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The oldest comic publishing company on this list is the now-defunct book publishing company, David McKay Publications that was founded in 1882 and published comics from 1935 to 1950. Most comic publishing companies were established in the United States , where comics became popular in the mid-1900s.
NameCountryActiveActiveUS19401956UK19862005US19921992US19861993Marvel Comics is a New York City-based comic book publisher, a property of The Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin Goodman as Timely Comics , [ 3 ] and by 1951 had generally become known as Atlas Comics .
- The Golden Age (1938-1956) Though DC had been producing superhero comic books for a few years and had introduced its first regular character Doctor Occult in 1935, the Golden Age at DC Comics is generally regarded as beginning with the publication of Action Comics #1 in the spring of 1938 — and the introduction of Superman!
- The Silver and Bronze Age aka pre-crisis (1956-1985) With the founding of the Comics Code Authority, the Silver Age was a time of rigid moral codes and new versions of superheroes!
- The Modern Age (1986-2011) Before C risis on Infinite Earths, DC Comics had a multiverse with many characters living on different Earths. The event’s goal was to simplify continuity and eliminate the ambiguity caused by several Earths.
- New 52 (2011-2016) DC Comics made its second big reboot 25 years after Crisis on Infinite Earths, utilizing Flashpoint to create a new reality for its characters.
- Timely Comics – The Predecessor of Marvel Comics
- The Birth of Captain America
- Detective Comics Ups Their Game with A New Character
- The Batman Origin Story Comes Later
- The Creation of Captain Marvel
- Legendary DC Writer Gardner Fox Creates The Flash
- Hawkman Appears in Flash Comics #1 Alongside Captain Marvel and The Flash
- Gardner Fox Does It Again – The Creation of Doctor Fate
- The Creation of Green Lantern
- The Atom Is Introduced
At the onset of the Golden Age of Comics, Superman ruled the comic book world. Other publishers took notice. One publisher, Martin Goodman, had extensive experience publishing pulp magazines and men’s adult magazines (e.g., Stag, For Men Only, and Swank). Noting Superman’s success, he formed Timely Comics in 1939 and published Marvel Comics#1 in Oc...
Despite the success of Marvel Comics #1, Timely Comics still could not keep up with the wildly popular Superman character, so they created a similar character they named Super American. Recognizing the name was too similar to Superman, they renamed him Captain Americainstead. Captain America Comics #1 was published in March 1941, one year before th...
A battle between Detective Comics (DC) and Timely Comics (Marvel)erupted. Detective Comics and their sister company, All-American Publications/National Allied Publications, were churning out new superheroes each month. In March 1939, Artist Bob Kane and his personal ghostwriter, Bill Finger, wrote a hard-boiled detective story in Detective Comics c...
After the smashing success of Detective Comics #27, Batman continued appearing as a regular character. His home, Wayne Manor, was introduced in the next issue. One issue later, in Detective Comics #29, his utility belt was first shown. His Batplane was introduced two issues later followed by a litany of bat-themed vehicles. When his origin story wa...
Like Marvel’s Captain America, Fawcett Comics created their own version of Superman in 1939, naming him Captain Thunder. He first appeared in Flash Comics #1 (later reprinted as Thrill Comics #1) to little fanfare. After printing, Fawcett Comics found that “Captain Thunder” was already in use and could not be trademarked. In fact, they found that “...
Legendary DC writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert created a new character for All-American Publications that possessed a single superpower – uncanny speed. The Flash appeared alongside Captain Marvel in Flash Comics #1 in January 1940. Boosted by Captain Marvel’s success, the Flashwas a hit with readers. The original Flash character, Jay Gar...
Like Captain Marvel and The Flash, Hawkman appeared in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940) as Khufu, an ancient Egyptian prince in reincarnated form. Khufu discovered a “ninth metal” that defied the laws of physics and gave him the power to fly. He was introduced as a charter member of the Justice Society of America in All-Star Comics #8. But like The F...
Doctor Fate, aka Fate, was created by DC’s Gardner Fox, the author of Flash, Hawkman, and Sandman. With artwork drawn by Howard Sherman, the character first appeared in National Allied Publications’ More Fun Comics #55 in May 1940. The origin story told how Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson) discovered the tomb of an ancient wizard, Nabu, who subsequently t...
Around the time Marvel (Timely Comics) introduced Captain America, DC (All-American Publications) introduced Alan Scott as Green Lantern. He first appeared in All-American Comics #16 in July 1940. The character was a railroad engineer who found a magic lantern after a train wreck. He fashioned the lantern into a magic ring that granted him a wide v...
Written by Bill O’Connor and Ben Flinton, the original Atom (Al Pratt) first appeared in All-American Publications’ All-American Comics #19 in October 1940.The Atom was unique in several ways. Most importantly, he was a brilliant physicist – who had no superpowers. Only later did he gain a little bit of strength and an unusual “atomic punch” move. ...
- Aaron Albert
- Marvel Comics. Marvel Comics has been the top dog in comic book publishing recently, because of its well-received high-profile movies, strong sales, and popular characters.
- DC Comics. Alongside Marvel, DC Comics is the other of the "Big Two" comic book publishers. It has a bevy of characters with near godlike powers that were some of the first that comics had to offer.
- Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse first became known for its licensed properties: "Star Wars," "Aliens," "Predator," and others. Since then it has become well known for its creator-owned series: "Hellboy," "The Goon," "Sin City," "Groo," "The Umbrella Academy," and more.
- Image Comics. Image Comics burst onto the scene in the 1990s with a group of hotshot artists tired of working for the man. They wanted to keep the profits from their own creations and launched their company as a place for creator-owned properties.
Dec 28, 2022 · The Origins of Comic Books. Comic books as we know them today have their roots in several different traditions, including newspaper comic strips and illustrated stories. The modern comic book can be traced back to the 1930s, with the publication of titles like Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27. These early comic books featured a mix of ...
Jun 21, 2022 · A Detective Comics #27 graded CGC 7.0 sold for $1.5 million in 2020. Batman would debut in his own series in 1940, and a Batman #1 graded CGC 9.4 sold for $2.22 million in 2021. National also published “All-Star Comics,” beginning in 1940. The series introduced the very first superhero team, the Justice Society of America (with Doctor Fate ...
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