Do you still buy source books?

[Jeremy A. Patterson]

I enjoy the Official Marvel Handbooks, as written by the Unofficial Marvel Appendix website gang, because they're quite detailed (usually much moreso than Wikipedia) and a great reference guide. I have a fondness for the original Handbooks as well.

WHO'S WHO, though, never seemed as concise. I hope that the new incarnation of WHO's WHO (if we ever see it, that is) is more like Marvel's guides.

I like your opinions on source books!

J.A.P.

[earl]

I've gotten a few of the newer Marvel Index comics, that goes issue by issue.

[Jeremy A. Patterson]

I've gotten a few of the newer Marvel Index comics, that goes issue by issue.

What are those?

J.A.P.

[Nitz the Bloody]

While not the same medium, I do buy strategy guides/art books for video games I really love, even though the content can be gotten for free on sites like GameFAQs. But if it's a game like Metal Gear Solid 4, my love of the series is enough to justify the purchase.

[earl]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Marvel_Index


The Marvel Indexes basically go issue to issue on a title, have who did the artwork, writing, etc. and a synopsis of the story with a thumbnail of the cover. They will also have some footnote information on guest stars etc.

They have been published in issue form on and off since the 80s and I saw at least the recent Amazing Spider-man Index has been compiled back into a trade paperback.

The only knock I can say is on ones with Spider-man, I wish they would have gone ahead and just did Amazing Spider-man, Peter Parker, Web of Spiderman, etc. and all of the Spider-man titles at the same time. That way when you read it you can go month by month on what comics were out, especially later on when there were storylines that hopped from title to title.

[Jeremy A. Patterson]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Marvel_Index


The Marvel Indexes basically go issue to issue on a title, have who did the artwork, writing, etc. and a synopsis of the story with a thumbnail of the cover. They will also have some footnote information on guest stars etc.

They have been published in issue form on and off since the 80s and I saw at least the recent Amazing Spider-man Index has been compiled back into a trade paperback.

The only knock I can say is on ones with Spider-man, I wish they would have gone ahead and just did Amazing Spider-man, Peter Parker, Web of Spiderman, etc. and all of the Spider-man titles at the same time. That way when you read it you can go month by month on what comics were out, especially later on when there were storylines that hopped from title to title.

Now I get it!

J.A.P.

[Cthulhudrew]

I like Handbooks as a resource, however, I do have a gripe with them in that IMO they should only source events that are seen/discussed on-panel in stories. When the Handbook writers begin to insert origins, names, powers, etc that have never been displayed on panel, I get very leery of them. Even back in Gru's day, this happened to an extent, but it didn't bother me quite as much then as it does now. If it hasn't been written about outside of a Handbook, it shouldn't be mentioned or speculated upon.