1939 was arguably the most transcendental year in western comics’ history - It saw the birth of Superman and Batman, and also the debut of the magazine which would become the seed for the whole Marvel Universe. At the end of the thirties, comic-books were becoming popular, and pulp-magazine publisher Martin Goodman decided to expand business by launching an anthology comic magazine, under the name Marvel Comics. The first issue would feature the adventures of characters such as Namor the Sub-mariner and the Human Torch, who would start off as enemies but some time later would become allies. Since the debut issue was a great success, Goodman decided to turn it into a monthly magazine, with a slightly different name, Marvel Mystery Comics.
The magazine had a decade-long run, and it would be the birthplace of another modern Marvel character, the Vision. Its success would encourage Goodman to launch other comic-books under his company Timely Publications, the most notable being Captain America, the legendary hero whose early adventures would be penciled by another legend, Jack Kirby. Many years later, the Timely Comics brand would become the modern Marvel, and that first issue can be rightfully considered the germ of its whole universe. Though almost a million copies were printed, most of them were discarded shortly after publication, which combined with its historical importance makes this an extremely valuable comic. Any near mint copy will sell for no less than $100000.
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