Marvel Ultimate Quiz Book
View BookThe Marvel Universe is one of the most complex and convoluted ones in modern culture, and The Marvel Book does a remarkable job putting it all in order. How did you decide what to include and what not to include in the book?
Well, I can tell you it wasn’t easy. The synopsis was revised nearly 20 times before the writer, Win Wiacek, myself and Marvel were happy that we’d included the key characters, events, objects, and concepts that shape and define the Marvel Universe. Determining the overarching thematic categories/chapters was paramount.
“A Multiverse of Marvels” takes a god’s eye view from the first cosmos to the current one (the eighth), “War and Peace” largely encompasses the history of Earthbound heroes and villains, while the others—“Super Science and Technological Wonders,” “Magic and the Supernatural,” “Cosmic Forces and Space Adventures,” and “Alternate Worlds and Divergent Timelines”—are self-explanatory. The topic boxes allow us to drill down into related concepts or highlight particular characters.
Once we’d established the broad structure the rest fell into place. That said, certain characters defy categorization, so there was some shuffling of the deck with each iteration of the synopsis and it was something of a relief when we felt we’d finally nailed it so that Win could focus on the all-important text!
The thematic approach also allowed us to look at familiar characters, events and concepts afresh and in some depth, and illustrate the sublime interconnectedness of the Marvel Multiverse. As such, The Marvel Book is the ultimate companion title to the expansive, all-encompassing Marvel Encyclopedia.
Do you think The Marvel Book is best read from beginning to end or is it meant to be simply dipped into?
I really have to take my hat off to DK’s excellent designers who had the unenviable task of visualizing some of the more complex concepts that underpin the ever-expanding Marvel Universe, on which they did a fabulous job.
Were there any particular favorites of yours that you were happy to see receive some breathing space amongst bigger names like Captain America, Spider-Man, and The Avengers?
We had only 256 pages to include the most significant characters and events, which was undeniably a challenge but also a useful discipline, as it forced us to make some tough, albeit constructive, choices along the way. Thankfully Marvel was a great ally in helping to validate our decisions or steer us in the right direction when necessary. Providing more space to A-Listers such as The Avengers, Captain America (WWII and present), and Spider-Man was a no-brainer.
As always, the hardest part is deciding who makes the final cut, who doesn’t, and how much space to allocate to their profile. But if I’d included everyone who could be in the book and given them more space, we’d probably still be working on it now and the book would be three times as big!