What The--?! works that spoof some of their all-time greatest successes. For example, in issue #2, Byrne creates a tale pitting his work on the Fantastic Four franchise against his work with Superman. The issue goes so far as to have the Lex Luthor character complain about the changes Byrne made to the Superman legend after DC Comics' "Crisis on Infinite Earths". Though it carried the Marvel Comics label on the front left corner, "What The--?!" touted itself as being published by "Marble Comics". "What The--?!" parodied Marvel institutions such as the legendary Marvel Comics fan mail page, with staged articles called
Marvel Mystery Comics Marvel Mystery Comics Marvel Mystery Comics (first issue titled simply Marvel Comics) is an American comic book series published during the 1930s–1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. It was the first publication of Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics, a division of Timely Publications. In 1939, pulp-magazine publisher Martin Goodman expanded into the newly emerging comic book field by buying content from comics packager Funnies, Inc. His first effort, "Marvel Comics" #1 (cover-dated Oct. 1939), from his company Timely Publications, featured the first appearances of writer-artist Carl Burgos' android superhero, the Human Torch,