Marvel Explodes

From Bullpen to Big Business

By: Paul Levitz

Explore the Stories Behind the Legends

Starting in 1968 when three classic Marvel anthologies were split into separate titles for Iron Man, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, The Hulk, Doctor Strange, and Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel began an explosive arc of growth which culminated in becoming America’s largest comics publisher in 1972.

Marvel Explodes tells the story year-by-year, exploring this decisive period from a creative standpoint – the expanded mythology, the new titles, and the writers and artists who would join to fuel the explosion – as well as a business one: the key transitions, including new distributor, owners, and opportunities.

Illustrated with full-color art, Paul Levitz’s entry in the MARVEL AGE OF COMICS offers an eyewitness account of Marvel Comics in the years that established its greatness.

Critic reviews

From Marvel’s explosive growth in the late 1960s and early 1970s, to epic comic book crossovers that impacted plotlines for decades, Doctor Strange’s psychedelic mysticism, and Miles Morales’s reinvention of Spider-Man, these Marvel Age of Comics series authors explore how landmark stories and creators transformed Marvel into a cultural phenomenon.