Marvelman

Marvelman was a British Golden Age superhero comic book, published by L. Miller & Son in the United Kingdom between 1954 and 1963. The lead character was originally created by Mick Anglo as a replacement for Captain Marvel due to Fawcett Publications ending the latter's titles following legal action by DC Comics. In 1982 the character was revived in the comics anthology Warrior, and later renamed Miracleman in 1985. Since 2009, the rights to the character have been licensed from Anglo by Marvel Comics, who have reprinted some of the vintage material under the original Marvelman name. With the British economy struggling to recover from World War II, a ban on importing American comics was enacted, leading to a boom in indigenous comics. However, a loophole existed whereby a British publisher could import overseas comics, print them and sell the results. This proved to be a lucrative move for L. Miller & Son, especially when they licensed Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. from Fawcett Publications. However, after losing a landmark legal case against National Comics in 1952, Fawcett discontinued their superhero material, cutting off the supply of strips for L. Miller & Son. Not wanting to cancel the highly profitable title, Len Miller contacted artist Mick Anglo, whose Gower Street Studios had already created cover art for many L. Miller & Son comics. Anglo devised the characters of Marvelman and Young Marvelman to replace them, featuring a similar premise of young men who could change into powerful superheroes. Working titles had included both Captain Miracle and Miracle Man, both of which would be used by Anglo for later characters. L. Miller & Son's Captain Marvel #24 featured the title "Captain Marvel - The Marvelman" on the front cover; inside the editorial revealed that Billy Batson had decided to retire and lead a normal life with his place being taken by Micky Moran as Marvelman. Thus Marvelman took over the numbering of the Captain Marvel series, leading to the character debuting on 3 February 1954 in Marvelman #25, which contained the stories "Marvelman and the Atomic Bomber" and "Marvelman and the Stolen Radium".