For over 50 years, Marvel comics has been the world's leading publisher of comic books. This book is the fascinating story of Marvel, beginning with the invention of the comic book and the discovery of Marvel's formula for success with the launch of two offbeat super heroes, the Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch. Captain America, introduced nine months before Pearl Harbor, immediately became one of the best-selling comic books of all time. In the 1960s Marvel restyled its heroes as complex, trouble figures in a chaotic modern world. Daredevil, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and Spiderman, all commanded the fierce loyalty of a new generation of fans.