Marvel Comics was started by pulp publisher Martin Goodman in 1939 with the anthology comic book title Marvel Comics (which was changed to Marvel Mystery Comics with issue #2). During the golden age of comics, the publisher developed a popular core of characters including Captain America, Bucky, Human Torch, Submariner, Miss America, Golden Girl, Red Skull, and many others by creators such as Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Bill Everett, Stan Lee, and others.
Goodman used a number of corporate brands for Marvel throughout his tenure, including Timely Publications, Atlas Comics.
During the years following World War II, like many comic book publishers, the company transitioned to horror, crime, romance, and western titles among others. Marvel titles from this era include Journey into Mystery, Marvel Tales, Strange Tales, Venus, and countless others.
But the 1961 debut of The Fantastic Four signalled the start of the Marvel Universe we're familiar with today. Characters and teams such as Hulk, Ant Man, Wasp, Avengers, X-Men and more by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita, and others became the foundational characters which Marvel has expanded upon since that time.
In 1968, a company called Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation acquired Marvel from founder Martin Goodman. Marvel was acquired by film and media company New World Entertainment in 1986. New World sold the publisher to Ronald Perelman in 1989, who took the company public.
After riding high on a booming comics market and trading cards and other merchandise through the next few years, but its fortunes quickly turned with a slumping industry and other factors, and Marvel filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 1996.
Toy Biz, headed by Avi Arad and Isaac Perlmutter, acquired Marvel the next year, ending the bankruptcy. In 2004, Marvel Studios' acquired funding from Merrill Lynch to self-finance its own films, and with the 2008 debut of Iron Man, the company's rise to prominence in both the American and global film industry began. The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment on December 31, 2009, for $4 Billion.
Earlier this year, Bleeding Cool covered Marvel's San Diego COVID-Con's Werewolf By Night presentation, which saw the creative team talk about this upcoming title. The new series will pair two of the most interestingly named writers in comics, Black Eyed Peas' Taboo and Benjamin Jackendoff, for this series, which Marvel advertised saying, "The hour of the wolf […]
This was the Jonathan Hickman 1995 page from Marvel Comics #1000, drawn by Dustin Weaver. And published on August 28th, 2019, thirteen months ago. And in a months time, interacting directly with the current continuity in X-Men #13. We have seen the original Four Horsemen, reflected in that puddle of blood, through the Dawn Of […]
Deadpool was co-created by Image Comics founder Rob Liefeld. So they might know a thing or two about him. And it's a way for Image Comics' marketing team to tag the upcoming launch of The Scumbag, a new comic book series written by Rick Remender – who used to write Deadpool as well, in the […]
Empyre was billed as an Avengers/Fantastic Four event, but the main title felt a bit light on the latter. Now, the same week as Al Ewing wraps up the Avengers side of things with Empyre Aftermath: Avengers #1, writer Dan Slott and artist Sean Izaakse team up to deliver another epilogue with Empyre Fallout: Fantastic Four #1. While Ewing's issue focused on […]
With apologies to Fiona Apple, the best description for X Of Swords: Creation #1's kick-off to a new mutant-minded michegas would be "slow like honey, heavy with mood." The so-called children of the atom have a plan at last: a mobile safe harbor on the sentient island of Krakoa, economic stability driven by gifting the fruits […]
Two weeks ago, Bleeding Cool reported on Marvel Comics delays due to printer issues, in different areas. Well, there are more to come. Again, comic book stores served out of Diamond Comic Distributors' Plattsburgh, NY Distribution Centre will be hit the hardest. Orders for Avengers #36 and the Fortnite variant and the two Alex Ross […]
While it's billed as the "aftermath" of Empyre to get that precious #1 on the cover, Avengers: Empyre Aftermath #1 is essentially Empyre #7. The full creative team of writer Al Ewing, artist Valerio Schiti, colorist Marte Gracia, and letter VC's Ariana Maher return for this epilogue issue. It wraps up the whole event with a second, more planned wedding for Hulkling […]
Bleeding Cool already gave you a bloody look at Wolverine: Black, White & Blood, the new high-end art anthology launching from Marvel Comics in November. But here's a look at some more artwork, from Kev Walker, Greg Land and Salvador Larocca from its second issue in December 2020… WOLVERINE BLACK WHITE BLOOD #2 (OF 4) […]
Lanna Souvanny is a French artist living in Vancouver, Canada. Last year, she co-created the comic Noah Zark with Mark Waid, which appeared in the Steel Cage comic book published by Ahoy Comics, and is currently working on the ongoing series spinning out of that. However at the end of the year, she may be […]
Settle back. Gerry Conway, co-creator of The Punisher, Firestorm, Power Girl, Vixen, and Carol Danvers – Captain Marvel, has something to tell us all after a rather entertaining Word Balloon podcast, taking, to Twitter, about what he would do if he were in charge of the comic book industry. But first, a little history… To […]
In a surprise move, HBO Max announced a TV spinoff prequel series for Suicide Squad, namely Peacemaker, starring John Cena, reprising his role from the movie. And they used this image to do promote the series' existence. But it was a rather familiar face to some, and one that Bleeding Cool reader Andrew Czekalski recognised immediately. He […]
Classic Hulk villain has been given quite the lease of life in the second half of Al Ewing and Joe Bennett's Immortal Hulk. And as last week's Immortal Hulk #0, Immortal Hulk #35 and Immortal She-Hulk #0 are all published in the UK today, there is a triple serving. Previously, we've seen that The Leader […]
Well, now we know what else Al Ewing is up to. Last week, Bleeding Cool scooped the news that there was an X-Men Classified comic book being set up for December, that had yet to be announced. We also noted that Al Ewing was meant to be doing a new X-Men comic book. And that […]
X Of Swords spoilers coming, be warned. And we start with a doozy, though it may be lesser of late. Acts of death mean less in the X-Men comic books of late. To be fair, they never did, every death would be followed by reader speculation as to how and when they would return. House […]
Originally planned for Free Comic Book Day earlier this year, Marvel's X-Men comic ran an X Of Swords preview (if we but knew it) by Jonathan Hickman and Pepe Larraz later in the summer. For days of mutants yet to come, creatures summoning other creature, a visit to the Starlight Citadel and a tarot reading […]
We're probably going to be talking a lot about X Of Swords: Creation today. We will start out small and relatively non-spoilery, such as this article, but it may ramp up through the day. When the big spoilers come you will know about it, But for now, we have a new cypher for the Krakoan […]
Where in the world is Marvel's Otherworld? Aside from "other"? I was introduced to it in the old days of Captain Britain comic book – but there were older ones. The dimensional subconscious of the British Isles, and a place where magic still resides, it became the final home to the Court of Camelot ruled […]
Welcome to X-ual Healing, the column where Bleeding Cool reads all the X-books every week and tell you what happened in them so you don't have to. I'm your host, Jude Terror, a man who once wrote about comics all the time, but then, when there was just a tiny sliver of my soul left, […]
Welcome to X-ual Healing, the column where Bleeding Cool reads all the X-books every week and tell you what happened in them, so you don't have to. I'm your host, Jude Terror, a man who once wrote about comics all the time, but then, when there was just a tiny sliver of my soul left, […]
Welcome to X-ual Healing, the column where Bleeding Cool reads all the X-books every week and tell you what happened in them, so you don't have to. I'm your host, Jude Terror, a man who once wrote about comics all the time, but then, when there was just a tiny sliver of my soul left, […]
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