Marvel Legacy: The 1970s Handbook

(Marvel, 2006)
™ and © 2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.

In many ways, comic books were simpler in the 1970s. It was easier to tell the good guys from the bad, and death, resurrection, and alternate realities were comparatively rare. That makes this edition of the Marvel Handbook—presented as if it were written on December 31st, 1979—kind of fun. It’s great to see a snapshot of what some of Marvel’s characters were like back then, especially when blessed (or cursed?) with the historical knowledge of what came next for them. Interestingly, a number of the characters on the cover have died and been reborn in the decades since that time.

The Avengers, the Punisher, and the X-Men are just some of the characters featured here, but since those major names are also included in other handbooks, more obscure characters and groups (including Hypno-Hustler, the Missing Link, and the Lady Liberators) get their stories told as well. As in all the handbooks, each page includes representative art and detailed, well-researched text that fairly oozes nostalgia, especially for longtime fans.

— Andy Richardson

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