man I wanna track down some classic marvel and dc handbooks
I never owned one, even as a kid
I've accumulated more or less complete runs of the various mid to late eighties Marvel/DC Handbooks/Who's Whos, though I've been replacing the Marvel ones with their Essential volume reprints. They're fascinating things, perfectly preserved views of the companies thought processes and what mattered at the time. The first DC Who's Who, where you can practically see it changing from pre- to post-Crisis in real time as it goes on; the first Marvel Handbook, where the Punisher's real name is unknown and Ghost Rider is initally relegated to a footnote; the Marvel Deluxe Handbook, where the events of Secret Wars II and the first Scourge massacre are Really Really Important; and of course the '89 Marvel Update, which is basically a snapshot of the company in the instant just before the Lee/Macfarlane/Liefeld juggernaut rolled over everything and Changed Comics. Or to put it another way, Venom's in it but Cable isn't.
That Porcupine scan also reminds me of one of the most fantastic features of the Marvel Deluxe Handbook: With deceased characters, their illustration was always accompanied by a reprint of their death panel - And if their moment of death was never actually seen, they had it specially drawn for the Handbook. Hilarity ensues.
DC was supposed to be doing an updated edition of Who's Who for their anniversary a couple of years ago and then it kind of got kiboshed because of the whole New 52 thing. Now they probably don't want to set things in stone too soon.
Did anyone else collect those terrible Marvel handbooks that came as binder inserts?
I love the handbooks. There is nothing funnier than the compressed history of a comic character.
Or trying to incorporate/explain away bad stories. That Scourge thing in the Marvel Deluxe handbooks? You can see the writers struggling with the fact that none of it makes any sense. The back story that contradicts continuity. The way a tall, muscular male can disguise himself as a short woman. The fact that half his murders rely on him being present when a supervillain turns up somewhere he couldn't possibly have known they were going to be in advance...
DC was supposed to be doing an updated edition of Who's Who for their anniversary a couple of years ago and then it kind of got kiboshed because of the whole New 52 thing. Now they probably don't want to set things in stone too soon.
There was also talk of them doing Showcase volume reprints of the original Who's Who, but there's been no sign of those, either.
Showcase reprints would be cool. I picked up a stack of them as back issues a couple of years ago.
Some of the black and white reprints are kind of funny though. I picked up the Marvel Handbook reprints and one of them was a page showing S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms for different ranks and I spent about 10 minutes looking at it trying to spot the differences when I realized they must have been different colors.
Werewolf2000adSuckers, I know exactly what went wrong.Registered Userregular
Yeah, that's the one big problem with the B&W Handbook reprints: Some of the illustrations/diagrams don't make sense without colour. The SHIELD uniforms being the most obvious example.
My favorite part of the Marvel Handbooks is always the insanely ill considered attempts to codify the strength class of the characters in it
like, Ben Grimm is a class 90. So he can lift 90 tons! Which is obviously bullshit since he has lifted both way more and strained to lift less, but there it is, immortalised in ink. You get all that kind of stuff. All Asgardians are class 25, I think, except the women, who are all class 15. Crazyness, but amusing to read.
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Werewolf2000adSuckers, I know exactly what went wrong.Registered Userregular
I love how 100 tons has always been the "screw it, we stopped counting" point on Marvel strength charts, like there can't possibly be any meaningful distinction above that, so Thor, Galactus and Iron Man II are all in the same class.
The theory that I have always had is that Namor is actually a really powerful hydrokinetic
He flies and is super-strong/tough because he can control all the water (shit just all the liquids in general, why not) in his body and use them to massively reinforce his physical form/levitate it, as well as do those big impressive feats like summoning tidal waves and so on.
He gets a lot strong when he is submerged in water because he actually controls the water around him and uses it to boost his strength and durability
Or he might just be a weird Atlantean hybrid mutant, you never know
Five years ago today, Mike Wieringo passed away. I greatly miss seeing his art, which was full of a joy and energy that seems very rare in mainstream publishing.
Five years ago today, Mike Wieringo passed away. I greatly miss seeing his art, which was full of a joy and energy that seems very rare in mainstream publishing.
He was an art monster. I really do miss that guys work and I feel a small pang every time I look at my FFs with his art.
He was also one of the few artists than can draw teenagers and kids so they looks like teenagers and kids, as opposed to tiny adult with giant heads and eyes.
Posts
http://ohotmuredux.blogspot.com/2012/08/porcupine-by-andy-macdonald.html
I never owned one, even as a kid
I support every change the artist made to that costume. Especially the baggy shorts.
You should track down some Battle Books instead. Use your favorite super heroes to fight friends... with books!
I've accumulated more or less complete runs of the various mid to late eighties Marvel/DC Handbooks/Who's Whos, though I've been replacing the Marvel ones with their Essential volume reprints. They're fascinating things, perfectly preserved views of the companies thought processes and what mattered at the time. The first DC Who's Who, where you can practically see it changing from pre- to post-Crisis in real time as it goes on; the first Marvel Handbook, where the Punisher's real name is unknown and Ghost Rider is initally relegated to a footnote; the Marvel Deluxe Handbook, where the events of Secret Wars II and the first Scourge massacre are Really Really Important; and of course the '89 Marvel Update, which is basically a snapshot of the company in the instant just before the Lee/Macfarlane/Liefeld juggernaut rolled over everything and Changed Comics. Or to put it another way, Venom's in it but Cable isn't.
That Porcupine scan also reminds me of one of the most fantastic features of the Marvel Deluxe Handbook: With deceased characters, their illustration was always accompanied by a reprint of their death panel - And if their moment of death was never actually seen, they had it specially drawn for the Handbook. Hilarity ensues.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
nooooooooope
Probably my favorite is John Jameson. Hero Astronaut->superhero->supervillain->astronaut->werewolf->man-wolf->star-wolf alternate universe adventurer->driving Captain America's van->dating she-hulk->star wolf.
Did anyone else collect those terrible Marvel handbooks that came as binder inserts?
Or trying to incorporate/explain away bad stories. That Scourge thing in the Marvel Deluxe handbooks? You can see the writers struggling with the fact that none of it makes any sense. The back story that contradicts continuity. The way a tall, muscular male can disguise himself as a short woman. The fact that half his murders rely on him being present when a supervillain turns up somewhere he couldn't possibly have known they were going to be in advance...
There was also talk of them doing Showcase volume reprints of the original Who's Who, but there's been no sign of those, either.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
Some of the black and white reprints are kind of funny though. I picked up the Marvel Handbook reprints and one of them was a page showing S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms for different ranks and I spent about 10 minutes looking at it trying to spot the differences when I realized they must have been different colors.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
like, Ben Grimm is a class 90. So he can lift 90 tons! Which is obviously bullshit since he has lifted both way more and strained to lift less, but there it is, immortalised in ink. You get all that kind of stuff. All Asgardians are class 25, I think, except the women, who are all class 15. Crazyness, but amusing to read.
I love how 100 tons has always been the "screw it, we stopped counting" point on Marvel strength charts, like there can't possibly be any meaningful distinction above that, so Thor, Galactus and Iron Man II are all in the same class.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
Galactus: same class as Dragon Man
also Hyperion is a class 75? what?
he's basically Superman!
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
He flies and is super-strong/tough because he can control all the water (shit just all the liquids in general, why not) in his body and use them to massively reinforce his physical form/levitate it, as well as do those big impressive feats like summoning tidal waves and so on.
He gets a lot strong when he is submerged in water because he actually controls the water around him and uses it to boost his strength and durability
Or he might just be a weird Atlantean hybrid mutant, you never know
Also, Beta Ray Thor? Can't a Korbonite get a little love?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_Man
But really? Medical treatments?
That's a pretty roundabout way to say "super roids."
What on Earth is with that halo thing on his head??
yo this gives me an idea
@dmac draw me a stilt man-thing
I had assumed it was supposed to be a take on the reflectors doctors used to wear:
Maybe he fired beams out of it or something.
or 5/6 face
where's my stilt man-thing
munch is starting to feel good about himself again!
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EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
He was an art monster. I really do miss that guys work and I feel a small pang every time I look at my FFs with his art.
He was also one of the few artists than can draw teenagers and kids so they looks like teenagers and kids, as opposed to tiny adult with giant heads and eyes.