X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Michael Mallory (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2006

X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe tells the story of this unique band of Marvel comics’ heroes from their creation in 1963 to the present as one of the globe’s hottest franchises. This colorful, lavishly illustrated volume also traces how the characters have been adapted into the media of television and film, including the groundbreaking 1992 animated series and blockbuster feature films, including X-Men III: The Last Stand.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe is a huge, oversize coffee-table book that should entertain a wide variety of X-fans. Author Michael Mallory wrote the same-sized Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe, and now benefits from a narrower focus on a single group: their comic books, movies, TV shows, and memorabilia. Published in 2006, the nearly 300-page tome covers topics as recent as House of M, 1602, and the third movie, X-Men: The Last Stand (though only passing mention of Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men) Also covered are the development of the team from the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby days through the 1975 revamp through the various spin-off series such as Age of Apocalypse and X-Force, and alternate realities (the great Days of Future Past story line). If you have gaps in your X-knowledge, this is a good resource for filling them, but X-perts may simply dig the large pictures of key covers and panels, movie stills, sketches, and Greg Horn's luscious take on Emma Frost. --David Horiuchi

About the Author

Michael Mallory is the author of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons and Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe (Levin Associates), as well as 350 magazine and newspaper articles that have chronicled a variety of pop-culture topics. Internationally recognized as an authority on animation, he has frequently been seen and heard on a host of radio and television venues. He lives and works in Southern California. Bryan Singer is the director of X-Men and X2. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Universe; 1 edition (August 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883631202
• ISBN-13: 978-0883631201
• Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 11.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Mallory leads multiple creative lives. In fiction he is best known as the creator of "Amelia Watson," the second wife of Dr. John H. Watson (Sherlock Holmes' friend and "Boswell"), and the eleven-year-old detective "Scotty," whose adventures appear regularly on the Los Angeles Times Reading Room Page. A recognized authority on 20th century pop culture, he is the author of several nonfiction books, including "Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror," "X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe," and "Iwao Takamoto: My Life With a Thousand Characters," which Mike co-wrote with the late animation legend Iwao Takamoto. He has published over one-hundred short stories and more than 400 magazine and newspaper articles. In addition, Mike is a frequent public speaker, a former newscaster, and over the years has been known to take on an acting role or two.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The editors just couldn't have worked a bit harder?, February 15, 2007

By 

Susie Suh (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe (Hardcover)

I received this book as a birthday present from an awesome friend (thanks, jon!), and I immediately read the entire thing in one night. As much as I appreciated the vast amount of information and the beautiful illustrations, I couldn't help but be irked by the little typos along the way. While it is understandable that in a book of this length, that some errors were made, if I (an 18 year-old high school student) could read the book in one night and discover these grammatical and spelling errors, I feel as though the editors could have prevented these mistakes just as easily. Aside from the annoying typos, though, this collection of X-Men trivia is stellar, and I would recommend it to any X-Men fan (especially if they aren't as OCD about typos in published formats as I am).

5.0 out of 5 stars So worth it, February 6, 2011

By 

W. Henderson (Alaska (for now)) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe (Hardcover)

It is a really cool book. It's very durable and well made. Full of great pictures and tons of information. I bought it as a gift for my husband and he really enjoys it. Our son likes to look over and read the pages as well. You don't have to be a comic book junkie to appreciate this book. I'm not (and I'm a girl ;P ) but I also spend some time going through all the pages. If you like or are interested in the X-Men on any level what-so-ever this book is for you.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars X-Men Review, March 15, 2007

By 

R. Geiger - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe (Hardcover)

Fantastic book with alot of knowledge I was unaware of. I am still in the middle of reading it but looking foward for new information.