Marvel Comics 1961-1966 and the Birth of a Superhero Empire

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Marvel's Origin

It's always important to celebrate the classics. Presenting the mainstream Marvel Universe! 1961-1963 was Marvel's "Silver Age", marking a transition out of Timely Comics, into the Marvel Comics name we know today. Readers were introduced to creators Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and the original Bullpen, with stories that embraced a modern brand of hero. This is where it all began!

Fantastic Four #1
(W) Stan Lee
(A)Jack Kirby
The series most credited for kick-starting the Marvel Universe, Fantastic Four proved a commercial success due in large part to its three-dimensional characters. It's also credited as the comic that put Stan Lee and Jack Kirby on the map! In the opening issue, Marvel's first family goes head-to-head with Mole Man and his subterranean monsters.

Incredible Hulk #1
(W) Stan Lee
(A) Jack Kirby
Marvel's most tortured hero, the Hulk represents the latent beast in all of us. Witness the birth of the Gamma Green Giant, as mild-mannered Bruce Banner get a dose of radiation he can't quite shake.

Thor - Journey Into Mister #83
(W) Stan Lee, Larry Lieber
(A) Don Heck, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko
Thor first appeared in the pages of Journey into Mystery, a 1952 horror series created under Atlas Comics. When Marvel creators took over the series, the tone took a shift towards the fantastical. The comic that introduced the God of Thunder to Marvel's True Believers!

Iron Man - Tales of Suspense #39
(W) Larry Lieber, Stan Lee
(A) Gene Colan, Don Heck, Steve Ditko
Shellhead's first appearance! Although he wouldn't get a solo series till 1968, Iron Man starred in Tales of Suspense, a Cold War Era comic of a science-fiction bend. In a moment of duress, industrialist Tony Stark achieves his full potential.

Spider-Man - Amazing Fantasy #15
(W) Stan Lee
(A) Steve Ditko
After a successful first appearance in Amazing Fantasy (1962) #15, Spider-Man got his own series the following year. Readers have always resonated with high school student Peter Parker, a goodhearted kid who gains the abilities of a spider. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko bring the web slinger to life, reminding us that there's more to heroism than super powers and a mask.

X-Men #1
(W) Stan Lee
(A) Jack Kirby
The X-Men are the archetypal 'Outsiders', hated and feared by a society that does not yet understand. In their inaugural issue, Charles Xavier's first class of mutants takes on Magneto, Master of Magnetism. Telepath Jean Grey also joins the gang, making her an X-Woman among X-Men!

Daredevil #1
(W) Stan Lee
(A) Bill Everett
Perhaps the most anti-heroic of the Silver Age heroes, Daredevil has always had personal reasons for donning the mask. By day, he is blind attorney Matt Murdock, but in his suit of red he is Daredevil, Man Without Fear. Check out the hero of Hell's Kitchen in his very first appearance, wearing a (very) yellow costume!

#marvelcomics #comicbooks #comichistory

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[new_yawker]

Stan and jack told the galactus trilogy in 2 issues....today's writers would've told the story in 6 issues....with a weak lackluster conclusion.

[michaelpayton]

This is probably the second best era of comics, ever, regardless of publisher. The first being the New Trend era of EC. I grew up in the 1980s, so I will always have a soft sort for the early 80s Marvel, late 80s DC and the 80s indy boom.

[atomichound]

I hit the like and I’m only a couple of minutes in. For me, the evolution of Marvel is akin to the evolution of rock and roll music, with the Beatles a good, if imperfect, reference point. Great show, Wes and Eric!

[goldenstatewarriors]

While this era is great, I do think the 1980's were abetter era just in terms of how many great writers and artists they had.

[AfroWars]

Great Show, thanks for the insight Eric.

[alexandrefrauches]

Something I love about Marvel silver age is how it kind changed the narrative in comic books. When we look at DC during this time, their story were much more focus on action and adventure and the super heroes, while not awfull characters were very "adam west wannabes". Everybody smiles, are friendly and called their friends "old chap". Marvel on other hand, thanks to Stan Lee's writing and idea to make super heroes more relatable, focusing on the main character and the personal drama . There were still fun adventures and good actions but there also moments for the characters to be themselves. They have moments of fun and joy, moments of sadness and regreat, moments where they argue with each other and moments where they work together and bond with each other, making the characters feel more real and gave each of them their own voice and personality readers could understand and connect with it.
.

[petermanetas]

Who in the world pressed the "dislike" button. What a maroon.

[timothymarkin]

The Avengers was created virtually over a weekend in 1963. Stan had Daredevil 1 scheduled for a Sept 63 publication along with XMen 1. Since co-creator Bill Everett didn’t meet the deadline, Stan and Jack threw together The Avengers to fill a hole in their publishing schedule.

[jdc]

For those who are unaware, the movie franchise “The Incredibles, ” per the creators, is modeled after Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original interpretation of the FF: super powered humans within a family dynamic.

[bobmularky]

Everyone talks about Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four from the Silver Age, but I personally thought Thor was just as good.

[CinemaQuirks]

This was the best video you and Breen have done to this date!!! Thoroughly enjoyed it

[oprime]

Didnt jack create challengers of the unknown without stan?

[anthonyperdue]

Before Lee and Kirby there was Simon and Kirby producing a variety of characters for Timely and National during the GA that Jack in his later collaborations with Stan undoubtedly referenced for story ideas. Simon and Kirby when working for Prize Comics introduced the romance books which were a heavy influence on early Marvel storylines : Iron Man, Thor, Spider Man, Daredevil ... ! Simon and Kirby also produced The Fighting American which contained the sense of humor.that would be integrated into the Marvel style. Stan mixed genres together that was innovative for the early 1960s : Adventure, Horror, Science Fiction, Teen Humor, Romance and Super Heroes. Adding elements of what came before, during the 1950s ; Lev Gleason's social consciousness in Daredevil starring The Little Wise Guys, Boy Comics with Crimebuster and the Crime Does Not Pay series, .all million selling titles which industry insiders were aware of. The EC style of storytelling was not overlooked and Hillman Publications were doing some interesting work in their $ucce$$ful Airboy Comics series with both the youthful title character and the Heap, often referred to as The Hulk in many stories. Jack 's Challengers of the Unknown was undoubtedly considered by Jack and Stan as a model for the FF. Jack's collaboration with other writers during his career well informed his creative input during story sessions at Marvel.

[ancientonezero]

I'm with Eric on the era. As for great stories of the time, my all-time favourite is Daredevil issue #7. Magnificent art by Wally Wood, and Stan's story really allows Daredevil to shine.

[RarebitFiends]

The 60s were pretty great in comics, especially for Marvel/superhero fans. But I would say the 80s or 90s are much better decades for comics overall. The 80s gave us excellent stuff from Shooter's Marvel, DC was giving us legends like The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Ronin, etc. But the 80s also gave us Love and Rockets, TMNT, Usagi Yojimbo, American Splendor, Zot, American Flagg, Grendel, Mage, etc. etc.. It's arguably the decade when Heavy Metal was at its strongest, with. stories like Jodo and Moebius' Incal being serialized there among works by nearly every great European artist, and nearly every American comics heavyweight. It's the decade that gave us Tundra, Epic Comics, Vortex, First, the list just goes on and on and on. It was the decade Doug Wildey released Rio. The 90s had some rough spots for both Marvel and DC, but a lot of now classic material was published during that time, and a lot of yet-to-be recognized classic material (like some of the 2099 line), but it was also the decade that self-publishing became Viable. It was also the decade Vertigo was introduced. It was the decade that gave us Bone, Sandman, The Maxx, THB, Kabuki, the pantheon of Image characters, etc.

[goldenstatewarriors]

I just realized this. Comic books are a twenty year cycle. The Golden Age was in the late 30's and early 40's. The industry was at its lowest point ever in the 1950's. Then, the Silver Age kicked off in the 60's and Marvel Comics launched most of their iconic characters under the direction of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and a bunch of other artists. Then, comics died down in the 70's and Marvel was losing a lot of money and going bankrupt. Then in the 1980's, Jim Shooter saved the company, and there were tons of revolutionary runs. Walt Simonson's Thor, Mark Gruenwald's Cap, Roger Stern's Spider-Man and Avengers, Frank Miller's Daredevil, Secret Wars, etc. DC was also doing great and cleared up a lot of their continuity with Crisis on Infinite Earths, and then had some truly groundbreaking runs, like John Byrne's Superman. Then in the 90's, we had the collector bubble, and I don't think I need to explain how that turned out. By the end, Marvel was once again on the verge of bankruptcy. DC fared better, but not completely great., However, they both rose again in the first half of the 2000's, and are now in worse shape than ever in the 2010's. SO I hope this cycle continues so that the 2020's are great!

[thedoctor]

Nobody in today’s market can achieve what they accomplished in the 1960s to the early 1990s at Marvel, un creative uninspired bland is what Marvel is now.

[garthwhitely]

Man I never in my wildest dreams thought that Marvel Comics would be where it is right now. They created and owned the best I.P’s like The Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Conan The Barbarian, Kull The Conqueror, Tomb Of Dracula, The Transformers and G.I Joe. They had amazing and talented writers and artists that show respect and attention to the characters and the continuity. But looking at what Marvel Comics has become, saying they fell from grace is an absolute understatement.

[petermanetas]

Truly great stuff guys. The 70's were also an explosion of great new concepts and creativity, i.e.: Shang Chi, Iron Fist, Starlin's Captain Marvel, Warlock & Thanos, just to name a few.

[TheSnapdad]

What is also amazing is in 1966-1967 The Avengers was such a great read while the team was strictly Minor League capability but the will and leadership of Captain America made them a force. (Cap, Scarlet Witch, Quick Silver, Hawkeye, Hank Pym, Wasp) One of my favorite behind the scenes stories is DC though comic buyers were picking Marvel by accident. To counter act this DC put the famous Black&White checker board across the top of their titles for a while so fans would know to buy DC!