Slugfest : inside the epic fifty-year battle between Marvel and DC /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The first in-depth, behind-the-scenes book treatment of the rivalry between the two comic book giants.

THEY ARE THE TWO TITANS OF THE COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY--the Coke and Pepsi of superheroes--and for more than 50 years, Marvel and DC have been locked in an epic battle for spandex supremacy. At stake is not just sales, but cultural relevancy and the hearts of millions of fans.

To many partisans, Marvel is now on top. But for much of the early 20th century, it was DC that was the undisputed leader, having launched the American superhero genre with the 1938 publication of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel's Superman strip. DC's titles sold millions of copies every year, and its iconic characters were familiar to nearly everyone in America. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman -- DC had them all.

And then in 1961, an upstart company came out of nowhere to smack mighty DC in the chops. With the publication of Fantastic Four #1, Marvel changed the way superheroes stories were done. Writer-editor Stan Lee, artists Jack Kirby, and the talented Marvel bullpen subsequently unleashed a string of dazzling new creations, including the Avengers, Hulk, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Iron Man.

Marvel's rise forever split fandom into two opposing tribes. Suddenly the most telling question you could ask a superhero lover became "Marvel or DC?"

Slugfest , the first book to chronicle the history of this epic rivalry into a single, in-depth narrative, is the story of the greatest corporate rivalry never told. Complete with interviews with the major names in the industry, Slugfest reveals the arsenal of schemes the two companies have employed in their attempts to outmaneuver the competition, whether it be stealing ideas, poaching employees, planting spies, or launching price wars. The feud has never completely disappeared, and it simmers on a low boil to this day. With DC and Marvel characters becoming global icons worth billions, if anything, the stakes are higher now than ever before.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This work about comics publishers DC and Marvel by entertainment journalist Tucker is a must-read for comics fans, but keep in mind that many readers might not agree with what the author has to say. Tucker goes through the history of both companies, one at the top for a period of time, and then the other jumps ahead. His main point comes across: both companies need each other in order for comic books to survive. Tucker establishes a personality for the two companies. DC is stuffy, bureaucratic, by-the-numbers, and Marvel edgy, punkish, and with a take-no-prisoners approach. Currently, thanks to the success both companies have in Hollywood, they are more similar in their organization. Tucker states in the beginning that he is a neutral party, though his tendency to elevate DC's mistakes while downplaying Marvel's is questionable. Comic books have been around for decades, and as Tucker states, they will be here for years to come-let the rivalry continue. VERDICT A great read for anyone interested in the history of two companies that have had a massive impact on pop culture. Recommended for fans of comics, rivalries, and Blake J. Harris's Console Wars.-Ryan -Claringbole, Wisconsin Dept. of Pub. -Instruction, Madison © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Pop culture writer Tucker (The Osbournes Unf**king Authorized) delivers a well-written and entertaining look at the decades-long battle between the two titans of the comic book business, Marvel and DC. Tucker knows his history, and he starts with an excellent overview of how DC was "the undisputed leader in the spandex game" from its 1938 introduction of Superman until Marvel brought out the Fantastic Four in 1961. This helped the upstart company "establish itself as the edgier, hipper alternative to stodgy old DC." Throughout, Tucker easily discusses both artistic and commercial issues, describing in detail how Marvel's "new approach to storytelling" emphasizing realism "still provides the template today that has made superheroes a multi-billion, multi-media cash cow" and examining the myriad ways the two companies have spent years "clawing for market share and trying to kneecap each other in ways both above board and below." Older comics fans will delight in Tucker's astute telling of how Marvel kingpins Stan Lee and Jack Kirby spent the 1960s eclipsing their DC rivals, and newer fans will be fascinated by Tucker's in-depth description of how DC's gamble on grittier work such as Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns produced "what is perhaps the most fertile period in the company's-and the industry's-history." This is an excellent history for comic book fans. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Tucker, a freelance entertainment journalist, sets himself quite a challenge here. The story of the decades-long rivalry between comic-book giants Marvel and DC is indeed epic, full of colorful personalities, corporate espionage, deceit, treachery, ambition, genius, pop-culture revolutions, and a whole lot of other things. But not only does Tucker tell the sometimes-labyrinthine story in a straightforward, easy-to-follow manner, he also tells it in a hugely entertaining way. Here, for example, is how he describes the way comic books matured around the same time he did: Just as I was on the way toward becoming an adult and leaving superheroes behind, superheroes instead came with me. Later, on the same page, he describes the rival companies as the Coke and Pepsi of spandex, which neatly sums it up. This really is a fascinating story, especially when you remember that the competition between DC and Marvel isn't just about comic books; it's about pop culture itself. Rank this one very close to Sean Howe's masterful Marvel Comics: The Untold Story (2012).--Pitt, David Copyright 2017 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

A smart, blow-by-blow narrative of the sometimes-friendly, often bitter rivalry between corporate comic-book behemoths.When Superman debuted in 1938, no one could have predicted that he and his underwear-on-the-outside brethren would eventually come to dominate the entertainment landscape. Journalist Tucker (co-author: Duke Sucks: A Completely Evenhanded, Unbiased Investigation into the Most Evil Team on Planet Earth, 2012) makes a compelling case that the rise of the superhero in popular culture is perhaps best understood by exploring the evolution of the two companies that created and proliferated those heroes: DC Comics, the upright and staid publishers of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and Marvel Comics, the hipper, edgier purveyors of Spider-Man, the Avengers, and the X-Men. The author provides an essential primer on how these companies' comics evolved from four-color funny books for kids to complicated, carefully curated content aimed at an aging comics cognoscenti to intellectual property laboratories for multinational entertainment conglomerates. Comic-book fans will revel in the minutiae of Tucker's account, from stories of artists using pen names in the early days of the rivalry to collect a paycheck from both sides without incurring the wrath of their primary employer to alleged acts of spying in the wake of both companies simultaneously publishing stories of startling similarity (on multiple occasions, no less). Comics neophytes will undoubtedly get lost in the voluminous list of creators cited throughout the book and be astonished by the lack of business acumen displayed by various editorial regimes. However, even they will be able to appreciate the salacious significance of DC's secret overtures to Stan Lee at the height of his Marvel fame and the way in which each company's corporate culture, not to mention the machinations of their parent companies and investors, contributed to the current state of superhero ubiquityeven as the comic publishing industry itself dwindles. A wild haymaker for the masses, perhaps, but a knockout read for capes-and-cowls aficionados. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Reed Tucker is a freelance journalist and writer and has lived in New York since 1999. He writes mostly about pop culture and entertainment, including as a staff features writer at the New York Post . He has written hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles for everyone from Esquire to USA Today to Oprah.