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Back in May of 2003 when I was talking about things that could be done to improve 'Free Comic Book Day' I said that I thought Marvel and DC should bring back their respective profile books. As luck would have it Marvel brought back a modified form of their profile book, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, in 2004. I wasn't overly impressed with the "grouped" format that Marvel was using and I only picked up a few of those Handbooks (Avengers 2004, X-Men 2005, and Book of the Dead 2004) over the past couple of years.
So, you can imagine my excitement a few months back when I'm filling out my order for January's comics and I read in Marvel Previews, "Continuing the success of the 2004-2005 Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe, 2006 will feature the return of the Handbook from A to Z!" I figured Marvel was finally coming around to doing something that could really help out readers that had only been reading Marvel for a short time and have something older readers would gladly dish out their money for. Last week I found out how horribly wrong I was.
As luck would have it a friend of mine was able to get their hands on a preview copy of the Handbook and knew me well enough to issue a warning to me. The main point of the conversation was that the new Handbook was not as comprehensive as the ads for it had led either of us to believe. For those of you who haven't seen the ads in Marvel Previews here is the section that is consistent in the ads for the first three issues of the Handbook:
"While the Handbooks of the past two years focused on specific themes, this twelve-issue monthly series will extend the coverage to all Marvel's characters, teams, objects, events, and places-plus past, future and alternate Earths. The spotlight will fall on more than 600 profiles-including new characters, characters who never received a profile and those needing major updates."
The ad for the fourth issue just recently came out, and it reads as follows:
"While the Handbooks of the past two years focused on specific themes, this twelve-issue monthly series covers all Marvel's characters, teams, objects, events and places - including new characters, characters who never received a profile, and those needing major updates."
So, why the sudden modification to the ad that had been the same for the previous three issues? Did something change? Are they not doing 600 profiles? Why change "will extend the coverage" to simply "covers"? I'd guess it has to do with semantics, or perhaps minimizing disappointment levels they knew were coming.
Now I'm not talking about the fact that the book isn't comprehensive. One of the main reasons I have the above quotes from the ads is so that you can see there was no statement about it being comprehensive. I am realistic and I don't expect Marvel to have every single character from the Marvel Universe in it, but I do expect the majors and at least an a few important supporters. Basically I figured we'd have the 2004-2005 Handbook format with the 1986 Deluxe Edition's variety of characters. I guess I had my hopes set too high.
If you read anything I write then you know I can rant about nearly anything. Usually I try to keep a sense of humor about it because it's just my opinion and that only carries weight with those who care about it. However, what I have this month isn't a simple rant, I'm honestly upset. My reason is that I found out the true content of Marvel's new Handbook and what we were lead to believe (at least through the ads) was a flat out lie.
Why do I say that Marvel lied? I will let Marvel's words speak form themselves. This is from the first issue of the new Handbook that was just released:
"In an effort to maximize new information and new character coverage, our 2006 will focus on three groups of characters: characters who narrowly missed inclusion in the Deluxe Edition; Deluxe Edition characters who have undergone major changes to warrant coverage in this limited space; and characters having debuted since the Deluxe Edition. In general, those covered in the 2004-2005 volumes will not be re-profiled in the 2006 volume."
So, in essence this new Handbook is a collection of second and third string characters who either weren't around during the 1986 Deluxe Edition (yes folks, 20 years ago) or weren't in an important enough corner of the Marvel Universe to warrant an entry in the issues released in 2004 and 2005. Basically this series should have the sub header of "Update 2006." In my opinion the above quote is what should have been in all the Marvel Preview ads for the Handbook.
To add insult to injury the first page of the new Handbook includes the following statement about the chance of another handbook next year:
"We could easily cover 600-800 characters in 2007, and for another decade after that, but this will only happen if the books sell well. Was your favorite character missed? We'll do our best to cover him/her/it in 2007 if you help us make it happen by supporting the Handbooks."
Now apparently it's our fault if these books vanish. Not Marvel's if they happen to make a product with questionable quality or content. I guess they're pulling a page from politics now and attempting to use scare tactics to get us to support them. Nice.
So why don't I just "get over it" and see the new Handbook for the update that it actually is? Simple, I don't like being lied to. Look at the language from the ads I included earlier. Do you see a clear statement anywhere about the book having such a specific and narrow coverage area? I know I read "all Marvel's characters, teams, objects, events and places" in those ads. That statement is true only when this new Handbook is combined with all the previous versions dating back to the Deluxe Edition. Marvel's ads for the new Handbook were misleading, plain and simple.
If you want to pick this series up, then do so. My recommendation is don't. There aren't enough "major" characters to make it worth while. The most "major" characters (in my opinion) in the first issue are Atlas, Banshee and Baron Zemo. Three major characters out of 51 entries is ridiculous and doesn't justify the cost of the issue. Luckily there is an alternative.
Soon Marvel will be reprinting the Deluxe Edition in Essential format and it should be done in three books costing you a total of 50.97 (US) before tax. The 12 issues of the new Handbook (excluding the additional themed handbooks that are still supposedly coming out this year) will cost you a total of 47.88 (US) before tax. I would say the price difference is minimal and that the few extra bucks for the Deluxe Edition are well worth it. I'll probably be getting those books myself since my original Deluxe Editions are well worn.
So, what do you do if you're like me and you already ordered the first two issues of the new Handbook before knowing what they really were? Just try a few points I've brought up here to see if who you ordered the issues from will let you off the hook of purchasing them. While I always expect people who order issues to purchase them (that's just being a good customer) I don't think people should ever be blatantly mislead when purchasing something. When I went into my local comic shop I explained my points about the new Handbook to the guy at the who helps run things and he understood. I think it was when I said, Marvel pulled a 'bait and switch' he really became aware of how I saw the situation.
Why would I say this is a 'bait and switch'? Simple, the major characters you are hoping are in the new Handbook probably aren't, and in the long run you'll probably go looking to buy the 2004-2005 or Deluxe Edition of the Handbook to get those character's profiles. Honestly, do you really think it's just good timing that the Deluxe Edition is coming out in Essential format at the same time the new Handbook specifically mentions it as a point from which their current work is based? Don't make me laugh. The new Handbook even has references on the inside of the cover to the 2004-2005 Handbooks you need to find the profiles of the characters they know you'll want that aren't in the new Handbook. Of course since I do believe these books could work well together I also believe there was a way to pump the sales of all these version of the Handbook without taking a deceptive route.
I think Marvel should have heavily pushed the Essential format of the Deluxe Edition. If they worked it right they could have had all the volumes out before Free Comic Book Day and had a sample of a few characters profiles from those books as one of their free comics. Then, if all worked well new and old interested folks would have picked up the Deluxe Edition in Essential format and later in the year (about fall) Marvel could release the 2004-2005 Handbooks in a similar format. Finally, in 2007 a version similar to the new Handbook could come out with the sub header of 'Update 2007.' I guess that's just me though. I see Marvel having the choice to handle this new Handbook in a way that was more for the readers than their pockets, with the end result being nearly the same (just a delay of about a year for the readers to spend money on the new Handbooks). Marvel chose their pockets above their readers in my eyes, and I am disappointed to see that.
Now, I will say that maybe some (or all) of this information about the new Handbook was out there and I missed it. That is a fair statement. However, I also think it's fair to say that I shouldn't need to look any farther than Marvel's own guide for ordering their comics to get all the information necessary to decide if I want to order something. The ads for the new Handbook were, in my opinion, blatantly misleading regarding their actual content, and the references to other Handbooks in the new Handbook gives the whole situation an air of a bait and switch tactic.
In the end it's all up to you though. Put your money where you think it actually should be. I'll be saving mine up for the Deluxe Edition of the Handbook in Essential format. Then I'll wait on the new Handbook to see if it's collected and what its price is. I can't see purchasing it any other way because I don't think its content is worth it.
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