Compare and Contrast Essay on Marvel and DC Comics

Introduction

Marvel Comics is opined as an American Media and entertainment industry or company that was regarded globally as one among the big two publishers within the comic industry. Its operations are aligned with another parent company (Marvel Entertainment) which is part of the Disney Company. The company's (Disney) headquarter is located at New York City. Corporate history reveals that Marvel comics was founded at around 1939 by a renowned publisher with the name Pulp Magazine under the leadership of Martin Goodman (Howe, n.p). Goodman had the intention of capitalizing on the growing popularity of most of the comic books hence resorted to creating the popularly known as Timely Comics which later became Marvel Comics number one and featured many characters who were superheroes'. Such characters included Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner. Another important issue about Marvel Comics is the existence of Marvel Universe which shared a storytelling palette referred to as Marvel Universe (Tim, n.p). The palette was unveiled in 1961, the time when Goodman gave a response to the growing interest in the superhero books through commissioning writers like Stan Lee and another artist like Jack Kirby in the creation of what was widely referred to as the Fantastic Four.

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A close competitor of Marvel Comics was the DC Comics which is also an American Media and Entertainment Company. The iconic comic-based property of the company gave a representation of some of the most enduring and recognized characters in the mid-20th and 21st century popular cultures. The parent Company of DC Comics is DC Entertainment and is owned by Time Warner Inc with its headquarter being at New York City. Corporate history reveals that the company was founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1934 with the first comic book being published in the succeeding year. The DC Comics also own the DC Universe which aided in the publication of Superman story in Action Comic number one. The most intriguing part of the book was the role the character was assigned, something which later brought commercial benefit.

In consideration of the argued, the duo shares some similarities and differences. One of the similarities is in the manner in which they were founded. They all came from a parent company. For example, Marvel Comics came from the Marvel Entertainment whose headquarter was based in the New York City. There is also the DC Comic whose parent company was the DC Entertainment with its headquarter still located at New York City (Tim, n.p). The two also feature some characters who are superheroes. For example, Marvel Comics features characters like iron man, spider-man, the Hulk, the X-Men, Captain America, and the famous Fantastic Four to mention but a few. The characters of DC Comics include Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Captain Marvel to mention but a few.

The two companies also have certain differences. For example, Marvel Comics started its operation as Time Comics which was created by a magazine publisher by the name Martin Goodman. On the other hand, DC Comics started under the umbrella of National Allied Publication in 1934 (Tim, n.p). Another notable difference is in the kind of characters featured. Marvel Comics features more realistic characters whose powers can be explained by science. In most events, the characters have a tragic trade for their power, for example, the X-Men who are the mutants with insane powers. Most of the DC characters are unreal with unimaginable powers. It is impossible to explain Superman in real life. The characters can only be explained through fiction.

Conclusion

In summary, Marvel and DC Comics forms the famous brands within the comic industry even though the former is a little bit popular than the latter. They are also close rivals even as Marvel Comics still amounts a high number of audience. They have many similarities and differences with some ranging on their foundation, characters, and themes to mention but a few.

Works Cited

Howe, Sean. Marvel comics: The untold story. New York: Harper Perennial, 2013.

Tim, DeForest. DC Comics. National Allied Publication. American Company. 2018. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/DC-Comics

Tim, DeFrorest. Marvel Comic. American Company. 2018. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marvel-Comics