Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and entertainment company that became widely recognized for its superhero books featuring characters such as Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four.
Founded in 1939 as Timely Publications by Martin Goodman.
The company was renamed as Atlas Comics in the 1950s.
The first appearance of Spider-Man was in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962).
Later in 1960s, the company was renamed as Marvel Comics.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Marvel published a line of comics called The Marvel Universe that featured interconnected stories about superheroes and villains.
In 2009, Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion.
DC Comics is an American comic book publisher known for their iconic characters such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
Image Comics is an American comic book publisher founded in 1992, known for creating creator-owned titles and series like Spawn, The Walking Dead, and Saga.
Dark Horse Comics is an independent American comic book publisher known for publishing licensed comics and creator-owned series like Hellboy and Sin City.
Spider-Man is a superhero created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appearing in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962. Peter Parker, a high school student who gains spider-like abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider, becomes Spider-Man and fights crime in New York City.
X-Men is a team of superhero mutants created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, first appearing in X-Men #1 in 1963. The team, led by Professor Xavier, fights against threats to both mutantkind and humanity.
The Avengers are a team of superheroes introduced in The Avengers #1 in 1963. The team consists of various Marvel characters such as Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, and they work together to protect the world from threats too big for one hero to handle.
Marvel Comics is owned by Disney, which acquired Marvel Entertainment in 2009.
The first comic published by Marvel (known at the time as Timely Comics) was Marvel Comics #1, released in 1939. This issue featured the first appearance of characters like the Human Torch and Namor the Sub-Mariner.
Marvel and DC are different in their approach to storytelling and the types of characters they create. Marvel's characters tend to be more grounded, with weaknesses and personal problems that make them more relatable. DC's characters tend to be more larger-than-life and iconic, with a focus on morality and superheroics.
Some popular Marvel Comics series include The Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men, The Avengers, and The Fantastic Four.
Reading order can be important for Marvel comics, especially if you are reading a series that has a lot of interconnected storylines. Marvel publishes reading lists and guides to help readers keep track of the chronology of events in the Marvel Universe.