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Jean Grey

Jean Grey

Jean Grey is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. She has used the code names Marvel Girl and Phoenix during her career and is a member of the X-Men. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, she first appeared in X-Men #1 (1963). Jean Grey is a mutant, born with the abilities of telepathy and telekinesis.

Character history

Family

Jean Grey was born to Dr. John Grey and Elaine Grey. Her father was employed as a Professor by the History Department of Bard College in Annandale-on Hudson, New York. She had an older sister named Sara Grey who would later marry Paul Bailey. Sara was eventually absorbed by the Phalanx. She had been survived by her son Joey Bailey and daughter Gailyn Bailey. They had shared the codename "Shatterbox" as members of the team "Lost Boys and Girls" and were last seen being slaughtered along with their maternal grandfather and other relatives by the Shi'ar, who declared an end to the Grey genome.

Origin

Jean's telepathic powers first manifested at the age of ten when they were prematurely triggered when her best friend, Annie Richardson, was hit by a car. As Annie lay dying, Jean instinctively linked to her mind and the trauma of experiencing her friend's death nearly killed Jean as well. The incident left Jean in a coma. For three years, her parents sought the expertise of specialists to rouse Jean out of her catatonic state but only one, Professor Charles Xavier, was able to help. He realized that Jean's young mind could not cope with her telepathy yet so he decided to mentally block her access to this ability, allowing it to evolve at the natural pace it would have save for Annie's tragic death. Even though Jean continued living with her parents until she was a teenager, she had many training sessions with Xavier. When she became a teenager, she left her parents and began attending Xavier's "School for Gifted Youngsters" and joined the X-Men under the name of Marvel Girl. She was the only female founding member of the team. At first, Jean could only use her telekinesis to lift an equivalent weight to what she could lift physically. Exceeding this limit would result in strain that would culminate in her loss of consciousness.

Romance

Jean and Cyclops both had a crush on each other, but neither were aware of the other's feelings. Cyclops was afraid to get close to anyone, lest his powers hurt that person. He also felt that he was no match for Angel, whom Jean was dating at the time. Once, Jean had a date with Angel, but insisted on taking Cyclops along, which confused and frustrated both men. Jean eventually left the school to enlist in Metro College where Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, also attended. She would continue to assist the X-Men on a regular basis, but did not continue living at the X-Mansion. The theme of her seeking tertiary education would provide a number of later X-Men subplots. Jean would later design new uniforms for the team. Angel decided that Jean was not actually interested in him and started a relationship with his old friend Candace "Candy" Southern. Jean and Cyclops later admitted they were in love with each other and started dating openly.

Leave of absence

Requiring seclusion while he prepared to deal with a forthcoming invasion of Earth by the alien Z'nox, Xavier had the mutant Changeling impersonate him in order to supervise the X-Men in Xavier's absence, telling only Jean of his plan and swearing her to secrecy. However, the Changeling, as Xavier, died heroically in action and Xavier felt obliged to continue the pretense of his death. Fred Duncan, the X-Men's FBI liaison, considered the united team to present an easy target for "the ever-growing population of evil mutants" and felt the X-Men would be more effective acting as individuals and spread across the United States. At the same time, Professor X's will confirmed that his estate would serve as a charitable trust with each of the five active X-Men a trustee, to ensure that they would need to stay in contact with each other. Jean and Cyclops remained in New York while Beast and Iceman relocated to California. Angel remained mobile across the United States. The X-Men would later reunite. Jean later completed her college education and found employment as a model. Her first assignments were swimsuit presentations. At this time, Jean was introduced to Polaris and they soon became friends. Jean was also introduced to Alexander "Alex" Summers, Cyclops' younger brother, who was just graduating from college. He would soon serve with the X-Men as Havok. Xavier was later revealed to the others to be alive, as he had them help them defeat the Z'Nox.

Phoenix

Havok Many months later, after Xavier had recruited a new team of X-Men to help save the others from Krakoa, most senior members left and so did Jean, who involuntarily found herself attracted to new member Wolverine. Cyclops, however, refused to leave the X-Men, or rather, found that he simply couldn't, once again feeling that because of his power, he would never be able to actually lead a normal life for fear of hurting someone, and genuinely felt that the X-Men team was the only place he really belonged; Jean was not exactly happy with that. She still remained in contact with the X-Men and became best friends with the new teammate Storm. Later while meeting with Cyclops, Jean was abducted by Sentinels along with Wolverine and Banshee and taken to a space station in orbit around Earth. The other X-Men later came and rescued the three from the Sentinels. Returning from space, Grey attempted to pilot a shuttle back to Earth during one of the worst solar storms in history. The shuttle was unshielded and Grey would have died were it not for the intervention of the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix force. The shuttle crashed into Jamaica Bay. Jean seemingly emerged from its remnants, imbued with vast cosmic powers. It was later retconned that Jean was actually placed into a coma in a cocoon in the depths of Jamaica Bay and the Phoenix adopted her identity as a heroine who claimed to be Jean and was so convincing an imposter that not even Professor X could detect the difference. Phoenix believed herself to be Grey and she and Cyclops continued their relationship, until Phoenix lost control of her powers after being manipulated by Mastermind and eventually committed suicide. The Dark Phoenix Saga, the lengthy story of the decline and fall of Phoenix, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, is regarded as one of the best comics stories of all time.

Return

John Byrne Grey's survival was revealed when the original X-Men formed X-Factor, which she joined when she emerged from her coma. Cyclops, in the meantime, had married a woman that looked almost exactly like Jean Grey, Madelyne Pryor. When Scott left Pryor for Jean she felt distraught and betrayed. Goblins used her despair to make her the Goblin Queen. Madelyne died in battle with Jean after she, becoming suicidal upon the discovery of her being a clone, linked their minds together and killed herself, hoping the link would kill Jean as well. Fortunately it didn't but Jean gained all the memories of Madelyne and the Phoenix. As a result, Cyclops and Grey were able to resume their relationship and eventually married. During their honeymoon, they were taken into the future to raise the baby Cable during the Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix miniseries. Shortly after returning, she resumed using the name Phoenix as an attempt to redeem both the entity and herself in her mind and also to honor her "daughter" from a future parallel world, Rachel Summers, who at the time was believed to be dead. The list of the Twelve had both Jean and Cyclops on it. Jean and Cyclops decided to help the X-Men in this turning-point battle and in the end, Cyclops apparently perished as he merged with the villain Apocalypse. Jean then began a search for her lost husband with her adopted son Cable. They found him and Jean separated Cyclops from Apocalypse's spirit.

Marital problems

Cable A combination of Jean's new duties as headmistress, her re-emerging Phoenix powers and Scott's temporary merger with the evil mutant Apocalypse drove a wedge between the couple. Cyclops and Jean started to have marital problems; Cyclops tried to show Jean that he needed to talk about his feelings of boredom with his own personality after being possessed by Apocalypse, though he didn't know how to talk to her. Their relationship became further strained when Jean began showing signs of the Phoenix Force, which Cyclops thought would lead to another disaster. Cyclops then turned to Emma Frost to talk. Emma seduced Cyclops and began to have a psychic affair with him. When Jean walked in on the two in bed, a psychic battle erupted between the two telepaths, with Jean using the full extent of her powers on Emma. This led to Cyclops briefly walking out on both Jean and the X-Men. When Cyclops rejoined the team to help them fight Xorn (in the guise of Magneto) in the storyline Planet X, Xorn mortally injured Jean by transferring a large amount of electro-magnetic energy to her causing a fatal stroke. As Jean died in Scott's arms, she told him to live.

Here Comes Tomorrow

Jean was then resurrected in the last arc of New X-Men: "Here Comes Tomorrow", which takes place 150 years into the future bearing the Phoenix entity once again, but this time a secondary mutation had allowed her to evolve to the extent where she could command all the cosmic power of the Phoenix Force without being corrupted by it. This future timeline grew out of Scott Summers refusal of Emma Frost's offer to re-open Xavier's Institute. As a result, Hank McCoy took up the burden of re-opening the school and under the pressure, begins taking the drug “Kick”. "Kick," however, is revealed to be the aerosol form of the villain John Sublime, who possesses Hank McCoy and drives him insane. 150 years later, the near-immortal Beast tried to ressurect and use the Phoenix force to destroy the world, only to be defeated by Jean. She then transcends into the “White Hot Room,” an unexplained higher plane of reality, with all the other Phoenix hosts, but not before healing the timeline by sending her husband Scott Summers a mental push to accept Emma Frost’s offer and affections. Somehow knowing her fate before she died, she made a holoempathic imprint of her full essence and everything that she was, for her daughter, Rachel "Grey" Summers. She did this so that no matter what happened to her body, her soul would always be with Rachel.

Endsong

soul Recently, the Shi'ar resurrected the Phoenix entity in hopes of destroying it while it was relatively weak. The entity managed to escape and fled to Earth, where it needed a host to sustain itself. After possessing a firefly and running into Wolverine, the entity resurrected Jean and bonded with her once more. Jean realized that the Phoenix was resurrected too early and as a result was mentally unbalanced. She had a confrontation with the X-Men before teleporting Wolverine to the North Pole, where she had him stab her several times, leaving the Phoenix entity weakened and allowing her to once again gain control. Jean then plunged herself through the ice, freezing instantly. When the X-Men arrived, Wolverine told them that Jean was "dead. Or as close as she can get." When the Phoenix entity returned from the ice, she possessed Emma Frost as the new love to Scott Summers' life. Emma, however, was unable to control or contain the Phoenix at all, as she was not an Omega-level mutant, and it consumed her. As the Phoenix prepared to destroy the world, Scott, left with no other choice, fired his optic blasts at the ice encasing Jean. She immediately rose out of the ice into the sky. The revived Jean psychically assaulted the Phoenix possessed Emma, forcing her to the ground. When the Phoenix Force asked how Jean was able to take her down without the power of the Phoenix, Jean explains, "I am you. Don't you remember?" Jean then exorcised the Phoenix out of Emma, telling the Phoenix she'll understand everything once all their pieces are together in the White Hot Room. Essentially, Endsong declared that Jean Grey is the original Phoenix, as Jean told Wolverine, "I'm always Jean and I'm always Phoenix". This is also confirmed as Jean's Omega-level mutation makes her the closest thing the Force has to a real body. After Jean once again bonded with the Phoenix Force, the X-Men discovered the true reason for her return: she felt alone and unloved. Emma called out telepathically to her Stepford Cuckoos and focused the empathic impressions of all Jean's dearest friends. She felt their love for her. This allowed Jean and the Phoenix to achieve a perfect balance between them before returning to the cosmos. Parting from Scott, she asked one last request before leaving: to see his eyes. Jean is currently in search of the missing fragments of herself that were scattered through space by the Shi'ar in order to bring them all back to the White-Hot Room in order to make herself whole again.

Powers and Abilities

Jean Grey's dual psionic potential gives her the mutant gifts of telekinesis (the power to affect objects with one's mind) and telepathy (the power to read, project, and manipulate thought). Her telekinetic ability can be manifested in many ways, some of which include levitating herself or other persons, or projecting a telekinetic shield capable of withstanding missile blasts. Her telepathy allows her to read the thoughts of others, project her thoughts into the minds of others to influence desicions, manipulate or change memories, place one under her telepathic command, cast her mind into the astral plane, or fire stunning "mental bolts" capable of knocking out, or turning someone brain-dead. Jean's Phoenix powers manifested later, and significantly boosted her mental abilities allowing her to rearrange matter at a molecular level, to fly un-aided through space, create intense heat and thermal energy by stimulating molecular activity, manipulate the voluntary and involuntary responses in the human body, and manifesting a "telekinetic sensitivity" that let her feel the texture of objects she had a telekinetic hold on, feel when other objects came into contact with them, and probe them at a molecular level to identify alien materials or feel when two things she "held" were similarly composed.

Alternate versions

Shi'ar

Lady Grey

In Uncanny X-Men #125 (September, 1979), Mastermind introduced Phoenix to the illusion of living in the body of a namesake and look-alike ancestor. This ancestor was Lady Grey, an 18th century member of the Hellfire Club. This was his method of turning her to the Black Queen of the modern Hellfire Club. Whether this ancestor was a real person or a creation of Mastermind was left uncertain. However the question was answered in X-Men: Hellfire Club #2 (February, 2000), part of a mini-series on the Marvel Universe history of the Club. This particular issue was scripted by Ben Raab and drawn by Charlie Adlard. Lady Grey was revealed to have been an influential member, possibly a Queen, of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania branch of the Club during the American Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783). The issue begins with a flashback to 1780. Specifically, it was at the moment this upper class redhead noticed a fifteen-year-old blonde girl stealing an apple and managing to escape the pursuit of an angry male. Lady Grey approached the girl to find more about her. The girl was named Elizabeth Shaw. She had emigrated from England in 1778, hoping to find a better life in the colonies. She had instead fallen to living in poverty and stealing in order to eat. She was surprised to be confronted by Grey, but delighted to be invited to her quarters in the local Hellfire Club. In private, Lady Grey had some explanations for Elizabeth. Others may have entered the club in pursuit of mere hedonism but Grey and like-minded thinkers had entered with the ambition to gain influence on the local, national and global scene. But people of such privilege would have to recruit a protégé from time to time, not depending on their current situation but on them being able to share the dreams, ambitions and passions driving their mentors – individuals with "fire" in their own hearts. She asked Elizabeth what was her own dream. Elizabeth answered "freedom", which was good enough for Lady Grey to recruit her. Six months later, Grey was one of several members to turn her attention to Major General Wallace Worthington who had managed to replace the defector Benedict Arnold in command of his forces. The man was reputed to be particularly fierce in his patriotism. The Club members were searching for weaknesses to exploit in order to place Worthington under their control. Grey had the idea to play match-maker by introducing him to her young protégé. Providing Elizabeth Shaw managed to marry him, Grey would have her agent in his own household. Worthington was instantly smitten. Within months, Wallace Worthington and Elizabeth Shaw were married. Jean sensed the event as a personal victory. Elizabeth was to seduce her husband into confiding military secrets to her. Military intelligence which the Hellfire Club would use to end the "pitiful" American Revolution and assure the victory of the Kingdom of Great Britain. However Worthington continued to establish a reputation for loyalty to the cause and successful administration with the aid of his fellows Captain Steven Rogers, an ancestor of Captain America; and Ulysses Bloodstone (an immortal born in the late Hyborian Age). Lady Grey finally contacted Elizabeth in December, 1781 to enquire on what was the reason of the delay. The reason was that Elizabeth had actually fallen in love with her husband and could not betray him. Grey warned her that betrayal to the Club would result in her strings to be cut. Elizabeth was still confused and let her go. Apparently, Grey decided Shaw was a lost cause. Within hours Wallace Worthington was murdered and his house burned, leaving behind only his widow and her lost dreams of freedom. Whatever happened to Lady Grey and Elizabeth after the murder was not revealed. But Elizabeth was possibly pregnant. She was implied to be an ancestor to Warren Kenneth Worthington III, Archangel of the X-Men. Elizabeth was also implied to be a distant relation to Sebastian Shaw, Black King of the modern Hellfire Club.

Ultimate Jean Grey/Marvel Girl

In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Jean Grey was reimagined as a responsible yet outgoing teenage girl. She had a passionate affair with Wolverine, but soon dropped him for Cyclops. She took on the name Marvel Girl in Ultimate X-Men #1, but currently, both teammates and herself have stopped using it. She ridiculed her codename, as she says "she outgrew it two bra-sizes ago". In the "Hellfire and Brimstone" arc, she is shown to be possessed by a so-called Phoenix Force and becomes nearly insane, but escapes its grip. In further arcs, her powers emanate as a halo in Phoenix Form and it is shown that she sometimes has difficulties controlling her vastly grown powers. This has led to speculation that there will be an Ultimate Marvel re-imagining of the Dark Phoenix Saga.

Appearances in other media

Dark Phoenix Saga Jean Grey was a character X-Men animated television series in the mid-1990s and was voiced by Catherine Disher. She also guest starred on at least one episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends in the early 1980s. In the X-Men , X2, X-Men 3 Grey was portrayed by Famke Janssen. Near the end of X2, Jean exhibited what may have been Phoenix-like powers. In X-Men 3 she will join forces with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. In the animated TV series X-Men: Evolution, Jean was voiced by Venus Terzo. Jean is portrayed as very beautiful and popular. Her powers are similar to the early comic books; she possess telepathy and telekineses, initially only being able to move objects with her mind that she would normally be able to move by hand. Professor X, the world's greatest telepath, later trained her to use and refine these powers. When her powers surged, Jean found herself losing control, overhearing thoughts without effort. The X-Men helped her to regain control, leading her to form a psychic rapport with her teammate Scott Summers. After recently graduating from Bayville High, Jean has taken an instructor's position at the Institute. She is also currently romantically involved with Scott (Cyclops). Jean Grey had made rare appearances in video game spinoffs until recently, when she appeared as Phoenix in both X-Men: Mutant Academy games for the Sony PlayStation. She also appeared in X-Men Legends and its sequel X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse as a playable character.

Trivia


- When Jean Grey "dies" after the Dark Phoenix Saga, the tombstone on her grave says that she lived from 1956 to 1980. This is a proof of how slow comic book characters age, because as of 2005, this would mean Jean would be 49 years old, but in the comics, she is still illustrated as a woman in her late twenties.

External links


- [http://www.freewebs.com/xgirlscerebro/jeangrey.htm Jeangrey at X-Girls4 Central]
- [http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/spotlight/showquestion.asp?faq=10&fldAuto=61 UncannyXmen.net, Spotlight feature on Jean Grey/Phoenix]
- [http://www.bluecherrydoughnut.com/jean Jean Grey Fanlisting]
- [http://mushroom-remix.net/endsong/ Phoenix Endsong Fanlisting]
- [http://sxj.aking-mahal.net/ Eternal - the Scott Summers and Jean Grey fanlisting] Grey Summers, Jean Grey Summers, Jean Grey Summers, Jean Grey Summers, Jean Grey Summers, Jean Grey Summers, Jean

Comic book

A comic book is a magazine or book containing the sequential art in the form of a narrative. Comic books are often called comics for short. Although the term implies otherwise, the subject matter in comic books is not necessarily humorous, and in fact its dramatic seriousness varies widely. The term "comics" in this context does not refer to comic strips (such as Peanuts or Dilbert). In the last quarter of the 20th century, greater acceptance of the comics form among the general reading populace coincided with a greater usage of the term graphic novel, often meant to differentiate a book of comics with a spine from its stapled, pamphlet form, but the difference between the terms seems fuzzy at best as comics become more widespread in libraries, mainstream bookstores and other places. The earliest comic books were simply collections of comic strips that had originally been printed in newspapers. The commercial success of these collections led to work being created specifically for the comic-book form, which fostered specific conventions such as splash pages. Long-form comic books, generally with hardcover or trade-paper binding came to be known as graphic novels, but as noted above, the term's definition is especially fluid. Like jazz and a handful of other cultural artifacts, comic books are a rare indigenous American art form, [http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=004133] [http://www.disinfotainmenttoday.com/darenet/comicbook.htm] though prototypical examples of the form exist. American comic books have become closely associated with the superhero sub-genre. In the U.K., the term comic book is used to refer to American comic books by their readers and collectors, while the general populace would mainly consider a comic book a hardcover book collecting comics stories. The analogous term in the United Kingdom is a comic, short for comic paper or comic magazine.

The comic book in the United States

Since the invention of the comic book format in the 1930s, the United States has been the leading producer, with only the British comic (during the inter-war period through the 1970s) and Japanese manga as close competitors in terms of quantity of titles (although, Japan outweighs America currently in overall sales by a vast margin). The majority of all comic books in the U.S. are marketed at younger teenagers, though the market also produces work for general as well as more mature audiences. The history of the comic book in the United States is split into several ages or historical eras: The Platinum Age, The Golden Age, The Silver Age, The Bronze Age, and The Modern Age. The exact boundaries of these eras, the terms for which originated in fandom press, is a debatable point among comic book historians. The Golden Age is generally thought as lasting from 1938's introduction of Superman until the early 1950s, during which comic books enjoyed a surge of popularity, the archetype of the superhero was invented and defined, and many of comic books' most popular superheroes debuted. The Platinum Age refers to any material produced prior to this. While comics as an artform could arguably extend as far back as sequential cave paintings from thousands of years ago, comic books are dependent on printing, and the starting point for them in book form is generally considered to be the tabloid-sized The Funnies begun in 1929, or the more traditional sized Funnies on Parade from 1933. Both of these were simply reprints of newspaper strips. The Silver Age of Comic Books is generally considered to date from the first successful revival of the dormant superhero form — the debut of the Barry Allen Flash in Showcase #4 (Sept.-Oct. 1956) — and last through the early 1970s, during which time Marvel Comics revolutionized the medium with such naturalistic superheroes as the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. The beginings of the Bronze and Modern ages are far more disputable. Indeed, some suggest that we are still in the Bronze Age. Starting points that have been suggested for the Bronze Age of comics are Conan #1 (Oct. 1970), Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76 (Apr. 1970) or Amazing Spider-Man #96 (May 1971) (the non-Comics Code issue). The start of the Modern Age has even more potential starting points, but is most likely the publication of Alan Moore's Watchmen in 1986. Notable events in the history of the American comic book include the psychiatrist Frederic Wertham's criticisms of the medium in his book Seduction of the Innocent, which saw the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency investigate comic books. In response to this attention from government and the media, the U.S. comic book industry created the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, a move which saw the particularly targeted EC change its satirical comic book Mad from comic book to magazine format in order to circumvent the Code.

Underground comics

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, a surge of underground comics occurred. These comics were published and distributed independently of the established mainstream, and most reflected the youth counterculture and drug culture of the time. Many were notable for their uninhibited, irreverent style; their frankness in graphic sex, nudity, language and overt politics hadn't been seen in comics outside of their precursors, the pornographic and even more underground "Tijuana bibles". Underground comics were virtually never sold on newsstands but in such youth-oriented outlets as head shops and record stores, and by mail order. The underground-comics movement is often considered to have started with Zap Comix #1 (1968) by Canadian cartoonist Robert Crumb, a former Cleveland greeting-card artist living in San Francisco. Crumb later created the popular characters Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural, and published Gilbert Shelton's The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

Independent and alternative comics

The rise of comic-book specialty stores in the late 1970s created a dedicated market for "independent" or "alternative comics"; two of the first were the anthology series Star Reach, published by comic-book writer Mike Friedrich from 1974-1979, and Harvey Pekar's American Splendor, published from the 1970s through the present day. Some independent comics continued in the tradition of underground comics, though were generally less overtly graphic, and others resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artists. A few (notably RAW) were experimental attempts to bring comics closer to the world of fine art. The "small press" scene continued to grow and diversify. By the 1980s, several such independent publishers as Eclipse Comics, First Comics, and Fantagraphics were releasing a wide range of styles and formats from color superhero, detective and science fiction comic books to black-and-white magazine-format stories of Latin American magical realism. A number of small publishers in the 1990s changed the format and distribution of their comics to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The "minicomics" form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing, arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small press.

Decline of serial comic-book format

In the early 2000s, sales of standard monthly comic books declined while graphic novels made increasing headway at retail bookstores. Along with the shift toward graphic novels among comics publishers, traditional book publishers such as Pantheon have released several dozen graphic novels, including works originally released by comics publishers with much less publicity.

The comic of Europe

Franco-Belgian comics

Franco-Belgian comics are comics written in Belgium and France. These two countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are called BDs (from Bande Dessinée) in French. Belgian comic books originally written in Dutch are influenced by the francophone "Franco-Belgian" comics, but have a different feel. La bande dessinée is derived from the original description of the artform as "drawn strips". It is not insignificant that the French term contains no indication of subject matter, unlike the American terms "comics" and "funnies," which imply an art form not to be taken seriously. Indeed, the distinction of comics as the "ninth art" is prevalent in Francophone scholarship on the form (le neuvième art), as is the concept of comics criticism and scholarship itself. Relative to the respective size of their countries, the innumerable authors in the region publish huge numbers of comic books. In North America, the more serious, Franco-Belgian comics are often seen as equivalent to graphic novels, for various reasons, but whether they are long or short, bound or in magazine format, in Europe there is no need for a more sophisticated term, as the art's name does not itself imply something frivolous. In France, most comics are published at the behest of the author, who will work within his self-appointed time frame, so a wait from six months to two years between installments is common. Most books are first published as a hard cover oversized book, usually 48 or 64 pages, with later re-releases in soft cover.

The British comic

Originally the same size as the comic book in the United States, although lacking the glossy cover, the British comic has adopted a magazine size, with The Beano and The Dandy the last to adopt this size in the 1980s. Although generally referred to as a comic, it can also be referred to as a comic magazine, and has also been known historically as a comic paper. Although Ally Sloper's Half Holiday (1884), the first comic published in Britain, was marketed at adults, publishers quickly targeted a younger market, which has led to most publications being for children and created an association in the public's mind of comics being somewhat juvenile. Popular titles within the United Kingdom have included The Beano, The Dandy, The Eagle, 2000 AD and Viz. Underground comics and "small press" titles have also been published within the United Kingdom, notably Oz and Escape Magazine. The content of Action, another title aimed at children and launched in the mid 1970s became the subject of discussion in the House of Commons, and although this was on a smaller scale to such similar investigations in the United States, it also led to a moderation of content published within comics, although such moderatiuon was never formalised to the extent of a creation of any code, and nor was it particularly lasting. The United Kingdom has also established a healthy market in the reprinting and repackaging of material, notably material originated within the United States. The lack of reliable supplies of American comic books led to a variety of black and white reprints, including Marvel's 1950s monster comics, Fawcett's Captain Marvel, and some other characters such as Sheena, Mandrake the Magician and the Phantom. Several reprint companies were involved in repackaging American material for the British market, notably the importer and distributor Thorpe & Porter. Marvel eventually established a UK office, with DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics also opening offices for periods in the the 1990s. The repackaging of European material has been less frequent, although the Tintin and Asterix serials have been succesfully translated and repackaged in soft cover books.

The comic annual

At Christmas time publishers will repackage and commision material for comic annuals, hardback A4 books. DC Thomson also repackage The Broons and Oor Wullie strips in softcover A4 books for the festive season.

Italian comics

In Italy, comics (known as fumetti) made their debut as humouristic strips at the end of the 19th century, and later evolved in adventure stories inspired to those coming from the U.S. After World War II, however, artists like Hugo Pratt and Guido Crepax imposed Italian comics to an international audience. "Author" comics contain often strong erotic contents. Best sellers remain popular comic books Diabolik or the Bonelli line, namely Tex Willer or Dylan Dog. Mainstream comics are usually published on the monthly basis, in a black and white digest size format, with about 100-132 pages of story. Collections of classic material for the most famous character, usually with over 200 pages, are also common. Author comics are published in the french BD format, with an example being Pratt's Corto Maltese. Italian cartoonists have and receive great influences from other countries including Belgium, France, Spain and Argentina. Italy is also famous for being one of the foremost producers of Walt Disney comic stories, particularly. Donald Duck's superhero alter ego, Paperinik, known in English as Superduck, was created in Italy.

Other European comics

Although Switzerland contributes less to the body of work, it is significant that many scholars point to a Francophone Swiss, Rodolphe Töpffer, as the true father of comics. This choice is still controversial, with critics feeling that Töppfer's work is perhaps somewhat unconnected to the genesis of the artform as it is now known in the region.

The graphic novel

The term graphic novel was first coined by Richard Kyle in 1964, mainly as an attempt to distinguish the newly translated works from Europe which were then being published from what Kyle saw as the more juvenile publications common in the United States. The term was popularised when Will Eisner used it on the cover of the paeprback edition of his work A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories (1978). This was a more mature work than many had come to expect from the comics medium, and the critical and commercial success of A Contract with God helped to establish the term "graphic novel" in common usage.

Regional categories


- American comic book
- Argentine comics
- British comics
- Indian comics
- Manga (Japanese comics)
- Manhua (Chinese comics)
- Manhwa (Korean comics)
- European comics
  - Franco-Belgian comics - Bande Dessinée, BD
  - Italian comics - Fumetti
- Brazilian comics - Histórias em Quadrinhos, HQ

Other Forms


- Tijuana bible (aka 8-pagers)
- Underground comics
- Alternative comics
- Adult comics
- Political and religious comics

Genres

Note: As with film and literature, genres are rarely pure and often blend. Frankenstein, for example, is a science fiction/horror novel; The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. is a Western/comedy TV series. Not all superhero comics are necessarily science fiction; Marvel Comics' Daredevil, for example, despite an initial science-fiction premise, may be more usefully classified as a crime drama.
- Action/adventure comics (of which superhero is a sub-genre)
- Adaptations of narratives in other media, often movies
- Anthromorphic/funny animal comics (see also furry)
- Autobiographical comics
- Crime comics
- Dramatic adventure comics
- Historical comics
- Horror comics
- Humor comics
- Journalistic comics
- Religious comics
- Romance comics
- Satiric comics
- Science-fiction comics
- War comics
- Western comics

Some particularly notable comic books


- 2000 AD (British)
- Acme Novelty Library (United States - Fantagraphics Books)
- Akira (Japanese)
- Asterix (French)
- Batman (United States - DC Comics)
- The Beano (British)
- The Dandy (British)
- Donald Duck (United States - Disney)
- Eightball (United States - Fantagraphics Books)
- The Fantastic Four (United States - Marvel Comics)
- The Incredible Hulk (United States - Marvel Comics)
- Lone Wolf and Cub (Japanese)
- Lucky Luke (Belgium - Dupuis and Dargaud)
- Monica's Gang (Turma da Mônica) (Brazilian)
- Mortadelo y Filemón (Spain)
- Mickey Mouse (United States-Disney)
- Raw (United States - Raw Books)
- The Smurfs (Belgium - Dupuis)
- The Amazing Spider-Man (United States - Marvel Comics)
- Sandman (United States - DC Vertigo Comics, 1988 World Fantasy Award (unique win for a comic-book series)
- Spike and Suzy (Belgian Flemish, originally called Suske en Wiske)
- Superman (United States - DC Comics)
- Tintin (Belgian - Casterman)
- Viz (British)
- Wonder Woman (United States - DC Comics)
- X-Men (United States - Marvel Comics)
- Zap Comix (United States-underground comix)

See also

Comics - the sequential art form in general


- Comic strip
- Graphic novel
- Webcomic
  - Sprite comic
- Storyboard
- Cartoon
  - Political cartoon

Comic book awards


- Eisner Awards
- Harvey Awards
- Ignatz Awards
- Kirby Awards
- Prix de la critique
- Angoulême International Comics Festival Prizes (aka Alph'arts) and the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême
- Tezuka Awards
- Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards

Miscellaneous


- Cartoonist
- Comic book creator
- Comic book collecting
- Comic-Con International

Lists


- List of comic creators
- List of comic books
- List of comic book publishing companies
- List of comic and cartoon character pairs
- List of comic strips
- List of cartoonists
- List of comic and cartoon characters named after people
- Comic books in dialects

References

Inge, Thomas M., "Comics as culture" Journal of Popular Culture 12:631, 1979 (not online)

External links


- [http://www.cbgxtra.com/Default.aspx?tabid=695 Database of Comic Book Sales Figures]
- [http://www.heritagecomics.com/common/worth.php How To Figure Out How Much Your Comics Are Worth]
- [http://www.comicbookdb.com/ ComicBookDB.com]
- [http://www.comiccovers.com/ ComicCovers.com]
- [http://www.cbgxtra.com Comics Buyer's Guide]
- [http://www.comics-db.com/ The Big Comic Book Database]
- [http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/ Comic Book Galaxy]
- [http://www.cbr.cc/ Comic Book Resources]
- [http://www.comics.org/ The Grand Comics Database]
- [http://www.crimeboss.com/history03-1.html The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency]
- [http://www.gweeb.com/ Bronze Age 1970s Comic Book Cover Showcase]
- [http://www.toonopedia.com/index.htm Don Markstein's Toonopedia]
- [http://www.knightmare6.com/faq/ Fan Site: Comic Book FAQ]
- [http://www.boldcomicsstudio.com/main/ Bold Comic Studios - A site for the independant comic creator]
- [http://www.nostalgiazone.com/doc/zine/ Comics Fan Zine: articles on comics in pop culture] Nostalgia Zine
- [http://ichibancomics.blogspot.com First Edition Comic Reviews at Ichiban Comics] ja:漫画
- Category:Comics Category:MagazinesCategory:Entertainment

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics, (AKA Marvel Entertainment Group, Marvel Characters, Inc., and Marvel Enterprises, Inc.) sometimes called by the nickname The House of Ideas, is an American comic book company. Its best-known comics include The Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, and X-Men. Since the 1960s, it has been one of the two largest American comics companies, along with DC Comics. rightrightright

History

Origins

right), the first comic from Marvel precursor Timely Comics. Art by Frank R. Paul]] Marvel Comics was founded by established pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman in 1939 as an eventual group of subsidiary companies under the umbrella name Timely Comics. Its first publication was Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), featuring the first appearance of Carl Burgos' android superhero, the Human Torch, and the first generally available appearance of Bill Everett's mutant anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner. The contents of that sales blockbuster were supplied by an outside packager, Funnies, Inc., but by the following year Timely had a staff in place. The company's first editor, the writer-artist Joe Simon, teamed with soon-to-be industry legend Jack Kirby to create one of the first patriotically themed superheroes, Captain America, in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941). It, too, proved a major sales hit. While no other Timely character would be as successful as these "big three", some notable heroes — many continuing to appear in modern-day retcon appearances and flashbacks — include the Whizzer, Miss America, The Destroyer, the original Vision, and Paul Gustavson's The Angel. Timely also published one of humor cartoonist Basil Wolverton's best-known features, Powerhouse Pepper. Sales of all comic books declined drastically in the post-war era, and the superheroic übermensch archetype popular during the Depression and the war years went out of fashion. Like other comics companies, Timely — generally known as Atlas Comics in the 1950s — followed pop-cultural trends with a variety of genres, including funny animals, Western, horror, war, crime, humor, romance, spy fiction and even medieval adventure, all with varying degrees of success. An attempted superhero revival in 1953-54 with the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner and Captain America failed. In 1957, Atlas nearly closed its doors due to the bankruptcy of its distributor, American News Service. This summer of 1957 debacle is infamously known as the "Atlas Implosion". The final comic to bear the famous Atlas Globe on its cover was Dippy Duck #1, the only "Atlas" comic with an October 1957 cover date. The Atlas "one-shots" of 1957 reveal that Martin Goodman was attempting to open a new range of "kiddies" titles just as the ax fell. Goodman switched to the distributor Independent News on constrained terms that allowed him only a limited number of titles per month. The surviving sixteen titles are sometimes referred to as the "sweet sixteen" (published bi-monthly, eight titles per month), the first of which to bear the new "Ind." label was Patsy Walker #73, ironically (like Dippy Duck) bearing an October 1957 cover date. The sixteen survivors of the summer of 1957 (the two fantasy and two war titles clearly were simply using up left over "inventory") reveal that the best selling titles were westerns (Kid Colt Outlaw starring in two titles) and girl humor (led primarily by Millie the Model along with Patsy Walker and Hedy Wolfe). The two fantasy titles (Strange Tales and World of Fantasy) clung on printing "inventory" (stories stored away in summer 1957) from late 1957 until late 1958. At the end of 1958 Martin Goodman attempted a new direction (after recently reviving Journey into Mystery) by launching a short-lived space fantasy sci-fi range of stories in six titles :Strange Worlds #1, World of Fantasy #15 , Strange Tales #67, Journey into Mystery #50, Tales of Suspense #1 and Tales to Astonish #1. The space fantasy tales were unsuccessful and faded out after less than a year, but by the end of 1959 most of these titles (Strange Worlds and World of Fantasy were both cancelled) were now sporting covers featuring great hulking monsters and featuring a line-up of Jack Kirby-drawn stories (often inked by Dick Ayers) followed by Steve Ditko's wonderful mysterious "ooky" tales and Don Heck's very atmospheric rendering of jungle/prison escapes and weird adventures. The Kirby/Ayers monster stories were riding on the coattails of popular movie trends of the time with a science fiction bent. Ind-Marvel also expanded its line of girls humor titles in 1959-61 with Kathy the Teen-Age Tornado (Oct 1959) and Linda Carter, Student Nurse (Sept 1961). This fact along with the fanstasy title expansion of late 1958 (and the addition of Amazing Adventures, cover dated June 1961 -- a title which eventually became the Lee & Ditko showpiece Amazing Adult Fantasy before becoming Amazing Fantasy #15 which in turn led to Amazing Spider-Man #1) clearly reveal that Martin Goodman and Stan Lee were looking for ways to expand their comics line.

1960s

Stan Lee), the cornerstone of Marvel and the introduction of a new style of superhero. Art by Jack Kirby.]] In the wake of DC Comics' success reviving superheroes in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly with The Justice League of America, Marvel decided to follow suit. Editor/writer Stan Lee and freelance artist Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four, vaguely reminding one of DC's adventuring quartet the Challengers of the Unknown. The book was a success, and Marvel began publishing further superhero titles featuring such heroes and anti-heroes as the Hulk, Spider-Man, The Mighty Thor, Ant-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men and Daredevil, and such memorable antagonists as Doctor Doom, Magneto, Galactus, the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. The most successful new series was The Amazing Spider-Man, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Marvel's comics were noted for focusing on characterization to a greater extent than most superhero comics before them — Spider-Man in particular, its young hero suffering from self-doubt and mundane problems like any other teenager. Marvel superheroes are often flawed, freaks, and misfits, unlike the perfect, handsome, athletic heroes found in previous traditional comic books. Some of the Marvel heroes looked like villains and monsters. In time, this non-traditional approach would revolutionize comic books. Peter Sanderson, in an October 10, 2003, column for IGN.com [http://comics.ign.com/articles/595/595576p1.html], said that
"DC was the equivalent of the big Hollywood studios: After the brilliance of DC's reinvention of the superhero ... in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it had run into a creative drought by the decade's end. There was a new audience for comics, now, and it wasn't just the little kids that traditionally had read the books. The Marvel of the 1960s was in its own way the counterpart of the French New Wave.... Marvel was pioneering new methods of comics storytelling and characterization, addressing more serious themes, and in the process keeping and attracting readers in their teens and beyond. Moreover, among this new generation of readers were people who wanted to write or draw comics themselves, within the new style that Marvel had pioneered, and push the creative envelope still further."
Lee became one of the best-known names in comics, with his charming personality and relentless salesmanship of the company. The "voice" of Stan Lee is what one senses in so many of the Marvel Comics of the first half of the 1960s. His sense of humor and general light-hearted manner, and the depiction of the Bullpen (Lee's name for the staff) as one big happy family. In later years it became clear the artists often had as much to do with Marvel's product and success as Lee. Jack Kirby in particular is often credited as the creative well from which sprang many of the cosmic ideas and characters of The Fantastic Four and The Mighty Thor (such as The Watcher, The Silver Surfer and Ego the Living Planet) while Steve Ditko is recognized as the driving artistic force behind the moody atmosphere and street-level naturalism of Spider-Man and the surreal atmosphere of Dr. Strange. Lee, however, continues to deserve great credit for his well-honed skills at dialog and story sense; for his keen hand at choosing and motivating artists and in assembling creative teams; and for his uncanny ability to connect with the readers. In 1968, company founder Martin Goodman sold Marvel Comics and his other publishing businesses to the Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation. It grouped these businesses in a subsidiary called Magazine Management Co. Goodman remained as publisher.

1970s

Martin Goodman). Art by Gene Colan and Steve Leialoha]]In 1972, Goodman retired as publisher and was succeeded by Lee, who stepped aside from running day-to-day operations at Marvel. A series of new editors-in-chief oversaw the company during another slow time for the industry. Once again, Marvel attempted to diversify, and achieved moderate success with titles themed to horror (Tomb of Dracula), martial arts, (Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu), sword-and-sorcery (Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja), satire (Howard the Duck) and science fiction ("Killraven" in Amazing Adventures). Some of these were published in larger-sized black-and-white magazines, targeted for mature readers. Marvel was able to capitalize on its successful superhero comics of the previous decade by acquiring a new newsstand distributor and greatly expanding its comics line. Even more importantly, during a time when the price and format of the standard newsstand comic were in flux, Marvel captured a significant piece of DC's market share by offering a lower-priced product with a higher distributor discount. In 1973, Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation changed its name to Cadence Industries, which in turn renamed Magazine Management Co. as Marvel Comics Group. Goodman, now completely disconnected from Marvel, created a new company called Atlas/Seaboard Comics in 1974, reviving Marvel's old Atlas name, but this project lasted only a year-and-a-half. In the mid-1970s, Marvel was affected by a decline of the newsstand distribution network. Cult hits such as Howard the Duck were the victims of the distribution problems, with some titles reporting low sales when in fact they were being resold at a later date in the first specialty comic-book stores. An attempt by Marvel to buy DC was frustrated by DC's refusal to sell its entire library of characters (wanting to retain control of Superman and Batman), and DC was sold to Warner Communications instead. By the end of the decade, Marvel's fortunes were reviving, thanks to the rise of direct-market distribution (selling through those same comics-specialty stores instead of newsstands) and the sales increase of previously borderline books — such as the canceled '60s title The Uncanny X-Men, revived to become a hit series under team of writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, or the more naturalistic, urban-crime superhero comic Daredevil, by writer/artist Frank Miller.

1980s

Frank Miller). Art by Mike Zeck]]By the 1980s, one-time wunderkind Jim Shooter was Marvel's Editor-in-Chief. Although a controversial personality, Shooter cured many of the procedural ills at Marvel (including repeatedly missed deadlines) and oversaw a creative renaissance at the company. This renaissance included institutionalizing creator royalties, starting the Epic imprint for creator-owned material, and launching a brand-new (albeit ultimately unsuccessful) line named New Universe, to commemorate Marvel's 25th anniversary, in 1986. However, Shooter was responsible for the introduction of the company-wide crossover (Contest of Champions, Secret Wars) and was accused by many creators, especially near the end of his tenure, of exercising his job in a draconian manner and interfering with the writers' creative process. In 1981 Marvel purchased the DePatie-Freleng Enterprises animation studio from famed Looney Tunes director Friz Freleng and his business partner David H. DePatie. The company was renamed Marvel Productions Ltd. and it produced well known animated TV series such as G.I. Joe, The Transformers and Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, Dungeons & Dragons and movies based on the G.I. Joe and The Transformers TV series. Following the acquisition of Marvel by Ronald Perelman, Marvel Productions sold its back catalog to Saban Entertainment and Marvel management permanently closed the animation studio opting to have its animation projects contracted out to third party production companies. In 1982, Marvel launched its creator-owned imprint Epic Comics, specifically for the "direct market," the emerging retail phenomenon of comic-book stores. In 1988, Marvel was bought by investor/entrepreneur Ronald Perelman, who made Marvel a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and oversaw a great increase in the number of titles published by the company.

1990s

New York Stock Exchange), one of many spin-offs of The Amazing Spider Man. Art by Todd McFarlane]] Marvel earned a great deal of money and recognition during the early decade's comic-book boom, launching the highly successful 2099 line of comics set in the future (Spider-Man 2099 etc.) and the creatively daring though commercially unsuccessful Razorline imprint of superhero comics created by novelist and filmmaker Clive Barker. Yet by the middle of the decade, the industry had slumped and Marvel filed for bankruptcy amidst accusations that Perelman had strip-mined the company for his own gain. The casualties included the comic-book distribution industry in 1994, when Marvel announced it was acquiring Heroes World to use as its exclusive distributor. As the industry's other major publishers made exclusive distribution deals with other companies, the loss of the industry's largest companies threw the majority of the comic book distributors out of business. Although Marvel's plan failed, only Diamond Comic Distributors Inc. now exists as the major distributor of comic books in North America, a development many comic retailers believe profoundly damaged the business status of the industry. Investor Carl Icahn attempted to take control of Marvel, but after protracted legal battles, in 1997 control of the company landed in the hands of Isaac Perlmutter, owner of the Marvel subsidiary Toy Biz. With his business partner Avi Arad and publisher Bill Jemas and editor-in-chief Bob Harras, Perlmutter helped Marvel back on its feet. In addition to Marvel revitalizing its comics line, several of its properties have been licensed to become hit movies, most notably X-Men and Spider-Man. Creatively and commercially, the '90s were dominated by the use of gimmickry to boost sales, such as variant covers, cover enhancements and regular company-wide crossovers that threw the universe's continuity into disarray. In 1996, Marvel had almost all its titles participate in the Onslaught Saga, a crossover that allowed Marvel to relaunch some of its flagship characters, such as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, in the Heroes Reborn universe, in which Marvel defectors Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld were given permission to revamp the properties from scratch. After an initial sales bump, sales quickly declined below expected levels, and Marvel killed the experiment after its planned one-year run; the characters returned to the Marvel Universe proper. In 1998, the company launched the imprint Marvel Knights, taking place within Marvel continuity; helmed by soon-to-become editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, and featuring tough, gritty stories showcasing such characters as the Inhumans and Daredevil, it achieved substantial success.

2000s

With the new millennium, Marvel Comics escaped from bankruptcy and again began diversifying its offerings. In 2001, Marvel withdrew from the Comics Code Authority and established its own Marvel Ratings System for comics. It also created new imprints, such as MAX, a line intended for mature readers, and Marvel Age, developed for younger audiences, including children. In addition to this is the highly successful Ultimate Marvel imprint, which allowed Marvel to reboot their major titles by deconstructing and updating their major superhero and villian characters to introduce to a new generation. This imprint exists in a universe parallel to the proper Marvel continuity, which allowed the writers freedom from the characters' convoluted history and the ability to redesign them, and to maintain their other ongoing series without replacing the established continuity. This also allowed Marvel to capitalize on an influx of new readers who were not familiar with comics but became familiar with their characters through their film franchises, making it easier for a mainstream audience to follow. The company has also revamped its graphic novel division, establishing a bigger presence in the bookstore market. Marvel remains a key publisher in the comics business, even as the industry has dwindled to a fraction of its peak size decades earlier. Stan Lee is no longer officially connected to the company, save for the title of "Chairman Emeritus," but remains a visible face in the industry and occasionally remarks on his fondness for the characters. In 2002, he sued successfully for a share of income related to movies and merchandising of Marvel characters, based on a contract between Lee and Marvel from the late 1990s; according to court documents, Marvel had used "Hollywood accounting" to claim that those projects' "earnings" were not profits. Regardless, Marvel has also become a key player in Hollywood, with many of its characters being turned into successful film franchises, with perhaps the best examples being X-Men starting in 2000, and Spider-Man beginning in 2002.

Editors-in-chief

The Marvel editor-in-chief has great power and oversees many creative decisions taken within the company. The position evolved sporadically. In the earliest years the company had a single editor overseeing the entire line, but as the company grew it became increasingly common for individual titles to be overseen separately. The concept of the "writer-editor" evolved, stemming from the days when Stan Lee wrote and oversaw most of the line's output. Overseeing the line in the 1970s were a series of chief editors, though the titles were used intermittently. Confusing matters further some appear to have been appointed merely by extending their existing editorial duties. By the time of the appointment of Jim Shooter in 1978 the post of editor-in-chief was clearly defined. In 1994, Marvel briefly abolished the position, replacing Tom DeFalco with five "group editors", though they each held the title "editor-in-chief" and had some editors underneath them. It reinstated the position later in the year, installing Bob Harras.
- Joe Simon (1939-1941)
- Stan Lee (1941-1942)
- Vincent Fago (acting editor during Stan Lee's military service) (1942-1945)
- Stan Lee (1945-1972)
- Roy Thomas (1972-1974)
- Len Wein (1974-1975)
- Marv Wolfman (B&W magazines 1974-1975, entire line 1975-1976)
- Gerry Conway (1976)
- Archie Goodwin (1976-1978)
- Jim Shooter (1978-1987)
- Tom DeFalco (1987-1994)
- No overall editor-in-chief (1994-1995)
- Bob Harras (1995-2000)
- Joe Quesada (2000-) Sources: [http://www.newkadia.com/MarvelComics.html], [http://www.manwithoutfear.com/interviews/ddINTWolfman.shtml], [http://www.geocities.com/marvel80s/mrv_hist.html].

Imprints


- Current
  - Marvel Next
  - Icon Comics
  - Marvel Age
  - Marvel Knights
  - MAX
  - Ultimate Marvel
- Defunct
  - Curtis Magazines
  - Epic Comics
  - Marvel 2099
  - Marvel Music
  - Tsunami
  - MC2 (only Spider Girl remains)
  - Marvel UK
  - Malibu Comics
  - New Universe
  - Paramount Comics
  - Razorline
  - Star Comics

See also


- List of Marvel Comics characters
- List of Marvel Comics publications
- List of Marvel Comics people
- List of Marvel Comics movies
- List of Marvel cosmic beings
- Marvel Universe
- Toy Biz v. United States, which ruled that action figures of certain Marvel characters are legally toys, not dolls

External links


- [http://www.marvelpics.co.uk Official Marvel Picture site]
- [http://www.marvel.com Marvel Comics official site]
- [http://www.marvel.co.uk Official UK Marvel Site]
- [http://www.marvelstore.co.uk Official UK Marvel Store]
- [http://www.marveldatabase.com Marvel Database Project]
- [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/ The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe]
- [http://www.marveldirectory.com/ Marvel Directory]
- [http://www.comicboards.com/marvelguide Marvel Guide: An Unofficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe]
- [http://www.comics-db.com/comics/page.cgi?g=Marvel_Comics%2F Big Comic Book DataBase: Marvel Comics]
- [http://www.comicartville.com/bellmanpg2.htm A Timely Talk with Allen Bellman]
- [http://www.atlastales.com/ Atlas Tales]
- [http://www.timely-atlas.comics.org/ Timely Atlas Cover Gallery]
- [http://www.samcci.comics.org/index.html Nick Simon's Silver-Age Marvel Comics Cover Index]
- [http://collectedcomicslibrary.blogspot.com/ Collected Comics Library] Category:Comic book publishers (companies)
- Category:Companies based in New York City ja:マーヴェル・コミック simple:Marvel Comics

X-Men

The X-Men are a team of comic book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they debuted in X-Men #1 from September 1963, the same month as the premiere of The Avengers. The X-Men franchise, with its original stories of youthful alienation in which teens literally are the freaks they often figuratively feel like, has grown to become one of the most popular comic books, producing dozens of spin-off series over the years and turning some of its writers and artists into industry stars. Since the early 1990s, the X-Men have been adapted into many other media, most notably as two animated television series (X-Men and X-Men: Evolution) and two hit movies from 20th Century Fox (X-Men and X2, sometimes erroneously called X2: X-Men United, a marketing phrase not on the film itself). A third X-Men movie, directed by Brett Ratner, is scheduled for release in May of 2006. The X-Men are mutants, who in the Marvel universe are humans who, through a sudden leap in evolution, are born with latent superhuman abilities, which generally manifest themselves at puberty. Ordinary humans, homo sapiens, often hate mutants, here termed homo superior because of prejudice and the fear that mutants will replace them. It must be noted, however, that not all of humanity fears and hates mutantkind. This fact is worsened by a number of mutants, and most notably the team's archnemeses Magneto and Apocalypse, who use their powers to try to disrupt and dominate human society. The X-Men were gathered by the benevolent Professor Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X, a wealthy mutant who founded an academy to train young mutants to protect themselves and the world from Magneto and other threats. The X-Men franchise contains a richly diverse cast that is perhaps comics' most multicultural. During the 1970s, the roster was changed to further reflect this multiculturalism, adding characters from Germany, Ireland, Russia, Africa, and Japan. This multicultural theme has persisted over the years, with more and more characters of different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds constantly being added to the mythos. The team's name is derived from the fact that mutants are "extra"-powered due to their "x-factor gene", and was coined by Professor X. Co-creator Lee recalled in his book Son of Origins of Marvel Comics and elsewhere that he devised the series title after Marvel publisher Martin Goodman turned down the initial name, "The Mutants."

History Of X-Men

Martin Goodman

Beginning

The X-Men were founded by the paraplegic telepath Professor Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X. Xavier gathered the X-Men under the cover of Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters at a large country estate at 1407 Graymalkin Lane in Salem Center, a city in Westchester County, New York. The original X-Men consisted of five teenagers still learning to control their powers, namely Cyclops (Scott Summers), Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), Angel (Warren Worthington), Beast (Hank McCoy) and Iceman (Bobby Drake). Early X-Men issues also introduced the team's archnemesis, Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, featuring Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Mastermind, and the Toad. In 1969, writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams rejuvenated the franchise and introduced two new characters, Havok (Alex Summers) and Polaris (Lorna Dane). However, these early X-Men issues failed to attract sales, and Marvel stopped producing new stories with issue #66. After a hiatus, the series continued with reprint of earlier material in issue #67-93.

1970s

Polaris.]] In Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975), writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum introduced a new team that would appear in new issues of The X-Men, beginning with issue #94. Rather than teenagers, this group consisted of adults who hailed from a variety of nations and cultures. The "all-new, all-different X-Men" were led by Cyclops from the original team, and consisted of the newly created Thunderbird (John Proudstar), Colossus (Piotr Rasputin), Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner), Storm (Ororo Munroe), and the preexisting Sunfire (Shiro Yashida) and Banshee (Sean Cassidy), and most notably, the previously introduced Wolverine (Logan), who would become the breakout character. The revived series was illustrated by Cockrum and later John Byrne, and written by Chris Claremont, who would become the series' longest-standing contributor. The run met great critical acclaim and produced the "Dark Phoenix Saga" and "Days of Future Past", arguably two of the greatest story arcs in Marvel Comics, as well as X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, the base of the 2003 movie X2. New characters and teams that were introduced included Kitty Pryde, the Morlocks, the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, Rogue, Rachel Summers and Dazzler (Alison Blaire), amongst others.

1980s

In the 1980s, the growing popularity of Uncanny X-Men and the rise of comic book specialty stores lead to the introduction of several spin-off series nicknamed "X-Books", most notably The New Mutants, X-Factor, Excalibur and others. This plethora of X-Men-related titles led to the rise of crossovers (sometimes called "X-Overs"), storylines which would overlap into several X-Books, sometimes for months at a time and usually once per year, including the Mutant Massacre, the Fall of the Mutants, and Inferno. Notable additions to the X-Men have been Longshot, Jubilee (Jubilation Lee), Gambit (Remy LeBeau), Bishop, White Queen (Emma Frost), and Psylocke (Betsy Braddock). A controversial move was to have Professor X relocate to space in 1986 to be with his beloved Lilandra, queen of the Shi'ar empire, making Magneto the head of the X-Men. This period also included the arrival of the mysterious Madelyne Pryor and the return of Jean Grey.

1990s

Jean Grey In 1991, Marvel revised the entire lineup of X-books, creating X-Force, led by the mysterious warhawk Cable, written by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza, and launched a second X-Men series, simply called X-Men (the original series of this title having been already renamed to Uncanny X-Men), written by Claremont and illustrated by Jim Lee. Internal friction split the X-Men books' creative teams. Claremont left after only three issues of X-Men due to clashes with Marvel editors and with Lee, thus ending his fifteen-year run as X-Men writer. Months later, Liefeld and Lee left Marvel with several other popular artists (including Marc Silvestri and Whilce Portacio) to form Image Comics. Notable story arcs of this time are the "The X-Tinction Agenda" (1990), "X-Cutioner's Song" (1992), "Phalanx Covenant" (1994), "Legion Quest"/"Age of Apocalypse" (1995), "Onslaught" (1996) and "Operation: Zero Tolerance" (1997). The 1990s saw an even greater number of X-books, with numerous ongoing series and miniseries running concurrently. These included Generation X, starring another team of teenage mutants, and X-Man, starring a powerful young mutant Nate Grey, an alternate version of Cable, from the "Age of Apocalypse" reality. Marvel launched solo series for characters including Cable, Gambit, Bishop and Deadpool, that last a sarcastic mercenary antagonist of X-Force. In 1998 Excalibur and X-Factor ended and the latter replaced with the parallel world series Mutant X starring Havok.

2000s

Mutant X.]] Wandering plot lines and forgettable new villains plagued Claremont's return to Marvel and the X-Men in 2000, leading Marvel's new Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada to remove him from the two flagship titles in early 2001 and move him to a new spinoff series, X-Treme X-Men. At the same time, Marvel cancelled or overhauled many series and added new series like Weapon X, Exiles and the new X-Force (later retitled X-Statix). Many of these new comics were sarcastic, cynical, or deeply responsive to the established look of the superhero comic book, and were a distinct reaction to the increasingly predictable nature of Marvel comics in the 1990s. The focus of 2001 was the ascent of writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely to X-Men, retitled New X-Men. Morrison's run was lauded as being both original and rejuvenating. The bright spandex costumes that had become iconic over the previous three decades were gone, replaced by black leather street clothes reminiscent of the dressed-down chic of the film The Matrix and the X-Men movies. In New X-Men, the Xavier Institute grew in size and scope, and introduced several powerful and memorable villains, most notably Cassandra Nova, Xavier's evil twin sister. During the Morrison run, Emma Frost went from vicious Hellfire Club villain to icy member of the mutant squad, Xavier was publicly "outed" as a mutant, and the decades-long relationships of Jean Grey and Scott Summers, and Lorna Dane and Alex Summers all disintegrated. In the meantime, Uncanny X-Men was written by Joe Casey, followed by Chuck Austen, neither of which were received well with fans. Another popular new X-Men series was Ultimate X-Men, writer Mark Millar and artist Adam Kubert's reinvention of the concept featuring teenaged versions of the X-Men and meant to appeal to new readers. Ultimate X-Men was set in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, alongside Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimates, a dark post-9/11 world that feared mutant terrorism and reflected the heightened militaristic climate of the Bush-era United States. Iconic characters were substantially overhauled and given new backgrounds, while meant to be refreshingly current for a new generation.

Present

United States.]] In 2004, Morrison left New X-Men and Marvel prepared for what was already being called the "post-Morrison period". Marvel cancelled X-Treme X-Men and placed Claremont back on Uncanny X-Men. The company also launched Astonishing X-Men with writer Joss Whedon (well-known as the creator of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and artist John Cassaday (Planetary). With the departure of Morrison the X-Men franchise shifted yet again, attempting to incorporate some of the newer energy of the previous run with more traditional elements. Following the destruction of the mutant paradise of Genosha by the deadly sentinels under the influence of Cassandra Nova, Xavier left in order to restore a vague sense of order and stability to the wasted land (recounted in the short second series of Excalibur), leaving Cyclops and Emma Frost as the new leaders of the Institute, which now functions as a large-scale school. Jean Grey was killed off during Morrison's run, (but was later temporarily ressurected by the Phoenix in the Phoenix: Endsong miniseries), allowing the former White Queen and Scott Summers to pursue a relationship, a controversial move that both intrigued and alienated long-term fans. Phoenix]Several short-lived spin-offs marked the 2004-2005, including books focusing on Gambit, Rogue, Bishop (in the mutant ghetto of District X), and Jubilee. New on-going series included a relaunch of the Morrison-era New Mutants title, which was shortly relaunched as New X-Men: Academy X, a teenaged soap opera comic focusing on the lives of the new young mutants at the Institute, with many of the original Claremont-era New Mutants showing up as the teaching staff. The current period has been dominated by the reality-warping changes of the summer crossover event House of M, which has temporarily created a mutant paradise with Magneto as the world's leader. Its recent conclusion has drastically altered the mutant population on Earth, reducing it to a few hundred individuals, with all others apparently losing their powers permanently - including founding X-Men members Iceman and Angel, as well as Magneto himself - although Iceman's powers have since returned, suggesting he was not truly "Decimated". The full repercussions of "House of M" have yet to be fully revealed. Some Fans speculate in the upcoming X-Men: Deadly Genesis arc the Return of either Thunderbird or Krakoa as the new main villian after the depowering of Magneto.

Real-life comparison

The entire X-Men franchise is built on a sociopolitical undercurrent. Mutants are often seen as a metaphor for racial, religious and other minorities that face oppression - including, specifically, the struggle of African-Americans, discrimination against homosexuals, Anti-semitism, and the case of the Red Scare. Also, on an individual level, a number of X-Men serve a metaphorical function, as their powers illustrate points about the nature of the outsider.

Racism

Professor X has been compared to African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Magneto to the more militant Malcolm X. The X-Men’s purpose is sometimes referred to achieving "Xavier’s dream," perhaps a reference to King’s historic "I Have a Dream" speech. Also, X-Men comic books have often portrayed mutants as the victim of mob violence, evoking the lynchings of African-Americans in the age before the American civil rights movement. While this interpretation has become commonplace, it is not without its critics. In 2002, comics critic Julian Darius argued in "X-Men is Not an Allegory of Racial Tolerance" that a close examination of early X-Men comics would make Magneto not Malcolm X, but the radical revolutionaries of the Black Panthers. In the earliest comics, Xavier expressed no concern with mutant rights, instead focusing on stopping mutant menaces. He was, wrote Darius, explicitly counter-revolutionary.

Homosexuality

Another civil rights metaphor applied to the X-Men is that of gay rights. Comparisons have been made between the mutants' situation, including the concealment of their powers and the age they realize these powers, and homosexuality. This was illustrated in a scene of the