Fawcett Publications:
a brief history
1919 - September
Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Wilford “Billy” Fawcett begins Fawcett Publications with a joke-and-cartoon magazine for WWI veterans, called Captain Billy’s Whiz-Bang.
Mid-1920s
Fawcett has Whiz-Bang professionally printed and distributed. Circulation reaches 500,000 and monthly income reaches $40,000. Two of Fawcett’s four sons are in charge of distribution.
1933
Artist C.C. Beck, creator of Captain Marvel, begins working as a cartoonist for Fawcett on humor magazines.
1935
Fawcett Publications moves east, setting up headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut and editorial offices in Manhattan.
1930s [Late]
New York, N.Y. The Fawcett Publications empire is based in trade magazines such as Mechanix Illustrated, Motion Picture Magazine, and True Confessions.
1939 - September
Fawcett executive editor Ralph Daigh looks for an editor to head a new comic book line. He finds one in editor Bill Parker, a supervising editor who had been employed with Fawcett since 1937, on Fawcett's line of detective books. Parker suggests a "team book" about six heroes whose first initials spell out SHAZAM; Daigh suggests that Parker simplify the concept.
1940 - January
Scheduled release of Captain Thunder under the title of Flash Comics. Fawcett runs into copyright troubles with Max Gaines of National Periodicals Publications (DC) who published a comic book of the same name, with a similar-sounding hero. Fawcett then considers changing the name to Thrill Comics, but this name is also abandoned when Better Publications debuts the similar-sounding Thrilling Comics.
1940 - February
67 West 44th Street, New York, N.Y. First release of Whiz Comics, starring Captain Thunder - renamed Captain Marvel (possibly inspired by the success of Marvel Mystery Comics, which debuted in fall of 1939).
1941
Republic Pictures produces a Captain Marvel movie serial, making Captain Marvel the first superhero ever to grace the silver screen.
1941 - March
Toronto, Ontario. Canadian publisher Anglo-American Publications buys rights from Fawcett. Fawcett stories are reproduced in Canadian comic books, with the artwork retouched to produce Canadian versions of the Fawcett characters.
1941 - September
DC Comics initiates first of several lawsuits against Fawcett for Captain Marvel, claiming that the character infringed on DC’s copyright for Superman.
1943 - April 12
U.S. Naval Bombing Squadron VB-128 adopts a Captain Marvel insignia depicting the superhero throwing a bomb as if it were a football. The insignia of Captain Marvel (who changes into a superhero from young news radio broadcaster Billy Batson) symbolizes the squadron’s belief that future battles would separate the boys from the men, and also represents the importance of the “man behind the machine” in all phases of a successful mission. The insignia remains in use during the squadron’s subsequent incarnations until it is dropped on March 3, 1949.
1944
Fawcett reaches peak circulation of 2 million copies per issue with Captain Marvel Adventures, outselling DC’s Superman.
1950
Fawcett approves release of The Good Humor Man, movie about a loveable ice cream salesman who belongs to a Captain Marvel fan club. According to C.C. Beck, the movie was made to attract readers of the Captain Marvel comic books.
1953 - June
Fawcett discontinues all of its superhero titles, as a result of over a decade of lawsuits from National/DC and dwindling interest in the superhero genre. Some Fawcett superhero properties are sold to other companies, notably Charlton. Many other Fawcett comic book titles are dropped as well; Fawcett continues publication of trade magazines and paperback fiction.
1953 - August
British publisher L. Miller & Sons begins publishing black and white reprints of Fawcett titles. Captain Marvel is re-marketed to a British audience under the name of Marvelman, and flourishes in the late 1950’s as reinvented by artist Mick Anglo; the Miller line of comics was discontinued in 1963. Marvelman is revived in 1982 by Quality Comics (no relation to the Golden Age publisher of the same name), written by acclaimed author Alan Moore. In 1985, Marvelman is released in the United States by Eclipse Comics, under the name Miracleman. In 2001, plans for a Marvelman/Miracleman revival are halted by a tangled web of litigation involving Todd McFarlane (purchaser of Eclipse), Moore successor Neil Gaiman, and Marvel Comics.
1954
Frederic Wertham publishes Seduction of the Innocent, an attack on the comic book industry as promoting juvenile delinquency. Seduction of the Innocent, and the senate hearings that followed, include Fawcett's crime titles Suspense Detective; Underworld Crime; Down With Crime; and Mike Barnett, Man Against Crime among its targets.
c. 1958
Meriden, Connecticut. Fawcett purchases Hallden Publications, publisher of Mark Trail and Dennis the Menace and its various spin-off titles. Continuing to operate from its Meriden facility, Hallden is incorporated as Fawcett’s Hallden Division and Dennis the Menace properties remain Fawcett’s only comic book publications in production.
1966
St. Louis, Missouri. Formation of Milson Publications, a line of comic books featuring work by Captain Marvel alumni C.C. Beck, Otto Binder, Rod Reed, and Wendell Crowley. Milson (also going by the name Lighting Comics) published only two titles before the company folded: the 6-issue Fatman, the Human Flying Saucer and the racially offensive 2-issue Tod Holton, Super Green Beret. A planned Captain Shazam title is advertised but never released.
1972
DC Comics purchases the rights to the Captain Marvel family.
1973 - February
DC publishes the first issue of Shazam!. The title continues publication until 1978, but the Fawcett properties are periodically revived by DC up to the present day. DC is unable to use the name Captain Marvel as a title, due to Marvel Comics’ publication of a title and character of the same name. Shazam! #1 was one of the first comic books to fall victim to the "speculator" phenomenon (where comics are bought in anticipation of future value), with many dealers and collectors buying multiple copies right off of the delivery trucks; as a result, relatively few issues ever reached the newsstands.
1974 - 1976
Shazam! Live-action Saturday morning TV show.
1980
Fawcett cancels Dennis the Menace, its sole remaining comic book property.
1980s [Early]
Fawcett, still publishing magazines and paperbacks, is sold to CBS. Fawcett now belongs to Random House as Fawcett Crest Books, an imprint of its Ballantine Books division.
1987 - April - July
DC releases Shazam!: the New Beginning (4-issue limited series), regarded by some as Captain Marvel’s first Modern Age appearance.
1994
DC publishes graphic novel, The Power of Shazam! In 1995, DC follows up with a regular series of the same name, which introduces many old Fawcett characters into DC continuity. The series runs until March 1999.
1996
DC releases Kingdom Come, a 4-issue limited series set in the future of the DC universe. A battle between Superman and Captain Marvel features prominently in the plot. Written by Mark Waid, art by Alex Ross. According to Waid, the Superman/Captain Marvel battle was inspired by the parody in Mad #4.
2001 - January
DC releases Shazam!: Power of Hope, a single-issue large-format comic book illustrated by photo-realist Alex Ross. Ross donates proceeds from the book to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
2003 - July
DC Comics releases the first issue of Formerly Known as the Justice League, a six-issue mini-series. The humorous comic book series stars former Charlton heroes Captain Atom and Blue Beetle, former Fawcett heroine Mary Marvel, and several heroes originating with DC. A new “Teen Titans” series featuring Captain Marvel Junior is also announced to be in production.
2004
Scheduled release by DC Comics for a new Shazam! six-issue miniseries.
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