{"id":3337,"date":"2010-05-07T06:45:57","date_gmt":"2010-05-07T10:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/?p=3337"},"modified":"2010-05-07T00:15:36","modified_gmt":"2010-05-07T04:15:36","slug":"review-dc-comics-super-heroes-and-villains-fandex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/wordpress\/2010\/05\/07\/review-dc-comics-super-heroes-and-villains-fandex\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: DC Comics Super Heroes and Villains Fandex"},"content":{"rendered":"

Workman Publishing has just released the amazingly cool DC Comics Super Heroes and Villains Fandex<\/a><\/strong><\/em>!\u00a0 What a neat product!\u00a0 I was skeptical when I first heard about it, but it’s far exceeded my expectations.\u00a0 This handy field guide makes an excellent reference for both the DC Comics seasoned veteran as well as the comic book rookie.<\/p>\n

So what’s a Fandex you ask?\u00a0 A Fandex is actually called “Fandex Family Field Guide”. It is an approximately 10″ long stack of full-color, heavy stock, double-sided, die-cut cards.\u00a0 They resemble bookmarks to some extent. This stack of cards is fastened together with a plastic bolt which serves as a pivot point.\u00a0 This allows the cards to be fanned out so you can see the pictures at the top of each card and pick the one you would like to look at.\u00a0 The top of each Fandex card has a large picture of the featured subject, and the card is cut around that particular shape. The cards state interesting information on each subject on both sides of the card.\u00a0 Typically Fandex focuses on historical or factual subject matter (like famous painters or North American birds).\u00a0 This particular one focuses on the heroes and villains of DC Comics.<\/p>\n

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Below is a shot of the Fandex spread out. Click to enlarge.<\/p>\n

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This field guide starts off with a pleasant introduction from Dan DiDio, Co-Publisher of DC Comics.\u00a0 From there it jumps into the meat of the Fandex.\u00a0 While the guide only contains 75 different entries, they’ve managed to squeeze in many more characters than that.\u00a0 They accomplished this by listing teams and by combining heroic legacies onto a single card. For example, the Robin card covers the five different people to carry the mantle of Robin – Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damian Wayne.<\/p>\n

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I really like the way they chose to order the characters.\u00a0 Rather than the usual A-Z, they clumped together characters by which “family” they belong to.\u00a0 The first batch of characters are all Batman-related (Batman, Batwoman, Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, etc), the second batch are all Superman-related (Superman, Lois Lane, Brainiac, General Zod, etc), and the third batch are all Wonder Woman-related (Wonder Woman, Hippolyta, Cheetah, Ares, etc).\u00a0 Just those three “families” compose the first half of the Fandex.\u00a0 The second half starts out with many of the remaining JLA members and their related characters, such as Aquaman and Black Manta.\u00a0 Then they delve into the Fourth World, the JSA, the Marvel Family, the Legion of Super-heroes, the Teen Titans, some random characters, and ending with the Monitors.\u00a0 All-in-all a very impressive roster of characters covered.\u00a0 If you have a hard time finding your favorite character, there is an index in the back to help.<\/p>\n

All the artwork is pre-existing from various comics, but they did an excellent job selecting some of the best – Gary Frank’s Superman, Brian Bolland’s Joker, Terry Dodson’s Wonder Woman, Art Adams’ Gorilla Grodd, George Perez’s Teen Titans, Tom Mandrake’s Martian Manhunter, Ethan Van Sciver’s Flash, Kevin Maguire’s Metal Men, and so on.\u00a0 The content was meticulously researched by Randall Lotowycz.\u00a0 I feel he did as good a job as the much-beloved Who’s Who<\/em> series from the 1980s.\u00a0 The information appears to be current through the conclusion of Final Crisis<\/em>.\u00a0 For example, Firestorm’s card doesn’t make any mention of the events that took place during Blackest Night<\/em>.\u00a0 … That’s right, Firestorm has his own entry!<\/p>\n

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Here is the promotional copy from the publisher:<\/p>\n

Celebrate 75 years of DC Comics with an obsessive Fandex Deluxe: a supersized deck of 75 iconic heroes and villains whose power over the popular imagination has never been stronger (think The Dark Knight, last summer’s $1 billion blockbuster).<\/p>\n

The gang\u2019s all here: Batman, Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Green Lantern, Captain Marvel, Justice League of America, the Flash. So are their nemeses\u2014the Joker, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Lex Luthor, Cheetah, Brainiac, Poison Ivy, Deathstroke. Meticulously researched, with layers of information covering origins, biography, back-stories, affiliations, motivations, weaknesses, and fascinating trivia, the deck adds up to an insider\u2019s history of the DC Universe. And what better way to present it than in the format with super powers\u2014Fandex and its die-cut cards perfectly capture the characters in one dynamic pose after another, with the art taken straight from the pages of the original comics.<\/p>\n

From the essential\u2014learn about the Crisis on Infinite Earths\u2014to the improbable\u2014discover how Lex Luthor became President of the United States\u2014to the offbeat\u2014did you know that Clark Kent and Lois Lane lived in a building owned by Wayne (i.e., Batman) Enterprises: it\u2019s a handheld feast for newcomers and passionate comics fans alike.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I highly recommend this product to anyone that’s ever taken an interest in DC Comics, Who’s Who<\/em>, the DC Comics Encyclopedia<\/em>, or any of DK’s Ultimate Guide<\/em> books. This Fandex retails for $12.95 and is available online<\/a> through many sources. My thanks to Workman Publishing for sending me a copy to review.<\/p>\n

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