The Importance of Superheroes To The American Comic Book Industry, 1958-1962

This paper explores events surrounding fundamental changes that took place in the American comic industry in the time period 1958-1962. Retrospectively it is argued that these changes set the direction of the industry for at least the next fifty years, where the industry has been dominated by two publishers, Marvel Comics and DC Comics, with a heavy reliance on the superhero genre. Of particular importance is the decline of Dell Comics, the dominant publisher of the 1950s. This transformation is briefly examined through the lens of strategic management, specifically SWOT analysis, as an illustration of potential future research.