The title says it all really – this is a book targeted for those who are absolutely totally obsessed with Marvel and all its ensuing and often bewildering tsunami of minutiae. It’s essentially a quiz book, full of questions – two thousand five hundred of them, to be exact – three hundred more than the previous edition.
Leafing through the book, it becomes quickly apparent that no matter what your preference in the Marvel Comic Universe, be it Golden, Silver, Bronze or Modern Age, whether your loyalties are with the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Hulk or Avengers – there’s a wealth of trivia questions here to test your mind, memory and knowledge. Even the more esoteric, less mainstream characters have their place here in the Marvel Knights, Cosmic Characters, Horror Heroes and Marvel Time chapters. Literally, this book will cater for anybody who has ever read a Marvel comic book, be it just a handful many years ago to the uberfan who has entire rooms full of superhero magazines. There are questions here accessible to just about everybody. The questions range from the easy, ‘what does A.I.M stand for’ (come on… EVERYBODY knows that one), to the downright fiendish ‘which issue did artist Gene Colan end his run on Daredevil?’
The bulk of the book is rapid-fire questions with multiple answers to give everyone a sporting chance, and the centre of each double-page spread contains a more involved question that has some background details added.
Although meticulously researched, handsomely presented and a wonderful source of entertainment (not to mention frustration when the answers elude the poor reader) it is little more than a novelty book in the main. It will certainly come into its own on quiz evenings, or during the holidays when Marvel Maniacs (and we are an army) get together and decide to test their trivia skills.
Undoubtedly, the Starburst Christmas party will have us all clambering over each other to answer which classic Avengers villain amplified his power by stealing the deceased Prof. X’s brain (it was The Red Skull) or we can debate among ourselves who was not a member of Force Works or Code:Blue.
OBSESSED WITH MARVEL / AUTHOR: PETER SANDERSON, MARC SUMERAK / PUBLISHER: TITAN BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
