Comic Book Encyclopedia : The Ultimate Guide to Characters, Graphic Novels, Writers, and Artists in the Comic Book Universe

Rating:
Summary: Beginner's Guide, perhaps?
Review: "The Ultimate Guide" is a bit of a stretch as not a single b-list character from Marvel or DC that I used to collect as a kid is represented here, nor many of the creators I rank among my personal favorites, but it definitely offers a wide-ranging overview - emphasis on the word OVERVIEW - of the industry, past to present. There's a smattering of independent/alternative comics and a hefty load of Golden and Silver Age oddities I'd never even heard of. Overall, a perfect gift for the newcomer or casual fan, but I'd suggest letting the more experienced fan/collector decide whether to buy it for themselves.

Rating:
Summary: Light on the Content
Review: This is a big showy book with a bright graphic cover but I found the interior coverage of various characters too light for serious research or reading.

This may make a good gift book for someone just getting started but I recommend either The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes
by Gina Misiroglu or The Slings and Arrows Guide to Comic Guide Second Edition for the more serious fan/collector.

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining introduction to comics history
Review: This is a big, beautiful, richly illustrated book that covers a lot of territory-the history and development of comic books and graphic novels. It attempts to cover the entire field, characters, artists, writers, and give at least a basic understanding of the history. Unfortunately, as it says on the cover, "Nearly 400 BIG pages!", i.e., it's not quite four hundred pages. That's not enough space for in-depth treatment, it's made a bit more cramped by those beautiful illustrations (which, I must say, it would be a shame to lose.). The articles are mostly short, and characters one would have thought important enough for their own entries are reduced to mentions in broader entries. (Bugs Bunny, for instance, is barely mention in the "Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies" entry.) This is a good, fun book nevertheless, but possibly a better choice for the reader just getting seriously interested in comics, than for the established fan who already has an in-depth knowledge of the field.