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Comic Books & Graphic Novels Marvel Comics

THE OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE – SPIDER-MAN: BACK IN BLACK (2007 MARVEL Comics)

Written by Mike Fichera; Ronald Byrd; Al Sjoerdsma; Stuart Vandal; Anthony Flamini; Michael Hoskin; Jeff Christiansen; Sean McQuaid; Madison Carter; & Eliot R. Brown.

Art by (See Below).

Cover Art by Aaron Lopresti; Chris Sotomayor; Pond Scum; & Tom Smith.

SUMMARY:

Released by Marvel Comics for 2007, this 50-page issue (counting the inside covers) consists of these character profiles (with their artists):

  • Cardiac (Ron Lim & Mark Bagley)
  • Conundrum (Luke Ross)
  • The Daily Bugle (No Artist Listed)
  • Delilah (Mark Bagley)
  • The Enforcers (Steve Ditko)
  • Grim Hunter (Tom Lyle)
  • Grizzly (Staz Johnson, Luke Ross, & Ross Andru)
  • Jimmy-6 (John Romita Jr.)
  • Kraven the Hunter (John Romita Sr., Mike Zeck, Nick Dragotta, & Eliot R. Brown)
  • Jason Macendale (Sal Buscema, Ron Frenz, Steve Ditko, Mark Texeira, & Larry Alexander)
  • Magma (Marc Silvestri & Herb Trimpe)
  • Molten Man (Dan Jurgens, Ross Andru, & Erik Larsen)
  • Richard & Mary Parker (John Romita Sr.)
  • Randy Robertson (Ale Garza & John Romita Sr.)
  • Shadrac (John Byrne, Joe Bennett, & Scott Hanna)
  • S.H.O.C. (John Romita, Jr.)
  • Silvermane (Karl Kesel, John Romita Jr., Jim Mooney, John Romita Sr., & Staz Johnson)
  • Slyde (Ron Frenz & Sean Chen)
  • Alistaire Smythe (Erik Larsen, Mark Bagley, & Mary Wilshire)
  • Solo (Ron Randall)
  • Spider-Man (Angel Medina, Steve McNiven, Mike Wieringo, Scot Eaton, Eliot R. Brown, & Ron Frenz)
  • Gwen Stacy Clones (Liam Sharpe, Tom Lyle, Mark Bagley, & Yancet Labat)
  • Styx & Stone (Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, & Jeff Johnson)
  • Symbiotes (Dave Hoover, Kyle Hotz, Ron Frenz, Todd McFarlane, Patrick Zircher, Mark Bagley, Darick Robertson, Ron Randall, Greg Luzniak, & Skottie Young)
  • Alan Kupperberg (Walrus)
  • White Dragon (Greg LaRoque & Ross Andru)
  • Debra Whitman (Ed Hannigan & Bob Hall)
  • Will O’ The Wisp (Angel Medina & John Romita Jr.)
  • Coldheart (Tom Lyle & Steven McNiven)
  • Commanda (Terry Dodson)
  • Drom (Don Perlin & Jim Mooney)
  • Empathoid (Sal Buscema)
  • Blackie Gaxton (Steve Ditko)
  • Headsman (Pat Olliffe)
  • Hobgoblin: 2211 A.D. (Mike Wieringo)
  • Iguana (Jim Mooney)
  • El Muerto (Roger Cruz)
  • Mysterio {Francis Klum} (Todd Nauxck & Terry Dodson)
  • Ben Parker: Earth-6078  (Mike Wieringo)
  • Spidercide (Ron Lim, Mark Bagley, & Sal Buscema)
  • Spider-Man: 22 11 A.D. (Mike Wieringo)
  • Supercharger (Gil Kane)
  • Tendril (Darick Robertson)
  • Tracer (Mike Wieringo)
  • Videoman (Nick Dragotta)
  • Vulture {Clifton Shallot} (Ross Andru)

REVIEW:

Marvel’s consistently solid production values for these handbooks again live up to expectations.  However, aside from an  obligatory Spider-Man profile, none of these characters are relevant to the Back in Black arc itself.  Since current profiles on Mary Jane Watson-Parker, Aunt May, the Kingpin, etc. were available in other handbooks, Marvel evidently opted for a seemingly random hodge-podge from the Spider-Man mythos to fill up this handbook’s page count. 

In that sense, despite some good reading, this handbook is a bait-and-switch due to its deliberately misleading title. 

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

In addition to the credits, the inside front cover offers a reference guide to find other Spider-related profiles.  The back inside cover has a half-page profile on head writer Michael Fichera.  The other half-page is a glossary continuing from the All-New Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe A to Z Update # 1

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                6 Stars

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BDC
October 2020