Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-25414732-20160124104308/@comment-61022-20160126165726

A lot of the handbooks that Marvel have published over the years are also not really all that accurate anymore. The last run of handbooks (as a series) was the A-Z hardcovers which ran from 2008-2010. A few of those have recently been reprinted in softcover (The first five I think?) with updates tacked at the end to bring it up to date for 2012. Marvel has since released a number of other handbooks that are theme specific, but usually consisting of "updates" for popular characters and so on. There is not one comprehensive tome where you can keep up to date because (as one would expect with a print encyclopedia on an ever evolving fictional medium) it gets out of date very very quickly. They're a great resource to have on hand, but always be mindful of the print date, and figure that everything listed in that book is accurate up to that date.

Marvel also has a somewhat lackluster version of it online at www.marvel.com/universe .... It's a reader contribution system, but any information is subject to incredibly heavy editorial oversight so updates are rare, information is bereft of details, also Marvel doesn't even reference their information (except for the "key issue" section that has a brief listing of significant comics pertaining to such a character). Marvel had a great opportunity to have their own in-house online encyclopedia that relies on fans making updates, but their criteria is too stringent. They're also stymied by various rights issues regarding some of the other commercial properties they integrated into their publications in the 70s and 80s, so they have to be careful about what other things they are able to update.

Honestly, as great a resource the Official Handbook is, we're much better in that we strive to include references to the comics where a specific event takes place. So if you've ever wondered "What comic did THAT happen?" you can check our references and find out. We're not perfect and there are a lot of bugs to iron out, and pages that have been neglected for years that need to be updated. But we're making headway, and since we're an independently run fan site, we're not quite so restricted by what information we can put online. For example, we (could or already do) have comprehensive entries for ROM, Fu-Manchu, the Shogun Warriors, Godzilla, and the Micronauts, who are all characters who appeared in the Marvel Universe but Marvel does not own the rights for. That's because as a fan run encyclopedia we're protected by Fair Use law, whereas Marvel is a corporate entity that has various legal bindings that prevent them from presenting that information (other than mentioned it by word, you won't see pictures of these characters or profiles either)

So if you're looking to read the Official Handbooks for information, always expect the information there to be incomplete, chances are, particularly if you're looking for info on a popular character, you'll find that we're much more complete. Also, if you are so inclined, and you learn the proper editing guidelines, you can contribute to this site and help us make it better and become THE place for information on all things Marvel.