Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC

by Reed Tucker Narrated by Will Collyer

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

10/23/2017
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.)

From the Publisher

"Reed Tucker masterfully dissects the REAL issue dividing us as a nation."
—Seth Meyers, host of NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers

"A smart, blow-by-blow narrative of the sometimes-friendly, often bitter rivalry between corporate comic-book behemoths...A wild haymaker for the masses, perhaps, but a knockout read for capes-and-cowls aficionados."—Kirkus

"This is a book for 'Fans.' I consider myself a 'Fan.' I love this book. I guess you could say I am a 'Fan' of this book. If you are not a 'Fan' of 'Things' then this is not a book for you. It is a book for me. GIVE ME BACK MY BOOK!"
—Bobby Moynihan, comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member

"Slugfest is the ringside commentator for the clash of the comic book titans. A must-read for all comic fans."
—Scott Sigler, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Alive

"If you think comics are squeaky clean, you have no idea how down and dirty things have gotten behind the brightly colored scenes. Slugfest pulls back the curtain on the tireless work, masterful art, smack talk, underhanded tactics, and juicy betrayals that have both blessed and plagued the rivalry of a lifetime. It's meticulously researched and delightfully scandalous, like the lovechild of an encyclopedia and a soap opera. It's an Encyclopera. Which also happens to be my super hero name."
—AJ Mendez, retired WWE superstar and New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Is My Superpower

"Insanely readable...An amazing comic-book story."—Houston Press

"The story of Marvel's David toppling DC's Goliath is a fun one, and Tucker tells it well."—Associated Press

"Tucker uses extensive interviews with major players within the two comics giants to provide a blow-by-blow account of its victories and defeats."—Shelf Awareness for Readers

"A great read for anyone interested in the history of two companies that have had a massive impact on pop culture."—Library Journal

"Tucker delivers a well-written and entertaining look at the decades-long battle between the two titans of the comic book business."—Publishers Weekly

"Slugfest takes readers inside the decades-long beef between DC and Marvel comics."—Newsweek

"Lively and engaging."—Weekly Standard

"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."—Booklist

"As colorful as the characters you see in halftone every Wednesday on New Comics Day."—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Captivating."—National Review

"Slugfest is at its best when it becomes a virtual oral history of the Big Two comics publishers after Frank Miller and Alan Moore alter the entire industry in the mid-80s through their epic Batman and Watchmen titles."
—Washington Post

"An intriguing examination of the intense Marvel-DC rivalry."—Washington Times

Library Journal

11/01/2017
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

NOVEMBER 2017 - AudioFile

People will like this audiobook, but comic book fans will go out of their minds. Reed Tucker has dug into the cracks and crevices of the two main comic book publishers, DC and Marvel, and shown how brilliant, stupid, and lucky both companies have been. Narrator Will Collyer clearly explains how the upstart Marvel Comics rocked the publishing world in the early 1960s by making their heroes speak and act like real people, baffling the conventional DC editors. Fans will love the revelation that DC editors were so arrogant that they wouldn’t actually read the comics to see what they were about but judged them by their covers. This is an outstanding look at comic publishing from 1935 right up to the summer blockbusters of 2017. M.S. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2017-07-12
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 ubiquity—even as the comic publishing industry itself dwindles. A wild haymaker for the masses, perhaps, but a knockout read for capes-and-cowls aficionados.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170061990
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

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