Which was the first Marvel comic? 0

[shadroch]

Anyone know which is the first comic to have the Marvel Comics name on the cover?

I know JIM 69 and another book are the first to have the MC in a box, and Fantastic four #1 is widely considered the first Marvel, but Marvel does not appear on its cover, or interior pages.

Anyone know which book or books are the first to bear the Marvel Comics brand?

[IchigosSoul]

Marvel Comics #1?

[Wrightson fan]

I am sure there are earlier examples, but I know Suspense 1 from 1949 has a Marvel Comics circular logo on the front cover.

[Bronty]

he means what's the first SA marvel to identify itself as a marvel. Lee renamed Atlas to Marvel to reconnect with the company's roots, so although I don't own one to check, Marvel 1 would not have identified itself as a Marvel Comic; rather a Timely.

 

I think the answer is twofold.

 

In the late gold/early atom era, the timely line literally bore a "Marvel Comics" brand so the way the question was posed it would be books in that era. You can google Marvel Tales 93 for an example.

 

But based on what I think the OP is wanting to ask, it would have been books sometime in 1962. I checked amazing adult fantasy 14 and JIM 79, both april 62, as those are the latest raw preheros I own, and the indicia still reads Atlas at that point.

[Bronty]

I am sure there are earlier examples, but I know Suspense 1 from 1949 has a Marvel Comics circular logo on the front cover.

 

^^beat me to it yeah the Marvel Tales 93 I mentioned is from '49 as well. Early Venus comics definitely have them too; I think the entire line had them at that point.

[Bronty]

looking at only Venus and Marvel Tales, the earliest issue that sports the brand is Venus 4 (Apr 49) and the last is Marvel Tales 96 (June 50)

[shadroch]

I'm looking for the first SA book that bears Marvel Comics on the cover. Not GA or 1950s.

[Anfield Fox]

I asked this question a few years ago and people said Amazing Adventures 3.

[Cat-Man_America]

Anyone know which is the first comic to have the Marvel Comics name on the cover?

I know JIM 69 and another book are the first to have the MC in a box, and Fantastic four #1 is widely considered the first Marvel, but Marvel does not appear on its cover, or interior pages.

Anyone know which book or books are the first to bear the Marvel Comics brand?

 

Marvel Comics #1 was the first Marvel, then known as Timely, but Marvel branding occurs sporadically during the GA.

 

The first issue of Human Torch (#2 as it carried over from Red Raven #1 which turned out to be a one-shot) has the words Marvel Comics Special Features on the cover. Technically this first use wasn't a brand, as in an identifiable trademark or icon. A shield bearing the words Timely Comics was briefly used during the early war years on some titles (Captain America #14-17 & Marvel Mystery #33-35, for instance), but that logo was quickly dropped.

 

Here are several examples of the different styles of Marvel logo from the late 1940's...

 

 

 

 

 

The Marvel brand actually continued into the early Atlas period in 1950 and then abruptly ceased to be replaced by the familiar Atlas globe.

 

Sorry about the length. This is more info than you requested, but when discussing Marvel logos the devil is in the details.

 

I'm looking for the first SA book that bears Marvel Comics on the cover. Not GA or 1950s.

 

Arrrrrgh! Missed that post.

 

It was probably FF #14, and I suspect that with the rapid introduction of new superhero lines around this time that the trademark Marvel logo was a policy change that included all Marvel Comics issued on or around May of '63.

 

Does that help? (thumbs u

Edited August 12, 2012 by DavidMerryweather

[rockman2008]

I asked this question a few years ago and people said Amazing Adventures 3.

 

I had retracted my original answer to the OP 'cause I thought he might be asking for something else. It appears almost all the Silver Age Marvels cover-dated May 1963 have the corner box with the explicit label "Marvel Comics Group." I say "almost" because Kid Colt Outlaw 110 (May 1963) was a hold out and still used the "MC" box. There may be other titles but May 1963 seems to be the demarcation date.

[rodan57]

The Ditko-designed corner box (colophon) starts with most February 1963 newsstand books (April/May cover dates).

 

February 1963 Newsstand Releases

Apr/May 63*

 

Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Feb.12)

Fantastic Four 14 (Feb.12)

JIM 91 (Feb.5)

Millie the Model 114 (Feb.12?)**

Patsy Walker 106 (Feb.5)

Strange Tales 108 (Feb.12)

TOS 41 (Feb.12)

TTA 43 (Feb.5)

 

Four exceptions that month:***

Modeling with Millie 22 (Feb.5)

Kathy 22 (Feb.5?)

Kid Colt Outlaw 110 (Feb.5)

Two-Gun Kid 63 (Feb.5)

 

 

Therefore given newsstand arrival dates that month, JIM 91, Patsy Walker 106 and TTA 43 would be the earliest newsstand appearances of the corner box on Feb. 5.

 

*All Marvels, until they went 20¢, had two or more cover dates for any one newsstand release month.

**The release dates for the teen titles are not easily found. Most of the above information was cribbed from the GCB Database and the Marvel Comics Group 1939-1980 websites and the latter site notes that a copy of Millie the Model #115 has an April 16 datestamp, so we can probably assume that 114 came out on Feb. 12.

***Probably these four were the earliest designed/printed for that month.

 

 

[Unca Ben]

Interesting thread.

 

I've always wondered if something actually determines the Timely /Atlas /Marvel publishing imprint on any particular issue.

 

For example, going from Atlas to Marvel, is it the Ditko designed corner box?

Or something that says "Marvel Comics" or "Marvel Comics Group" on the cover?

Or the Indicia (which can be somewhat ambiguous, since Goodman had all those different publishing corps)?

 

Example:

 

Spider-Man #1 does not have the corner box, it does have the letters "MC" in a rectangle over the number "one".

 

The indicia says: "AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is published by NON-PAREIL PUBLISHING CORP." It then gives the "OFFICE OF PUBLICATION address", then "published bi-monthly", then Copyright 1962 by NON-PAREIL PUBLISHING CORP.

 

Nothing in the indicia says "Marvel Comics" or "Marvel Comics Group".

 

Spider-Man #2 has the corner box with "Marvel Comics Group".

The indicia still says NON-PAREIL in 2 places, no mention of Marvel Comics.

 

SPIDER-MAN #19, Dec 1964, the Indicia still says NON-PAREIL in 2 places, no mention of "MARVEL COMICS". Of course it has the corner box.

 

Is it some criteria not mentioned above?

Did someone just "decide" the Timely - Atlas - Marvel demarcation?

Is it because Stan, or popular fandom opinion, or comic historians say so?

 

It doesn't appear like the determination can be made by looking at a particular book, it must be something else.

 

If anyone knows the definitive answer, please let me know, as this has always eluded me (easy to do )

 

 

Edited August 12, 2012 by ucleben

[Unca Ben]

I just went up to ASM #19 'cause that's all I had out of the box to read.

 

I also have ASM #50 out of the box to read, and by then (July 1967) the Indicia says:

 

"AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is published by NON-PAREIL PUBLISHING CORP." It then gives the "OFFICE OF PUBLICATION address", then "published monthly", then Copyright 1967 by NON-PAREIL PUBLISHING CORP., Marvel Comics Group"

 

So somewhere between #19 and #50 the indicia did change to include the Marvel Comics Group imprint.

Edited August 12, 2012 by ucleben

[rodan57]

I find this to be an very interesting period of Marvel history to think about and, every time I comment on it, I find myself going back and cribbing/refining from my earlier thoughts --- so this is going to be a bit long-winded.

 

Goodman's comics were a small part of his larger publishing empire, Magazine Management. Goodman made a lot of money from his sweat magazines, in particular.

 

Goodman liked the name Marvel and used on many books in the forties, but according to a source that I don't have right at hand, artists called the firm, Timely, right into the early Marvel era.

 

The name, Atlas, was the name of Goodman's own distributing company up to 1956. Its logo on the books became the de facto brand name. All the different publishers for the individual titles just reflected Goodman's fear of lawsuits.*

 

At this same time, upon the advice of a business manager, Monroe Froelich, Goodman folded his comic distribution company and signed with American News in late 1956.

 

American News, though a giant in comic book distribution industry, suffered greatly as publisher after publisher withdrew from the comic book market at a time of intense comic book criticism. American News collapsed in early 1957 and Goodman was forced to make a deal with Independent News to distribute his comics.

 

Independent News referred to what was Timely/Atlas as Goodman Comics in 1960.

 

 

I tend to think that think that Goodman's comics had little or no brand identity at that time. In July and August 1958, Timely/Atlas did not even have a logo for its comic books or a collective name for its publishing company. Its publishing schedule consisted of the following books:

 

July 1958

Homer the Happy Ghost #22; Kid Colt Outlaw #81; Millie the Model #87; Miss America #93; Navy Combat #20; Two-Gun-Kid #44; Patsy Walker #79; and, World of Fantasy #14.

 

August 1958

Battle #61; Gunsmoke Western #49; Journey into Mystery #49; Love Romance #78; My Own Romance #66; Patsy and Hedy #61; Strange Tales #66; Wyatt Earp #20.

 

The company's output was sixteen bi-monthly titles due to a rather restrictive distribution contract and a weak marketplace. Their premier artist, Joe Maneely, was killed in a subway accident on June 7th and the next month Kirby walks into the Timely/Atlas office.

 

A great number of new books and scheduling changes took place before August 1961:

 

Strange Worlds, Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish hit the newsstand in September 1958, replacing Homer the Happy Ghost, Miss America and Navy Combat.

Strange Worlds and World of Fantasy are replaced with A Date with Millie and Kathy in July 1959;

Battle and Wyatt Earp are replaced with the revived titles, My Girl Pearl and Rawhide Kid in April 1960;

The title of My Own Romance is changed to Teen-Age Romance and Kid Colt Outlaw and Tales to Astonish go monthly in June 1960;

Journey into Mystery and Strange Tales go monthly in July 1960;

A Date with Millie becomes Life with Millie in August;

Kid Colt Outlaw goes back to bi-monthly and Tales of Suspense goes monthly in October 1960;

Atlas/Marvel does not publish any books in December 1960;

My Girl Pearl is replaced with Amazing Adventures in March 1961;

Two-Gun Kid is cancelled to allow Amazing Adventures to be published monthly in April 1961;

Linda Carter, Student Nurse begins in June 1961;

Fantastic Four #1 is released in August 1961.

 

This a lot of genre, title and content manipulations at the hand of Martin Goodman. But it wasn't unusual for him. The company see-sawed back and forth between fantasy, western and teen books. Viewed collectively, I don't see this as the result of a new age of comic books but the result of perceived market trends and a new concentrated pool of talent. Though this company was not the same company that had the Atlas logo in the top left corner of its comics -- there was definitely a new flavour to the Lee, Leiber, Kirby, Ditko, Heck, Ayers books.

 

Even given the talent at "the company with no name", it was three years before the release of the Fantastic Four.

 

What I conclude from all this is that 1958 was the beginning of Marvel Comics, but the three years between 1958 and 1961, were not Silver Age books. If Lee had never moved into superheroes, I could see the output of those three years sitting very comfortably with an Atomic Age designation --quirky monster/fantasy stories.

 

In April of 1961 the little MC begins to appear on the cover. While I don't believe that any fans knew what this meant --- though I suppose the most astute and long term of comic books detectives could guess -- internally Lee was thinking in terms of a new image. Fantastic Four came out that August and with ensuing titles within a shared continuity Marvel became distinct from what existed only a year before.

 

The appearance of those little corner boxes was more than a marketing device -- they were symbolic of Lee's self-awareness that something kind of special had happened.

 

 

*I am sure he saw lessons in what happened to Donefeld's "Spicy" magazines in the 1930s and by the mid-1950s was becoming concerned with distancing his other publishing endeavours from his comic book line. Comic books were undergoing a lot of negative publicity (Senate hearings, comics code, Seduction of the Innocent).

 

[Sqeggs]

I find this to be an very interesting period of Marvel history to think about and, every time I comment on it, I find myself going back and cribbing/refining from my earlier thoughts --- so this is going to be a bit long-winded.

 

Goodman's comics were a small part of his larger publishing empire, Magazine Management. Goodman made a lot of money from his sweat magazines, in particular.

 

Goodman liked the name Marvel and used on many books in the forties, but according to a source that I don't have right at hand, artists called the firm, Timely, right into the early Marvel era.

 

The name, Atlas, was the name of Goodman's own distributing company up to 1956. Its logo on the books became the de facto brand name. All the different publishers for the individual titles just reflected Goodman's fear of lawsuits.*

 

At this same time, upon the advice of a business manager, Monroe Froelich, Goodman folded his comic distribution company and signed with American News in late 1956.

 

American News, though a giant in comic book distribution industry, suffered greatly as publisher after publisher withdrew from the comic book market at a time of intense comic book criticism. American News collapsed in early 1957 and Goodman was forced to make a deal with Independent News to distribute his comics.

 

Independent News referred to what was Timely/Atlas as Goodman Comics in 1960.

 

 

I tend to think that think that Goodman's comics had little or no brand identity at that time. In July and August 1958, Timely/Atlas did not even have a logo for its comic books or a collective name for its publishing company. Its publishing schedule consisted of the following books:

 

July 1958

Homer the Happy Ghost #22; Kid Colt Outlaw #81; Millie the Model #87; Miss America #93; Navy Combat #20; Two-Gun-Kid #44; Patsy Walker #79; and, World of Fantasy #14.

 

August 1958

Battle #61; Gunsmoke Western #49; Journey into Mystery #49; Love Romance #78; My Own Romance #66; Patsy and Hedy #61; Strange Tales #66; Wyatt Earp #20.

 

The company's output was sixteen bi-monthly titles due to a rather restrictive distribution contract and a weak marketplace. Their premier artist, Joe Maneely, was killed in a subway accident on June 7th and the next month Kirby walks into the Timely/Atlas office.

 

A great number of new books and scheduling changes took place before August 1961:

 

Strange Worlds, Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish hit the newsstand in September 1958, replacing Homer the Happy Ghost, Miss America and Navy Combat.

Strange Worlds and World of Fantasy are replaced with A Date with Millie and Kathy in July 1959;

Battle and Wyatt Earp are replaced with the revived titles, My Girl Pearl and Rawhide Kid in April 1960;

The title of My Own Romance is changed to Teen-Age Romance and Kid Colt Outlaw and Tales to Astonish go monthly in June 1960;

Journey into Mystery and Strange Tales go monthly in July 1960;

A Date with Millie becomes Life with Millie in August;

Kid Colt Outlaw goes back to bi-monthly and Tales of Suspense goes monthly in October 1960;

Atlas/Marvel does not publish any books in December 1960;

My Girl Pearl is replaced with Amazing Adventures in March 1961;

Two-Gun Kid is cancelled to allow Amazing Adventures to be published monthly in April 1961;

Linda Carter, Student Nurse begins in June 1961;

Fantastic Four #1 is released in August 1961.

 

This a lot of genre, title and content manipulations at the hand of Martin Goodman. But it wasn't unusual for him. The company see-sawed back and forth between fantasy, western and teen books. Viewed collectively, I don't see this as the result of a new age of comic books but the result of perceived market trends and a new concentrated pool of talent. Though this company was not the same company that had the Atlas logo in the top left corner of its comics -- there was definitely a new flavour to the Lee, Leiber, Kirby, Ditko, Heck, Ayers books.

 

Even given the talent at "the company with no name", it was three years before the release of the Fantastic Four.

 

What I conclude from all this is that 1958 was the beginning of Marvel Comics, but the three years between 1958 and 1961, were not Silver Age books. If Lee had never moved into superheroes, I could see the output of those three years sitting very comfortably with an Atomic Age designation --quirky monster/fantasy stories.

 

In April of 1961 the little MC begins to appear on the cover. While I don't believe that any fans knew what this meant --- though I suppose the most astute and long term of comic books detectives could guess -- internally Lee was thinking in terms of a new image. Fantastic Four came out that August and with ensuing titles within a shared continuity Marvel became distinct from what existed only a year before.

 

The appearance of those little corner boxes was more than a marketing device -- they were symbolic of Lee's self-awareness that something kind of special had happened.

 

 

*I am sure he saw lessons in what happened to Donefeld's "Spicy" magazines in the 1930s and by the mid-1950s was becoming concerned with distancing his other publishing endeavours from his comic book line. Comic books were undergoing a lot of negative publicity (Senate hearings, comics code, Seduction of the Innocent).

Terrific post! Very informative. Thanks.

[shadroch]

Fantastic and very imformative.

Now I just need to find out from a few fans when they started referring to the company as Marvel and my work will be done.

[Unca Ben]

Thanks rodan57 !

 

Some interesting revelations!

 

So the determination of what would be labelled a Marvel Comic vs an Atlas Comic is somewhat a retroactive distinction?

 

Books published in the late 50's - early 60's were, at the time, called "Goodman Comics" by the distributor, drawn by folks who referred to the company they did work for as "Timely", and with no real formal name for the comics group as a whole, other than the Atlas brand name from Goodman's distribution company?

 

That makes sense when you look back and try to investigate it by looking at cover labels and logos, indicias, etc.

 

I read the Les Daniels book on Marvel, and other such books, and it never seemed real clear, that I remember.

 

The idea that an artist, at the time, would walk into the office and say,

 

"Yes I draw such-and-such book for Atlas Comics, but next month we are changing the name to Marvel Comics"

 

probably never happened.

 

I suppose it wasn't a very important distinction at the time.

 

 

[Flash105]

Did anyone catch that was nearly 95 million comics per year.

 

[Unca Ben]

This thread reminds me of the time I realized that a soldier going to Europe in 1916 didn't think,

 

"I'm going to battle in World War I"

 

 

[Ramses717]

The letters page in FF 14 does make a note regarding the new Marvel trademark.

 

Also, the letters page in FF 16 mentions near the end, "our new MARVEL COMICS GROUP name and trademark."

 

I haven't seen anything in any other letters pages before that referring to them as Marvel.