Memories of Marvel Comic Books

Spider Man, X-Men, the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Punisher, X-Force, Avengers ... the list could go on about the major characters found in the Marvel universe. Don't know what Marvel is? It's a major comic book universe where some of the greatest super heroes can be found. Superman and Batman are found in DC comics, which is another story.

As a fan of comic books, I am always impressed by the stories Marvel comics tells. It has a history in publishing as rich as any book publisher. The characters are some of the better heroes ever created.

There is plenty to say on Marvel, like talking about key characters, but first you need to start with the writers for the Marvel universe. Perhaps the most important writer ever for Marvel was Stan Lee. With a team of talented collaborators, including Jack Kirby, Stan Lee created hits like Spider Man, X-Men, the Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Silver Surfer. He made the majority of them during the heyday of Marvel, back in the 1960s.

Marvel's been around since the days comics were a dime or less, all the way to the current price of $3 for the average comic book. There have been many key moments, as comic book historians might say, that had major ramifications on the comic market.

Take the 1950s: At this time horror comic were big for all comic book publishers (including EC, DC, and Marvel) but a government hearing, that I won't detail much, made the time of comic books a hard one for many in the profession. Government regulation and negative press on what comic books could do hurt the entire market, and devastated the major publishes like EC comics, DC comics, and Marvel comics.

Then Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Tom Defalco came into the picture. Stan Lee had been working for Marvel for some time before the 1960s age, but his major contributions came at this time. Most of the titles I listed at the beginning of this article were envisioned by Stan Lee, including Spider Man, X-Men, and Hulk.

What it amounted to was a revival in the comic book medium. Marvel published many important comics in the 1960s, and were a critical success for many decades.

What does Marvel do today? They are the home of many top talents in the industry. If you want to be a comic book creator, Marvel is the first choice for most aspiring artists.

Marvel is my favorite publisher, as they have some of the best characters out there. The stories of Iron Man changed my perspective with what Marvel could do. The company has been so successful with X-Men and Spider Man films that Marvel is actually worth a great deal on the stock market. Yet it isn't just about making money with Marvel: It appears to be about building a loyal fan base with top creators creating sensations like Spider Man.