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The cover of the first issue depicted the Human Torch melting his way through a steel door to confront a crook armed with a pistol and a hand grenade. This
fiery super hero, created by Carl Burgos, joined Bill Everett's aquatic avenger The Sub-Mariner to become one of the twin stars of the immediately successful Marvel Comics. The debut of two major heroes
in one comic book was especially appreciated by depression-era kids looking for thrills and adventure at bargain prices.
This first issue of Marvel Comics, originally priced at ten cents, has become perhaps
the most valuable comic book ever published. In 1987 a rare copy in mint condition changed hands for $82,000. Its status as
the maiden effort of the Marvel line, coupled with its atypical introduction of two classic characters, has made it a cherished
milestone of popular culture.
Published in October 1939 and reprinted the following month, this comic book is the
embodiment of what fans call the Golden Age, that period of innocence when both fans and the comics themselves were young.
Because comic books were new, every page promised something fresh and interesting. The exhilaration of a new medium shines
through, for this was a golden age for the comic book creators as well.
Captain America was the hero who put Marvel, then know as Timely, into the top rank of comic publishers. The time was
ripe for an idealized freedom fighter that possessed "the character to win and to triumph over evil." The cover of Captain
America #1, which showed the new hero, dressed in red, white and blue, punching Adolf Hitler in the face. The date was March
1941, nine months before Pearl Harbor. The timing was perfect, and the unusual move of starting a new character in his own
comic book would prove to be very successful.
Sales were up to, after the first issue, close to the million mark. A circulation
figure like that, far above what most popular comics achieve today, put Captain America in the same league with Superman and
Batman as one of the true giants of the Golden Age. As a contrast, consider that the weekly circulation of Time magazine during
the same time period was 700,000.
Captain America was not born with great power, but rather had it bestowed upon him
as a gift. The champion of freedom started out as Steve Rogers, a scrawny 4-F rejected by the army and then redeemed by a
dose of a strange liquid that turned him into a hero. It could happen to anyone, even the ordinary reader. And part of the
attraction was that Steve Rogers never became excessively gifted; he wasn't invulnerable - he was just tougher and braver
and smarter than anyone else.
The Red Skull was the greatest villain of the Golden Age. Created by Joe Simon
and Jack Kirby for the first issue of Captain America, he was originally a Nazi spy who was killed, unmasked and revealed
to be a corrupt American industrialist named George Maxon. Like many villains the Red Skull found death a temporary thing
and returned again and again. The details of his first appearance were forgotten and he was transformed into an icon of Nazi
cruelty.
By the end of 1941 when the United States actually entered the war, many of Timely's
characters had already been fighting it for so long that at first the change in the comics wasn't easy to discern. Ironically,
by the time the war really came the fighting super heroes no longer had the comic book stage all to themselves. Beginning
in April 1942, Timely expanded into humor comics. Timely's move was a response to the success of adaptations of Disney's animated
cartoon characters.
Then, almost accidentally, Timely tapped into a new audience: teenage girls. The cause
of it all was a female character who made her debut in the back pages of Marvel Mystery Comics in 1943. Miss America, created
by Otto Binder, was dressed in stars and stripes and was clearly a female version of Captain America. She got her own title
in 1944 and very soon it turned Timely toward a new audience. Almost immediately the title character was dropped and Miss
America Comics began to focus on the activities of average American females adolescents. Features were added on clothes, makeup
and cooking, and a whole new division of comics came into being.
Stan Lee made several attempts to boost up the sagging super heroes. The three old
reliables, Captain America, The Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner had been featured together on some of Alex Schomburg's wartime
covers, but the trio had never been in the same story. Now, in 1946, Lee created The All Winners Squad for the nineteenth
issue of All Winners Comics. He put the big three into the same story along with Miss America and the Whizzer. A few years
earlier such a move might have created a sensation, but now the public didn't seem to care. The book length super-crossovers
lasted two issues; then All Winners was canceled.
By 1949 there was no place for the amazing if occasionally absurd super heroes
who had defined the Golden Age. The old heroes who had gone to war before the country did just faded away while everyone was
busy reading cowboys, crime and love stories. There was even room in the 1949 publication schedule for a comic book called
Blaze the Wonder Collie. Gene Colan drew the cover of the final issue of Captain America (February 1950), but by then it was
a horror comic called Captain America's Weird Tales and Captain America didn't even appear in it. The Human Torch was canceled
in March 1949, and his former sparring partner The Sub-Mariner sank three months later. Marvel Mystery Comics, the title that
had started it all, disappeared in June 1949. It had run for a very successful ninety two issues.
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Movies-Comics-Cartoons
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Marvel Heroes
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Welcome to the Marvel section:
About Marvel and its Characters:
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Marvel Comics, known in the 1940s as Timely Comics, had a prominent
presence in the Golden Age thanks to their publisher Martin Goodman, who took a gamble on super heroes. The Golden Age of
comic books began in 1938 with Action Comics, featuring Superman. National Periodical Publications, which would later become
DC Comics, followed their success in early 1939 with Batman, starring in Detective Comics.
In late 1939, Timely responded with Marvel Comics which showcased
the adventures of the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner. Although these heroes appeared in individual story lines, they were
eventually pitted against each other and their rivalry became quite popular.
With World War II capturing most of the world's attention, the
Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner put their super powers to use against the Nazis. Captain America exploded from the pages of
his own comic in March 1941, and with the American involvement in the war months later, the comic book proved to be a sensation.
Captain America, under Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, quickly became the company's flagship characters. A young man, Stan Lee,
distinguished himself by helping out with the writing chores.
The Atomic Age of Comics (1946-1955) saw Marvel switch its focus
to westerns, romance, horror, and humor comics because the popularity of its costumed heroes had faded after the Second World
War. Marvel in the early fifties had another name change from Timely to Atlas after a restructuring in publication and distribution.
In 1956, National Periodical Publications (DC Comics) launched
the revival of one of their more famous Golden Age heroes, the Flash, in Showcase #4. DC Comics applied a similar formula
to their other heroes, such as Green Lantern and Hawkman, and their success awakened the Silver Age of Comics. Building on
the renewed interest in super-heroes, The Justice League of America was created, bringing together Superman, Batman, Green
Lantern, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Wonder Woman.
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In 1961, Marvel Comics' publisher Martin Goodman approached Jack
Kirby, who had come over from DC Comics, and Stan Lee to produce a super-hero team title that would compete with The Justice
League of America. Well, Lee and Kirby went off in another direction borrowing from Kirby's earlier work The Challengers of
the Unknown and adding a super-power twist.
The
Fantastic Four was an incredible collaboration between Lee and Kirby, both drawing from their broad experience in the medium.
The Fantastic Four was an immediate success and rescued Marvel
from the brink of financial failure. Capitalizing on this success, Lee, along with Kirby and other talented artists like Steve
Ditko and Don Heck would churn out a wealth of Marvel heroes over the next two years: The
Incredible Hulk, Journey Into Mystery (featuring Thor), The Amazing Spider-Man, Tales to Astonish (starring Ant-Man and the
Wasp), Strange Tales (featuring the Fantastic Four's Human Torch and Doctor Strange), Tales of Suspense (starring Iron Man
and eventually Captain America), The Avengers, and The X-Men. By 1963, the company which had finally renamed itself
Marvel, had taken the industry lead, riding the popularity of its unique characters.
Although a strong and talented writer, Stan Lee couldn't keep up
with his workload plotting and scripting each issue for every title. He took a step back and focused on his plotting. He would
script the story after the artist had drawn it which allowed the creative talents of the artists to show through. Lee would
rush the script to the letterer who would then fill in the captions and word balloons.
This style quickly became known as the Marvel Method. The Marvel
Method would not have succeeded without the talents of Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, and Don Heck. Lee had revolutionized the Silver
Age by creating characters that had depth and personality. His angst approach was attractive to readers and they devoured
these character-driven stories.
The Silver Age ended when Jack Kirby left The Fantastic Four (his
last issue was #104) and actually left Marvel to create a new series for DC Comics called
The New Gods where he had more creative control and could escape from under Stan Lee's shadow. A bit later in 1972, Stan Lee
stepped down as Editor-in-Chief to move up the corporate ladder to become Marvel's publisher. Ever since, every Marvel Comic
proudly exclaims "Stan Lee Presents" on its opening splash page.
The editorial torch was passed down to Roy Thomas,
who had taken over Lee's writing chores on the Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and Tales to Astonish. Thomas, however,
didn't fit well into the editorial role and decided that it was best to return to writing. Len Wein replaced Thomas and he
would only spend about half a year as Editor-in-Chief. Marv Wolfman became the next Editor-in-Chief, but resigned after six
months. Gerry Conway then assumed the position, but his duration as Editor-in-Chief was perhaps the shortest, at just a month.
Archie Goodwin then replaced Conway in early 1976 and would hold the Editor-in-Chief position for over a year. Jim Shooter
rose to the occasion in 1978 and would provide Marvel with arguably the strong leadership it needed for the 1980s.
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