History AllThereInTheManual / ComicBooks

* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'': The ''ComicBook/SinestroCorpsWar'' storyline featured a ''Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps Secret Files and Origins'' special, which had informative bios on every active member of the Green Lantern Corps and the Sinestro Corps War. This includes the names, homeworlds, Space Sectors and backstories of Corpsmen who only appeared in crowd shots or were [[WeHardlyKnewYe killed off before there was a chance to flesh them out]].

* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'': The ''ComicBook/SinestroCorpsWar'' storyline featured a ''Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps Secret Files and Origins'' special, which had informative bios on every active member of the Green Lantern Corps and the Sinestro Corps War. This includes the names, Space Sectors and backstories of Corpsmen who only appeared in crowd shots or were [[WeHardlyKnewYe killed off before there was a chance to flesh them out]].

** ComicBook/MilesMorales: It may be confusing to read his solo in ''Ultimate Spider-Man'', jump to ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'' and then to his new book in the main universe, ''ComicBook/SpiderMan2016''. Miles is already an Avenger, he already knows Ms. Marvel... that's because, after Secret Wars but before this solo, he has already been in a 616 book in ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentAvengers''.

** All of the tie-ins ''greatly'' elaborate on events critical to the main plots (the fall of Checkmate's main offices, Franchise/{{Superman}}'s whereabouts, who Mandrakk was, Darkseid's plot to create an army of Batman clone henchmen, Tattoo Man's HeelFaceTurn, and fall-out on Martian Manhunter's death and how Libra managed to be recruited by Darkseid) but DC has largely refused to collect them all together in a cohesive collection.

* Shortly before ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' happened, ''ComicBook/TheCrossing'' happened, resulting in ComicBook/TheWasp mutating into a more wasp-like form and ComicBook/IronMan dying and being replacing by a teenaged counterpart from another universe. When ComicBook/TheAvengers returned from the ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' universe, the changes were undone, but ''ComicBook/HeroesReturn'' didn't touch upon why the adult Tony was once again alive, the fate of Teen Tony, or how Wasp was back to normal. ''Avengers Annual 2001'' did eventually reveal what happened: RealityWarper [[Franchise/FantasticFour Franklin Richards]] wasn't aware of these changes when he sent into into the ''Reborn'' universe, so when he saved them, he ended up recreating them as he knew them, and in Tony's case, not only did he resurrect adult Tony, but it also resulted in a FusionDance and MergerOfSouls as he was merged with the teen Tony and possesses his counterpart's memories in addition to his own. Until Creator/MattFraction restored the deafness in ''ComicBook/Hawkeye2012'', this also fixed ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'s hearing.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* Shortly before ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' happened, ''ComicBook/TheCrossing'' happened, resulting in ComicBook/TheWasp mutating into a more wasp-like form and ComicBook/IronMan dying and being replacing by a teenaged counterpart from another universe. When Franchise/TheAvengers returned from the ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' universe, the changes were undone, but ''ComicBook/HeroesReturn'' didn't touch upon why the adult Tony was once again alive, the fate of Teen Tony, or how Wasp was back to normal. ''Avengers Annual 2001'' did eventually reveal what happened: RealityWarper [[Franchise/FantasticFour Franklin Richards]] wasn't aware of these changes when he sent into into the ''Reborn'' universe, so when he saved them, he ended up recreating them as he knew them, and in Tony's case, not only did he resurrect adult Tony, but it also resulted in a FusionDance and MergerOfSouls as he was merged with the teen Tony and possesses his counterpart's memories in addition to his own. Until Creator/MattFraction restored the deafness, this also fixed ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'s hearing.

** The ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan'' video game was initially stated to be canon to the [[ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan comics]]. Eventually, this opened up a lot of plot holes and continuity issues, so [[Creator/BrianMichaelBendis the writer]] decided to retell the events of the game in the series while [[PragmaticAdaptation changing the bits]] (such as having Gwen Stacy replace Spider-Carnage as the FinalBoss) that wouldn't make sense in the comic.

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' had three RPG modules made of it in the 1980s, which incorporated information directly provided by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Said info '''greatly''' fleshes out the characters' histories and provides details about their equipment (and relative levels of skill, if you understand the system). [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes They were out of print for years]] until they were republished by DC in 2019 as the "Watchmen Companion".

** ''Ultimate Captain America'' Annual #1 does explore why Cap was posing as the Black Panther in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates3'': there is indeed an Ultimate version of T'Challa, who was handled to the Weapon X program so he could be treated injuries he suffered, which left him mute and later was conscripted into S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve ultimately realized T'Challa wanted to go home and allowed him to escape, posing as him so Fury wouldn't be the wiser.

* Very few of the characters in ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'' get their origins explained in much detail (or at all). This is fine for say [[MeaningfulName Bigby Wolf]] or Snow White but some of them are very obscure and Frau Totenkinder's name can't be found in an actual fable because WordOfGod says she's every ''unnamed'' witch in FairyTales. So the background before they come to earth is all there in the manuals, the dozens and dozens of not internally consistent manuals.

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' had three RPG modules made of it in the 1980's, which incorporated information directly provided by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Said info '''greatly''' fleshes out the characters' histories and provides details about their equipment (and relative levels of skill, if you understand the system). [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes They're out of print, of course.]]

* In ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'', a fair bit about the origin of the Transformer CivilWar is only provided in text stories in the annuals.

* The ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan'' video game was initially stated to be canon to the [[ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan comics]]. Eventually, this opened up a lot of plot holes and continuity issues, so [[Creator/BrianMichaelBendis the writer]] decided to retell the events of the game in the series while [[PragmaticAdaptation changing the bits]] (such as having Gwen Stacy replace Spider-Carnage as the FinalBoss) that wouldn't make sense in the comic.

** This actually has an effect on ComicBook/TheUltimates too since Hulk's first appearance was in said team-up book, [[AsYouKnow though it's mentioned briefly]] in the second issue.

* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' v.4 had a role-playing sourcebook that included various pieces of info and backstory not in the comic itself. It's particularly notable because Volume 4 was set five years after the previous series and featured a radically different status quo, with many unexplained situations and characters which had histories the audience knew nothing of.

* Jason Robinson's ''ComicBook/TheDemonMages'' features a massive world... that's mostly explained and described in [[http://thedemonmages.tumblr.com/ its in-depth]] CharacterBlog. Most of the character development (and the ''existence'' of one of the cast members!) is only seen on the blog, too.
* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' v.4 had a role-playing sourcebook that included various pieces of info and backstory not in the comic itself. It's particularly notable because Volume 4 was set five years after the previous series and featured a radically different status quo, with many unexplained situations and characters which had histories the audience knew nothing of.
* Very few of the characters in ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'' get their origins explained in much detail (or at all). This is fine for say [[MeaningfulName Bigby Wolf]] or Snow White but some of them are very obscure and Frau Totenkinder's name can't be found in an actual fable because WordOfGod says she's every ''unnamed'' witch in FairyTales. So the background before they come to earth is all there in the manuals, the dozens and dozens of not internally consistent manuals.
** This is actually extensively played with in the course of the story. All Fables that join Fabletown are granted a General Amnesty - meaning that their pasts are essentially 'forgiven' and thus, never need to be spoken of, ever again. As for Totenkinder herself, there is an in-universe theory that mundane recognition grants power - neo-revolutionary Goldilocks, for example, does not seem to be capable of dying because of how incredibly popular and enduring her story is. Totenkinder has stated she doesn't think much of this theory and has gone to great lengths to keep stories featuring her as low-key as possible, and yet she seems to display the same ability, dying again and again but always coming back. The one story she appears in that simply 'won't go away' - heavily implied to be Hansel and Gretel's story, in which she meets her end burned to death in her own oven - her name is never mentioned. 'Totenkinder', which literally means 'Child Killer', is very likely not remotely her real name.
** This can, however, be slightly frustrating when dealing with relatively major supporting characters whose stories can be hard to place without context - such as 'Kay', a man with a sliver of a broken magic mirror in his eye socket that is cursed with the ability to see all the evil done in the life of anyone he looks at (''The Snow Queen'') or Doctor Swineheart (a Grimm story about three dueling doctors). Luckily, the narrative ''usually'' tells us the basics.
** Lack of background does in fact have a role to play. In ''Jack of Fables'' we meet an African fable who says all his stories were censored by the villain who intends to wipe out fables by removing all their stories. (It was ''Literature/TheStoryOfLittleBlackSambo''.)
** The spin-offs are pretty much necessary to understand some of the points. ''1001 Nights of Snowfall'' makes Totenkinder's identity 100% certain, along with clearly up various other backgrounds of characters, and "The Great Fables Crossover" is downright nonsensical unless you've been reading ''Jack of Fables''.
* The ''ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron'' comics, after their [[NoEnding abrupt end]], had an issue of Star Wars Handbook come out, which elaborated on various ships and the backstories of a number of pilots, major villains, and [[MonsterOfTheWeek villains of the arc]].

* In ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'', a fair bit about the origin of the Transformer CivilWar is only provided in text stories in the annuals.
* ''ComicBook/{{Chassis}}'': Due to the short run of the title (and the fact that it moved between three publishers), many details of the world where only spelled out in #0 issue which was intended as an introduction for new readers. This included profiles of characters who never made it into the series proper.
* Before ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', the numerous ''ComicBook/XMen'' titles were loaded with students of the Xavier Institute whom were never given proper codenames or an identification of their powers. They were finally identified and sorted in ''The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z'' #13 in 2010, five years after most of them lost their powers (and a good number killed).
* The ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' Sketchbook was supposed to give details about the evil New Gods and their heroic counterparts via new artwork and descriptions of them and Morrison's plans to update the characters for a new generation. Sadly NONE of it got into the final book, as Granny Goodness and Desaad had new forms, Orion never appeared after his death scene, and a new group of heroes were made into the new Forever People.
** All of the tie-ins ''greatly'' elaborate on events critical to the main plots (the fall of Checkmate's main offices, Franchise/{{Superman}}'s whereabouts, who Mandrakk was, Darkseid's plot to create an army of Batman clone henchmen, Tattoo Man's HeelFaceTurn, and fall-out on Martian Manhunter's death and how Libra managed to be recruited by Darkseid) but DC has largely refused to collect them all together in a cohesive collection.
** Not to mention the Seven Soldiers of Victory, Death of the New Gods, and Countdown to Final Crisis debacle; all three have to be read to understand how the New Gods got to where they were by the start of Final Crisis and in the case of Seven Soldiers of Victory, skipping Countdown at the very least means massive massive plotholes such as how Mary Marvel was captured by Darkseid and turned into his second in command/host for Desaad and as well as the true nature of how the New Gods fell and why Darkseid's entire scheme revolving around temporal trickery.
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'':
** When ''Sonic Universe'' released the Silver Saga storyline (in which Silver the Hedgehog aided the alternate universe daughter of Knuckles, Lara-Su, against her power mad father), they released a number of blogs that told the story of Lara-Su before and after the storyline.
** As well, Archie released the ''Official Sonic The Hedgehog Comics Encyclopedia Guide'' that revealed a whole set of new information about the characters and events that the comic itself didn't explain, such as Amy Rose's minor RealityWarper powers and that the events of ''VideoGame/SonicShuffle'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' did occur.
* Details on several of the characters, such as the members of Elle's GirlPosse, in ''ComicBook/AllGhoulsSchool'' could only be found on IDW's website.
* ''ComicBook/SunnyvilleStories'': The [[http://www.sunnyvillestories.com official blog]] has much supplemental material, talking about the characters of Sunnyville, the families and their backgrounds.
* ''Webcomic/{{Dreamkeepers}}'' has libraries worth of delicious background information to be found on the website. Also extends to the [[BonusMaterial physical copies]] of the Graphic Novels and Prelude Collection.
* ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'' guidebook contains both information on the multiverse and a ''Multiversity'' story.
* In ''ComicBook/HackSlash'', the backgrounds and origins of many of the less-significant villains are only explained in the "Slasher Profile" extra material contained in the Omnibus collections.
* A lot of stuff from ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'' is included in the rulebook for the RPG adaptation, ranging from the full names and backgrounds of several Action Scientists, to who exactly these DELPHI people are and what they want.

* Shortly before ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' happened, ''ComicBook/TheCrossing'' happened, resulting in ComicBook/TheWasp mutating into a more wasp-like form and ComicBook/IronMan dying and being replacing by a teenaged counterpart from another universe. When Franchise/TheAvengers returned from the ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' universe, the changes were undone, but ''ComicBook/HeroesReturn'' didn't touch upon why the adult Tony was once again alive, the fate of Teen Tony, or how Wasp was back to normal. ''Avengers Annual 2001'' did eventually reveal what happened: RealityWarper [[Franchise/FantasticFour Franklin Richards]] wasn't aware of these changes when he sent into into the ''Reborn'' universe, so when he saved them, he ended up recreating them as he knew them, and in Tony's case, not only did he resurrect adult Tony, but it also resulted in a FusionDance and MergerOfSouls as he was merged with the teen Tony and possesses his counterpart's memories in addition to his own. Until Creator/MattFraction restored the deafness, this also fixed ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'s hearing.
* Most issues of ''ComicBook/{{Monstress}}'' end with an excerpt from the lectures of the cat Professor Tam Tam. These go into detail about historical and cultural aspects of the series' setting that are usually just touched on by the actual story.
* ''ComicBook/SuperMetroid'' details Samus' backstory and training by the Chozo, which was never shown proper [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} in the games]] (and was only further explored in a manga made nearly a decade later).
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'': As is often the case with Morrison, [[http://www.newsarama.com/comics/110803-Grant-Superman-10.html interviews]] are near-essential reading. [[http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100824-Morrison4-Superman.html Part four]] and [[http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100828-Morrison-Superman6.html part six]] aren't linked there, so they are here.
** Every issue of the mini-series ''ComicBook/TheKryptonChronicles'', which delves into the history of Pre-Crisis Krypton and the House of El, includes a little glossary that explained some facts about Kryptonian language, provided translations for the Kryptonian words scattered all over the story, and gave a brief description of the main characters.
** ''ComicBook/SupermanSecretOrigin'': You should have a sense of the John's run of Superman stories -mainly ''ComicBook/LastSon'', ''ComicBook/SupermanAndTheLegionOfSuperHeroes'', ''ComicBook/SupermanBrainiac'' and ''ComicBook/NewKrypton''- to fully get all the injokes and such.
* ''Batman'' #511, a tie-in for ''ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime'', details the backstory of the alternate Batgirl seen throughout the event proper: in her world, the Joker didn't [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke cripple Barbara]] -- instead [[CopKiller he murdered Commissioner Gordon]]. This Joker also killed Sal Maroni before he could disfigure Harvey Dent, Dent himself went on to replace Jim as Commissioner and institute a "kill vigilantes on sight" order, Barbara and Bruce are lovers, either Dick or Jason is still Robin (the alternate Barbara noticing Tim is younger), and [[spoiler:the Joker also disfigured Dent himself during the issue]].

* ''Batman'' #511, a tie-in for ''ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime'', details the backstory of the alternate Batgirl seen throughout the event proper: in her world, the Joker didn't [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke cripple Barbara]] -- instead [[CopKiller he murdered Commissioner Gordon]]. This Joker also killed Sal Maroni before he could disfigure Harvey Dent, Dent himself went on to replace Jim as Commissioner and institute a "kill vigilantes on sight" order, Barbara and Bruce are lovers, either Dick or Jason is still Robin, and [[spoiler:the Joker also disfigured Dent himself during the issue]].

* ''Batman'' #511, a tie-in for ''ComicBook/ZeroHour'', details the backstory of the alternate Batgirl seen throughout the event proper: in her world, the Joker didn't [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke cripple Barbara]] -- instead [[CopKiller he murdered Commissioner Gordon]]. This Joker also killed Sal Maroni before he could disfigure Harvey Dent, Dent himself went on to replace Jim as Commissioner and institute a "kill vigilantes on sight" order, Barbara and Bruce are lovers, either Dick or Jason is still Robin, and [[spoiler:the Joker also disfigured Dent himself during the issue]].

* ''Batman'' #511, a tie-in for ''ComicBook/ZeroHour'', details the backstory of the alternate Batgirl seen throughout the event proper: in her world, the Joker didn't [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke cripple Barbara]] -- instead [[CopKiller he murdered Commissioner Gordon]]. This Joker also killed Sal Maroni before he could disfigure Harvey Dent, Den himself went on to replace Jim as Commissioner and institute a "kill vigilante on sight" order, Barbara and Bruce are lovers, either Dick or Jason is still Robin, and [[spoiler:the Joker also disfigured Dent himself during the issue]].

* ''Comicbook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'': The Official ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' Crossover Index (March 1986) and The Official Crisis on Infinite Earths Index (July 1986) would formally call the reality where the DC and Marvel characters coexisted Crossover Earth. Later Marvel would assign the reality the name "Earth-7642".
* The ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan'' video game was initially stated to be canon to the [[Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan comics]]. Eventually, this opened up a lot of plot holes and continuity issues, so [[Creator/BrianMichaelBendis the writer]] decided to retell the events of the game in the series while [[PragmaticAdaptation changing the bits]] (such as having Gwen Stacy replace Spider-Carnage as the FinalBoss) that wouldn't make sense in the comic.
** Several of Ultimate Spider-Man's first encounters with other heroes and villains were only collected in an ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvelTeamUp'' limited series. Not only is it hard to find anywhere else besides online stores, but it resolved a minor sub-plot ''from the main book''. This leads to moments that may leave the reader scratching their head, such as Curt Connors (The Lizard) having a talk with Peter, or Peter seeing ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'' as one of the many faces flashing in his mind during a near-death experience, despite the fact those two characters hadn't made a single appearance in the main series until then.

* ''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' v.4 had a role-playing sourcebook that included various pieces of info and backstory not in the comic itself. It's particularly notable because Volume 4 was set five years after the previous series and featured a radically different status quo, with many unexplained situations and characters which had histories the audience knew nothing of.
* Very few of the characters in ''Comicbook/{{Fables}}'' get their origins explained in much detail (or at all). This is fine for say [[MeaningfulName Bigby Wolf]] or Snow White but some of them are very obscure and Frau Totenkinder's name can't be found in an actual fable because WordOfGod says she's every ''unnamed'' witch in FairyTales. So the background before they come to earth is all there in the manuals, the dozens and dozens of not internally consistent manuals.

** Lack of background does in fact have a role to play. In ''Jack of Fables'' we meet an African fable who says all his stories were censored by the villain who intends to wipe out fables by removing all their stories. (It was ''Literature/{{The Story of Little Black Sambo}}''.)

* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' had three RPG modules made of it in the 1980's, which incorporated information directly provided by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Said info '''greatly''' fleshes out the characters' histories and provides details about their equipment (and relative levels of skill, if you understand the system). [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes They're out of print, of course.]]
* In ''Comicbook/TheTransformers'', a fair bit about the origin of the Transformer CivilWar is only provided in text stories in the annuals.

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'':

* Shortly before ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' happened, ''ComicBook/TheCrossing'' happened, resulting in ComicBook/TheWasp mutating into a more wasp-like form and Franchise/IronMan dying and being replacing by a teenaged counterpart from another universe. When Franchise/TheAvengers returned from the ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' universe, the changes were undone, but ''ComicBook/HeroesReturn'' didn't touch upon why the adult Tony was once again alive, the fate of Teen Tony, or how Wasp was back to normal. ''Avengers Annual 2001'' did eventually reveal what happened: RealityWarper [[Franchise/FantasticFour Franklin Richards]] wasn't aware of these changes when he sent into into the ''Reborn'' universe, so when he saved them, he ended up recreating them as he knew them, and in Tony's case, not only did he resurrect adult Tony, but it also resulted in a FusionDance and MergerOfSouls as he was merged with the teen Tony and possesses his counterpart's memories in addition to his own. Until Creator/MattFraction restored the deafness, this also fixed ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'s hearing.

* ''Webcomic/{{Dreamkeepers}}'' has libraries worth of delicious background information to be found on the website.
** Also extends to the [[BonusMaterial physical copies]] of the Graphic Novels and Prelude Collection.

* Shortly before ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' happened, ''ComicBook/TheCrossing'' happened, resulting in ComicBook/TheWasp mutating into a more wasp-like form and Franchise/IronMan dying and being replacing by a teenaged counterpart from another universe. When Franchise/TheAvengers returned from the ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' universe, the changes were undone, but ''ComicBook/HeroesReturn'' didn't touch upon why the adult Tony was once again alive, the fate of Teen Tony, or how Wasp was back to normal. ''Avengers Annual 2001'' did eventually reveal what happened: RealityWarper [[Franchise/FantasticFour Richard Richards]] wasn't aware of these changes when he sent into into the ''Reborn'' universe, so when he saved them, he ended up recreating them as he knew them, and in Tony's case, not only did he resurrect adult Tony, but it also resulted in a FusionDance and MergerOfSouls as he was merged with the teen Tony and possesses his counterpart's memories in addition to his own. Until Creator/MattFraction restored the deafness, this also fixed ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'s hearing.

** Lack of background does in fact have a role to play. In ''Jack of Fables'' we meet an African fable who says all his stories were censored by the villain who intends to wipe out fables by removing all their stories. (It was Little Black Sambo.)

* When ''[[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog Archie Comics' Sonic Universe]]'' released the Silver Saga storyline (in which Silver the Hedgehog aided the alternate universe daughter of Knuckles, Lara-Su, against her power mad father), they released a number of blogs that told the story of Lara-Su before and after the storyline.

* The ''ComicBook/XWingSeries'' comics, after their [[NoEnding abrupt end]], had an issue of Star Wars Handbook come out, which elaborated on various ships and the backstories of a number of pilots, major villains, and [[MonsterOfTheWeek villains of the arc]].

* Franchise/TheDCU's super-hero espionage comic ''ComicBook/{{Checkmate}}'' has a supplemental website whose address, www.gideonii.com, was hinted at within the story. [[spoiler:Username CARL DRAPER, password wilhelmina; subject to change.]] It's [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis ostensibly the diary]] of a minor character within the story, written in the first person, with entries detailing various elements of the series in greater depth and hinting at future plot events.