D.C. and Marvel Comics: Giants of the Comic Book World
The two main names that dominate the comic book world are D.C Comics and Marvel Comics. Both started around the World War II era and have evolved greatly since then.
D.C. Comics
D.C. Comics was founded in the mid 1930s, originally as National Allied Publications. The name change to Detective Comics, or D.C. for short, occurred in the late1930s. Around this time D.C. introduced the ever popular Batman and Superman characters. During the mid-1950s, D.C. revamped some of their original characters such as the Green Lantern and the Flash to help gain new interest in comics; the Justice League of America was also conceived during this time. This revamping proved to be successful.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics started in 1939 originally under the name Timely Publications; Marvel comics was just the name of Timely's comic book series to capture the popular market. Marvel's first big-name characters include the Human Torch, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. It wasn't until the 1960s - when they officially changed their name to Marvel - that the other big-name Marvel characters were introduced: Spiderman, the Hulk, X-Men, etc. This remodeling of the company, in response to D.C. success, also proved to be successful.
