Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC

In "Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-Year Battle between Marvel and DC," journalist Reed Tucker provides a brisk, captivating account of the ongoing clash of the superhero-publishing titans.He's done a fine job portraying two companies traveling parallel tracks: Marvel, the scrappy upstart publisher of all-too-human superheroes that overtook longtime industry leader DC in the early 1970s and eventually became just as corporate as its main competitor; and DC, the staid corporate publisher with iconic, godlike heroes that's spent five-plus decades trying-sometimes successfully, sometimes not-to capture Marvel's brand of cool by bringing those icons like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman down to earth and making them relevant for modern readers.Tucker introduces his narrative with a vivid account of a cringe-inducing meeting at DC's bland New York headquarters in which worried executives try to figure out the secret of Marvel's success-and focus on imitating every superficial aspect of Marvel magazines except the storytelling because they refused to stoop to actually reading those books.At times, the publishers' battle for spandex supremacy is as intense-though not as violent and destructive-as anything depicted in their books. Industry personalities hurl vulgar schoolyard insults at their employer's rival. Those same personalities are the objects of talent wars as the companies poach each other repeatedly. They imitate, they plagiarize-and even engage in espionage that hews closer to "Get Smart" than James Bond. (In 1971, a DC executive left in his outbox a fake memo about publishing 500-page comics. The employee suspected of leaking company secrets to Marvel took the bait-and soon enough, Marvel was discussing publishing 500-page comics.)Of course, the personality who dominates Tucker's narrative is Stan Lee, who co-created (with Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko) conflicted, flawed heroes like the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man who were the antithesis of DC's idealized, perfect heroes. Tucker offers readers not the idealized "Stan the Man," but a writer who originally wanted nothing to do with comics and just wanted to make enough money to launch a career in more respectable publishing. In effect, Tucker does for Lee what Lee did for superheroes-he humanizes a seemingly larger-than-life figure.Tucker also makes clear that comics is primarily a male-dominated industry; the only women's voices heard in his narrative are those of Jenette Kahn, longtime DC president and publisher, and veteran Marvel writer/editor Ann Nocenti.Along the way, he also shows how the comics themselves evolved from inexpensive, four-color entertainment for children to more complex fare intended for a fanatically devoted, but aging, audience-and now, to valuable intellectual properties for conglomerates like Disney and Warner, respectively.It's Tucker's love of his topic that makes "Slugfest" such a knockout read.And "Slugfest" can be enjoyed not just by comic book fans, but also by students of business administration, as Tucker chronicles the lack of business acumen exhibited by editorial regimes at both companies. (Particularly fascinating is the cautionary tale of Carmine Infantino, a renowned artist whom DC woefully miscasts as an executive.)In the end, Tucker concludes, neither company is the real winner of its ongoing rivalry-it's the kids who read "Batman" and "Daredevil" who grew up to become power players in the film, television and video-game industries that are the latest battlefields for the cape-and-cowl titans.

I very much enjoyed this book.This is an easy to read book that discusses the rivalry between the two companies and relates it to and describes their past and present cooperate structure. The author does not dwell on items too long, such as Marvel’s bankruptcy where other books have done that. The book is all text with no illustrations and does not involve itself the actual comic book stories.For those familiar with the important events he gives behind the scenes information and quotes. For those not familiar with the most important events, he discusses them in chronological order.Marvel, in the 1960s is, of course, the “winner” in the race. Now, from a distance it is easy to see that the corporate structure of DC, its conservative outlook and it’s inability to change, held them back. Marvel’s innovative approach, led by Stan Lee, allows Marvel to grow and overtake the much bigger rival in comic book sales. The narrative of DC concentrates on Weisinger and Schwartz, a bit on Kanigher and very little on Schiff, although in the 1960s Batman became a big deal. Soon the DC narrative shifts to Carmine Infantino. In the later years, Joe Questa and other Marvel higher up do not come out looking good. And once again, no one has a kind word for Weisinger.I have written about this recently and it is discussed here. At the beginning of Marvel’s rise to fame, DC books seemed for children, they offered few adventures and lots of silly gimmicky covers. Yet, in the beginning of the 1960s DC thought themselves as literature and Marvel as, well, garbage. Their dialogue was simplistic and had no personality, so at a JLA meeting you could move the balloons around it would not matter who said what. These issues were gone into in detail in this book. And show why Marvel won the 1960s and 1970, creatively as well as on the stands.Reed discusses at length the events that led Marvel to Secret Wars and that help change it’s corporate structure. He does the same with the Death Of Superman and Crisis at DC, and, once again, shows how special events help circulation, but, later on often hurts it. Apparently, the author feels to DC has overtaken Marvel creatively, at least in the last couple of decades.A great deal of time is spent discusses the problems setting up the crossover issues, Superman vs. Spider-Man, and how the up and down animosity of the two companies often stand it its way. At the same time, Reed show how economically the two companies are somewhat dependent on each other. The author also discusses why many artist left on company to go to another. Or why an artist or writer would NEVER go to DC or Marvel.The author also lets us in a bit on the very good salaries and bonuses, sometimes a million dollars that popular creators now get. The book concludes with a look at the movies and the constant rebooting of the companies.I have no dog in this race but I reached a conclusion a long time ago. Creativity comes from an individual, not a corporation. Marvel in the 1960s and DC in the 1940s (not covered here) were their most creative when privately owned.

Kindle purchase at £3.99.It's probably not surprising that some reviewers apparently read this rooting for a particular outcome, but it's really not the point of the book.The author is completely objective throughout and where anything was the subject of rumour, it's pretty clearly stated.What I personally found fascinating was insight to areas of the industry or points in both DC and Marvel history I was previously not privy to.Not having spent precious comic book budget on trade magazines in the 70s or 80s, I missed interviews with a lot of the creative talent, so it was great to hear quotes from so many of them and find out where some of them went to, as well.I was never one to buy output of only one company, so the obvious competition wasn't particularly of interest to me at the time and was even sad to see at certain points. Hearing the depths that both companies and some of their staff went to within these pages seems childish well beyond trying to seize the larger market share, but then that's not uncommon when art becomes industry. Nonetheless, it's brilliantly recorded and I found it hard to put down.Editorially, the repetition of some events (albeit in short passages) is surprising, but at least it appears to have been proof read, which seems to be a lost art in recent times.I detected no bias and the epilogue couldn't be clearer about opinions on winners and losers, or whether there are any at all.I take one reviewer's point about not all successes and failures being discussed in the same depth, but I'd suggest that each case seems to have been treated proportionately in terms of the impact of the parent company, or the industry as a whole.To anyone who has an interest in the history of DC and Marvel, I'd highly recommend this book.

This was an incredible read. Ive always loved the appeal of comic books, and have dabbled in them frequently, but more as a casual reader. I was of the generation that got into comic book characters because of the movies and cartoons, so I never knew the full creative history DC and Marvel. This book breaks down the origins of both companies and highlights all the turning points in their tense rivalry.This book is so detailed that it made me wish I was around in New York during the golden age of comics.If you care about comics, definitely read this book!

This is an interesting history of the long war between Marvel and DC comics. Taking in from the comics to the movies. I felt it was a little too Marvel pro (the author must be a fan of marvel) but overall it was enjoyable.

A little light weight but nevertheless a very interesting background of financial and political infighting between Marvel and DC. This stands as an exposè of what really drives the storylines in the comics.

Excellent and well researched - really easy read with plenty of links that help understand the effects of corporate thinking on the stories that emerged in the comics.