Martin Goodman

publisher

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July 21, 2026

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Martin Goodman, a pulp magazine publisher, founded Timely Comics in 1939. This company, the precursor to Marvel Comics, was created to capitalize on the rising popularity of comic books and superheroes. The first comic book published by Timely was titled Marvel Comics no. 1. While the company used the Marvel name for several publications throughout the 1940s and 1950s, it officially became Marvel Comics in the early 1960s, recalling its earlier title.1

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Human Torch
…comic line for pulp publisher Martin Goodman. The comic, and particularly the Torch and Sub-Mariner characters, proved a hit, and Timely soon grew to become one of the era’s biggest companies, eventually emerging as the Marvel Comics that readers know today.
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…comic line for pulp publisher Martin Goodman. The comic, and particularly the Torch and Sub-Mariner characters, proved a hit, and Timely soon grew to become one of the era’s biggest companies, eventually emerging as the Marvel Comics that readers know today.
Read More