Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics
	Marvel Comics logo introduced in 2024
Parent company	Disney Publishing Worldwide
Status	Active
Founded	1939; 85 years ago; (as Timely Comics); 1947; 77 years ago; (as Magazine Management, parent company of Atlas Comics); 1961; 63 years ago; (as Marvel Comics);
Founder	Martin Goodman
Country of origin	United States
Headquarters location	135 W. 50th Street, Manhattan, New York City
Distribution	Penguin Random House Publisher Services (direct market starting October 2021); Diamond Comic Distributors (sub-distributor through Penguin Random House starting October 2021, direct market until October 2021); Hachette Book Group Client Services (trade paperbacks and graphic novels);
Key people	C. B. Cebulski (EIC); John Nee (Publisher);
Publication types	List of publications
Fiction genres	Superhero; Science fiction; Fantasy; Action; Adventure;
Imprints	imprint list
Official website	marvel.com

Marvel 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 Marvel era began in August 1961 with the launch of The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and numerous others. The Marvel brand, which had been used over the years and decades, was solidified as the company's primary brand.

Marvel counts among its characters such well-known superheroes as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Hulk, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Deadpool, as well as popular superhero teams such as the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Its stable of well-known supervillains includes Doctor Doom, Magneto, Green Goblin, Kingpin, Red Skull, Loki, Ultron, Thanos, Kang the Conqueror, Venom, and Galactus. Most of Marvel's fictional characters operate in a single reality known as the Marvel Universe, with most locations mirroring real-life places; many major characters are based in New York City.^[4] Additionally, Marvel has published several licensed properties from other companies. This includes Star Wars comics, twice from 1977 to 1987, and again since 2015.

^ Schedeen, Jesse (March 25, 2021). "Marvel Comics Shifts to New Distributor in Industry-Rattling Move – IGN". IGN. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
^ "Hachette – Our Clients". Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
^ Daniels, Les (1991). Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics. New York: Harry N. Abrams. pp. 27 & 32–33. ISBN 0-8109-3821-9. Timely Publications became the name under which Goodman first published a comic book line. He eventually created a number of companies to publish comics ... but Timely was the name by which Goodman's Golden Age comics were known... Marvel wasn't always Marvel; in the early 1940s the company was known as Timely Comics, and some covers bore this shield.
^ Sanderson, Peter (November 20, 2007). The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City. Gallery Books.