Marvel Comics Research Paper
In October 1939, the world required heroes. Hitler had recently attacked Poland. Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand had proclaimed war. The US remained unbiased – but it was already taking the first steps towards the Manhattan Project and the making of the nuclear bomb. As Nazi Germany 's shadow fell over Europe, it appeared the planet was on the edge of demolition. Who might save us?
The response hit the newsstands when Timely Publications gave us Marvel Comics #1. Emerging between the usual romance, western and crime magazines that lined the racks, Marvel Comics was an alternate breed. Its cover demonstrated a gigantic orange figure, The Human Torch, melting bullets on his blazing chest. Inside, The Torch was joined by Namor the Sub-Mariner, an oceanic superhero from the Antarctic. The cover price was just ten cents.
Over the past 70-odd years, Marvel Entertainment has evolved from that first issue of Marvel Comics into one of the industry’s leaders. Marvel Comics weathered World War 2 (previous Editor-In-Chief Stan Lee took leave to do military service). It survived the opposition to comics in the '50s. It was restored throughout the '60s Silver Age. Troops in Vietnam carried X-Men comics in their rucksacks. Marvel watched the Berlin Wall fall, survived 9/11 and even commended Obama 's electon by letting the president make an appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #583.
So, is it an exaggeration to say that Marvel is an institution that’s impacted on American pop culture with a force heavier than Thor’s hammer? Probably not. Marvel’s creations are instantly recognisable icons. Without Marvel and their long-time rivals Detective Comics (DC) – the publishers of Superman and Batman – the superhero as we know it wouldn’t exist. And if superhero comics didn’t exist you could kiss goodbye to the last 10+ years of super-powered summer tentpole movies.
“It’s been proven now in the world of mass media that Marvel characters mean money,” former
The response hit the newsstands when Timely Publications gave us Marvel Comics #1. Emerging between the usual romance, western and crime magazines that lined the racks, Marvel Comics was an alternate breed. Its cover demonstrated a gigantic orange figure, The Human Torch, melting bullets on his blazing chest. Inside, The Torch was joined by Namor the Sub-Mariner, an oceanic superhero from the Antarctic. The cover price was just ten cents.
Over the past 70-odd years, Marvel Entertainment has evolved from that first issue of Marvel Comics into one of the industry’s leaders. Marvel Comics weathered World War 2 (previous Editor-In-Chief Stan Lee took leave to do military service). It survived the opposition to comics in the '50s. It was restored throughout the '60s Silver Age. Troops in Vietnam carried X-Men comics in their rucksacks. Marvel watched the Berlin Wall fall, survived 9/11 and even commended Obama 's electon by letting the president make an appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #583.
So, is it an exaggeration to say that Marvel is an institution that’s impacted on American pop culture with a force heavier than Thor’s hammer? Probably not. Marvel’s creations are instantly recognisable icons. Without Marvel and their long-time rivals Detective Comics (DC) – the publishers of Superman and Batman – the superhero as we know it wouldn’t exist. And if superhero comics didn’t exist you could kiss goodbye to the last 10+ years of super-powered summer tentpole movies.
“It’s been proven now in the world of mass media that Marvel characters mean money,” former