Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-Year Battle Between Marvel and DC

The first in-depth, behind-the-scenes audiobook 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, number one, 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 audiobook 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.

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Comic-book fans will revel in the minutiae of Tucker's account...A knockout read for capes-and-cowls aficionados.

-- "Kirkus Reviews"

People will like this audiobook, but comic book fans will go out of their minds...Narrator Will Collyer clearly explains how the upstart Marvel Comics rocked the publishing world in the early 1960s...This is an outstanding look at comic publishing from 1935 right up to the summer blockbusters of 2017.

-- "AudioFile"

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

-- "Library Journal"

Slugfest feels very much in its comfort zone when covering the past two decades, as Men in Black became a huge box-office hit of a small-comic adaptation, and as X-Men and Spider-Man finally found their way to the screen after years of less-than-savvy Hollywood deal making...We are sure to see a new wave of these behind-the-comics scenes books...Where there was ink, there was money. Whether the profits are flowing or drying up, comics...are as deeply human and flawed as any other great American enterprise.

-- "Washington Post"

Reed Tucker masterfully dissects the REAL issue dividing us as a nation.

-- "Seth Meyers, American comedian and televison host "

Well-written and entertaining...An excellent history for comic book fans.

-- "Publishers Weekly"

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" ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Will Collyer, an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator, is a film, television, and stage actor. He has starred in television shows such as Melrose Place, Charmed, CSI: Miami, and Boston Public, as well as numerous films and plays. He holds a BA in theater arts from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television.



Reed Tucker is a freelance journalist and author who writes mostly about pop culture and entertainment, most recently as a staff features writer at the New York Post. He has written hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles for everyone from Esquire and USA Today to O, The Oprah Magazine.

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