The first cover appearance of Namor the Sub-Mariner on Marvel Mystery Comics #4, February, 1940. Art by Alex Schomburg.

Marvel Mystery Comics (first issue titled simply Marvel Comics) is the first publication of Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics. Download high resolution version (436x622, 204 KB)First cover appearance of Namor the Sub-Mariner on Marvel Mystery Comics #4, February, 1940. ... Download high resolution version (436x622, 204 KB)First cover appearance of Namor the Sub-Mariner on Marvel Mystery Comics #4, February, 1940. ... Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional character featured in the Marvel Comics Universe, and one of the oldest superhero characters. ... Alex Schomburg (born 1905, Puerto Rico; died 1998) was a prolific American commercial and comic book artist and painter whose career lasted over 70 years. ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Publishing, Inc. ... Timely Comics is the 1940s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. ...

Publication history

Premiere issue: Marvel Comics #1

In 1939, pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman expanded into the newly emerging comic book field by buying content from comics package Funnies, Inc.. His first effort, Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), featured the first appearances of writer-artist Carl Burgos' android superhero, the Human Torch, and Paul Gustavson's costumed detective The Angel who was to last to issue 79, even gaining the power of flight for a few issues. As well, it contained the first generally available appearance of Bill Everett's mutant anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner, created for the unpublished movie-theater giveaway comic, Motion Picture Funnies Weekly earlier that year, with the eight-page original story now expanded by four pages. Flynns Detective Fiction from 1941. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Martin Goodman (born 1910, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States; died June 6, 1992, Palm Beach, Florida) was an American publisher of pulp magazines, paperback books, mens adventure magazines, and comic books, launching the company that would become Marvel Comics. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Funnies, Inc. ... This is a list of first appearances of artifacts, characters, dimensions, locations, species, and teams in publications by Marvel Comics. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Look up artist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Carl Burgos is an American comic book and advertising artist, born April 18, 1917, New York City; died 1984. ... The android Data, portrayed by Brent Spiner, from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation An android is a robot made to resemble a human, usually both in appearance and behavior. ... The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... The Human Torch is a Marvel Comics-owned superhero. ... Paul Gustavson née Karl Paul Gustafson (born August 16, 1916, Åland, Finland; died 1977) was an American-immigrant comic-book writer and artist. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Angel (Golden Age) The Angel is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, created by writer-artist Paul Gustavson in Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. ... Bill Everett (May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was a comic book writer/illustrator most famous for the creation of Namor the Sub-Mariner and co-creating Daredevil for Marvel Comics. ... In Marvel comic books, particularly those of the X-Men mythos, a mutant is a human being who is born with genetic modifications that allow for abilities not possessed by regular humans. ... In literature and film, an anti-hero is a central or supporting character that has some of the personality flaws and ultimate fortune traditionally assigned to villains but nonetheless also have enough heroic qualities or intentions to gain the sympathy of readers or viewers. ... Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional character featured in the Marvel Comics Universe, and one of the oldest superhero characters. ... Planned premiere issue. ...

Also included was Al Anders' Western hero the Masked Raider, a copy of his Phantom Rider for Centaur Comics; the jungle lord Ka-Zar the Great, with Ben Thompson adapting over the first five issue the story "King of Fang and Claw" by Bob Byrd in Goodman's eponymous pulp magazine Ka-Zar #1; the non-continuing-character story "Jungle Terror," featuring an adventurer named Ken Masters, written by the quirkily named Tohm Dixon^[1]; "Now I'll Tell One", five single-panel, black-and-white gag cartoons by Fred Schwab, on the inside front cover; and a two-page prose story by Ray Gill, "Burning Rubber", about auto racing. A painted cover by veteran science fiction pulp artist Frank R. Paul featured the Human Torch, looking much different than in the interior story. Western fiction is a genre of literature that is typically set in any of the American states west of the Mississippi River and between the years of approximately 1860 and 1900. ... Painting by Sebastiano Ricci, of Centaurs at the marriage of Pirithous, king of the Lapithae In Greek mythology, the centaurs (Greek: Κένταυροι) are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. ... Racing cars redirects here. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Frank Rudolph Paul (April 18, 1884 - June 29, 1963) was an illustrator of US pulp-magazines in the science fiction field. ...

The Ka-Zar here, who would appear in every issue through Marvel Mystery Comics #27 (Jan. 1942) is unrelated to the Marvel Comics jungle lord Ka-Zar introduced in The X-Men (March 1965). Ka-Zar (pronounced KAY-sar) is the name of two jungle-dwelling fictional characters, both published by Marvel Comics. ... The Uncanny X-Men, first published as simply The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series within the X-Men franchise. ...

That initial comic, cover-dated October 1939, quickly sold out 80,000 copies, prompting Goodman to produce a second printing, cover-dated November 1939 and identical except for a black bar in the inside-front-cover indicia over the October date, and the November date added at the end. That sold approximately 800,000 copies.^[2] With a hit on his hands, Goodman began assembling an in-house staff, hiring Funnies, Inc. writer-artist Joe Simon as editor. Simon brought along his collaborator, artist Jack Kirby, followed by artist Syd Shores. Joe Simon (born 1915) was a comic book author and cartoonist who created or co-created many memorable characters in the Golden Age. ... Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound for presentation through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications. ... Jack Kirby (August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books. ... Syd Shores (born 1916, died March 6, 1973) is an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America in both during the 1940s Golden Age of comic books and the 1960s Silver Age. ...

As Marvel Mystery Comics

The Torch and the Sub-Mariner would continue to star in the long-running title even after receiving their own solo comic-book series shortly afterward. The Angel, who was featured on the covers of #2 & 3, would appear in every issue through #79 (Dec. 1946).

Other characters introduced in the title include the aviator the American Ace (#2, Dec, 1939), with part one of his origin reprinted, like the first part of the Sub-Mariner's, from Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1; the Ferret; and writer-artist Steve Dahlman's robot hero Electro (appearing in every issue from #4-19, Feb. 1940 - May 1941). Issue #13 saw the first appearance of the Vision, the inspiration for the same-name Marvel Comics superhero created in 1968. The original Vision appeared in solo stories through Marvel Mystery Comics #48. Electro is the name of several fictional comic book characters in the Marvel Comics universe, including two from Marvels predecessors, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics. ... The Vision (Aarkus) is a fictional superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby during the 1930-40s Golden Age of comic books. ... The Vision is the name of at least three fictional comic book characters in the Marvel Comics universe. ...

As Marvel Tales

In 1949, with the popularity of superheroes having waned, the book was converted into the horror anthology Marvel Tales from issue #93-159 (Aug. 1949 - Aug. 1957), when it ceased publication. Note: This is a different Marvel Tales than that published by Marvel in starting in the 1960s and primarily reprinting Spider-Man stories. Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader. ... Marvel Tales is the title of three American comic-book series published by Marvel Comics, the first of them from the companys 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ...

Bibliography

• Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939)
• Marvel Mystery Comics #2-92 (Dec. 1939 - June 1949)
• Marvel Tales #93-159 (Aug. 1949 - Aug. 1957)

Reprints

• Marvel Comics #1

Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics, Vol. 1 (Marvel, 2004, ISBN 0-7851-1609-5)

Footnotes

References

• The Grand Comics Databse
• Marvel Mystery Comics cover gallery
• "Marvel Comics #1 Nets $350k, Sets Record"