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.
Amazing Spider-Man #42 is in stores from Marvel Comics next week, as the greatest buddy team-up in comics at the moment continues. Spider-Man is working with his longtime nemesis, and current roommate, Boomerang, to gather fragments of the Lifeline Tablet. But this video game quest come to life has hit a bit of a snag […]
X-Men/Fantastic Four #3 is in stores from Marvel Comics next week, the penultimate issue of this crossover which will see Franklin Richards making a "momentous decision," according to the solicits. But before we get to that, the X-Men are still pretty pissed off about the Fantastic Four spying on them in Krakoa last issue, and […]
The X-Men are not practicing good social distancing in this preview of X-Men #9, in stores from Marvel Comics next week. While the rest of the world hunkers down at home to flatten the curve of the coronavirus, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Vulcan, and Broo have done the exact opposite, gathering together in a spaceship and […]
Immortal Hulk #33 is in stores from Marvel Comics next week, and if you don't think this is set to be a very important issue, just take a look at the price tag. That's right, $5.99 for this one, and has Marvel ever let you down before? Okay, don't answer that. The point is that […]
Every week your Local Comic Book shop gets in the weekly assortment of comics, trades, posters, action figures, and other goodies from Diamond. Now some of these goodies sell our fast from your LCBS, so Tuesday and Wednesday LCBS retailers get on the phone (more often the computer) and let Diamond know they need more. […]
Marvel Comics has issued the following statement to comic book retailers, concerning the current state of business in relation to the coronavirus pandemic. As we all encounter new and uncertain challenges in response to COVID-19 and take extraordinary measures to prioritize the safety and well-being of everyone in the industry and beyond, our thoughts are […]
This is the cover to the upcoming Marvel series by Alex Ross, depicting the Rob Liefeld era of X-Force, including Cable, Domino, Deadpool, Shatterstar and more. Rob Liefeld was very happy to share it on Facebook. Some people have seen it as somewhat mocking, however, including the Liefeld-style teeth grimace, the same on every face, […]
Ms America, America Chavez, was created by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta in the comic book series Vengeance, back in 2011. She gained greater popularity when recreated by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie for their Young Avengers series, as well as appearing in The Ultimates, and received a spinoff solo series subsequently. Four years ago, […]
Today, I have been talking to comic book retailers, publishers and distributors alike, looking at the effect that the coronavirus pandemic is having on comic book stores and the comics industry as a whole, and it is not looking good. To the extent that this could mean the end of the direct market as we […]
Cyclops and Marvel Girl are getting married in Marvel's June solicitations, via a facsimile edition of 1994's X-Men #30. But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to classic X-Men and X-Men-adjacent comics coming down the pipeline. Let's take a look… X-MEN #30 FACSIMILE EDITION Written by FABIAN NICIEZA Penciled by ANDY […]
June will see Ta-Nehisi Coates's run on Black Panther end with Black Panther #25, but what of the other book written by Coates, Captain America? Captain America's storyline and solicits have felt like they're building up to finality for the past few months, and Captain America #23 will be hitting stores in June. It's not […]
Building on decades of continuity and running throughout Marvel's four ongoing Spider-Man comics, The Clone Saga kicked off in 1994 and was initially well-received, but after what felt like thousands of issues in an environment of editorial chaos at Marvel that rivaled DC during the Nu52, the story went on for too long, went off […]
In 1990, Howard Mackie and Javier Saltares introduced Danny Ketch to the Marvel Universe in a new volume of Ghost Rider. In the years since, the two have become synonymous with Ghost Rider. In June, the team will reunite once again for Ghost Rider Annual #1, and they're bringing Michael Badilino, otherwise known as Vengeance, […]
As Amazing Spider-Man approaches its 850th issue (in legacy numbering), a lot of people have been complaining that Marvel simply doesn't publish enough Spider-Man and Spider-Man-adjacent comics. What do they publish, one or two dozen a month? That's not nearly enough. Well, no need to worry, Marvel zombies. Marvel has heard your concerns and responded […]
Since West Coast Avengers ended inn April 2019, the world has been without a monthly comic starring America Chavez. That end in June, as Marvel has announced a new series starring Chavez, to be written by Kalinda Vazquez with art by Carlos Gomez, in the publisher's full June solicitations. The five-issue mini-series looks like it […]
No one knows if we'll be allowed to leave our houses in June, but presuming you can get to a local comic shop, and assuming that shop is open, here's what Marvel Comics will be shipping that month. Marvel's full June Solicitations include a lot of stuff we learned about at C2E2 and in the […]
Marvel Comics have again insulted all comic book fans everywhere by announcing a new superhero team full of politically correct, woke, so-called diverse characters. And yes, all sane individuals have been calling for Marvel to stop gender-flipping, race-flipping, orientation-flipping their characters and create new ones, but now we have all changed our minds and are […]
As the world comes to terms with the fact that life as we know it will be completely different for the foreseeable future thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, comic book readers have one question on their minds: will this pesky virus hamper Marvel's plans to release a nonstop stream of super-mega-crossover events? Thankfully, we have […]
Marvel Comics is confident that we all have a summer. And in June that means lots of Marvel Annuals. And a crossover storyline running through a bunch of them, Eight in all, with Infinite Destinies. And taking the opportunities to highlight eight of Marvel's newest characters, inside Annuals for some of Marvel's oldest characters. And who […]
Marvel's Outlawed, in stores today, sets up a new status quo for the Marvel Universe which is suspiciously similar to the status quo of Civil War, except this time it's only heroes under the age of 21 who are "outlawed" if they don't follow the rules of the new Underage Superhuman Welfare Act. We heard […]
![Stuck in the Middle with Brood in X-Men #9 [Preview]](https://mlpnk72yciwc.i.optimole.com/cqhiHA-Lj2tFcYP/w:350/h:350/q:90/rt:fill/g:ce/https://bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/xmen9-1-copy.jpg)
![The Hulk Gets in Touch With His Inner Banner in Immortal Hulk #33 [Preview]](https://mlpnk72yciwc.i.optimole.com/cqhiHA-VZ5f15oe/w:350/h:350/q:90/rt:fill/g:ce/https://bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/immortalhulk33-1-copy.jpg)
