Publishing company Wiley is planning a new series of their “Dummies” books, this time dedicated to present a comprehensive and approachable guides on various Marvel Comics topics. Considering Marvel’s decades long history and the multitude of alternate timelines or universes presented over the years, this series of guides should prove useful and entertaining, for new and old readers alike.
The series is scheduled to debut next year and last for six issues. For starters, Marvel Comics For Dummies (written by Troy Brownfield), and Captain America For Dummies (written by Stuart Moore), are on track to release in February 2025. Preview art for the books is included below in this article. Other planned titles will cover the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Spider-Man, and even the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are some notable exceptions, such as the X-Men which might be too complex (or nonsensical, depending on your point of view), to be reduced for this series of books.
Comments from Jennifer Yee, Senior Editor at Dummies: “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Marvel to bring the Marvel Universe to fans through Dummies’ signature style of accessible, friendly storytelling. For new fans looking for a primer to the Marvel Comic Universe, to superfans alike, this series of books will serve as approachable reference guides to some of Marvel’s most popular and enduring super heroes.”
Official log-lines for the first two books follow-
Marvel Comics For Dummies is a comprehensive reference guide and definitive primer to the immense catalog of comics created by the most iconic comic book publisher in history. Marvel Comics For Dummies will introduce readers of all ages to key Marvel comic book characters, their super-powers, strengths, weapons, allies and enemies, and more.
Readers will be introduced to key storylines that have been woven through Marvel comics for decades and learn the essential facts and foundational backstories necessary to understand how the comics and characters are inter-related. Along the way readers will get the scoop on popular characters like Iron Man, Wolverine, Black Panther, Thor, and Captain Marvel.
Marvel Comics For Dummies author Troy Brownfield is an Executive Editor of The Saturday Evening Post and kid’s magazines — Jack & Jill and Humpty Dumpty. As a comic book expert and fan, Troy has written and created content for DC Comics, Comiccon.com, Fangoria Comics/Graphix, comics for Zenescope Entertainment, and has written trading cards for Topps Trading Cards, including HALO series content and Star Wars 2018-present.
Captain America For Dummies will introduce readers to Captain America, the character and the history of the comic, originally published in 1940.
The book will walk readers through Captain America’s origin story, how civilian Steve Rogers became a super hero, thanks to a secret government project and a dose of Super-Soldier Serum, and how others, including Sam Wilson, have taken up the mantle of Captain America over time.
Captain America For Dummies author, Stuart Moore, is the author of the Marvel Crisis Protocol novels Target: Kree and Into the Dark Dimension (Aconyte Books), three volumes of the New York Times bestselling middle-grade series The Zodiac Legacy (Disney Press), created and cowritten by Stan Lee, and was a founding editor of the acclaimed Vertigo imprint at DC Comics, where he won the Will Eisner Award for Best Editor.
Stay tuned for further updates, including descriptions for the next books, as they happen. Marvel Comics For Dummies and Captain America For Dummies will be released in February 2025.
