It was August 1961, and change was in the air. Throughout the nation, a new comic book filled the stands, heralding an era of creativity soon to be dubbed the Marvel Age of Comics. Fantastic Four #1 did not feature the squeaky-clean heroes of yesteryear, clad in gaudy primary colors and hiding behind secret identities. These were real characters placed in extraordinary circumstances. They lived together, they fought among themselves-and sometimes, they even lost to the bad guys. This was more than a change in attitude: It was the beginning of something entirely different. And readers couldnt get enough. Thanks to the fertile imaginations of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others, the runaway train called Marvel showed no signs of slowing down. An unending list of heroes followed the FF with ever-increasing acclaim and popularity: the Amazing Spider-Man, the Mighty Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, Iron Man and the X-Men, to name but a few. These were the Marvel heroes,...