Marvel Explodes: From Bullpen to Big Business

by Paul Levitz

Explore the Stories Behind the Legends

Starting in 1968 when three classic Marvel anthologies were split into separate titles for Iron Man, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, The Hulk, Doctor Strange, and Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel began an explosive arc of growth which culminated in becoming America’s largest comics publisher in 1972.

Marvel Explodes tells the story year-by-year, exploring this decisive period from a creative standpoint – the expanded mythology, the new titles, and the writers and artists who would join to fuel the explosion – as well as a business the key transitions, including new distributor, owners, and opportunities.

176 pages, Paperback

Expected publication October 15, 2026

Reviews

[Justin Soderberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Legendary industry professional Paul Levitz gives us a unique look at one of Marvel's some of most impactful years in Marvel Age of Comics: Marvel Explodes: From Bullpen to Big Business , a unique and amazing addition to the Marvel Age of Comics series.

Starting in 1968 when three classic Marvel anthologies were split into separate titles for Iron Man, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, The Hulk, Doctor Strange, and Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel began an explosive arc of growth which culminated in becoming America’s largest comics publisher in 1972.

Marvel Explodes tells the story year-by-year, exploring this decisive period from a creative standpoint – the expanded mythology, the new titles, and the writers and artists who would join to fuel the explosion – as well as a business the key transitions, including new distributor, owners, and opportunities.

I have read my fair share of books based around the history and lore of Marvel Comics, but Levitz comes at this addition to the Marvel Age of Comics series with a fresh and unique perspective, making it stand out from the crowd. First off, the book is shorter than most history of the company, but it goes beyond the its succinct storytelling into a view of the history that only a few people can tell. Levitz takes on this book coming from a legendary career as a DC Executive, comics editor, and writer.

What makes Marvel Explodes: From Bullpen to Big Business a bit different than most entries into the Marvel Age of Comics series so far, is the broad range of history it covers. Not an entire history of Marvel Comics, but one that spans nearly a decade and covers all shapes and sizes of Marvel Comics. Each other entry has a bit more of a tight focus, making this one a bit different. Not to mention, Levitz is somewhat of an outsider when it comes to Marvel as he was an Executive and editor at DC Comics, allowing for a unique point-of-view.

Levitz dives into some of the creative decisions that needed to be made to get Marvel to where it is now, and some of the lucky breaks they got along the way. It's not an overly in-depth story, but one that tells what needs to be said, focusing more of the comics themselves and those creators and not the personalities that came along with the work.

Marvel Explodes: From Bullpen to Big Business may not be the most exhaustive history of Marvel ever written, but that's what makes it such an enjoyable addition to the Marvel Age of Comics series. Paul Levitz puts together a concise and insightful look at one of Marvel Comics most transformative decades through someone who industry experience with a unique perspective.

Marvel Age of Comics: Marvel Explodes: From Bullpen to Big Business hits bookstores everywhere on June 25, 2026 from Bloomsbury Academic. The audiobook is available via Libro.fm!

NOTE: We received an advance copy of Marvel Age of Comics: Marvel Explodes: From Bullpen to Big Business from the publisher. Opinions are our own.

[Alex Sarll]

Yes, I've read the whole Marvel Age Of Comics line to date, but this one was a particularly interesting prospect through being written by someone so firmly associated with the Distinguished Competition. Hell, back when I was first getting into fandom, as against just reading and liking the comics*, he was pretty much the hated embodiment of the Company Man, eating boiled goose and demanding edits to The Authority (of all the titles to make trouble with the boss ironic...), us snotty young fans little suspecting that yes, he was nixing the odd gay superhero snog, but he was also the only bulwark against Watchmen spin-offs, endless line-wide reboots, and all the other corporate bullshit which, since Levitz' departure, has turned DC from comics' greatest universe into a baffling minefield of tangled continuity and baffling brand extensions.

But back before he was in charge, or even writing the Legion, Levitz was a fan himself, a timeline he details in sidebar Confessions as he takes us through Marvel's late sixties and early seventies explosion, a period when the line escaped its restrictive distribution arrangement, the number of titles being published snowballed, and even Stan Lee has to admit he couldn't write** everything himself. The sequel, in other words, to the much-mythologised genesis era defined by Kirby and Ditko, the arrival of new generations of both characters (Blade, Ghost Rider, Luke Cage) and creators (Claremont, Gerber, Chaykin). Levitz' dual position as businessman and fan is ideal for giving us the story in the round, aware of what was drawing audiences on the page but also of the workplace morale, staffing issues and boardroom skulduggery behind the scenes; I've read other accounts of this period, but none were quite so emphatic that Marvel's ascent to the position of top comics publisher owed less to innovative and dynamic storytelling than to a sneaky bit of footwork regarding pricing. But unlike some of the suits, then and now, he never tips over into treating the comics as purely product. Yes, he omits any mention of the best character Marvel introduced during the period under discussion (Giant-Size X-Men be damned, the character find of 1975 was clearly Moon Knight), and at least in my Netgalley ARC, there were definitely times when a book by an editor, largely discussing editors, somehow nevertheless felt like it needed an editor, certain details being mentioned twice in a way that didn't seem deliberate. But for the most part it's packed with vim, insight, and fun trivia: I would never have guessed that Tarzan knock-off Ka-Zar was older than Cap, the Torch or Namor, and the earliest owned character retroactively incorporated into the Marvel universe.

*Two activities with less overlap than you might think.
**Apply inverted commas to taste.

[Lee Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun romp into the history of Marvel Comics, by the legendary comics editor, writer and DC Comics executive Paul Levitz. The magic from this short overview of Marvel's early explosive growth comes from Paul Levitz's start as the publisher of one of the earliest comics focused fanzines. While it is not a strictly insider's view, it's strength is giving a knowledgeable outsider's perspective of the forces that shaped Marvel's rise, as well as the publishing and content decisions they made along the way in the 60's, 70's and 80's. The story has been told many times, but Levitz puts these pieces together in a way I've never seen, making the path both seem inevitable and the consequence of a some lucky (and not so lucky) creative decisions. The book is not exhaustive and generally steers clear of digging into the many giant personalities of the era, but its breadth makes Marvel's history understandable. An excellent volume for someone wanting to know more about Marvel's rise as well as an excellent case study for someone interested in economics of the newsstand era of comics publishing.

[Chw · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4. I am in the exact target audience for this book--an older comics fan who recalls the comics that Levitz writes about. Yet I found this history of Marvel from the late 1960s to 1975 surprisingly dry; it's an institutional history of Marvel, recounting the names of the writers and artists who made the comics during this period, and discussing some of the economics of the business. What seems to be left out are the stories themselves, the creations that lead a reader, a half century later, to want to know more about this period. To pull examples at random, we learn when Jim Starlin and Steranko joined Marvel, but we get little insight into the most exciting works that they created there, Warlock and the Nick Fury comics. Nor do any of the individuals addressed in the book really come under sustained analysis; Stan Lee, for instance, is treated with kid gloves, his feud with Jack Kirby only glancingly referred to. Considering that Levitz had first-hand knowledge of Marvel during this period, I feel the book could have been much more.

[Juniper L.H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delivers on exactly what was promised and your experience will depend on your interest in the topic. This short little book provides an insight into the early history of Marvel comics and how it became what it is today. Its direct and straightforward, and I thought it was interesting. I don’t think there were any revelations that you couldn’t have found with a Google search yourself, but having it all organized together and interspersed with some neat pictures and cover photos was neat.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.