View source for Martin Goodman (publisher)

{{short description|Publisher; founder of Marvel Comics}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| name          = Martin Goodman
| image         = Martin Goodman.jpg
| caption       = 
| alt           = 
| bodyclass     =
| birth_name    = Moe Goodman
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1908|1|18}}
| birth_place   = [[Brooklyn, New York]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1992|6|6|1908|1|18}}
| death_place   = [[Palm Beach, Florida]], U.S.
| spouse        = Jean Davis
| children      = 3
| area          = 
| cartoonist    = 
| write         = 
| art           = 
| pencil        = 
| ink           = 
| edit          = 
| publish       = y
| letter        = 
| color         = 
| alias         = 
| signature     = <!-- very optional -->
| signature_alt = 
| notable works = [[Marvel Comics]]<br>[[Magazine Management Company]]<br>[[Atlas/Seaboard Comics]]
| collaborators = 
| influences    = 
| influenced    = 
| awards        = 
| website       = 
| subcat        = 
}}
'''Martin Goodman''' (also '''Morris Goodman''';<ref name=Saunders/> born '''Moe Goodman''';<ref name=secretpp11-12 /> January 18, 1908 – June 6, 1992<ref name=secretpp11-12>City of New York, Department of Health Certificate and Record of Birth, January 18, 1908, No. 3268, lists name as "Moe". Bell and Vassallo list his name as "Moses", citing [[U.S. Census]] records, {{cite book | first1=Blake | last1= Bell | first2=Michael J. | last2=Vassallo | title = The Secret History of Marvel Comics | year = 2013 | publisher = [[Fantagraphics Books]] | location = [[Seattle]] | isbn =978-1606995525 | pages=11–12, 102}} 
<p>
Birth year given as 1910, Brooklyn, in {{cite book| last= Daniels | first= Les | author-link= Les Daniels | title=Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics' | publisher = [[Harry N. Abrams]] | year=1991| page= 17 | isbn= 0-8109-3821-9}} Bell, Vassallo note (p. 290), "Daniels's book gets several facts [about Goodman] wrong, including Goodman's date of birth, the name of his very first pulp, and the name of his first publishing company." Birth year also appears as 1910 at {{cite web|url=http://comics.lib.msu.edu/rri/grri/goober.htm#goodmart |publisher=[[Michigan State University Libraries]] Special Collections Division |title=Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection, 'Goo' to 'Goodman' |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5sbWrmguy?url=http://comics.lib.msu.edu/rri/grri/goober.htm |archive-date=September 9, 2010 |url-status=dead }} Birthdate is given as January '''''8''''', likely a typographical error, at {{cite book|last=Ro|first=Ronin|title=Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution | year = 2004 | publisher = Bloomsbury}}</p></ref><ref>[http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/ssdi/doc/ssdi/v1:112EFFB042F22743 Martin Goodman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014182705/http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/ssdi/doc/ssdi/v1:112EFFB042F22743 |date=October 14, 2013 }}, [[Social Security Number]] 087-07-1191, at the [[Social Security Death Index]] via GeanealogyBank.com.</ref>) was an American [[publisher]] of [[pulp magazines]], [[digest size]]d magazines, [[Mass market paperback|paperback books]], [[men's adventure]] [[magazines]], and [[comic books]], who founded the comics magazine company [[Timely Comics]] in 1939. Timely Comics would go on to become [[Marvel Comics]], one of the United States' two largest comic book publishers along with rival [[DC Comics]].

== Biography ==
Moe Goodman, who would later adopt the name Martin, was the oldest son of 17 recorded children of Isaac Goodman (b. 1872) and Anna Gleichenhaus (b. 1875). His parents were [[Jewish]] immigrants who had met in the United States after separately moving from their native [[Vilnius|Vilna]],
[[Lithuania]], then part of [[Russian Empire]]. The family lived at different homes in the [[New York City]] borough of [[Brooklyn]].<ref name=secretp290>Bell, Vassallo, p. 290.</ref> As a young man, Moe traveled around the country during the [[Great Depression]], living in [[hobo]] camps.<ref>Daniels, ''Marvel''. p. 18</ref><ref name=secretp12>Bell, Vassallo, p. 12</ref>

=== Pulp magazines and Timely Comics ===
Circa late 1929, future [[Archie Comics]] co-founder [[Louis Silberkleit]], then circulation manager at the magazine distribution company [[Eastern Distributing Corporation]], hired Goodman for his department, assigning him clients that included publisher [[Hugo Gernsback]].<ref name=secretp12 /> Goodman later became circulation manager himself,<ref name=secretp290 /> but the company went [[bankruptcy|bankrupt]] in October 1932.<ref>Bell, Vassallo, p. 15.</ref> Goodman then joined Silberkleit and other investors as part owner of Mutual Magazine Distributors, and was named editor of Silberkleit's new sister company, the publisher Newsstand Publications Inc., at 53 Park Place, also known as 60 Murray Street, in [[Manhattan]].<ref>Bell, Vassallo, p. 16. Ro, in his 2004 book, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CFhbqswztWkC&dq=%22Goodman+worked+for+Independent+News%22&pg=PA7 7], states Goodman {{blockquote|... worked for Independent News [partly founded by Eastern Distributing founder Paul Sampliner] alongside future [Archie Comics] publishers and rivals [[John L. Goldwater|John Goldwater]] and Louis Silberkleit [as well as with] Frank Armer, who helped distribute [[Harry Donenfeld]]'s ''[[Detective Comics]]''. In 1932, Goodman and Silberkleit left Independent News, borrowed money, and formed Western Fiction Publishing, where they published the pulp magazine ''Complete Western Book [Magazine]''. Decent sales inspired two of the same: ''Best Western'' and ''Quick Trigger Western Novel''. Two years after forming Western Fiction, however, Silberkleit left."}}</ref>{{efn|A 2003 account by journalist and later Archie Comics publicist [[Rik Offenberger]], writing about the formation of Archie, maintains that, "In the early 1930s Louis Silberkleit, Martin Goodman, and [[Maurice Coyne (publisher)|Maurice Coyne]] started [[Columbia Publications]]"—a company unrelated to the later [[Columbia Comics]], which began in 1940. "Goodman soon left that company and it was owned solely by Louis Silberkleit and Maurice Coyne. Columbia was one of the last pulp companies, putting out its last pulp in the late 50s ..."<ref name="Offenberger">{{cite web | url = http://www.mightycrusaders.net/history.htm | title = Publisher Profile: Archie Comics | publisher = Borderline #19 via MightyCrusaders.net | author-link = Rik Offenberger | first = Rik | last = Offenberger | date = March 1, 2003 | access-date = April 2, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161028070716/http://www.mightycrusaders.net/history.htm | archive-date = October 28, 2016 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> Bell and Vassallo's 2013 book disputes that Goodman was involved in Columbia Publications, saying, "[T]here is no evidence that Columbia Publications existed before Goodman and Silberkleit parted company in 1934. ... Sources contributing to the myth: the late [[Jerry Bails]]'s ''Who's Who of American Comics'', the late [[Les Daniels]] in ''Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics'', and David Saunders in ''Illustration Magazine'' #14, Summer 2005."<ref name=bellvassalop17 />|group=n|name=offenberger}}

[[File:UncannyTales.jpg|left|thumb|The pulp magazine ''[[Uncanny Tales (American pulp magazine)|Uncanny Tales]]'' (May 1940), bearing Goodman's [[Red Circle (publishing)|Red Circle]] logo]]
Goodman's first publication was the Newsstand Publications pulp magazine ''Western Supernovel Magazine'', premiering with [[cover-date]] May 1933.<ref name=bellvassalop17>Bell, Vassallo, p. 17.</ref> After the first issue he renamed it ''Complete Western Book Magazine'', beginning with cover-date July 1933.<ref>{{cite book | last = Cottrill | first= Tim | title = 'Bookery's Guide to Pulps & Related Magazines 1888–1969 | publisher= Bookery Press | year = 2005 | pages = 70, 274}}</ref> Goodman's pulp magazines included ''All Star Adventure Fiction'', ''Complete Western Book'', ''Mystery Tales'', ''Real Sports'', ''Star Detective'', the [[science fiction]] magazine ''[[Marvel Science Stories]]'' and the jungle-adventure title ''[[Ka-Zar (magazine)|Ka-Zar]]'', starring its [[Tarzanesque|Tarzan-like]] namesake.  These were published under a variety of names, all owned by Goodman and sometimes marked as "[[Red Circle (publishing)|Red Circle]]".

In 1937, returning from his honeymoon in Europe, Goodman and his wife had tickets on the ''[[LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg]]'', but were unable to secure seats together, so they took alternative transportation instead, avoiding the [[Hindenburg disaster|''Hindenburg'' disaster]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-marvel-comics-20121009|title=10 Things You Didn't Know About Marvel Comics|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=January 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106231626/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-marvel-comics-20121009|archive-date=January 6, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2019}}

In 1939, with the emerging [[Mass media|medium]] of comic books proving hugely popular, and the first [[superhero]]es setting the trend, Goodman contracted with newly formed [[comic book packager]] [[Funnies, Inc.]] to supply material for a test comic book, ''[[Marvel Mystery Comics|Marvel Comics]]'' #1, cover-dated October 1939 and published by his newly formed [[Timely Publications]].<ref>Postal indicia in issue, per [http://www.comics.org/issue/556/ ''Marvel Comics'' #1 &#91;1st printing&#93; (October 1939)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103110511/http://www.comics.org/issue/556/ |date=November 3, 2014 }} at the [[Grand Comics Database]]: "Vol.1, No.1, MARVEL COMICS, Oct., 1939 Published monthly by Timely Publications, ... Art and editorial by Funnies Incorporated ..."</ref> It featured the [[List of first appearances in Marvel Comics publications|first appearances]] of the hit characters the [[Human Torch (android)|Human Torch]] and the [[Sub-Mariner]],<ref>Writer-artist [[Bill Everett]]'s Sub-Mariner had actually been created for an undistributed movie-theater giveaway comic, ''[[Motion Picture Funnies Weekly]]'' earlier that year, with the previously unseen, eight-page original story expanded by four pages for ''Marvel Comics'' #1.</ref> and quickly sold out 80,000 copies. Goodman produced a second printing, cover-dated November 1939, that then sold an approximate 800,000 copies.<ref name="fromm">Both figures per researcher Keif Fromm, ''Alter Ego'' #49, p. 4 (caption)</ref> With a hit on his hands, Goodman began assembling an in-house staff, hiring Funnies, Inc. writer-artist [[Joe Simon]] as [[editing|editor]], and Timely's first official employee.<ref name=Saunders>David Saunders, [https://www.pulpartists.com/Goodman.html Martin Goodman] at PulpArtists.com</ref> Goodman then formed Timely Comics, Inc., beginning with comics cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/indicia_publisher/98/ "Marvel : Timely Publications (Indicia Publisher)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128205434/http://www.comics.org/indicia_publisher/98/ |date=January 28, 2012 }} at the [[Grand Comics Database]]. "This is the original business name under which Martin Goodman began publishing comics in 1939. It was used on all issues up to and including those cover-dated March 1941 or Winter 1940–1941, spanning the period from ''[[Marvel Mystery Comics|Marvel Comics]]'' #1 to ''[[Captain America Comics]]'' #1. It was replaced by Timely Comics, Inc. starting with all issues cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941."</ref> Timely Comics became the umbrella name for the several paper corporations that comprised Goodman's comic-book division, which in ensuing decades would evolve into [[Marvel Comics]].<ref name=daniels27>{{cite book|last=Daniels |first= Les| author-link= Les Daniels | title= Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics | publisher = Harry N. Abrams |location= New York | year= 1991 | isbn= 0-8109-3821-9 | pages = 27 & 32–33}}"Timely Publications became the name under which Goodman first published a comic book line. He eventually created a number of companies to publish comics ... but Timely was the name by which Goodman's Golden Age comics were known." "Marvel wasn't always Marvel; in the early 1940s the company was known as Timely Comics. ... "</ref>

[[File:MarvelComics1.jpg|right|thumb|''Marvel Comics'' #1 (Oct. 1939), featuring the Human Torch. Art by [[Frank R. Paul]].]]

In 1941, Timely published its third major character, the patriotic superhero [[Captain America]] by Simon and artist [[Jack Kirby]]. The success of ''Captain America'' #1 (March 1941) led to an expansion of staff, with Simon bringing freelancer Kirby on staff and subsequently hiring inker [[Syd Shores]] "to be Timely's third employee."<ref>Ro, p. '''???'''</ref> Simon and Kirby departed Timely after 10 issues of ''Captain America'', and Goodman appointed his wife’s cousin, [[Stan Lee]], already there as an editorial assistant, as Timely's editor, a position Lee would hold for decades.

With the post-war lessening of interest in superheroes, Goodman established a pattern of directing Lee to follow a variety of genres as the market seemed to trend, such as romance in 1948, horror in 1951, [[Western (genre)|Westerns]] in 1955 and [[Kaiju]] monsters in 1958. He could be highly derivative In this regard, such as ordering the title character of ''[[Patsy Walker|Patsy Walker, America's #1 Teenager]]'' to have similar [[Hatching|crosshatching]] in her hair as that of [[Archie Comics]]' popular [[Archie Andrews (comics)|Archie Andrews]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Van Lente|first1=Fred|title=The Comic Book History of Comics|year=2012|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]|pages=102–103|last2=Dunlavey| first2= Ryan}}</ref>

The name "Timely Comics" went into disuse after Goodman began using the globe logo of the newsstand-distribution company he owned, Atlas, starting with the covers of comic books dated November 1951. This united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/publisher/78/indicia_publishers/ Marvel Indicia Publishers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208004451/http://www.comics.org/publisher/78/indicia_publishers/ |date=December 8, 2014 }} at the Grand Comics Database</ref> Throughout the 1950s, the company formerly known as Timely was called [[Atlas Comics (1950s)|Atlas Comics]].

===Red Circle===
<!--'Red Circle (publishing)' redirects here-->
{{Redirect|Red Circle (publishing)||Red Circle Comics|and|Red Circle Authors}}
[[File:A Red Circle Magazine.png|thumb|upright|left|The Red Circle Magazine logo]]
Goodman, whose business strategy involved using several corporate names for various publishing ventures, sometimes attempted branding his line with the logo "'''Red Circle'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->," which comics historian [[Les Daniels]] calls "a halfhearted attempt to establish an identity for what was usually described loosely as 'the Goodman group' ... a red disk surrounded by a black ring that bore the phrase 'A Red Circle Magazine.' But it appeared only intermittently, when someone remembered to put it on [a pulp magazine's] cover.<ref>Daniels, ''Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics'', p. 21</ref> Historian [[Jess Nevins]], conversely, writes that, "Timely Publications [was how] Goodman's group [of companies] had become known; before this, it was known as 'Red Circle' because of the logo that Goodman had put on his pulp magazines. ... "<ref>{{cite web|author-link=Jess Nevins |title=The Timely Comics Story |url=http://www.reocities.com/Athens/Olympus/7160/Timely3.htm |first=Jess |last=Nevins |access-date=16 August 2011 |page=3: "Antebellum Part I" |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115214342/http://www.reocities.com/Athens/Olympus/7160/Timely3.htm |archive-date=November 15, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Grand Comics Database]] identifies 21 Goodman comic books from 1944 to 1959 with Red Circle, Inc. branding,<ref>[http://www.comics.org/indicia_publisher/498/ Marvel : Red Circle Magazines, Inc. (Indicia / Colophon Publisher)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604033104/http://www.comics.org/indicia_publisher/498/ |date=June 4, 2015 }} at the Grand Comics Database.</ref> and one 1948 comic under Red Circle Magazines Corp.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/indicia_publisher/4157/ Marvel : Red Circle Magazines Corp. (Indicia / Colophon Publisher)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604033047/http://www.comics.org/indicia_publisher/4157/ |date=June 4, 2015 }} t the Grand Comics Database.</ref>

=== Magazine Management and Lion Books ===
As the market for pulp magazines waned, Goodman, in addition to comic books, transitioned to conventional magazines—published through a concern dubbed [[Magazine Management|Magazine Management Company]] at least as far back as 1947<ref>Bell, Vassallo, p. 39</ref>—and in 1949 founded Lion Books, a paperback line. Goodman used the name Red Circle Books for the first seven titles plus an additional two later. Most were novels, but there was a smattering of mostly sports-oriented nonfiction. Goodman eventually developed two lines, the 25¢ Lion and the 35¢ Lion Library.<ref name="lion">{{cite web|editor-last=Black |editor-first=Bruce| title=Lion| url =http://bookscans.com/Publishers/lion/lion.htm |publisher=BookScans.com (fan site)|access-date=August 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029032323/http://bookscans.com/Publishers/lion/lion.htm | archive-date=October 29, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><!--Bruce Black identified at a different page, http://www.bookscans.com/about_book_scans.htm-->

The August 5, 1957 issue of [[Publishers Weekly]] contained a notice on page 32 of the proposed sale of Lion Books to [[New American Library]], but the sale was never completed. The "Summer 1957 Book Index" in the May 27, 1957 issue included 30 titles to be published by Lion between May and September of 1957, but Goodman ceased publication with the April 1957 titles. Most of the forecast titles eventually appeared between 1957 and 1959 as paperbacks from other publishers, including [[Signet Books|Signet]], [[Pyramid Books]], and Zenith Books.<ref name= "lion_demise">{{cite web |url =http://bookscans.com/Publishers/krjohnson/defunctpages/Lion_Books.pdf |title= Lion Books Red Circle Books |last= Johnson |first= Kenneth |date= 2013 |website= bookscans.com |access-date= May 27, 2024 }}</ref>

Authors that Lion published included such notables as [[Robert Bloch]], [[David Goodis]] and [[Jim Thompson (writer)|Jim Thompson]].<ref name="lion" /> The first Lion editor was [[Arnold Hano]].<ref>Hano in {{cite web |url= http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2009/09/25/bronx-banter-interview-arnold-hano/ |title= Bronx Banter Interview: Arnold Hano |work= Alex Bleth's Bronx Banter |first= Hank |last= Waddles |date= September 25, 2009 |access-date= November 27, 2014 |quote= I was the managing editor of Bantam Books from 1947 to '49 ... until I tried to unionize the shop and they fired me in 1949. I answered an ad to start a paperback line and I started Lion Books. ... [T]hat was until 1954. There was an Eisenhower recession then, and Martin Goodman, the boss there, cut everybody's salary ten percent. Well, I had an ex-wife and two kids and Bonnie and the kid, and that was my margin ... so I quit. |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141205200318/http://www.bronxbanterblog.com/2009/09/25/bronx-banter-interview-arnold-hano/ |archive-date= December 5, 2014 |url-status= live |df= mdy-all }}</ref>

=== Marvel Comics ===
{{main | Marvel Comics}}
In mid-1961, following rival [[DC Comics]]' successful revival of superheroes a few years earlier, Goodman assigned his comics editor, [[Stan Lee]], to follow the trend again. He said, "Stan, we gotta put out a bunch of heroes. You know, there's a market for it."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Batchelor |first1=Bob |title=Stan Lee : The Man Behind Marvel |year=2017 |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-1-4422-7781-6 |page=xi}}</ref> Lee's wife suggested that Lee experiment with stories he preferred, since he was planning on changing careers and had nothing to lose. In response, Lee and artist [[Jack Kirby]] created ''[[The Fantastic Four]]'' #1 ([[cover-date]]d Nov. 1961), giving their superheroes a flawed humanity in which they bickered, worried about money and behaved more like everyday people than noble archetypes.<ref name="MCBUR">{{Cite book|last=Kaplan|first=Arie|author-link=Arie Kaplan|title=Masters of the Comic Book Universe Revealed!|publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]]|year=2006|page=50|isbn=978-1-55652-633-6}}</ref><ref name="SLC">{{Cite book|last=McLaughlin|first=Jeff|author2=Stan Lee |title=Stan Lee: Conversations|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|year=2007|location= Jackson, Mississippi|page=138|isbn=978-1-57806-985-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Cronin|first=Brian|title=Was Superman a Spy|year=2009|publisher=Plume: The Penguin Group|page=90}}</ref> That series became the first major success of what would become [[Marvel Comics]]. The newly naturalistic comics changed the industry. Lee, Kirby, such artists as [[Steve Ditko]], [[Don Heck]], [[Dick Ayers]], [[John Romita Sr.]], [[Gene Colan]], and [[John Buscema]], and eventually writers including [[Roy Thomas]] and [[Archie Goodwin (comics)|Archie Goodwin]], ushered in a string of hit characters, including [[Spider-Man]], [[Iron Man]], the [[Hulk]], [[Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)|Daredevil]], and the [[X-Men]].

In fall 1968, Goodman sold Magazine Management to the [[Cadence Industries|Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation]]. Goodman remained as publisher<ref>Daniels, ''Marvel''. p. 139</ref> until 1972, which included supporting Lee's decision to disregard the [[Comics Code Authority]]'s disallowance of an anti-drug themed story-arc featured in ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' requested by the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|US Department of Health, Education and Welfare]], which discredited the censor.<ref>Cronin, pp. 110–111.</ref> Two years later he founded a new comics company, [[Atlas/Seaboard Comics|Seaboard Periodicals]], which published under a new Atlas Comics imprint and is known to collectors as "[[Atlas/Seaboard Comics]]".<ref name=empire>Jeff Rovin interview in {{cite news|url=http://twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/16rovin.html |title=Rise & Fall of Rovin's Empire |work=[[Comic Book Artist]] |issue=16 |date=December 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201104922/http://twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/16rovin.html |archive-date=December 1, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> It shut down the following year.

Perfect Film & Chemical renamed itself Cadence Industries in 1973, the first of many post-Goodman changes, mergers, and acquisitions that led to what became the 21st-century corporation [[Marvel Entertainment|Marvel Entertainment Group]].

=== Men's magazines ===
Goodman's Magazine Management Company also published  such [[men's adventure]] magazines as ''Bachelor'', ''[[For Men Only (magazine)|For Men Only]]'', ''Male'', ''[[Stag (magazine)|Stag]]'' and ''[[Swank (magazine)|Swank]]'', edited during the 1950s by Noah Sarlat. As well, there was such ephemera as a [[one-shot (comics)|one-shot]] black-and-white "nudie cutie" comic, ''[[The Adventures of Pussycat]]'' (Oct. 1968), that reprinted some stories of the sexy, tongue-in-cheek secret-agent strip that ran in some of his men's magazines. Marvel/Atlas writers [[Stan Lee]], [[Larry Lieber]] and [[Ernie Hart]] and artists [[Wally Wood]], [[Al Hartley]], [[Jim Mooney]] and [[Bill Everett]] and "[[good girl art]]" [[cartoonist]] [[Bill Ward (cartoonist)|Bill Ward]] contributed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newsfromme.com/2005/06/15/the-marvel-age-of-huge-breasts/ |title=POV Online: "The Marvel Age of Huge Breasts" by Mark Evanier |access-date=October 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092812/http://www.newsfromme.com/2005/06/15/the-marvel-age-of-huge-breasts/ |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.perpetualcomics.com/column.asp?colid=347 |title=Tony's Online Tips, July 2, 2003 |access-date=January 1, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060228163427/http://www.perpetualcomics.com/column.asp?colid=347 |archive-date=February 28, 2006 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

By the late 1960s, these titles had begun evolving into erotic magazines, with pictorials about dancers and swimsuit models replaced by [[bikini]]s and discreet nude shots, with gradually fewer fiction stories.

Another division, [[Humorama]], published [[digest-sized]] magazines of girlie cartoons by Ward, [[Bill Wenzel]] and [[Archie Comics]] great [[Dan De Carlo]], as well as black-and-white [[photos]] of [[pin-up girl|pin-up models]] including [[Bettie Page]], [[Eve Meyer]], [[stripper]] [[Lili St. Cyr]] and actresses [[Joi Lansing]], [[Tina Louise]], [[Irish McCalla]], [[Julie Newmar]] and others. Titles included ''Breezy'', ''Gaze'', ''Gee-Whiz'',  ''[[Joker (American magazine)|Joker]]'', ''Stare'', and ''Snappy''. They were published from at least the mid-1950s to mid-1960s.

In addition to men's adventure magazines and ''Humorama'', Goodman also published many other magazines covering a plethora of topics including several male-oriented glossy 5" × 7" digests in the early to mid-1950s (e.g. ''Focus'', ''Photo'', and ''Eye'') prior to the development of ''Humorama'', as well as many romance, film and television, sports and other general interest magazines spanning several decades.

===Personal life===
Goodman was married to Jean Davis, with whom he had three children. He died on June 6, 1992, at his home in [[Palm Beach, Florida]], aged 84.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/11/obituaries/martin-goodman-84-began-marvel-comics.html | work = [[The New York Times]] | title = Martin Goodman, 84; Began Marvel Comics | date = June 11, 1992 | access-date = October 8, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140524025829/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/11/obituaries/martin-goodman-84-began-marvel-comics.html | archive-date = May 24, 2014 | url-status = live | df = mdy-all }} Note: Obituary erroneously states Goodman "invented such popular characters as Captain America and Spiderman {{sic}}", that his company's first hero was Captain America, and that he retired in 1968.</ref>

== Goodman's magazines ==
{{unreferenced section|date = May 2011}}

=== Pulp magazines ===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* ''Adventure Trails''
* ''All Baseball Stories''
* ''All Basketball Stories''
* ''All Football Stories''
* ''All Star Detective Stories''
* ''All Star Fiction'' / ''All Star Adventure Fiction'' /'' All Star Adventure Magazine''
* ''American Sky Devils''
* ''The Angel Detective''
* ''Best Detective''
* ''Best Love Magazine''
* ''Best Sports Magazine''
* ''Best Western'' / ''Best Western Novels''
* ''Big Baseball Stories''
* ''Big Book Sports''
* ''Big Sports Magazine''
* ''Children's Book Digest''
* ''Complete Adventure Magazine''
* ''Complete Detective''
* ''Complete Sports'' / ''Complete Sports Action Stories for Men''
* ''Complete War Novels''
* ''Complete Western Book Magazine''
* ''Cowboy Action Novels''
* ''Detective Mysteries''
* ''Detective Short Stories''
* ''[[Dynamic Science Stories]]''
* ''Five Western Novels''
* ''Gunsmoke Western''
* ''Justice'' (digest)
* ''[[Ka-Zar (magazine)|Ka-Zar]] / Ka-Zar the Great''
* [[Marvel Science Stories|''Marvel Science Stories'' / ''Marvel Tales'' /<br>''Marvel Stories'' / ''Marvel Science Fiction'']]
* ''Masked Rider Western'' (later sold to Thrilling)
* ''Modern Love''
* ''Modern Love Stories''
* ''Mystery Tales''
{{col-break}}
* ''Quick Trigger Western Novels Magazine''
* ''Ranch Love Stories''
* ''Real Confessions''
* ''Real Love''
* ''Real Mystery Magazine'' / ''Real Mystery''
* ''Real Sports''
* ''Romantic Short Stories''
* ''Secret Story''
* ''Six-Gun Western''
* ''Sky Devils''
* ''Sports Action''
* ''Sports Leaders Magazine''
* ''Sports Short Stories''
* ''Star Detective Magazine''
* ''Star Sports Magazine''
* ''3-Book Western'' (digest)
* ''Three Western Novels'' / ''Three Western Novels Magazine''
* ''Top-Notch Detective''
* ''Top-Notch Western''
* ''True Crime'' / ''True Crime Magazine''
* ''Two Daring Love Novels''
* ''Two-Gun Western Novels Magazine'' / ''Two-Gun Western'' /<br>''Two-Gun Western Novels'' / ''2-Gun Western''
* ''[[Uncanny Stories (magazine)|Uncanny Stories]]''
* ''[[Uncanny Tales (American pulp magazine)|Uncanny Tales]]''
* ''War Stories Magazine''
* ''Western Fiction Magazine'' / ''Western Fiction Monthly'' / ''Western Fiction''
* ''Western Magazine'' (Digest)
* ''Western Novelettes''
* ''Western Short Stories''
* ''Western Supernovel''
* ''Wild West Stories & Complete Novel Magazine''
* ''Wild Western Novels'' / ''Wild Western Novels Magazine''
{{col-end}}

=== Romance and true crime magazines ===
* ''My Confession''
* ''My Romance''
* ''True Secrets''

=== Humor magazines ===
*''Best Cartoons from the Editors of Male & Stag'', Magazine Management: published at least from 1973 to 1975)<ref name=msu/>
* ''Cartoon Capers'': published at least from vol. 4, #2 (1969) to vol. 10, #3 (1975)<ref name="msu">[http://www.lib.msu.edu/comics/rri/mrri/maga_m.htm Michigan State University Libraries: Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829152037/http://www.lib.msu.edu/comics/rri/mrri/maga_m.htm |date=August 29, 2008 }}</ref>
* ''Cartoon Laughs'': confirmed extant: vol 12, #3 (1973)<ref name="msu" />

=== Men's-adventure and erotic magazines ===
'''Launched pre-1970'''
* ''Bachelor'' initially titled ''Men in Adventure'' 1959
* ''[[For Men Only (magazine)|For Men Only]]'': confirmed at least from vol. 4, #11 (Dec. 1957) through at least vol. 26, #3 (March 1976)
::Published by Canam Publishers (at least 1957), Newsstand Publications Inc. (at least 1966–1967), Perfect Film Inc. (at least 1968), Magazine Management Co. Inc. (at least 1970) <ref>[http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/b77.htm The FictionMags Index] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005409/http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/b77.htm |date=September 27, 2007 }}. Note: [http://users.ev1.net/%255C~homeville/fictionmag/t478.htm Cached version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101062856/http://users.ev1.net/~homeville/fictionmag/t478.htm |date=January 1, 2007 }} includes contents list with staff/contributors names. Editor of vol. 21, #8 (Aug. 1974) is Ivan Prashker</ref>
* ''Male'': published at least vol. 1, #2 (July 1950) through 1977 <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/cce/firstperiod.html |title=University of Pennsylvania Library: "First copyright renewals for periodicals" |access-date=January 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718052523/http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/cce/firstperiod.html |archive-date=July 18, 2010 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
* ''[[Stag (magazine)|Stag]]'': at least 314 issues published February 1942 – February 1976
::Published by Official Communications Inc. (1951), Official Magazines (Feb. 1952 - March 1958), Atlas (July 1958 - Oct. 1968), Magazine Management (Dec. 1970 to end) <ref name="mdf300">{{Cite web |url=http://www.philsp.com/data/data300.html |title=Magazine Data File, p. 300 |access-date=January 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223182806/http://www.philsp.com/data/data300.html |archive-date=February 23, 2007 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
* ''Stag Annual'': at least 18 issues published 1964–1975
::Published by Atlas (1964–1968), Magazine Management (1970–1975)<ref name="mdf300" />
* ''[[Swank (magazine)|Swank]]''

'''1970s and later'''
* ''FILM International'': covering X-rated movies<ref>[http://www.timewarpcollectibles.com/ad-col-ex/mags/am-index-f.htm Sexy Magazines: Title List] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211105445/http://www.timewarpcollectibles.com/ad-col-ex/mags/am-index-f.htm |date=February 11, 2012 }}</ref>

=== True crime magazines ===
* ''Action Life Magazine'': published at least volume 4, #4 (Nov. 1954), Atlas Magazine Pub.
* ''Complete Detective Cases'': published at least between March 1941 and Fall 1954, Postal Pub. Inc.
* ''Leading Detective Cases'': published at least May 1947, Zenith Pub. Corp.
* ''National Detective Cases'': published at least March 1941.

=== Movie magazines ===
* ''Screen Stars'': published at least October 1944.

=== Other magazines ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2009}}
*''Celebrity'': extant in at least 1977
*''It's Amazing'': issue #1 dated only 1949, published by Stadium Publishing.
*''Movie World'' <!--issue #2, 1971, appeared on a sales site-->
*''Popular Digest'': volume 1 #1, September 1939.
*''Sex Health'': issue #1 dated August 1937.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060302132024/http://www.comicboards.com/invaders/view.php?trd=041126211131 A List of Pre-Golden Age Marvel Magazines]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050227025909/http://members.cox.net/adult/pristine/magstitlelist/humorlist.html Humorama]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/25/obituaries/louis-silberkleit-co-founder-of-archie-comics-dies-at-81.html "Louis Silberkleit, Co-Founder of Archie Comics, Dies at 81"], ''[[The New York Times]]'' February 25, 1986, with correction published February 27, 1986.

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|title=Publisher of [[Marvel Comics]]|before=n/a|after=[[Stan Lee]]|years=1939&ndash;1972}}
{{Succession box|title=Publisher of [[Magazine Management]]|before=n/a|after=n/a|years=1947&ndash;1972}}
{{Succession box|title=Publisher of [[Atlas/Seaboard Comics]]|before=n/a|after=n/a|years=1974&ndash;1975}}
{{end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Martin}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American magazine founders]]
[[Category:American pulp magazine publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Comic book company founders]]
[[Category:Comic book publishers (people)]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics people]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Florida]]
[[Category:American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent]]