Marvel Comics Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is the brand name and primary imprint of Marvel Worldwide Inc., formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, a publisher of American comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwide's parent company. Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s, had generally become known as Atlas Comics. The Marvel branding began in 1961, the year that the company launched "The Fantastic Four" and other superhero titles created by Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and many others. Marvel counts among its characters such
Marvel UK Panini Comics obtained the license to print Marvel material in 1995 and took over the UK office's remaining titles. Reprints of American Marvel material had been published in the UK during the 1960s by Odhams Press under their Power Comics imprint. Titles such as "Smash!" and "Fantastic" featured a mix of Marvel reprint material and original non-Marvel work. This lasted till 1969 when the last superhero strip was removed from "Smash!", leaving no Marvel titles being reprinted in the UK at all. In 1972, seeing a gap in the popular weekly comics market of the UK, Marvel Comics formed their