The hero of Marvel’s “Captain Marvel” movie, which opens March 8, has the most complicated backstories in comic history, second only to DC’s Hawkman. And to further complicate matters, rival DC/Warner Brothers will release its own movie starring yet another Captain Marvel in April under the name “Shazam.”Confused? We’re just getting started.Who came first is easy enough to establish. DC’s Captain Marvel first appeared in “Whiz Comics” No. 2 in 1939 (with a 1940 cover date) just a year after the debut of Superman. Captain Marvel was published by Fawcett Publications, a company that was ultimately absorbed by DC Comics after a lawsuit by DC over the similarity of Captain Marvel to Superman. The hero, an orphan named Billy Batson, goes into an abandoned subway tunnel and meets a wizard who grants him super powers.Decades pass, Marvel Comics decides to use the name Captain Marvel, which no one has used since the early 1950s, not … [Read more...] about Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel ushers in the era of the female superhero: Journey Into Comics
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Changes to the Tampa Bay Times comics inject new life and more color
There is an openly shared sentiment among top newspaper editors that changing comics is like touching the third rail. Readers tend to react with fervor.But change can be a good thing. Comics get stale. Some of the old strips we’ve been featuring are in reruns. In other cases, the creators died years ago, leaving surrogates or family members to continue the work. They just aren’t as good as they used to be.Making changes in a vacuum is never a good idea. That’s why we recently conducted a targeted readership survey to gather intelligence about your favorite comics. Readers told us they love “Pickles,” “Zits,” “Peanuts,” “For Better or For Worse,” “Garfield” and “Blondie.” Worry not. They aren’t going anywhere.But the readership data also provided important guidance about your least favorite comics. So we are going to be adding new strips and subtracting others. “Peanuts” aside, … [Read more...] about Changes to the Tampa Bay Times comics inject new life and more color
Stan Lee Characters: Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Panther, Which Marvel Comics Did Icon Create?
U.S. For decades, Stan Lee served as the writer, editor and publisher of Marvel Comics. Lee passed away on November 12, but his legacy will continue in the iconic characters he created. One of Lee’s first iconic characters was Radioactive Spider-Man, who launched in 1962. The tale of Peter Parker, an ordinary high school student who gets bit by a spider, turning him into a superhero, has been made into multiple films. “Lee’s inspiration for Spider-Man came of his desire to depict an adolescent hero who wasn’t relegated to sidekick,” Marvel said. “Finding spiders ‘spooky,’ Stan and artist Steve Ditko created Marvel’s most globally recognized hero.” Before Spider-Man, there was the Fantastic Four, which Lee created with Jack Kirby in 1961. The fictional superhero team consisted of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch and Thing. Each character gained his or her superhero power after being … [Read more...] about Stan Lee Characters: Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Panther, Which Marvel Comics Did Icon Create?
DC Universe Tests the Future of Comics
Culture DC Universe DC Comics It’s 3 p.m. on a Saturday. I’m still in bed, with a coffee, reading all about Hawk and Dove, a duo soon-to-be featured in the upcoming live-action Titans series. The comic isn't in my hands or downloaded on my phone, it’s streaming on my TV. It's also Batman Day, which this year celebrates the launch of the DC Universe streaming service on all platforms — iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku and, of course, web. Feeling a little remorse that Batman is far from my favorite DC character, I click on some recommended festive reading: Batman and The Outsiders. Remembering I’ve already read that, I head back to the home page and notice Static Shock (a.k.a. my adolescence). Let the Kids’ WB nostalgia commence. DC Universe Home screen. DC Hulu, Amazon, Netflix are successful streaming platforms for a reason. Subscribers have the illusion of fresh, new content at all times. The emerging problem is that a … [Read more...] about DC Universe Tests the Future of Comics
Walmart gets superheroes’ help; DC Comics teaming up with retailer to discover new market
With each edition of DC Giants comic books in Walmart stores selling out faster than a speeding bullet, the publisher already has plans to expand the exclusive line. Created for Walmart Inc., the 100-page anthologies that debuted in July in 3,000 stores combine original stories with reprinted classics. Each book, which sells for $4.99, features one of four perennial favorite superheroes. Superman Giant and the Justice League of America Giant appear in the first week of each month. The second pair of titles, Batman Giant and Teen Titan Giant, are released two weeks later. DC Comics publisher Dan DiDio said his company, a subsidiary of DC Entertainment, hopes to eventually get the books in all of Walmart's nearly 5,000 U.S. stores. But all four titles have sold so well in the first two months that DC will publish two special editions and add two more titles early next year. Swamp Thing Halloween Horror Special, at 100 pages, will ship on Oct. 4 and should be in stores by Oct. 7. An … [Read more...] about Walmart gets superheroes’ help; DC Comics teaming up with retailer to discover new market