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Publisher: Marvel
Years in Operation: 1939 - ?
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Country: Flag United States Web Site: http://marvel.com Brands: 151 Indicia Publishers: 127 Series: 12529 Printings: 111814 (59116 Issues) Disclose Notes: Marvel was started in 1939 by Martin Goodman under a number of corporation and imprint names that have collectively become known as Timely, and by 1951 had generally become known as Atlas. The "Marvel era" began in 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others. The Marvel brand, which had been used over the years, was solidified as the company's primary brand.

Marvel counts among its characters such well-known superheroes as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Black Widow, Wolverine, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Blade, Daredevil, the Punisher and Deadpool. Superhero teams exist such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Guardians of the Galaxy as well as supervillains including Doctor Doom, Magneto, Thanos, Loki, Green Goblin, Kingpin, Red Skull, Ultron, the Mandarin, MODOK, Doctor Octopus, Kang, Dormammu, Annihilus 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. Additionally, Marvel has published several licensed properties from other companies. This includes Star Wars comics twice from 1977 to 1986 and again since 2015.

Distribution variants:

Whitman: For issues cover dated February 1977 to around May 1979, Marvel produced non-newsstand editions that were sold mainly in packages. Some, but not all of these, were sold by Western and, because of the branding on the similar DC and Gold Key comics, are generally known as Whitman variants. For the most part they have a square diamond price and either a barcode or a white space where the barcode should be. Some issues from this time have the narrower diamond but it is not currently known if this means they were distributed differently or if it was simply because of the design of the original cover. There is definitely uncertainty between the end of the Whitman comics and the beginning of the Direct comics.

Speculation has it that in June 1977, Marvel Comics wanted to test the market to see if comic buyers would accept a five cent price increase. Marvel released a 35 cent variant for every 30 cent comic they produced from June to October 1977. This was a total of 184 different comics. These 35 cent variants were printed in much smaller numbers than the normal 30 cent counterpart and were believed to have been shipped to only six distribution locations to be sold in those specific areas. (Mark Gordon 2010-02-16, revised by Ramon Schenk 2013-02-27).

Direct: Starting with issues cover dated around April 1979, Marvel started producing non-newsstand editions to be sold in the direct market. For the most part they have a narrower diamond price and the barcode has a line through it (until February 1980 when they started putting a Spider-Man head and eventually other artwork in the UPC box area).

Direct Edition: In July 1993, Marvel started putting a barcode on the issues sold to the Direct market. They included the words "Direct Edition" in the barcode box.
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Series Name Years in Print Issues (Printings)
The 'Nam {Trade Paperbacks} 1987 - 1989 3
The 'Nam {Comic Books} 1999 - 1
The 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Entire series reprints the 25 greatest Marvel comics as voted by the readers on the internet. The first 5 issues reprint 4 issues each and the remaining 5 issues reprint a single issue each. Diamond Previews solicitation and shipping lists had the title of the final 5 issues as "100 Greatest Marvels Countdown" with incorrect numbering.
2001 - 10
100th Anniversary Special: Avengers {Comic Books} 2014 - 1 (2)
100th Anniversary Special: Fantastic Four {Comic Books} 2014 - 1 (2)
100th Anniversary Special: Guardians of the Galaxy {Comic Books} 2014 - 1 (4)
100th Anniversary Special: Spider-Man {Comic Books} 2014 - 1 (2)
100th Anniversary Special: X-Men {Comic Books} 2014 - 1 (2)
101 Ways to End the Clone Saga {Comic Books} 1997 - 1
15-Love {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Cover title: 15 Love (no hyphen).
2011 - 3
15-Love {Trade Paperbacks} 2011 - 1
1602: Witch Hunter Angela {Comic Books} 2015 - 4 (8)
1602: Witch Hunter Angela {Trade Paperbacks} 2016 - 1
1872 {Comic Books} 2015 - 4 (8)
2 Gun Western {Comic Books} 1956 - 1
2001, A Space Odyssey {Comic Books} 1976 - 1 (2)
2001, A Space Odyssey {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Based on concepts from the MGM movie by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. Cover title "2001: A Space Odyssey"
1976 - 1977 10 (24)
2010 {Comic Books} 1985 - 2 (6)
2020 Force Works {Comic Books} 2020 - 3 (7)
2020 Iron Age {Comic Books} 2020 - 1 (2)
2020 iWolverine {Comic Books} 2020 - 2 (4)
2020 Machine Man {Comic Books} 2020 - 2 (4)
2020 Rescue {Comic Books} 2020 - 2 (4)
2099 A.D. {Comic Books} 1995 - 1
2099 A.D. Apocalypse {Comic Books} 1995 - 1
2099 A.D. Genesis {Comic Books} 1996 - 1
2099 Alpha {Comic Books} 2020 - 1 (3)
2099 Omega {Comic Books} 2020 - 1 (3)
2099 Special: The World of Doom {Comic Books} 1995 - 1
2099 Unlimited {Comic Books} 1993 - 1995 10 (16)
2099: Manifest Destiny {Comic Books} 1998 - 1
2099: World of Tomorrow {Comic Books} 1996 - 1997 8
3-D Action {Comic Books} 1954 - 1
3-D Adventures Weekly {Comic Books} 1991 - 1991 1
3-D Tales of the West {Comic Books} 1954 - 1
4 [Universe X] {Comic Books} 2000 - 1 (3)
411 {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Cover of #1 indicates '1 of 3' but a third issue was never printed. The back covers of both issues publish an identical list of creators, some of whom contribute to the first issue, and others the second issue. Five creators were listed, but not published in either issue, so it can be assumed the unpublished third issue would have featured stories by Brian Michael Bendis, Karl Bollers, Mike Konopacki, Arthur Ranson, and Paul Smith.
2003 - 2
5 Ronin {Comic Books} 2011 - 5 (10)
67 Seconds {Trade Paperbacks} 1992 - 1
[Marvel Super Heroes] Secret Wars {Comic Books} 2011 - 1 (3)
A+X {Comic Books} 2012 - 2014 18 (48)
A+X {Trade Paperbacks} 2013 - 2014 3
A-Babies vs. X-Babies {Comic Books} 2012 - 1 (3)
A-Force {Comic Books} 2015 - 0
A-Force {Comic Books} 2015 - 5 (18)
A-Force {Comic Books} 2015 - 2017 3
A-Force {Comic Books} 2016 - 10 (24)
A-Force Presents {Comic Books} 2015 - 2016 6
A-Next {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: A spin-off from the Spider-Girl story in What If...? (Marvel, 1989 series) #105, and part of the MC2 line of comics, A-Next follows the adventures of a future group of Avengers.
1998 - 1999 12 (24)
The A-Team {Comic Books} 1984 - 3 (9)
The A-Team Storybook Comics Illustrated {Trade Paperbacks} 1983 - 1
The A-Z of Marvel Monsters {Comic Books} 2017 - 1
A.X.E.: Avengers {Comic Books} 2022 - 1 (2)
A.X.E.: Death to the Mutants {Comic Books} 2022 - 3 (6)
A.X.E.: Eternals {Comic Books} 2022 - 1 (2)
A.X.E.: Eve of Judgment {Comic Books} 2022 - 1 (9)
A.X.E.: Iron Fist {Comic Books} 2022 - 1 (2)
A.X.E.: Judgment Day {Comic Books} 2022 - 6 (40)
A.X.E.: Judgment Day {Comic Books} 2022 - 1
A.X.E.: Judgment Day Companion {Comic Books} 2022 - 1
A.X.E.: Judgment Day Omega {Comic Books} 2023 - 1 (6)
A.X.E.: Starfox {Comic Books} 2022 - 1 (3)
A.X.E.: X-Men {Comic Books} 2022 - 1 (3)
A1 {Comic Books} 1992 - 4
AAFES 10th Edition [New Avengers: X Exchange] {Comic Books} 2010 - 1
AAFES 11th Edition [Captain America: The First Avenger] {Comic Books} 2011 - 1
AAFES 12th Edition [Captain America the First Avenger] {Comic Books} 2011 - 1 (2)
AAFES 13th Edition [The Avengers] {Comic Books} 2012 - 1
AAFES 14th Edition [Avengers] {Comic Books} 2013 - 1
AAFES 15th Edition [Iron Man] {Comic Books} 2013 - 1
AAFES 16th Edition [Thor] {Comic Books} 2013 - 1
AAFES 17th Edition [Captain America] {Comic Books} 2014 - 1
AAFES 3rd Edition [New Avengers] {Comic Books} 2006 - 1
AAFES 4th Edition [The New Avengers: Letters Home] {Comic Books} 2007 - 1
AAFES 5th Edition [New Avengers: The Spirit of America] {Comic Books} 2007 - 1
AAFES 6 [New Avengers: Fireline] {Comic Books} 2008 - 1
AAFES 7th Edition [New Avengers: An Army of One] {Comic Books} 2009 - 1
AAFES 8th Edition [New Avengers: The Promise] {Comic Books} 2009 - 1
AAFES 9th Edition [New Avengers: Hero Exchange] {Comic Books} 2010 - 1
Abominations {Comic Books} 1996 - 1997 3 (6)
Abraham Stone {Comic Books} 1995 - 2
Absolute Carnage {Comic Books} 2019 - 2020 5 (79)
Absolute Carnage {Comic Books} 2019 - 1
Absolute Carnage Omnibus {Comic Books} 2020 - 1
Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool {Comic Books} 2019 - 3 (16)
Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool {Comic Books} 2019 - 1
Absolute Carnage: Avengers {Comic Books} 2019 - 1 (4)
Absolute Carnage: Captain Marvel {Comic Books} 2020 - 1 (3)
Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk {Comic Books} 2019 - 1 (7)
Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk and Other Tales {Comic Books} 2019 - 1
Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors {Comic Books} 2019 - 3 (12)
Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors {Comic Books} 2019 - 1
Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales {Comic Books} 2019 - 1
Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales {Comic Books} 2019 - 3 (14)
Absolute Carnage: Scream {Comic Books} 2019 - 1
Absolute Carnage: Scream {Comic Books} 2019 - 3 (14)
Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety {Comic Books} 2019 - 1 (6)
Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance {Comic Books} 2019 - 1 (5)
Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Spider-Man {Comic Books} 2019 - 1 (2)
Absolute Carnage: Weapon Plus {Comic Books} 2020 - 1 (2)

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