These days, surrounded as we are by a vast array of media channels such as movies, television and the Internet, it's hard to imagine how important the first comic books were to teenagers. Comic books were a mirror of the current concerns of society and the often tumultuous events of the world. Superheroes were often the characters in these books that fascinated teenagers the most, drawing them into the fantastic world within. Marvel comic books were there at the very beginning, and they have remained at the forefront of comic publishing ever since. In fact, Marvel is by far largest publisher of comic books.

The history of Marvel dates back to October 1939, when Martin Goodman commissioned Lloyd Jacquet's business for publication of the first Marvel comic book. The book happened to be called Marvel Comics #1. Marvel sold over 80,000 copies of this first issue. With so much success in its experiment in comics, particularly the first superhero, Human Torch, Marvel brought out a second superhero in 1941: Captain America.

The Golden Age of Comic Books ended with the end of World War II and the popularity of superhero comic books declined drastically. Declining sales of comic books featuring Wheezer, Angel, Captain America, and Miss America pushed Marvel comics to invent humor characters such as Powerhouse Pepper and Super Rabbit.

But the start of the war in Vietnam rekindled interest in comic superheroes. This made Marvel design four new such heroes who teamed up as "The Fantastic Four" in the Marvel comic books of the same name. Marvel followed this with additional characters, like X-Men, Ant-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, and the immortal Spider-Man. These figures are permanently etched in the brains of many teens and keep forming the basis for a number of Hollywood blockbusters.

Marvel comic books were educational as well as entertaining. Look at them closely and you should notice how they incorporated important issues into their story lines. Drug abuse is a good example of this. Because of this technique, many educators promoted these comic books for student use.

Collectors pay a huge price for old comic books, even millions of dollars for the rare issues in pristine condition. Ask your grandparents and parents if they have a fortune tucked in a drawer that contains the nostalgic stuff from their childhood. Even the government recognizes the immense influence of superhero comics on pop culture. In 2007, commemorative stamps featuring superhero comic characters were released.