Customer Reviews

Avengers: The Ultimate Guide

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Much excellent artwork,but where this book really wins out over all other guides I've come across is in its sheer inclusivity of characters - pretty much anyone who's anyone gets a bio or at the very least,a mention.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the detail in the biograpies the content is sadly lacking. Important details in characters' histories are frequently ommitted and there is no attempt to reference described events by issue number (eg: The Avengers / Defenders War is mentioned, but no information is given to allow the reader to locate the issues it actually took place over). The page layout, while asthetically pleasing also makes little logical sense to read.

Worse still, much of the information appears to have been "sanitised": We are told Tony Stark has "personal problems", but his alcoholism is not directly referred to. Similarly Carol Danver's drinking problem is not mentioned at all. We are told the Pym's marriage was pretty rocky, but Hank's habit of wife-beating doesn't rate a mention. I can probably forgive not disclosing that The Living Lightning is gay, but not acknowledging that Wiccan & Hulkling of the Young Avengers are in a gay relationship seems an extraordinary ommission.

Then there are the errors. Typos abound in bizarre numbers and there are even examples of pictures with the wrong captions. The appendix of character first appearances has so many errors and omissions that it's pretty obvious someone was asleep at the wheel when they wrote this bit.

This really is a nice volume and very useful for background information, but really, it should have been much better put together than this.

This book is the ultimate walk down memory lane for those of us who have read comic books for years! The book is largely organized chronologically, with the early Avengers, and then the Avengers in the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Along the way, each Avenger is detailed, along with many colorful illustrations, some scenes from actual stories, nemeses, and interesting factoids.

Overall, I found this to be a great book. I loved how broad the book was in its reach, covering everyone from The Wasp and Power Man to Ant-Man 2 and Spider-Woman. This is a great book, one that I highly recommend for all fans of Marvel's Avengers!

I enjoyed the full-color photos and extra info on heroes and villians, as well as, important events in the history of the characters. What is missing is the reference to when in the Avenger's comic universe did these events take place. A timeline with issue numbers would be helpful if you are a collector. Otherwise, a good reference for Avenger's fans. I certainly learned some new info regarding the Avenger's and their foes.

This book spends a lot of time on minor, one-shot characters & stories, and the big players & story arcs get very little mention. Like, major villain Loki gets mentioned in a short paragraph on the page about Thor, but the Two Gun Kid gets a whole page & artwork spread? Huh? Superficial, scattershot & shallow, NOT an "Ultimate Guide".

The Mighty Avengers changed their membership more than I change my boxers. Or at least it always seemed that way. Making a comprehensive guide to chronicle the group's history and detail all of the different characters that would come to play a part as one of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes would be quite a difficult feat. So it's not surprising that AVENGERS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE doesn't quite measure up. Sure, it appears to be all-encompassing as far as getting everyone into the book. But, while it manages a little background on everyone, it goes into depth with no one. Most characters get 3-5 paragraphs on a single picture-laden page. However, many get half-pages, and some are relegated to just a sidebar. There are a few pages dedicated to each decade (60s, 70s, etc.) in the group's history, as well as sections explaining the 'Disassembled' storyline and other Avengers comic titles. Lots of pictures and a foreword by Stan Lee top off the book's contents. A nice try, but to really be an ultimate guide, this would realistically need to be about triple the size (at least) of this 144-page effort. How about adding thumbnail cover pics of every issue? Or a ranking list of how many issues each character appeared in? And how do you leave Hawkeye off of the cover, yet you put Jack of Hearts on?

Among the characters/groups mentioned are: Thor, Iron Man, The Wasp, Teen Brigade, Rick Jones, Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Space Phantom, The Lava Men, Minotaur, Mole Man, Baron Zemo, Masters of Evil, Enchantress, Kang, Wonder-Man, The Grim Reaper, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Black Widow, Swordsman, Hercules, Power Man, The Collector, Count Nefaria, Black Knight, Black Panther, The Vision, The Mandarin, Doctor Doom, Attuma, Magneto, Sons of the Serpent, Red Guardian, Jocasta, Nick Fury, Living Laser, Ultron, Egghead, Grandmaster, Squadron Supreme, Man-Ape, Mantis, Moondragon, Beast, Hellcat, The Flacon, Warbird, Two-Gun Kid, Red Wolf, Whizzer, Capt. Mar-Vell, Supreme Intelligence, Legion of the Unliving, Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Gyrich, S.H.I.E.L.D., US Agent, Moon Knight, Human Torch, Firebird, Great Lakes Avengers, Tigra, She-Hulk, Photon, Quasar, Doctor Druid, Starfox, High Evolutionary, Gilgamesh, The Fantastic Four, Demolition Man, Avengers Crew, Sersi, Stingray, Crystal, Spider-Man, Sandman, Masque, Living Lightning, Machine Man, Darkhawk, Spider-Woman 2, Rage, The Gatherers, Morgan Le Fey, Justice, Firestar, Silverclaw, Triathlon, A-Next, Deathcry, Ant-Man 2, Jack of Hearts, Captain Britain, Sentry, Spider-Woman, New Avengers, The Ultimates, Young Avengers, Thunderbolts, & New Avengers.

Other sections include: The Avengers' Origin, The Mansion, Avengers of the 1960s, Avengers of the 1970s, Avengers of the 1980s, Avengers of the 1990s, Avengers of the 2000s, and Avengers Disassembled.

I have several of these Ultimate Guide volumes (Batman, Superman, Spiderman,X-Men, JLA, etc.) and I've seen several others but this is the best one by far.

For the old school Avengers fans or for people just starting out and wanting to know about the Avengers, I highly reccommend this book. Lots of pictures and info on all of the old and current roster.

This really is the ultimate treatment, at least in a quick & basic way: the original team; east coast; west coast; great lakes; A-Next; New Avengers; Ultimates; and even Young Avengers team versions all get *briefly* mentioned here. This guide really is *character* driven though- it's not teams but individuals that get most of the glory, attention, and detail.

And these characters are easily a roster of Marvel's best. A brief listing:
Thor; Iron Man; Henry Pym; Wasp; Hulk; Captain America; Wonder-Man; Hawkeye; Scarlet Witch; Quicksilver; Black Widow; Hercules; Power Man; Black Knight; Black Panther; Vision; Beast; Falcon; Ms. Marvel; U.S. Agent; Moon Knight; Human Torch; Firebird; Tigra; She-Hulk; Photon; Quasar; Starfox; D-Man; Spider-Man; Living Lightning; Darkhawk; Spider-Woman; Rage; Justice; Firestar; Silverclaw; Triathlon; Jack of Hearts; War Machine; Wolverine; and more!

My favorite aspect of the book is the *ARTWORK* selected! All famous artists and main scenes/panels have been expertly chosen. We get a Dale Keown Hulk, a Joe Madureira Magneto, an animation-style War Machine, a little bit of Alex Ross, and of course, Avengers by Jack Kirby and George Perez. This is *easily* a great gift for all Avengers fans- Highly recommended!

P.S. Want something *really* ultimate? Try 40 Years of The Avengers Comic Book Win/Mac. Available today!

I was very unhappy with this book. It was described as good shape, when it arrived I found that the spine was broken and multiple pages were ripped and discolored. I contacted the seller and got no response. That really sucks. I have had trouble with used product before but the seller always fixed the problem this one just ignored it. Buy from some one else if there is an option.

One of my favorite super-teams gets the book treatment. And I must say, while it has some great moments in it, displaying the many changes the team has gone through, both in roster & interpretation, it feels strangely lacking. It might be the way the book touches oh-so-briefly on key moments in the Avengers' history. Still, it brings back pleasing memories of getting that spanking new issue of the Avengers, and reading the interaction between the characters & their latest perilous mission.
And I know that this book is targeted at a fan base of Fifth Graders & up...but PLEASE!...can't authors & publishers take the time to use spell/grammar checks??
Other than that quibble, this is a fine read for ALL ages of one of the most interesting & colorful teams in comic book history!