Created by Bob Kane in the late 1930s, Batman is one of the world's greatest fictional heroes. "The Ace of Detectives," "The Caped Crusader," "The Dark Knight"--each generation has coined its own favorite nickname to describe this ultimate crime fighter as he wages a relentless war on a gallery of bizarre but deadly villains. For the updated and expanded edition of Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight, DK has been permitted unparalleled access to the archives of DC Comics, the publishers of Batman. Spectacular artworks reveal key installations and equipment, such as the Batcave, the Batmobile, the Batsuit, and the weapons contained in Batman's Utility Belt. Crucial events and characters of the Batman legend are illustrated with spectacular images from the original DC comic books. This new edition covers the most significant post-millenial storylines, plus additional information on the Caped Crusader's classic Silver and Golden Age exploits from the late 1930s to the early 1970s. --

An examination of the New Look (1964-69) and Bronze Age (1970-79) Batman and Detective Comics. Loaded with a wealth of behind the scenes stories, facts, photos and artwork, this sheds light on even the most obscure Bat-facts. Interviews with Batman artists and editors like Neal Adams, Carmine Infantino and Archie Goodwin discuss the iimpact of the Batman TV show and the long-overdue redesign of the character, from the goofy Bob Kane version, locked into 1950s mentality and, yes, aliens bad-guys. DC put it's finest creative team on the job, straight off beloved runs on Adam Strange and Strange Adventures, to reinvent the Dark Avenger and debut the drop-dead gorgeous BatGirl. Includes exhaustive indexes of Batman's foes and friends as well as an issue-by-issue overview. Introduction by Dennis O'Neil. Guest Essays by Mike W. Barr and Will Murray. --

Tom DeFalco does a great job again (as he did with ); this book may be the best Hulk encyclopedia out there. Precise, accurate, giving proper credit to all Hulk artists, major or not, with tons of great images, easy-and-fun-to-read. In other words, accessible for all ages. The format starts with basic information on Bruce Banner, The Hulk, Hulk's powers, Betty Banner, and a few other main characters throughout Hulk's history. Then it is broken down into decades starting with the 1960's and going up through the 2000's. Each decade details major events, allies, and of course enemies of the Hulk. The art is taken mostly from the comics and there are samples of pages added featuring the spotlighted character. The book itself is a true homage to the incredible Hulk, and an invaluable reference tool.

Marvel authority Tom DeFalco unmasks the history of the beloved websling in this updated edition of DK's definitive guide, which includes more than 600 full-color illustrations from the Spider-Man comics, along with original illustrations, detailed character profiles, and descriptions of the latest developments in the Marvel Universe. Author Tom DeFalco has written about the adventures of Spider-Man and other super heroes for over 20 years. Tom has been a top writer and Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, and has written many titles for Marvel & DK, including , , and most recently, . --

Providing a wealth of information about the history of the ground-breaking comic, plus fascinating facts about key storylines and all the major characters‹good and bad‹that have thrilled fans since the comic's creation, Fantastic Four: The Ultimate Guide is an invaluable addition to any fans collection. --

From Thor and Iron Man to Captain America and the Incredible Hulk, this exciting book tells readers everything there is to know about Earth's mightiest heroes-from their incredible origins to their superhuman powers. A must for comic fans of any age! --

Marvel's best-selling Encyclopedia series continues! This fully illustrated, comprehensive deluxe hardcover volume includes in-depth biographies, statistics, and essential reading lists for the world's most popular comic book hero, Spider-Man, and all his friends and foes like the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and Mary Jane Watson! An essential Who's Who of the Spider-Man universe for fans new and old of all ages! --

Everything anyone could ever want to know about The Incredible Hulk gathered in one comprehensive edition.

This is a 162-page hardcover by long-time Conan writer Roy Thomas of Marvel Comics fame that includes over 350 color and b/w illustrations from some of the foremost Conan portrayers ever: Frank Frazetta, Mark Schultz, Gary Gianni, John Buscema, Cary Nord, and more. Invaluable as reference and guide for fans of the world's most savage barbarian.

This lavishly illustrated companion to Rovin's The Encyclopedia of Superheroes (1985) contains short articles on almost 1000 villainous characters culled from movies, TV, mythology, fiction, and other sources. The majority of those featured are outlandish characters from comic books. Villains from genre fiction such as mysteries, science fiction, or romances are almost nonexistent, as are the classic villains of literature, folklore, and mainstream movies. Most of the selected villains apparently were included because of their noteworthy nastiness and the audacity of their criminal intentions. This is a well-researched, well-written, amply illustrated dictionary for an area where there are few reliable reference sources. --

This book covers more than just the obvious comic book heroes like Superman, Captain America, Batman and Captain Marvel. It also includes the biblical hero Samson and the western hero the Lone Ranger and listings of obscure and one-shot heroes like Hell-Rider and the Copperhead. Because of its early 80s publication date, the book doesn't cover the more modern heroes, like those found in Image or Valiant comics. But as a whole it may still be the most useful resource on superheroes thereabouts. Information includes costume descriptions, first appearances, short biographies and an extremely interesting "comments" section. Very useful for tracking down info on old Golden Age characters that are now long gone. A very useful and excellent reference tool.

The complete title says it all: . The most comprehensive one-volume, A-to-Z guide to the Marvel Universe ever published, now in an updated and expanded version. Covers more than one hundred top heroes and villains with illustrations, biographies, statistics, essential reading and quizzes. Written by a team of Marvel experts led by former Marvel editor Tom DeFalco and packed with spectacular original artwork. More than 60 new entries. Expanded entries on major Super Heroes such as Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, The Avengers and Captain America and special features on recent major crossover events, such as , , and . Includes a decade-by-decade history of the Marvel Universe.