Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics logo introduced in 2024
Parent company	Magazine Management (1951–1973) Marvel Comics Group (1973–1986) Marvel Entertainment Group (1986–1998) Marvel Entertainment (1998–2023) Disney Publishing Worldwide (2023–present)
Status	Active
Founded	1939; 86 years ago (1939) (asTimely Comics) 1951; 74 years ago (1951) (asAtlas Comics) 1961; 64 years ago (1961) (as Marvel Comics)
Founder	Martin Goodman
Country of origin	United States
Headquarters location	135W. 50th Street,Manhattan,New York City
Distribution	Penguin Random House Publisher Services (direct market starting October 2021)[1] Diamond Comic Distributors (sub-distributor through Penguin Random House starting October 2021,direct market until October 2021) Hachette Book Group Client Services (trade paperbacks andgraphic novels)[2]
Key people	C. B. Cebulski (EIC) John Nee (Publisher)
Publication types	List of publications
Fiction genres	Superhero Science fiction Fantasy Action Adventure
Imprints	imprint list
Official website	marvel.com

Marvel Comics is aNew York City–basedcomic bookpublisher, a property ofthe Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary ofDisney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 byMartin Goodman asTimely Comics,^[3] and by 1951 had generally become known asAtlas Comics. The Marvel era began in August 1961 with the launch ofThe Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created byStan Lee,Jack Kirby,Steve Ditko, and numerous others. The Marvel brand, which had been used over the years and decades, was solidified as the company's primary brand.

Marvel counts amongits characters such well-knownsuperheroes asSpider-Man,Wolverine,Iron Man,Captain America,Hulk,Thor,Doctor Strange,Daredevil,Black Panther, andCaptain Marvel, as well as popularsuperhero teams such as theAvengers,X-Men,Fantastic Four, andGuardians of the Galaxy. Its stable of well-knownsupervillains includesDoctor Doom,Magneto,Green Goblin,Venom,Red Skull,Loki,Ultron,Thanos,Apocalypse, andGalactus. Most of Marvel's fictional characters operate in a single reality known as theMarvel Universe, with most locations mirroring real-life places; many major characters are based in New York City.^[4] Additionally, Marvel has published several licensed properties from other companies. This includesStar Wars comics, twice from1977 to 1987, and again since2015.

Pulp-magazine publisherMartin Goodman created the company later known as MarvelComics under the name Timely Publications in 1939.^[5][6] Goodman, who had started with aWestern pulp in 1933, was expanding into the emerging—and by then already highly popular—new medium of comic books. Launching his new line from his existing company's offices at 330 West 42nd Street, New York City, he officially held the titles ofeditor,managing editor, andbusiness manager, with Abraham Goodman (Martin's brother)^[7] officially listed as publisher.^[6]

Timely's first publication,Marvel Comics #1 (cover dated Oct. 1939), included the first appearance ofCarl Burgos'androidsuperhero theHuman Torch, and the first appearances ofBill Everett'santi-heroNamor the Sub-Mariner,^[8] among other features.^[5] The issue was a great success; it and a second printing the following month sold a combined nearly 900,000 copies.^[9] While its contents came from an outside packager,Funnies, Inc.,^[5] Timely had its own staff in place by the following year. The company's first true editor, writer-artistJoe Simon, teamed with artistJack Kirby to create one of the first patriotically themed superheroes,^[10]Captain America, inCaptain America Comics #1 (March 1941). It, too, proved a hit, with sales of nearly one million.^[9] Goodman formed Timely Comics, Inc., beginning with comics cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941.^[3][11]

While no other Timely character would achieve the success of these three characters, some notable heroes—many of which continue to appear in modern-dayretcon appearances and flashbacks—include theWhizzer,Miss America, theDestroyer, the originalVision, and theAngel. Timely also published one of humor cartoonistBasil Wolverton's best-known features, "Powerhouse Pepper",^[12][13] as well as a line of children'stalking animal comics featuring characters likeSuper Rabbit and the duoZiggy Pig and Silly Seal.

Goodman hired his wife's 16-year-old cousin,^[14] Stanley Lieber, as a general office assistant in 1939.^[15] When editor Simon left the company in late 1941,^[16] Goodman made Lieber—by then writing pseudonymously as "Stan Lee"—interim editor of the comics line, a position Lee kept for decades except for three years during his military service inWorld War II. Lee wrote extensively for Timely, contributing to a number of different titles.

Goodman's business strategy involved having his various magazines and comic books published by a number of corporations all operating out of the same office and with the same staff.^[3] One of theseshell companies through which Timely Comics was published was named Marvel Comics by at leastMarvel Mystery Comics #55 (May 1944). As well, some comics' covers, such asAll Surprise Comics #12 (Winter 1946–47), were labeled "A Marvel Magazine" many years before Goodman would formally adopt the name in 1961.^[17] The company begin identifying the group of its comic division asMarvel Comic Group, on some comics cover-dated November 1948, when the company set up an in-house editorial board to compete with the likes ofDC andFawcett, even though the legal name is still Timely.^[18][19][20]

The post-war American comic market saw superheroes falling out of fashion.^[21] Goodman's comic book line dropped them for the most part and expanded into a wider variety of genres than even Timely had published, featuringhorror,Westerns, humor,talking animal,men's adventure-drama, giant monster,crime, andwar comics, and later addingjungle books,romance titles,espionage, and evenmedieval adventure,Bible stories and sports.

Goodman began using the globe logo of the Atlas News Company, the newsstand-distribution company he owned,^[22] on comicscover-dated November 1951 even though another company,Kable News, continued to distribute his comics through the August 1952 issues.^[23] This globe branding united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications.^[24]

Atlas, rather than innovate, took a proven route of followingpopular trends in television and films—Westerns and war dramas prevailing for a time,drive-in film monsters another time—and even other comic books, particularly theEChorror line.^[25] Atlas also published a plethora of children's and teen humor titles, includingDan DeCarlo'sHomer the Happy Ghost (similar toCasper the Friendly Ghost) andHomer Hooper (à laArchie Andrews). Atlas unsuccessfully attempted to revive superheroes from late 1953 to mid-1954, with the Human Torch (art bySyd Shores andDick Ayers, variously), theSub-Mariner (drawn and most stories written byBill Everett), andCaptain America (writerStan Lee, artistJohn Romita Sr.). Atlas did not achieve any breakout hits and, according to Stan Lee, survived chiefly because it produced work quickly, cheaply, and at a passable quality.^[26]

In 1957, Goodman switched distributors to theAmerican News Company—which shortly afterward lost aJustice Departmentlawsuit and discontinued its business.^[27] Atlas was left without distribution and was forced to turn toIndependent News, the distribution arm of its biggest rival,National (DC) Comics, which imposed draconian restrictions on Goodman's company. As then-Atlas editorStan Lee recalled in a 1988 interview, "[We had been] turning out 40, 50, 60 books a month, maybe more, and ... suddenly we went ... to either eight or 12 books a month, which was all Independent News Distributors would accept from us."^[28] The company was briefly renamed to Goodman Comics in 1957 under the distribution deal withIndependent News.^[29]

The first modern comic books under the Marvel Comics brand were thescience-fiction anthologyJourney into Mystery #69 and the teen-humor titlePatsy Walker #95 (bothcover dated June 1961), which each displayed an "MC" box on its cover.^[30] Then, in the wake ofDC Comics' success in reviving superheroes in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly with theFlash,Green Lantern,Batman,Superman,Wonder Woman,Green Arrow, and other members of the team theJustice League of America, Marvel followed suit.^{[n 1]}

In 1961, writer-editorStan Lee revolutionizedsuperhero comics by introducing superheroes designed to appeal to older readers than the predominantly child audiences of the medium, thus ushering what Marvel later called theMarvel Age of Comics.^[31] Modern Marvel's first superhero team, the titular stars ofThe Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961),^[32] broke convention with other comic book archetypes of the time by squabbling, holding grudges both deep and petty, and eschewing anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status. Subsequently, Marvel comics developed a reputation for focusing on characterization and adult issues to a greater extent than most superhero comics before them, a quality which the new generation of older readers appreciated.^[33] This applied toThe Amazing Spider-Man title in particular, which turned out to be Marvel's most successful book. Its young hero suffered from self-doubt and mundane problems like any other teenager, something with which many readers could identify.^[34]

Stan Lee andfreelance artist and eventual co-plotterJack Kirby's Fantastic Four originated in aCold War culture that led their creators to revise the superhero conventions of previous eras to better reflect the psychological spirit of their age.^[35] Eschewing such comic book tropes as secret identities and even costumes at first, having a monster as one of the heroes, and having its characters bicker and complain in what was later called a "superheroes in the real world" approach, the series represented a change that proved to be a great success.^[36]

Marvel often presented flawed superheroes, freaks, and misfits—unlike the perfect, handsome, athletic heroes found in previous traditional comic books. Some Marvel heroes looked like villains and monsters such asthe Hulk andthe Thing. Thisnaturalistic approach even extended into topical politics. Comics historian Mike Benton also noted:

In the world of [rivalDC Comics']Superman comic books, communism did not exist. Superman rarely crossed national borders or involved himself in political disputes.^[37] From 1962 to 1965, there were more communists [in Marvel Comics] than on the subscription list ofPravda. Communist agents attack Ant-Man in his laboratory, red henchmen jump the Fantastic Four on the moon, andViet Cong guerrillas take potshots at Iron Man.^[38]

All these elements struck a chord with the older readers, including college-aged adults. In 1965, Spider-Man and the Hulk were both featured inEsquire magazine's list of 28 college campus heroes, alongsideJohn F. Kennedy andBob Dylan.^[39] In 2009, writer Geoff Boucher reflected that,

Superman and DC Comics instantly seemed like boring oldPat Boone; Marvel felt likeThe Beatles and theBritish Invasion. It was Kirby's artwork with its tension andpsychedelia that made it perfect for the times—or was it Lee's bravado and melodrama, which was somehow insecure and brash at the same time?^[40]

In addition toSpider-Man and the Fantastic Four, Marvel began publishing further superhero titles featuring such heroes and antiheroes as theHulk,Thor,Ant-Man,Iron Man, theX-Men,Daredevil, theInhumans,Black Panther,Doctor Strange,Captain Marvel and theSilver Surfer, and such memorable antagonists asDoctor Doom,Magneto,Galactus,Loki, theGreen Goblin, andDoctor Octopus, all existing in a shared reality known as theMarvel Universe, with locations that mirror real-life cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Marvel even lampooned itself and other comics companies in aparody comic,Not Brand Echh (a play on Marvel's dubbing of other companies as "Brand Echh", à la the then-common phrase "Brand X").^[41]

Originally, the company's publications were branded by a minuscule "Mc" on the upper right-hand corner of the covers. However, artist/writerSteve Ditko put a larger masthead picture of the title character ofThe Amazing Spider-Man on the upper left-hand corner on issue #2 that included the series' issue number and price. Lee appreciated the value of this visual motif and adapted it for the company's entire publishing line. This branding pattern, being typically either a full-body picture of the characters' solo titles or a collection of the main characters' faces in ensemble titles, would become standard for Marvel for decades.^[42]

In 1968, while selling 50 million^{[citation needed]} comic books a year, company founder Goodman revised the constraining distribution arrangement withIndependent News he had reached under duress during the Atlas years, allowing him now to release as many titles as demand warranted.^[22] Late that year, he sold Marvel Comics and its parent company,Magazine Management, to thePerfect Film & Chemical Corporation (later known as Cadence Industries), though he remained as publisher.^[43] In 1969, Goodman finally ended his distribution deal with Independent by signing withCurtis Circulation Company.^[22]

In 1971, theUnited States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare approached Marvel Comics editor-in-chiefStan Lee to do a comic book story about drug abuse. Lee agreed and wrote a three-partSpider-Man story portraying drug use as dangerous and unglamorous. However, the industry's self-censorship board, theComics Code Authority, refused to approve the story because of the presence of narcotics, deeming the context of the story irrelevant. Lee, with Goodman's approval, published the story regardless inThe Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 (May–July 1971), without the Comics Code seal. The market reacted well to the storyline, and the CCA subsequently revised the Code the same year.^[44]

Goodman retired as publisher in 1972 and installed his son, Chip, as publisher.^[45] Shortly thereafter, Lee succeeded him as publisher and also became Marvel's president^[45] for a brief time.^[46] During his time as president, he appointed his associate editor, prolific writerRoy Thomas, as editor-in-chief. Thomas added "Stan Lee Presents" to the opening page of each comic book.^[45]

A series of new editors-in-chief oversaw the company during another slow time for the industry. Once again, Marvel attempted to diversify, and with the updating of the Comics Code published titles themed tohorror (The Tomb of Dracula), martial arts (Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu),sword-and-sorcery (Conan the Barbarian in 1970,^[47]Red Sonja), satire (Howard the Duck) and science fiction (2001: A Space Odyssey, "Killraven" inAmazing Adventures,Battlestar Galactica,Star Trek, and, late in the decade, the long-runningStar Wars series). Some of these were published in larger-format black and white magazines, under itsCurtis Magazines imprint.

Marvel was able to capitalize on its successful superhero comics of the previous decade by acquiring a new newsstand distributor and greatly expanding its comics line. Marvel pulled ahead of rivalDC Comics in 1972, during a time when the price and format of the standard newsstand comic were in flux.^[48] Goodman increased the price and size of Marvel's November 1971 cover-dated comics from 15 cents for 36 pages total to 25 cents for 52 pages. DC followed suit, but Marvel the following month dropped its comics to 20 cents for 36 pages, offering a lower-priced product with a higher distributor discount.^[49]

In 1973, Perfect Film & Chemical renamed itself as Cadence Industries and renamed Magazine Management as Marvel Comics Group.^[50] Goodman, now disconnected from Marvel, set up a new company calledSeaboard Periodicals in 1974, reviving Marvel's old Atlas name for a newAtlas Comics line, but this lasted only a year and a half.^[51]In the mid-1970s a decline of the newsstand distribution network affected Marvel. Cult hits such asHoward the Duck fell victim to the distribution problems, with some titles reporting low sales when in fact the first specialty comic book stores resold them at a later date.^{[citation needed]} But by the end of the decade, Marvel's fortunes were reviving, thanks to the rise ofdirect market distribution—selling through those same comics-specialty stores instead of newsstands.

Marvel ventured into audio in 1975 with a radio series and a record, both had Stan Lee as narrator. The radio series wasFantastic Four. The record wasSpider-Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero concept album for music fans.^[52]

Marvel held its owncomic book convention, Marvelcon '75, in spring 1975, and promised a Marvelcon '76. At the 1975 event, Stan Lee used aFantastic Four panel discussion to announce thatJack Kirby, the artist co-creator of most of Marvel's signature characters, was returning to Marvel after having left in 1970 to work for rivalDC Comics.^[54] In October 1976, Marvel, which already licensed reprints in different countries, including the UK, created a superhero specifically for the British market.Captain Britain debuted exclusively in the UK, and later appeared in American comics.^[55] During this time, Marvel and the Iowa-basedRegister and Tribune Syndicate launched a number of syndicatedcomic strips—The Amazing Spider-Man,Howard the Duck,Conan the Barbarian, andThe Incredible Hulk. None of the strips lasted past 1982, except forThe Amazing Spider-Man, which is still being published.

In 1978,Jim Shooter became Marvel's editor-in-chief. Although a controversial personality, Shooter cured many of the procedural ills at Marvel, including repeatedly missed deadlines. During Shooter's nine-year tenure as editor-in-chief,Chris Claremont andJohn Byrne's run on theUncanny X-Men andFrank Miller's run onDaredevil became critical and commercial successes.^[56] Shooter brought Marvel into the rapidly evolvingdirect market,^[57] institutionalized creator royalties, starting with theEpic Comics imprint forcreator-owned material in 1982; introduced company-wide crossover story arcs withContest of Champions andSecret Wars; and in 1986 launched the ultimately unsuccessfulNew Universe line to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Marvel Comics imprint.Star Comics, a children-oriented line differing from the regular Marvel titles, was briefly successful during this period, although hampered by legal action by the owners of the recently defunctHarvey Comics for purposefully plagiarizing their house style.^[58]

In 1986, Marvel's parent,Marvel Entertainment Group, was sold toNew World Entertainment, which within three years sold it toMacAndrews and Forbes, owned byRevlon executiveRonald Perelman in 1989. In 1991 Perelman took MEG public. Following the rapid rise of this stock, Perelman issued a series ofjunk bonds that he used to acquire other entertainment companies, secured by MEG stock.^[59]

Marvel earned a great deal of money with their 1980s children's comics imprintStar Comics^{[citation needed]} and they earned a great deal more money and worldwide success during the comic book boom of the early 1990s, launching the successful2099 line of comics set in the future (Spider-Man 2099, etc.) and the creatively daring though commercially unsuccessfulRazorline imprint ofsuperhero comics created by novelist and filmmakerClive Barker.^[60][61] In 1990, Marvel began sellingMarvel Universe Cards with trading card makerSkyBox International. These were collectible trading cards that featured the characters and events of the Marvel Universe. The 1990s saw the rise ofvariant covers, cover enhancements,swimsuit issues, and company-wide crossovers that affected the overall continuity of theMarvel Universe.

In early 1992, seven of Marvel’s prized artists—Todd McFarlane (known for his work onSpider-Man),Jim Lee (X-Men),Rob Liefeld (X-Force),Marc Silvestri (Wolverine),Erik Larsen (The Amazing Spider-Man),Jim Valentino (Guardians of the Galaxy), andWhilce Portacio (Uncanny X-Men)—left to formImage Comics^[62] in a deal brokered byMalibu Comics' ownerScott Mitchell Rosenberg.^[63] Three years later, on November 3, 1994, Rosenberg sold Malibu to Marvel.^[64][65][66] In purchasing Malibu, Marvel now owned computer coloring technology that had been developed by Rosenberg,^[67] and also integrated theUltraverse line of comics and theGenesis Universe into Marvel'smultiverse.^[68] Earlier that year, the company secured a deal withHarvey Comics, whereas Marvel took on the publishing and distribution of Harvey's titles.^[69]

In late 1994, Marvel acquired the comic book distributorHeroes World Distribution to use as its own exclusive distributor.^[70] As the industry's other major publishers made exclusive distribution deals with other companies, the ripple effect resulted in the survival of only one other major distributor in North America,Diamond Comic Distributors Inc.^[71][72] Then, by the middle of the decade, the industry had slumped, and in December 1996 MEG filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection.^[59] In early 1997, when Marvel's Heroes World endeavor failed, Diamond also forged an exclusive deal with Marvel^[73]—giving the company its own section of its comics catalogPreviews.^[74]

Marvel in the early to mid-1990s expanded their entries in other media, includingSaturday-morning cartoons and various comics collaborations to explore new genres. In 1992, they released theX-Men: The Animated Series which was aired onFox Kids, they later releasedSpider-Man: The Animated Series on the network as well. In 1993, Marvel teamed up withThomas Nelson to createChristian media genre comics, including a Christian superhero named The Illuminator, they made adaptions ofChristian novels too, includingIn His Steps,The Screwtape Letters, andThe Pilgrim's Progress.^[75][76] In 1996, Marvel had some of its titles participate in "Heroes Reborn", a crossover that allowed Marvel to relaunch some of its flagship characters such as theAvengers and theFantastic Four, andoutsource them to the studios of two of the former Marvel artists turned Image Comics founders, Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. The relaunched titles, which saw the characters transported to a parallel universe with a history distinct from the mainstream Marvel Universe, were a solid success amidst a generally struggling industry.^[77]

In 1997,Toy Biz bought Marvel Entertainment Group to end the bankruptcy, forming a new corporation,Marvel Enterprises.^[59] With his business partnerAvi Arad, publisherBill Jemas, and editor-in-chiefBob Harras, Toy Biz co-ownerIsaac Perlmutter helped stabilize the comics line.^[78]

In 1998, the company launched the imprintMarvel Knights, taking place “with reduced [Marvel] continuity,” according to one history, with better production quality.^[79] The imprint was helmed by soon-to-become editor-in-chiefJoe Quesada; it featured tough, gritty stories showcasing such characters as theDaredevil, theInhumans, andBlack Panther.^{[79][80][81][82]}

With the new millennium, Marvel Comics emerged from bankruptcy and again began diversifying its offerings.X-Force #116X-Force #119 (October 2001) was the first Marvel Comics title sinceThe Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 in 1971 to not have theComics Code Authority (CCA) approval seal, due to the violence depicted in the issue. The CCA, which governed the content of American comic books, rejected the issue, requiring that changes be made. Instead, Marvel simply stopped submitting comics to the CCA.^[83][84][85] It then established its ownMarvel Rating System for comics.^[86][87] Marvel also created newimprints, such asMAX (an explicit-content line)^[88][89] andMarvel Adventures (developed for child audiences).^[90][91] The company also created analternate universe imprint,Ultimate Marvel, that allowed the company toreboot its major titles by revising and updating its characters to introduce to a new generation.^[92]

Some of the company's properties were adapted into successful film franchises, such as theMen in Black film series (which was based on a Malibu book), starting in 1997, theBlade film series, starting in 1998, theX-Men film series, starting in 2000, and the highest grossing series,Spider-Man, beginning in 2002.^[93]

Marvel'sConan the Barbarian title was canceled in 1993 after 275 issues, while theSavage Sword of Conan magazine had lasted 235 issues. Marvel published additional titles including miniseries until 2000 for a total of 650 issues. Conan was picked up byDark Horse Comics three years later.^[47]

In a cross-promotion, the November 1, 2006, episode of the CBS soap operaGuiding Light, titled "She's a Marvel", featured the character Harley Davidson Cooper (played byBeth Ehlers) as a superheroine named the Guiding Light.^[94] The character's story continued in an eight-page backup feature, "A New Light", that appeared in several Marvel titles published November 1 and 8.^[95] Also that year, Marvel created awiki on its Web site.^[96]

In late 2007 the company launchedMarvel Digital Comics Unlimited, a digital archive of over 2,500 back issues available for viewing, for a monthly or annual subscription fee.^[97] At the December 2007 the New York Anime Fest, the company announcement thatDel Rey Manga would published two original English language Marvel manga books featuring the X-Men and Wolverine to hit the stands in spring 2009.^[98]

In 2009 Marvel Comics closed its Open Submissions Policy, in which the company had accepted unsolicited samples from aspiring comic book artists, saying the time-consuming review process had produced no suitably professional work.^[99] The same year, the company commemorated its 70th anniversary, dating to its inception asTimely Comics, by issuing the one-shotMarvel Mystery Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1 and a variety of other special issues.^[100][101]

On August 31, 2009,The Walt Disney Company announced it would acquire Marvel Comics' parent corporation, Marvel Entertainment, for a cash and stock deal worth approximately $4 billion, which if necessary would be adjusted at closing, giving Marvelshareholders $30 and 0.745 Disney shares for each share of Marvel they owned.^[102][103] As of 2008, Marvel and its major competitorDC Comics shared over 80% of the American comic-book market.^[104]

As of September 2010, Marvel switched its bookstore distribution company fromDiamond Book Distributors toHachette Distribution Services.^[105] Marvel moved its office to the Sports Illustrated Building in October 2010.^[106]

Marvel relaunched theCrossGen imprint, owned byDisney Publishing Worldwide, in March 2011.^[107] Marvel and Disney Publishing began jointly publishingDisney/Pixar Presents magazine that May.^[108]

Marvel discontinued itsMarvel Adventures imprint in March 2012,^[109] and replaced them with a line of two titles connected to theMarvel Universe TV block.^[110] Also in March, Marvel announced its Marvel ReEvolution initiative that included Infinite Comics,^[111] a line ofdigital comics, Marvel AR, a softwareapplication that provides anaugmented reality experience to readers andMarvel NOW!, a relaunch of most of the company's major titles with different creative teams.^[112][113] Marvel NOW! also saw the debut of new flagship titles includingUncanny Avengers andAll-New X-Men.^[114]

In April 2013, Marvel and other Disney conglomerate components began announcing joint projects. WithABC, aOnce Upon a Time graphic novel was announced for publication in September.^[115] With Disney, Marvel announced in October 2013 that in January 2014 it would release its first title under their joint "Disney Kingdoms" imprint "Seekers of the Weird", a five-issue miniseries.^[116] On January 3, 2014, fellow Disney subsidiaryLucasfilm announced that as of 2015,Star Wars comics would once again be published by Marvel.^[117]

Following the events of the company-wide crossover "Secret Wars" in 2015, a relaunched Marvel universe began in September 2015, called theAll-New, All-Different Marvel.^[118]

Marvel Legacy was the company's Fall 2017 relaunch branding, which began that September. Books released as part of that initiative featuredlenticular variant covers that required comic book stores to double their regular issue order to be able to order the variants. The owner of two Comix Experience stores complained about requiring retailers to purchase an excess of copies featuring the regular cover, which they would not be able to sell in order to acquire the more sought-after variant. Marvel responded to these complaints by rescinding these ordering requirements on newer series, but maintained it on more long-running titles likeInvincible Iron Man. As a result,MyComicShop.com and at least 70 other comic book stores boycotted these variant covers.^[119] Despite the release ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,Logan,Thor: Ragnarok, andSpider-Man: Homecoming in theaters, none of those characters' titles featured in the top 10 sales and theGuardians of the Galaxy comic book series was canceled.^[120] Conan Properties International announced on January 12, 2018, that Conan would return to Marvel in early 2019.^[47]

On March 1, 2019,Serial Box, a digital book platform, announced a partnership with Marvel, in which they would publish new and original stories tied to a number of Marvel's popular franchises.^[121]

In the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic, from March to May 2020, Marvel and its distributorDiamond Comic Distributors stopped producing and releasing new comic books.^{[122][123][124]}

On March 25, 2021, Marvel Comics announced that they planned to shift their direct market distribution for monthly comics and graphic novels from Diamond Comic Distributors toPenguin Random House. The change was scheduled to start on October 1, 2021, in a multi-year partnership. The arrangement would still allow stores the option to order comics from Diamond, but Diamond would be acting as a wholesaler rather than distributor.^[1]

On March 29, 2023, as a part of a corporate restructuring to foldMarvel Entertainment intoThe Walt Disney Company, Marvel Comics was transferred to Disney Publishing Worldwide.^[125][126]

In June 2024, Marvel unveiled a new logo for Marvel Comics, similar in style to the logos forMarvel Studios andMarvel Studios Animation. This logo was meant to be used for more "corporate" purposes and on new social media channels for Marvel Comics, and would not appear on comics themselves.^[127][128]

• Michael Z. Hobson, executive vice president;^[129] Marvel Comics Group vice-president (1986)^[130]
• Stan Lee, chairman and publisher (1986)^[130]
• Joseph Calamari, executive vice president (1986)^[130]
• Jim Shooter, vice president and editor-in-chief (1986)^[130]

• (Abraham Goodman, 1939^[6])
• Martin Goodman, 1939–1972^[45]
• Charles "Chip" Goodman, 1972^[45]
• Stan Lee, 1972 – October 1996^{[45][46][129]}
• Shirrel Rhoades, October 1996 – October 1998^[129]
• Winston Fowlkes, February 1998 – November 1999^[129]
• Bill Jemas, February 2000 – 2003^[129]
• Dan Buckley, 2003^[131] – January 2017^[132][133]
• John Nee, January 2018 – present^[132]

Marvel's chief editor originally held the title of "editor". This head editor's title later became "editor-in-chief".Joe Simon was the company's first true chief-editor, with publisherMartin Goodman, who had served as titular editor only and outsourced editorial operations.

In 1994 Marvel briefly abolished the position of editor-in-chief, replacingTom DeFalco with five group editors-in-chief. As Carl Potts described the 1990s editorial arrangement:

In the early '90s, Marvel had so many titles that there were three Executive Editors, each overseeing approximately one-third of the line.Bob Budiansky was the third Executive Editor [following the previously promotedMark Gruenwald and Potts]. We all answered to Editor-in-Chief Tom DeFalco and PublisherMike Hobson. All three Executive Editors decided not to add our names to the already crowded credits on the Marvel titles. Therefore it wasn't easy for readers to tell which titles were produced by which Executive Editor … In late '94, Marvel reorganized into a number of different publishing divisions, each with its own Editor-in-Chief.^[134]

Marvel reinstated the overall editor-in-chief position in 1995 withBob Harras.

Originally called associate editor when Marvel's chief editor just carried the title of editor, the title of the second-highest editorial position became executive editor under the chief editor title of editor-in-chief. The title of associate editor later was revived under the editor-in-chief as an editorial position in charge of few titles under the direction of an editor and without an assistant editor.

Associate Editor

• Jim Shooter, January 5, 1976 – January 2, 1978^[136]

Executive Editor

• Martin Goodman (1939–1968)

Parent corporation

• Magazine Management Co. (1968–1973)
• Cadence Industries (1973–1986)
• Marvel Entertainment Group (1986–1998)
• Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (1998–2005)
• Marvel Entertainment, Inc (2005–2009)
• Marvel Entertainment, LLC (2009–2023, a wholly owned subsidiary ofThe Walt Disney Company)
• Disney Publishing Worldwide (2023–present)

Located in New York City, Marvel has had successive headquarters:

• in theMcGraw-Hill Building,^[6] where it originated asTimely Comics in 1939^[139]
• in suite 1401 of theEmpire State Building^[139]
• at 635Madison Avenue (the actual location, though the comic books'indicia listed the parent publishing-company's address of 625 Madison Ave.)^[139]
• 575 Madison Avenue;^[139]
• 387 Park Avenue South^[139]
• 10 East 40th Street^[139]
• 417Fifth Avenue^[139]
• a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m²) space in the Sports Illustrated Building at 135 W. 50th Street (October 2010–^[106][140] present)

Animated

This sectionappears to beslanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective andadd more content related to non-recent events.(July 2017)

In 2017, Marvel held a 38.30% share of the comics market, compared to its competitorDC Comics' 33.93%.^[141] By comparison, the companies respectively held 33.50% and 30.33% shares in 2013, and 40.81% and 29.94% shares in 2008.^[142]

Marvel characters and stories have been adapted to multiple media platforms. Some of these adaptations were produced by Marvel Comics and its sister company,Marvel Studios, while others were produced by companies licensing Marvel material.

In June 1993, Marvel issued its collectable caps formilk caps game under the Hero Caps brand.^[143] In 2014, theMarvel Disk Wars: The Avengers Japanese TV series was launched together with a collectible game called Bachicombat, a game similar to the milk caps game, byBandai.^[144]

The RPG industry brought the development of thecollectible card game (CCG) in the early 1990s which there were soon Marvel characters were featured in CCG of their own starting in 1995 withFleer'sOverPower (1995–1999). Later collectible card game were:

• Marvel Superstars (2010–?)Upper Deck Company
• ReCharge Collectible Card Game (2001–?) Marvel
• Vs. System (2004–2009, 2014–) Upper Deck Company
• X-Men Trading Card Game (2000–?)Wizards of the Coast
• Marvel Champions: The Card Game (2019–present)Fantasy Flight Games, aLiving Card Game^[145]

• Marvel Crisis Protocol (Fall 2019–)Atomic Mass Games^[146]
• HeroClix, WizKids

TSR published the pen-and-paperrole-playing gameMarvel Super Heroes in 1984. TSR then released in 1998 theMarvel Super Heroes Adventure Game which used a different system, the card-based SAGA system, than their first game. In 2003 Marvel Publishing published its own role-playing game, theMarvel Universe Roleplaying Game, that used a diceless stone pool system.^[147] In August 2011Margaret Weis Productions announced it was developing atabletop role-playing game based on the Marvel universe, set for release in February 2012 using its house Cortex Plus RPG system.^[148]

Video games based on Marvel characters go back to 1984 and theAtari 2600 game,Spider-Man. Since then several dozen video games have been released and all have been produces by outside licensees. In 2014,Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes was released that brought Marvel characters to the existingDisney sandbox video game.

As of the start of September 2015, films based on Marvel's properties represent the highest-grossing U.S. franchise, having grossed over $7.7 billion^[149] as part of a worldwide gross of over $18 billion. As of 2024, theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has grossed over $32 billion.

• Spider-Man's Wedding (1987)
• Spider-Man On Stage (1999)
• Spider-Man Stunt Show: A Stunt Spectacular (2002–2004)
• Spider-Man Live! (2002–2003)
• TheMarvel Experience (2014–)
• Marvel Universe Live! (2014–) live arena show
• Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (2011–2014) a Broadway musical

Marvel first licensed two prose novels toBantam Books, who printedThe Avengers Battle the Earth Wrecker byOtto Binder (1967) andCaptain America: The Great Gold Steal byTed White (1968). Various publishers took up the licenses from 1978 to 2002. Also, with the various licensed films being released beginning in 1997, various publishers put out filmnovelizations.^[150] In 2003, following publication of the proseyoung adult novelMary Jane, starringMary Jane Watson from theSpider-Man mythos, Marvel announced the formation of the publishingimprintMarvel Press.^[151] However, Marvel moved back to licensing with Pocket Books from 2005 to 2008.^[150] With few books issued under the imprint, Marvel andDisney Books Group relaunched Marvel Press in 2011 with the Marvel Origin Storybooks line.^[152]

Many television series, both live-action and animated, have based their productions on Marvel Comics characters. These include series for popular characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Avengers, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, the Punisher, the Defenders, S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Deadpool, Legion, and others. Additionally, a handful of television films, usually also pilots, based on Marvel Comics characters have been made.

Marvel has licensed its characters for theme parks and attractions, includingMarvel Super Hero Island atUniversal Orlando'sIslands of Adventure^[153] inOrlando, Florida, which includes rides based on their iconic characters and costumed performers, as well asThe Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride cloned from Islands of Adventure toUniversal Studios Japan.^[154]

Years after Disney purchased Marvel in late 2009,Walt Disney Parks and Resorts plans on creating original Marvel attractions at their theme parks,^[155][156] withHong Kong Disneyland becoming the first Disney theme park to feature aMarvel attraction.^[157][158] Due to the licensing agreement with Universal Studios, signed prior to Disney's purchase of Marvel, Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disney Resort are barred from having Marvel characters in their parks.^[159] However, this only includes characters that Universal is currently using, other characters in their "families" (X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic Four, etc.), and the villains associated with said characters.^[153] This clause has allowed Walt Disney World to have meet and greets, merchandise, attractions and more with other Marvel characters not associated with the characters at Islands of Adventures, such asStar-Lord andGamora fromGuardians of the Galaxy.^[160][161]

• Marvel Comics
• Marvel Press, joint imprint withDisney Books Group
• Icon Comics (creator owned)
• Infinite Comics
• Timely Comics
• MAX
• 20th Century Studios^[162]

Marvel Worldwide with Disney announced in October 2013 that in January 2014 it would release its first comic book title under their joint Disney Kingdoms imprintSeekers of the Weird, a five-issue miniseries inspired by a never built Disneyland attraction Museum of the Weird.^[116] Marvel's Disney Kingdoms imprint has since released comic adaptations of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad,^[163]Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room,^[164] The Haunted Mansion,^[165] two series onFigment^[166][167] based onJourney Into Imagination.

• List of comics characters which originated in other media
• List of magazines released by Marvel Comics in the 1970s
• Lists of Marvel Comics characters
• List of current Marvel Comics publications
• List of Timely and Atlas Comics publications

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMarvel Comics.

Wikiquote has quotations related toMarvel Comics.

• Official website
• Vassallo, Michael J. (2005)."A Timely Talk with Allen Bellman". Comicartville.com. p. 2. Archived fromthe original on January 17, 2010..
• Complete Marvel Reading Order from Travis Starnes

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