This is a very comprehensive book, great for the amature or experienced follower. I purchased this for my husband who is an avid follower and he was not disappointed! It covered the subject material very well and the illustrations are beautiful! I would purchase it again.

I got this book for my son and he absolutly love it. I must admit it was quite informative on every character.

To begin with, I am not a comic book reader. I am, however, a fan of several animated TV shows that feature Marvel characters(X-Men, Iron Man, Spiderman & His Amazing Friends, etc). I wanted to know the back story on them, so I got this book (along with the DC Encyclopedia).

The characters are featured in alphabetical order. We are given a brief but detailed history along with at least one illustration. There is also a profile that lists their "real" name, occupation, height, weight, eye/hair color, & a list of their powers or talents. The more prominent the character, the larger their layout is.

The hardcover is fairly large. I have looked through it several times & have learned a lot. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because the DC version seemed to be a little more thorough. For instance, it includes each characters hero/villain status while the Marvel book doesn't. For a non-comic fan, like me, that info would be nice to have up-front.

The Marvel Encyclopedia is a good quick-reference for those not very familiar with the comic world. For those who have been avid comic book geeks for years, the information in the Marvel Encyclopedia is not likely to be detailed or thorough enough to satisfy their curiosity. Most characters don't get more than a paragraph of information, and even the most popular characters (i.e. the Fantastic Four) only get one page that is at least half images of the characters from various story lines. The images are great - no complaints there - and it is nice to have info on the more obscure and forgotten characters that may have appeared only once in the 80's. Good coffee table book, not necessarily good encyclopedia.

the book came 2 days ahead of the scheduled delivery date. the book was a gift for my brother in law who doesn't like to read and now he can't put it down. its a wonderful addition for any comic book lover