Fawcett Publications began in 1919 with the magazine "Captain Billy's Whiz Bang" and eventually expanded into a line of periodicals with a combined circulation of ten million a month. The company joined in the explosion of comic book publications in the United States in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Its initial entry, developed by writer Bill Parker and artist C. C. Beck, was "Thrill Comics" #1 (January 1940), a single issue of which was published only as an ashcan copy. The content was then reworked (for example, the lead character of Captain Thunder was renamed to Captain Marvel) and published as "Whiz Comics" #2 (February 1940).