A History of Marvel Comics By jheavlin Jan 1, 1932 Martin Goodman founds the publishing company that would eventually become Marvel Comics Martin Goodman Period: Jan 1, 1939 to Dec 31, 1959 The Golden Age of Marvel Comics Marvel Timeline Oct 1, 1939 Goodman's Timely Comics Publishes Marvel Comics #1 Marvel Comics issue #1 Nov 1, 1940 Captain America Comics Issue #1 published Captain America Comics #1 Period: Jan 1, 1960 to Dec 31, 1969 The Birth of the Marvel Universe Marvel Timeline Oct 1, 1961 Now called Marvel Comics, Fantastic Four issue #1 published Fantastic Four #1 Apr 1, 1962 Incredible Hulk #1 published Incredible Hulk #1 Jul 1, 1962 Amazing Fantasy #15 feautres the first appearance of Spider-Man Amazing Fantasy #15 Aug 1, 1963 The Avengers #1 published Avengers #1 Sep 1, 1963 The X-Men #1 Published X-Men #1 Jun 1, 1966 First appearance of th Black Panther, the first main stream black superhero (Fantastic Four #52) First appearance of Black Panther Aug 1, 1969 First appearance of the Falcon, the first mainstream African American super hero (Captain America #117) First appearance of Falcon May 1, 1972 Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 published, features the first African American character to star in their own title Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1 Oct 1, 1974 First appearance of Wolverine (Incredible Hulk #180) First Appearance of Wolverine Jan 1, 1975 Giant-Sized X-Men #1 published, features an all new line-up of characters Giant Sized X-Men #1 Period: Jul 1, 1975 to Dec 31, 1991 Chris Claremont's 16 year run writing the X-Men Chris Claremont Apr 1, 1984 Secret Wars #1 published, the 12 issue series marks what is considered the first major event in the world of comics The Secret Wars Sep 1, 1991 X-Men #1 published, currentlly holds the record for best selling issue of a comic book X-Men #1 Dec 27, 1996 With many unsuccessful acquisitions and a decline in the market, Marvel files for Chapter 11bankruptcy protection Marvel Chronology Aug 21, 1998 "Blade" released and becomes Marvel's first financially successful feature film (over $131 million world-wide) Blade-film Jul 14, 2000 The feature film "X-Men" is release and begins a successful film franchise. X-Men the feature film Sep 1, 2000 Marvel launches the Ultimate Marvel imprint, which features updated and reimagined versions of classic characters Ultimate Marvel May 30, 2002 After many failed attempts, a "Spider-Man" feature film is released and begins another successful film franchise Spidey film Oct 1, 2007 Marvel begins a digital comics service, making thousands of titles available as downloadable content (rebrands in 2013 as Marvel Unlimited) Marvel Digital Dec 1, 2007 Marvel creates the subsidiary Marvel Animation, dedicated to orginal TV and direct to video animated programing Marvel Animated May 2, 2008 "Iron Man" feature film released, begins what is referred to as the Marvel Cinematic Universe Iron Man film Dec 31, 2009 The Walt Disney Company purchases Marvel for just over $4 billion Disney buys Marvel May 4, 2012 Marvel's "The Avengers" feature film is released, bringing back characters from other Cinematic Universe films to created a record shattering weekend and make it the third highest grossing film to date (approx. $1.51 billion worldwide) The Avengers film Sep 30, 2012 Marvel Now launched, featuring changes to many major characters and teams as well as the relaunch of popular titles Marvel Now May 1, 2015 "Avengers: Age of Ultron" release, sequel to the record breaking film Age of Ultron
