Slugfest

Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC

By: Reed Tucker

Narrated by: Will Collyer

The first in-depth, behind-the-scenes book treatment of the rivalry between the two comic book giants.

THEY ARE THE TWO TITANS OF THE COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY--the Coke and Pepsi of superheroes--and for more than 50 years, Marvel and DC have been locked in an epic battle for spandex supremacy. At stake is not just sales, but cultural relevancy and the hearts of millions of fans.

To many partisans, Marvel is now on top. But for much of the early 20th century, it was DC that was the undisputed leader, having launched the American superhero genre with the 1938 publication of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel's Superman strip. DC's titles sold millions of copies every year, and its iconic characters were familiar to nearly everyone in America. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman -- DC had them all.

And then in 1961, an upstart company came out of nowhere to smack mighty DC in the chops. With the publication of Fantastic Four #1, Marvel changed the way superheroes stories were done. Writer-editor Stan Lee, artists Jack Kirby, and the talented Marvel bullpen subsequently unleashed a string of dazzling new creations, including the Avengers, Hulk, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Iron Man.

Marvel's rise forever split fandom into two opposing tribes. Suddenly the most telling question you could ask a superhero lover became "Marvel or DC?"

Slugfest, the first book to chronicle the history of this epic rivalry into a single, in-depth narrative, is the story of the greatest corporate rivalry never told. Complete with interviews with the major names in the industry, Slugfest reveals the arsenal of schemes the two companies have employed in their attempts to outmaneuver the competition, whether it be stealing ideas, poaching employees, planting spies, or launching price wars. The feud has never completely disappeared, and it simmers on a low boil to this day. With DC and Marvel characters becoming global icons worth billions, if anything, the stakes are higher now than ever before.

Critic reviews

"Reed Tucker masterfully dissects the REAL issue dividing us as a nation."
—Seth Meyers, host of NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers

"A smart, blow-by-blow narrative of the sometimes-friendly, often bitter rivalry between corporate comic-book behemoths...A wild haymaker for the masses, perhaps, but a knockout read for capes-and-cowls aficionados."—Kirkus

"This is a book for 'Fans.' I consider myself a 'Fan.' I love this book. I guess you could say I am a 'Fan' of this book. If you are not a 'Fan' of 'Things' then this is not a book for you. It is a book for me. GIVE ME BACK MY BOOK!"
—Bobby Moynihan, comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member

"Slugfest is the ringside commentator for the clash of the comic book titans. A must-read for all comic fans."
—Scott Sigler, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Alive

"If you think comics are squeaky clean, you have no idea how down and dirty things have gotten behind the brightly colored scenes. Slugfest pulls back the curtain on the tireless work, masterful art, smack talk, underhanded tactics, and juicy betrayals that have both blessed and plagued the rivalry of a lifetime. It's meticulously researched and delightfully scandalous, like the lovechild of an encyclopedia and a soap opera. It's an Encyclopera. Which also happens to be my super hero name."
—AJ Mendez, retired WWE superstar and New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Is My Superpower

Great Book

I've wanted to read this for quite some time. Thanks to Audible I was able to listen to it while at work. did not disappoint.

decent for noobs

fun quick read I'm a Marvel fan and a DC fan though I lean towards Marvel with that being said this book is told with the knowledge of Marvel's film Universe dominance and Frames everything as if Marvel knew all along that this would be the case and often overlooks or plays down any missteps Marvel has made the story is mostly factual and an entertaining read but anyone who doesn't think this was written with a severe biased towards Marvel isn't paying attention

Fantastic!

I loved every minute of this! the narrator does a great job and the story is excellent. A must for any comic fan!

good book

very fun listen, highly recommended, nice flow to the stories, great information about the industry, and nice to hear the pronunciation of some names that I've only seen written but never spoken

Very Interesting to an Comic Newb

I imagine like many others, my knowledge of the DC and Marvel characters and their origins (both inside and outside their respective universes) was largely based on the cinematic releases of the last 30 years. This was a very interesting jumping off point as someone curious about the back stories of many other industries and also a bit of an outsider comic book fan.

The book is well paced following a roughly chronological history of each company with brief summaries of the founding of each company and early years up to about 1960. The 1960s are where the "vs" part of the story gains legs and the author does a good job with multiple inside sources recollecting the various back and forth battles the two companies had with one another, as well as the internal woe's eached experienced over the subsequent decades.

The audio presentation was great with the exception of the author trying to do different voices for some of the quoted sources. Does not ruin the experience but I found it mildly annoying.

It has peaked my further interest in the comic book realm and in am now anxiously awaiting a few online comic book purchases!