The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe has always been one of my favorite series. This is where you get a full account, up to the time of publication, of your favorite heroes and villains. You get stats, history (what's known), power breakdown, and a full summary of the character's life up to that point. The first twelve books collected in this volume are full of the characters that were major players in the Marvel Universe at the time (and the appendix at the end of each issue included many of the characters that didn't get full-page treatment). Issues 13-14 are the books of the dead and inactive, filled with info on heroes and villains no longer around (or likely to come back at some point). Finally, issue 15 is the weapon and paraphernalia issue, full of schematics and descriptions of the weapons and tools used by your favorite heroes and villains.

These books are an excellent study guide for someone who is either new to the Marvel Universe, or has read so much and needs the occasional refresher without searching through countless back issues. ( )