, Exiles (World War II), Exiles (dimensionhopping), Exodus, Eye Killers, Ezekiel

Faceless One, Faceless Ones, Factor Three, Falcon (Wilson), Fallen One (Galactus herald), Fantastic Five (MC-2), Fantastic Five (Spider-Man), Fantastic Force, Fantastic Four, Fantomex, Father Darklyte, Father Time (Scott), Fathom Five, Femme Fatales, Ferocia, Feron, Fight-Man, Fin (Noble), Fin Fang Foom, Firebird, Firelord, Firepower, Firestar, First Line, Richard Fisk, Vanessa Fisk, Fixer (Ebersol), Flag-Smasher, Flex, Fly, Flying Dutchman’s Ghost, Flying Tiger, Folding Circle, Followers of the Light, Foolkiller (Everbest), Foolkiller (Gerhardt), Force (Wilson), Force Four, Force Works, Forge, Don Fortunato, Fox (Slinker), Frankenstein’s Monster, Freedom Ring, Free Spirit, Friday (Iron Man’s computer program), Frightful Four, Frog-Man (Patilio), Deacon Frost, Emma Frost, Rumiko Fujikawa, Fury (cybiote), Nick Fury, Fusion (Fusser twins), Fusion (Markley)

Gabriel the Air-Walker, Gabriel the Devil-Hunter, Gaea, Galactic Guardians, Galactus, Galaxy Master, Gambit, Gamesmaster, Gamma Corps, Gamma Mutates, Gamora, Ganymede, Gargoyle (Christians), John Garrett, Gatherers, Geist, Vera Gemini, Generation X, Genesis, Genosha, Geshem, Ghost, Ghost Dancer, Ghost Rider (Blaze), Ghost Rider (2099 AD), Gibbon, Gilgamesh, Gladiator (Potter), Gladiators, Glob, Glorian, Gnobians, Ma Gnucci, Goddess, Goldbug, Golem (creature), Goliath (Bill Foster), Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Book, Gorgon (Shishido), Gorilla-Man (Hale), Grand Director, Grandmaster, Glory Grant, Graviton, Gravity, Great Game, Great Lakes Initiative, Great One, Grey Gargoyle, Griffin, Grim Hunter, Grim Reaper, Grizzly (Markham), Guardian (James Hudson) and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

-Sean

shazam2271
Aug 27, 2008, 02:21 pm
Sean,

Thanks so much for the list of the contents of Vol. 4. I am looking forward to this edition as I have the others.

Jon

bigvis497
Aug 27, 2008, 02:37 pm
Picked this up on my lunch, plus the Marvel Your Universe saga, I've got plenty of handbook goodness to look forward to when I get home! Only had about 15 minutes to skim through it but what I saw looked awesome. That Galactus entry was HUGE! But I'm wondering how Fight Man got expanded to two pages, he had what, two appearances? (sorry, still reeling over Domino beeing kept down to one page) But this really looks great!

ultrabasurero
Aug 27, 2008, 05:59 pm
So I guess Captain Marvel (Skrull), and Groot, from Marvel: Your Universe, are going to be in Volume 12.

And where is the Ketch Ghost Rider?

bigvis497
Aug 27, 2008, 06:16 pm
I noticed that about Ketch as well, I know he's been popping up in Ghost Rider as of late, but I don't read that book so I don't know if he changed his name or not. I'm assuming he'll be under Ketch, Daniel. Also, Green Goblin (Urich) was left out, so he should probably be under Urich, Phil. Checking the master list, I didn't notice any other entries were missing this volume. And the Everbest version of Foolkiller appears to be the only brand-new from scratch entry this volume.

Andy E. Nystrom
Aug 27, 2008, 09:55 pm

bigvis497 wrote:

I noticed that about Ketch as well, I know he's been popping up in Ghost Rider as of late, but I don't read that book so I don't know if he changed his name or not. I'm assuming he'll be under Ketch, Daniel. Also, Green Goblin (Urich) was left out, so he should probably be under Urich, Phil. Checking the master list, I didn't notice any other entries were missing this volume. And the Everbest version of Foolkiller appears to be the only brand-new from scratch entry this volume.

Norman Osborn also previously had a Green Goblin entry but will undoubtedly also appear as Osborn. And the Fallen One (Champion) has already appeared under his old name. Forbidden Land alreeady covered under El Dorado, and Freak will be covered under Happy Hogan (I believe this was already confirmed somewhere on this board)

Nice job as usual. Nice to see long-timers such as Fin Fang Foom and Nick Fury getting extra breathing space.

Captain Morgan
Aug 28, 2008, 12:39 am
I take it Gladiator(Kallark) does not have a entry?

Sidney Osinga
Aug 28, 2008, 02:32 am

Captain Morgan wrote:

I take it Gladiator(Kallark) does not have a entry?

Nope, and you're not the only one disappointed by that. Hopefully, if there are any more Handbooks other than the hard covers, we'll see him in them.

TMFGC
Aug 28, 2008, 03:59 am

Just got this. I'm pleased overall by the hardcovers, but I do have a few concerns, or maybe better put, curiosities.

I should preface this by saying that I know the writers are working within the time restraints they have as best they can and are putting out a very thoughtful and worthwhile product. Most profiles are well updated, organized and added to with at least additional illustrations, and some of the all-new stuff is great (Citizen V III!). If you're a fan of this kind of material, it's a great and mostly definitive collection and revision of what's been presented in the handbooks since the 2004 relaunch. I've enjoyed the released ones and look forward to getting the rest.

Some things have struck me as odd, though. Other posters have noted the lack of textual additions (beyond events that occurred after the profiles' previous release) to major characters (Cyclops, Dr. Octopus, Doom, Electro, Domino, others) and a few I've noticed myself but not heard mentioned (Earth X--as rich a story as that's had, D'Spayre, a few others). I suppose I felt the need to clarify this issue for myself because of the Fantastic Four entry--a mere five pages for the longest running title of the current Marvel universe. Compared with the six-page Defenders profile, this doesn't make sense if presenting everyone the appropriate space is a concern that can be met right now.

There seem to be some past books that the hardcover collects that get more thorough text revisions than others (Women, Golden Age) and others that are oddly shortchanged (Spider-man '04, X-Men '04, some of FF '05, Horror '05). I haven't checked if all the writers of those books are on the hardcover jackets, but I didn't notice the Spider-man one on it, so I was wondering if this was an issue of who's on staff right now? It's understandable that if an expert on a title or character left; it would be near-impossible for another writer to give a complete revision to a decades-old character when there's already loads on their plate.

The discrepancy obviously doesn't dissuade me much. Those characters that are textually expanded are not only so very well handled, but most often are characters that are a bit shy of making any post-hardcover handbook priority just on the basis that they were shorted before. The major characters that were shorted could be given more complete revisions later, because it seems that handbooks lately, no matter how generally populated with the obscure, tend to need or are dictated to have an "anchor" character or characters to draw irregular or first-time handbook buyers (i.e., Iron Manual '08), and perhaps that figures in on space considerations in the hardcovers, too. As a long-time buyer, I just couldn't help but ask.

Captain Morgan
Aug 28, 2008, 10:11 am
That is a bit of a letdown that Gladiator(Kallark) has no entry.

bigvis497
Aug 28, 2008, 10:53 am
I'm sure Gladiator will be covered somewhere down the line, not surprised he wasn't in here as he hasn't been covered anywhere in the latest series. Imperial Guard will get an entry next volume as they were in Teams 05, and hopefully it will be expanded greatly as they've had what, like 30 plus members? Gladiator hasn't appeared too often outside of the Guard, so he should be covered well enough in the team entry.

In regards to F4, I was also kinda surprised they didn't get more coverage. I would have liked to see more team shots showing the slight variations on their costumes over the years. It would have been nice to see all their vehicles and headquarters, a la the Avengers entry.

Andy E. Nystrom
Aug 28, 2008, 12:09 pm

bigvis497 wrote:

In regards to F4, I was also kinda surprised they didn't get more coverage. I would have liked to see more team shots showing the slight variations on their costumes over the years. It would have been nice to see all their vehicles and headquarters, a la the Avengers entry.

I suspect that the vehicles/headquarters might have partly been an element of the rules tha the writers are playing by. Just as Gladiator didn't make it in because he wasn't covered in any of the 2004-2008 "pamphlets", Avengers HQ/Vehicles were in fact covered in a previously Avengers book in their own separate entry whereas the F4's counterparts were not (likewise we'll probably see an X-Mansion entry because it was previously covered). Of course there's been a few new additions to the hardcovers but they've been the exceptions rather than the rules.

But agreed there could have been some more team shots. For one I'd have like to have seen HQ illos that were in the 1960s and 1980s Legacy volumes (a partial way of getting around the above, albeit in the F4 entry itself rather than a separate entry). And a token illo of the non-F4 team (Spidey et al) would have been nice as well.

Along those lines I love how the Frankenstein's Monster entry was given an extra page to allow more illos to show his unique world.

Andy E. Nystrom
Aug 28, 2008, 01:22 pm
Doing my usual list of changes. Apologies if I miss anything. Anything I miss is entirely the fault of the writers for putting so much info into each volume that no one person could possibily sift through everything.

Marvel Legacy: 1960s

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

Exiles (WW2): Known members expanded (mostly first names added). New text added to end of 2nd and 3rd History paragraphs (latter incorporating info from Where are They Now?). New captioned secondary illo

Faceless Ones: Expanded from ½ to 1 page. Traits and Physical Stats added. History completely revised, incorporating details from Where are They Now? 3 new secondary illos 92 captioned)

Factor Three: Members and Base of Operations expanded (in former case, adding alter egos). New final GHistory parapgrah incorporating info from Where are They Now? New Sonny Baredo headshot. Two new captioned illos.

Fantastic Four: expanded from 2 to 5 pages. Team Stats and History completely revised and expanded. Two illos dropped (including Baxter Building cross section), 5 illos (3 captioned) plus 30 headshots added (13 members and 17 employees).

Fox: expanded from ½ to 1 page. Original History paragraph largely but not completely revised and expanded; new 2nd paragraph including info from Where are They Now? Abilities/Accessories largely expanded. Original illo replaced with new main illo and two secondary illos (1 captioned).

Marvel Legacy: 1970s

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

Faceless One: Background removed from main illo. Omni-Ship illo removed. History and Abilities/Accessories somewhat expanded, the former incorporating info from Where are They Now?

Fantastic Four: expanded from 2 to 5 pages. Team Stats and History completely revised and expanded. Both illos dropped, 6 illos (3 captioned) plus 30 headshots added (13 members and 17 employees).

Father Darklyte: Illo now shows full body; illo’s background removed

Golem: Occupation/Group Affiliation revised. First 2 History paragraphs somewhat expanded; new sentences added to 3rd paragraph incorporating Where are They Now? Material. Background removsed from original illo, 4 captioned secondary illos added.

Goliath (previously listed as Giant-Man): expanded from 1 to 3 pages. Vital Statistics, History, and abilities/Accessories mostly revised and expanded. Two illos removed, remaining one decropped/captioned/Power Man etc removed. New main illo, 3 new secondary illos (2 captioned).

Marvel Legacy: 1980s:

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

Holly-Ann Ember: New sentence added to Abilities/Accessories. Main
Illo now secondary and vice versa. Main illo (in hardcover) background removed. Secondary illo (in hardcover) now captioned.

Fantastic Four: expanded from 2 to 5 pages. Team Stats and History completely revised and expanded. Two illos dropped (including HQ), remaining illo captioned, 5 illos (2 captioned) plus 30 headshots added (13 members and 17 employees).

Followers of the Light: 2nd last History paragraph incorporates info from Where are They Now? Text removed from Sanctuary illo, two new captioned illos added.

Fusion (Fusser): History expanded to incorporate info from Where are They Now? One secondary illo removed

Gladiators: Alter egos added to Current Members, final History paragraph revised and expanded.

Marvel Legacy: 1990s

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

Exodus: Group Affiliation expanded. 2nd and 3rd History paragraphs merged, final paragraph replaced with new one incorporating infro from Where are They Now? New main illo, old main illo now secondary, old secondary illo removed.

Gamesmaster: no significant changes beyond the above

Generation X: Current Members added to Former Members. Some History paragraphs merged; large new final paragraph added including info from Where are They Now? Main illo now captioned, 2 new captioned secondary illos added, 8 of 9 headshots removed (9th clarified).

Ghost Rider (2099): Citizenship tweaked, one secondary illo cropped.

Goddess: no significant changes beyond the above

Great One: no significant changes beyond the above

Marvel: Your Universe

Griffin: no significant changes (unsurprising as both books released on same day)

Spider-Man 2005

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

Fly: Original illo replaced with classic Handbook main illo and 2 secondary illos (1 captioned)

Fusion (Markley): First History paragraph tweaked. Abilities/Accessories revised. Original illo replaed with main illo and 2 secondary illos (1 captioned)

Glory Grant: Final History paragraph revised and expanded. New sentence added to Abilities/Accessories.

Horror 2005

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

Frankenstein’s Monster: expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Note greatly expanded. Original illo reversed/less cropped. 9 new captioned illos plus 15 headshots with first appearances of Frankenstein family members.

Gabriel the Devil-Hunter: Final History paragraph and Abilities/Accessories revised/expanded.

X-Men 2004

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

Emma Frost: expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Some Vital Statistics revised. While a lot of the original text is still present, History greatly revised/expanded. Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. Power Grid largely revised. 7 new secondary illos (5 captioned)

Gambit: expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Some Vital Statistics revised. While a lot of the original text is still present, History greatly revised/expanded. Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. Fighting Skills on Power Grid increased. New main illo (original illo still present as secondary illo). 7 new secondary illos (3 captioned)

X-Men 2005

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

Fantomex: fighting Skills on Power Grid reduced. One secondary illo less cropped.

Genosha: Vital Statistics a bit revised. New paragraph at end of History

Avengers 2004

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

Falcon: expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Some Vital Statistics revised. History and Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. New main illo (original illo still present as secondary illo). 11 new secondary illos (3 captioned).

Wolverine 2004

All Individuals: Marital Status, Distinguishing Features removed; Superhuman Powers, Special Skills, Costume, Personal Weaponry merged as Abilities/Accessories

Genesis: Place of Birth now gives Earth number. Main illo reversed/less cropped. New secondary illo.

Daredevil 2004

All: Marital Status deleted; Powers & Abilities, Paraphernalia merged as Abilities/Accessories

Vanessa Fisk: Last 2 sentences of History removed, but new large final paragraph added. Fighting Skills on Power Grid increased.

Gladiator: expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Vital Statistics a bit revised. History completely revised/expanded. Abilities/Accessories revised. Original illo less cropped. 3 new secondary illos (1 captioned).

All-New Iron Manual

Firepower: no significant changes

Force: Two headshot captioned reversed to fix error

Friday: 4 new secondary illos

Rumiko Fujikawa: no significant changes

Mighty Avengers Most Wanted Files: no entries this volume

Alternate Universes 2005

Eurth: exapanded from 1 to 3 pages. 8 new captioned secondary illos. 13 new illos utilizing a number key

Fantastic Five (Spider-Man): final History paragraph revised/expanded.

Gatherers: expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Former Members have Earth numbers added. First Appearance expanded to cover individual members. New sentence added to end of 3rd History paragraph; 4th paragraph revised and expanded, new paragraph added efore final paragraph. Note added. Original illo captioned. 6 new captioned secondary illos.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Expanded from 3 to 5 pages. Base of Operations expanded. Some History paragraph merging and text tweaking; new paragraph added at end of History. New 3-paragraph note added re: other Guardians. New captioned main illo. Original illo now captioned secondary illo. 13 new captioned secondary illos plus 14 headshots indicating when first Active.

Core Continuum Designations: 6 additional pages added to what was originally a 1-page entry. I'd be shocked if any other entry ended up being as expanded as this one. Note that this list doesn't just include comic book realities but also worlds seen in the Marvel role-playing game material (even from Dragon Magazine!), TV shows, movies, etc. I'm betting they'll get around to Choose Your Own Adventure books before this list is over.

Stuart V
Aug 31, 2008, 09:08 am

PaxHouse wrote:

OK.... just two questions regarding the entries for This latest Handbook....

1.) Will EXCELSIOR {aka THE LONERS} be included within this Handbook {or will that be under L for Loners :dunno:}.....

2.) Will there be an entry for ENERGIZER {of POWER PACK}; only this one is from within the MC2's/SPIDER-GIRL Universe in which she's a member of the AVENGERS NEXT Team.....??

1) L for Loners.

2) No individual Power Pack members entries, sadly. During the early themed book part of our run they generally didn't fit the theme, plus they'd been largely inactive for several years. With a couple of them recently reappearing, they've moved up the priority stakes though, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them covered as and when we get appropriately themed new books after the HC run.

There's a few cases where those kind of circumstances have left certain corners of the MU underrepresented - the Asgardians for example, who didn't fit the themes and then were all dead during the A-Z run. First chance we get, we intend to address those gaps and fill them.

bigvis497 wrote:

I noticed that about Ketch as well, I know he's been popping up in Ghost Rider as of late, but I don't read that book so I don't know if he changed his name or not. I'm assuming he'll be under Ketch, Daniel. Also, Green Goblin (Urich) was left out, so he should probably be under Urich, Phil. Checking the master list, I didn't notice any other entries were missing this volume. And the Everbest version of Foolkiller appears to be the only brand-new from scratch entry this volume.

We got told Ketch was back, but not as Ghost Rider, so we moved him to K for Ketch. Then further solicits came out showing he was back to being Ghost Rider, a little too late to put him back under G. He will be covered, though I can't say whether he is under K or will now be held back for our "slipped the net" section of the last book. Urich will be under U, unless he changes back to being the Goblin (or adopts another codename) in the time between now and the U section being published.

Captain Morgan wrote:

I take it Gladiator(Kallark) does not have a entry?

No. He hasn't had an individual entry in the prior books, so he missed out on being in the hardcovers. He's highish priority for down the line.

TMFGC wrote:

Just got this. I'm pleased overall by the hardcovers, but I do have a few concerns, or maybe better put, curiosities.

I should preface this by saying that I know the writers are working within the time restraints they have as best they can and are putting out a very thoughtful and worthwhile product. Most profiles are well updated, organized and added to with at least additional illustrations, and some of the all-new stuff is great (Citizen V III!). If you're a fan of this kind of material, it's a great and mostly definitive collection and revision of what's been presented in the handbooks since the 2004 relaunch. I've enjoyed the released ones and look forward to getting the rest.

Thank you for the kind words. :blush:

TMFGC wrote:

Some things have struck me as odd, though. Other posters have noted the lack of textual additions (beyond events that occurred after the profiles' previous release) to major characters (Cyclops, Dr. Octopus, Doom, Electro, Domino, others) and a few I've noticed myself but not heard mentioned (Earth X--as rich a story as that's had, D'Spayre, a few others). I suppose I felt the need to clarify this issue for myself because of the Fantastic Four entry--a mere five pages for the longest running title of the current Marvel universe. Compared with the six-page Defenders profile, this doesn't make sense if presenting everyone the appropriate space is a concern that can be met right now.

There's a couple of factors which affect the size of expanded (and non-expanded) entries. Absolutely every entry is meant to be brought right up to date (though we do occassionally miss stuff - the Delilah entry didn't include her recent appearance in Loners simply because I wasn't aware she'd turned up again). The maps for the hardcovers are set in place months in advance - in fact, we've got the maps done through to the final book, though we still have some wiggle room to modify things here and there if needs be. That means that in most cases we've had to figure out the number of additional pages we have to play with for entries well before they are written. Sometimes we find we've underestimated and could have done with more pages (I'd dearly have loved an additional page for 1602 to show body shots rather than headshots of the residents), but it's too late to shift all the other entries to make the extra space. Also, we have to strike a balance between entries too - we can't expand every single entry with additional pages, or as many additional pages as we might wish. In those cases, one factor which comes into play is the likelihood we'll have another chance to expand them down the line - for example, the Fantastic Four are more likely to have a themed handbook where we can give them a ten page team entry than Defenders.

With alternate realities, where space permits we've tried to show the appearances of as many of the important characters as we can - and as you can see, when you compare (say) Age of Apocalypse with Earth X, this is an ongoing, evolving process. In Earth X's case, the entry got several extra pages, but it has a huge cast, and it soon became clear there was going to be a trade off between expanding the text or visually depicting more of the unique and distinctive characters.

And there's more factors, one of which I will discuss after your next paragraph...

TMFGC wrote:

There seem to be some past books that the hardcover collects that get more thorough text revisions than others (Women, Golden Age) and others that are oddly shortchanged (Spider-man '04, X-Men '04, some of FF '05, Horror '05). I haven't checked if all the writers of those books are on the hardcover jackets, but I didn't notice the Spider-man one on it, so I was wondering if this was an issue of who's on staff right now? It's understandable that if an expert on a title or character left; it would be near-impossible for another writer to give a complete revision to a decades-old character when there's already loads on their plate.

This is a factor to a degree. We do have Spider and X experts, but there's also more Spider and X entries to cover in a single go than there are of any other themes, so those writers are tighter on time. It is also down somewhat to the individual writers on the team - the group might go "Toast Woman only had 1 page in Woman of Marvel. We think she needs 2 to cover her fully. Bob Writer, you wrote that entry, can you handle the expansion?" and Bob Writer goes "Sorry, no, unfortunately I have 99 other entries in this book, and while Toast Woman is interesting, I can't fit an expansion for her in too." At which point everyone on the group is asked if they are up for taking over the expansion - 99% of the time, someone does, but sometimes there's no one else both willing AND able (you have to have a copy of every single Toast Woman appearance, which for long running characters can be tricky). And if Toast Woman is a likely candidate for a later handbook, post-hardcovers, then necessity of the moment might mean she gets a lesser expansion at this time.

Another factor is simply how long the prior entry was. Almost everyone in Woman should be expanded somewhat, since they were all single page entries. Most of Horror are less likely, since that book was one of the first to have really lengthy entries. Plus, multi-page entries from '04 books can be dramatically expanded without adding new pages - we've got better at writing more info heavy, less verbose entries, giving greater content in the same word count, plus there's more flexibility in the layout which allows for greater word count. A one-page entry in Avengers '04 might have text amounting to 400 words; we fit nearly double that in a single page entry these days, and still manage to squeeze in supplementary images alongside the main one.

TMFGC wrote:

The discrepancy obviously doesn't dissuade me much. Those characters that are textually expanded are not only so very well handled, but most often are characters that are a bit shy of making any post-hardcover handbook priority just on the basis that they were shorted before. The major characters that were shorted could be given more complete revisions later,

Yes, as I discussed above, that's one factor.

TMFGC wrote:

because it seems that handbooks lately, no matter how generally populated with the obscure, tend to need or are dictated to have an "anchor" character or characters to draw irregular or first-time handbook buyers (i.e., Iron Manual '08), and perhaps that figures in on space considerations in the hardcovers, too. As a long-time buyer, I just couldn't help but ask.

Understood, and no problem. When the run of 12 hardcovers was first suggested, the head writer put together a map which included all the file book people (such as Monster Files, Western Files, etc.), expanded everyone to what he felt was optimum length, and added in major characters (and all the minor ones covered in previous handbook runs) who'd missed out being included in our run because they were either new or down to not fitting one theme or other. For some unfathomable reason () our editors felt that 500+ pages per volume was pushing it, so we had to scale down our plans a little.

bigvis497 wrote:

I'm sure Gladiator will be covered somewhere down the line, not surprised he wasn't in here as he hasn't been covered anywhere in the latest series. Imperial Guard will get an entry next volume as they were in Teams 05, and hopefully it will be expanded greatly as they've had what, like 30 plus members? Gladiator hasn't appeared too often outside of the Guard, so he should be covered well enough in the team entry.

The Guard will be getting an expanded entry.

bigvis497 wrote:

In regards to F4, I was also kinda surprised they didn't get more coverage. I would have liked to see more team shots showing the slight variations on their costumes over the years. It would have been nice to see all their vehicles and headquarters, a la the Avengers entry.

As someone else noted, the Avengers got an entry for the costumes and HQs because they'd had an entry like that back in Avengers '04. The FF's vehicles and HQs are more likely to get their own entry next time we get a themed FF book. And since individual members' entries will showcase their costume variations, the feeling was the space was better served with more text and images of the different line-ups over the years.

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

I suspect that the vehicles/headquarters might have partly been an element of the rules tha the writers are playing by. Just as Gladiator didn't make it in because he wasn't covered in any of the 2004-2008 "pamphlets", Avengers HQ/Vehicles were in fact covered in a previously Avengers book in their own separate entry whereas the F4's counterparts were not (likewise we'll probably see an X-Mansion entry because it was previously covered). Of course there's been a few new additions to the hardcovers but they've been the exceptions rather than the rules.

Exactly right.

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

But agreed there could have been some more team shots. For one I'd have like to have seen HQ illos that were in the 1960s and 1980s Legacy volumes (a partial way of getting around the above, albeit in the F4 entry itself rather than a separate entry). And a token illo of the non-F4 team (Spidey et al) would have been nice as well.

Strictly speaking, they would be a separate FF entry, as they were never part of the official team.

Andy E. Nystrom
Aug 31, 2008, 12:14 pm

Stuart V wrote:

Strictly speaking, they would be a separate FF entry, as they were never part of the official team.

It was actually me, not bigvis who made the last quote. I agree that the tricked team was technically a separate team, but I see this as kind of like showing Tom Foster in the Goliath entry or the Skrull in the Captain Marvel entry. Neither were the real thing but both were in some way connected to the story of the original heroes.

Not a huge deal though. I think it would require that 500+ page format to come even close to getting in everything that everyone wanted, and even then stuff would fall through the cracks.

Andy E. Nystrom
Aug 31, 2008, 12:28 pm
More changes found:

Update 1

Fantastic Five (MC2): expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Current and Former members revised. Final History paragraph revised/expanded. Original main illo removed, replaced with new captioned one. 8 new captioned secondary illos.

Freedom Ring: Final History sentence expanded. Power Numbers now include ring stats.

Graviton: 3 History paragraphs merged, 2 new sentences added to end of final paragraph; there’s also some other tweaking of History so I may be overlooking a few additions.

Update 2

Flying Tiger: New sentence added at end of final History paragraph. Main illo a bit less cropped.

Update 3

Ferocia: no significant changes

Flex: no significant changes

Ghost: no significant changes

Update 4

Ero: no significant changes

Goldbug: Captions switched for the Bug-Ships and submarines (apparently all 4 previously had the wrong captions)

Marvel Zombies

No entries this volume. They're taking a long lunch.

Spider-Man 2004

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

Ezekiel: Abilities/Accessories now past tense

Golden Age 2004

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

Fin: New sentence added to end of 2nd History paragraph, 3 new setences added to end of 4th paragraph. 2 new secondary illos added.

Fin Fang Foom: expanded from 1 to 3 pages. Vital Statistics and Physical Statistics revised. History and Abilities/Accessories completely revised/expanded. 4 new secondary illos (3 captioned).

Grand Director; expanded from 1 to 2 pages. Vital Statistics somewhat revised. History almost completely revised/expanded 9some bits of old test still present). Abilities/Accessories revised/expanded. Old secondary illo removed, 3 new captioned secondary illos (illo as Cap now shows him as depicted in the 1950s, pre-retcon).

Book of the Dead 2004

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

Gilgamesh: Final 2 History sentences replaced with 2 new ones. 2 new secondary illos

X-Men: Messiah Complex Mutant Files

Excalibur: expanded from 2 to 4 pages, now covering all versions, not just the new team. Team stats just completely revised/expanded. Old History new begins on 3rd page of current History, with some tweaking to what was the first paragraph to make it flow better from the new text. New sentence added to end of History. One illo removed, 6 new captioned illos added.

Exiles: Expanded from 3 to 5 pages: Members lists completely revised, updating current/former members, eliminating references to a Weapon X team, and added references to Earth-33629 and 91172 teams. History largely but not completely revised/expanded. 5 new captioned illos added. Headshots for Weapon X team removed but headshots for the 2 Earths above added. Alter egos removed from headshots (but still listed in members list). Shadowcat-Unrevealed amended to Cat-Unrevealed. Gambit-6706 added.

Spider-Man: Back in Black

Empathoid: secondary illo removed

Enforcers: 1st History paragraph expended, end of final paragraph greatly expanded. Main illo no longer shows neither Big Man nor Spider-Man; new headshot shows Ox’s new look. Dialogue removed from Inner Circle illo but caption added.

Grim Hunter: no significant changes

Grizzly: First 2 History paragraphs merged; 2 new sentences added to final paragraph. As he’s resumed using an older costume, main illo and one of the secondary illos switched.

A-Z 4

Elf with a Gun: 3rd paragraph added to Note

Elysius: new sentence added to end of History. New secondary illo

Emplate: Penance removed as possible Known Relative

Epoch: final History paragraph expanded. New secondary illo

Equinox: Group Affili8ation expanded. New final paragraph added to History

Erishkigal: new captioned secondary illo added as Steckley

Eric the Red: new secondary illo added

Eternal Brain: Walkabout illo removed and replaced with new captioned illo; new captioned illo of Homunculus form

Eternals: Base of Operations expanded. Additional History material weaves in and out of old material, including new paragraphs. New captioned illo of Uni-Mind. Headshots: First appearances still listed but “First appearance:” caption removed; not read left to right rather than up to down; illo updated for Ajax; Ajax, Forgotten One no longer deceased; new headshots for Kazantra, Legba.

Eternity: Final History paragraph expanded, Power Grid added.

Euro-Trash: First 2 History paragraphs: text added, split at different spot in narrative

Exemplars: 2nd History paragraph split in 2 and revised. New main illo, old main illo removed. Headshot text no longer white in black background.

Father Time: 3rd History paragraph expanded slightly to reference Twelve#1. Main and secondary illos replaced with new ones (both now face forward rather than to the left)

Fathom Five: no significant changes

Femme Fatales: Physical Stats and Power Numbers added for each member (no doubt they’d appreciate that their birth place and education wasn’t included but their weight was. J ). New secondary illo.

Feron: 2 new secondary illos

Fight-Man: expanded from 1 to 2 pages. History greatly revised and expanded (a fair amount of original text still present). 12 headshots of foes with first appearances added.

Richard Fisk: First Appearance expanded to cover various identities.

Fixer: Ended of final History paragraph revised. Secondary illos now captioned.

Flag-Smasher: final History paragraph expanded.

Flying Dutchman’s Ghost: No significant changes

Folding Circle: final history paragraph expanded. New secondary illo

Force Four: 4 new secondary illos

Forge: History greatly revised (some old text still present). New paragraph added to Abilities/Accessories. Old illos removed. New main illo and 5 secondary illos (3 captioned).

Don Fortunato: Intelligence and fighting Skills reduced on power Grid. 2 new captioned secondary illos

Free Spirit: No significant changes

Frog-Man: Entry now covers only Eugene, not Vincent (I’m guessing Vincent will appear later as Vincent Patilio or Leapfrog), thus Vincent-specific text and illos removed. Beyond this: Group Affiliation expanded for Eugene. History heavily revised in other areas to remove Vincent-only material and expand on Eugene (History more or less starts on what was the 3rd paragraph); more info added on other Frog-Men. Abilities/Accessories revised/expanded. 2 new captioned secondary illos plus captioned Action Pack headshots.

Deacon Frost: History slightly revised, with second paragraph split in 2.

Fury: final History paragraph revised/expanded. New secondary illo. Speed on Power Grid revised.

Galactic Guardians: History tweaked.

Ganymede: new secondary illo

Gargoyle: Group Affiliation expanded. Final History paragraph greatly expanded. New secondary illo.

John Garrett: No significant changes

Geist: No significant changes

Geshem: expanded from 1 to 2 pages. 17 new captioned secondary illos.

Gibbon: Final History paragraph greatly expanded. Strength reduced on Power Grid. 2 new secondary illos 9one captioned).

Glob: new sentence added to end of History.

Gnobians: Death’s Head Squadron illo replaced with new one (still captioned). New captioned illo of Lump

Ma Gnucci: New sentence added to end of History. New secondary illo.

Goliath: expanded from 2 to 3 pages. Known Relatives and Group Affiliation expanded. New history text weaves in and out of old material (particularly expanded at end). Black Goliath illo less cropped. New captioned secondary illo of Tom Foster.

Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzherg & Book (previously Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzherg & Holliway): expanded from 1 to 2 pages. New categories added: Known Staff, Former Staff, Freeman Bonding Inc., Notable clients. Base of Operations accidentally listed twice (second time expanded to include Freeman). First Appearance expanded to include Freeman. History mostly (not completely) revised and expanded. Positions removed from headshots; headshots removed for Jennifer Walters, Ditto, Pug, Matt Hawk, Mallory, Stu and replaced with captioned illo of above plus Chas, Bobo, Lewis (note added to list First appearances of these); new headshots for Emilee Freeman, Cecil Pierce, Smedley F. Smedley.

RVcousin
Aug 31, 2008, 01:51 pm
In the Elixir entry, he is listed as a former member of the X-men.

Can somebody tell me where and when ? In which issue ?

Thanks in advance,

Michael Regan
Aug 31, 2008, 02:31 pm

RVcousin wrote:

In the Elixir entry, he is listed as a former member of the X-men.

Can somebody tell me where and when ? In which issue ?

Thanks in advance,

That would have been when he was assinged to Dani's New Mutant team, New Mutants #5 if I remember correctly.

Sidney Osinga
Aug 31, 2008, 02:45 pm

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

More changes found:
A-Z 4

Femme Fatales: Physical Stats and Power Numbers added for each member (no doubt they’d appreciate that their birth place and education wasn’t included but their weight was. J ). New secondary illo

.
You forgot to mention that the final paragraph had a new sentence added to include Mindblast's recent appearence, and the last sentence was altered.