Timely And Atlas Comics (1939-1960)

Once named Timely Comics, this comic publishing company started at 1939 thanks to Martin Goodman now is named Marvel comics and is the largest one in the world. Its first publication was named Marvel Comics # 1 (October 1939) in with appeared their first hero, an android superhero created by Carl Burgos, the Human Torch and its eternal nemesis Namor the Sub-Mariner created by Bill Everett, in its second publication the name was changed for Marvel Mystery Comics. The 40’s decade is known as the golden period (or age) for the comic business. Was in these years when the chief editor, writer and artist Joe Simon of the comic house teamed with the young business legend Jack Kirby to create their first U.S.A themed super hero: Captain America in his own publication named Captain America Comics # 1 selling almost one million copies, this hero fought many well-known national enemies such as Nazis or corrupted politicians Even though Timely Comics had no more characters as big as the last three it had a lot of heroes such as Miss America, Angel, and Destroyer among others it was a time of success to the company who, beside superhero publications, had several humour and children’s comics.

War had ended and the Comic Business’ Golden Age had ended with it. The super Hero fashion wasn’t interesting as ten years ago. The timely Comics changed its name to Atlas Comics (in 1951); the Martin Goodman publishing team decided to wide their variety of genres and to give less importance to super heroes, the Comic house used genres as horror, western, humour, animal humour, men and women adventure-drama, war, romance, espionage among many more. It was not a good decade for Atlas Comics even they already had their best artists and writers as the legends Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. The publishing company was not creative they took ideas form the successful television networks and applied them to their publications. One of the most successful publications from Atlas Comics was a young teens’ comic named Homer the Happy Ghost, very similar to the popular Casper the Friendly Ghost. But the super heroes were not dead, although many heroes “died”, the “strongest” ones survived to the 50’s and now are well known as the Human Torch and Captain America (the Sub-Marine accomplished to survive but as secondary character). This gave Atlas Comics heroes the taste of what would be the 60’s reborn and success.