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For someone just discovering comics, the Marvel Universe, at first, can seen totally impenetrable. When a company has continued publishing monthly stories, uninterrupted, since 1961, continuity becomes complicated, locations change, character’s motives shift—it all becomes tremendously difficult to track. You may find yourself asking, “What side of the Civil War spawned from Speedball accidentally blowing up Stamford, Connecticut was Professor Xavier’s estranged, mentally ill son on, again?” Or, “What state was the Blob born in?”
To compensate, graphic designer Tim Leong has written Marvel Super Graphic, a book of easy-to-read charts and graphs detailing the ins and outs of the House of Ideas’ complex history. We sat down to discuss his new book, and covered topics ranging from Thing’s frequently interrupted poker games to superhero dietary restrictions.
Gordon Jackson, io9: As a designer with a long history of creating infographics for magazines, what attracted you to charting the Marvel universe, over, say, DC?
Tim Leong: I’m a huge comics fan, period. I strongly believe that fandom doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. That was the idea behind the first Super Graphic book—that there’s something for everyone, no matter your interests. That said, Marvel was my first love, my first exposure to comics. I dipped my toe in with Spider-Man and then went head-first with the X-Men. I just ate up the Jim Lee era.
io9: Which infographic in the book was the most difficult to research, or keep track of? And do you have a favorite or least-favorite for either reason?
© Chronicle Books Tim Leong: There’s a chart that is a series of Venn diagrams that shows the commonalities and differences of various characters from Spider-Verses. That was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Honestly, “that was harder than I thought” was a pretty common refrain for me. But in this case, there are so many specifics and nuances to each Spider story, it was hard to figure out which one went where. There’s also just SO. MANY. Spider-people there was no way I could fit them all in—leaving cool characters out is always hard.
© Chronicle Books io9: Mapping out the complicated Summers family tree felt like a necessity, but how did you decide on creating a graph for superhero dietary restrictions, or the various reasons the Thing’s poker games were interrupted?
Tim Leong: The Thing’s recurring poker games is one of my favorite charts. Going into this process, I knew the Thing liked playing poker as a general trope, but I didn’t know the specifics or the history. The nice thing the book does is connect the history, add context, and have a little fun along the way. I didn’t want the book to feel like homework—this is not a text book. Not everything should be super-dense data. I wanted to also highlight what makes Marvel Comics feel fun, feel personal, and make sure the stories shine, but also the characters. And poker.
© Chronicle Books io9: From a marketing perspective, who do you believe a book like this is for?
Tim Leong: I approached the book with the idea that there’s no experience necessary. That is, there’s something of value for new fans, casual readers, and life-long vets. I think passion is contagious. My goal is to spread my love for Marvel Comics and expose you to new characters, new stories, and new interest-piquing facts. When I was younger I was obsessed with the Marvel Universe trading cards. They had power charts, and interesting facts. The cards also featured a lot of characters and stories I’d never heard of, and it made me want to learn more about them. That’s what I hope to do.
© Chronicle Books io9: Since you previously wrote a book of charts and graphs detailing the Star Wars universe, is there another IP or even a personal interest you’d also like to tackle in this manner?
Tim Leong: These books are extremely difficult to do—from the research to the design to the writing—this one is still occupying so much space in my brain. That said, I am a fan of so many things—comics, movies, video games, sports—there’s fun data to be found everywhere.
© Chronicle Books io9: Was there anything you had to leave out of the book you regret?
Tim Leong: Regardless how much Gambit is in the book, there should always be 20 percent more Gambit!
io9: Finally, who is Irma and how did she become the official Super Graphic mascot?
Tim Leong: Irma is my pug. Wherever you’re reading this, you can probably hear her snoring right now. I secretly put her in the back of the book solely to see the reactions of my kids when they found the page. Let me tell you—it was worth it.
Marvel Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Marvel Comics Universe is on sale next Tuesday, September 24. Pre-order here.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
