In 1932 a 22-year old named Martin Goodman opened the publishing house which would come to be known as Marvel. Westerns and detective stories were the big sellers of the day. The spider-man character was a shot in the dark feature in a poor-selling comic book Amazing Fantasy that was about to get the axe. Today an original copy of that comic would cost in the range of $40,000.

With a library containing over 4,700 proprietary characters and eleven movies featuring Marvel characters already underway for the next two years, the Marvel Universe has become as epic as its storylines.

This oversized collector's style guide, Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe, covers the history of the national obsession, the marvel influence on media, and the best loved characters including the Incredible Hulk and X-Men, and ends with a look at new worlds to conquer. Full of stunning 4-color photographs, movie stills, original comic art, and animation drawings, this is a vibrant and colorful tribute to the incredible cultural phenomenon.