This year marks the 70th Anniversary of Marvel Comics. In the fall of 1939 Marvel Comics (to be renamed Marvel Mystery Comics with issue #2) hit the newsstand and was an immediate success due to the two unusual Super-heroes, The Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner.
Why unusual? The Sub-Mariner, who was half man/half amphibian, was a Prince of the mythical undersea kingdom of Atlantis. Prince Namor acted more like a villain than hero, avenging his undersea world against the surface dwellers who constantly abused the world's seas and oceans.
The Human Torch, who was not human at all, was an android whose body burst into flame when it was exposed to oxygen. The Torch was at first considered a menace to society and after capturing the criminal who tricked him into a life of crime, joined the New York City Police Department.
Timely Comics (as Marvel was known as back then) had two heroes based on fire and water and the two often clashed to the enjoyment of the early Comic Book reading public.
Their success was secured in the spring of 1941 when Jack Kirby and Joe Simon created Captain America.
In the picture above are the early Timely Heroes. How many can you name?
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