The Marvel Universe - the companion volume to Abrams' smash hit Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics - introduces the super heroes and super-villains of the world's most compelling stories since the Arthurian Legends. From the far-flung reaches of the intergalactic Shi'ar Empire to the quiet, upstate New York residence of the X-Men, the Marvel Universe encompasses a vast coterie of characters whose different physical forms, super powers, and psychology is limited only by the imagination of their creators. The Marvel Universe surveys this vast fictional realm. The insightful text by comics insider Peter Sanderson integrates perceptive discussions of the major characters, synopses of groundbreaking stories, and critical evaluations of comics art and writing. The illustrations include many major dramatic scenes from the stories themselves, with exciting examples of the work of the most important Marvel artists, from Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko in the 1960s to Andy Kubert and Jim Lee in the 1990s.