Marvel... or DC?

While primarily known for his work with Marvel, Stan Lee did write some comics for DC, beginning with the Just Imagine... series in 2001.

Image was founded by Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Marc Silvestri, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino, Whilce Portacio, and Chris Claremont, all of whom left Marvel over frustration with the company's work-for-hire policy.

Vertigo Comics, created by DC Comics in 1993 to publish more adult-themed comics not bound by the Comics Code, such as The Sandman, V for Vendetta, and Preacher.

Marvel Comics has had several characters with the name Captain Marvel, most recently Carol Danvers (subject of the 2019 Captain Marvel film). However, the original Captain Marvel was created by Fawcett Comics, later acquired by DC Comics, and is more commonly known by the name Shazam today, in order to avoid confusion and legal conflicts with Marvel Comics.

The Comics Code Authority was established in 1954 to regulate content and avoid government oversight. The Code prohibited profanity, immorality, and extreme violence, among many other things. Marvel stopped following the code in 2001, whereas DC did not abandon it until 2011.

Both companies were headquartered in New York City until DC Comics relocated to Burbank, California in 2015.

A copy of Action Comics #1 (1938), which features the first appearance of Superman, was purchased by an anonymous buyer in 2010 for $1 million.

Marvel and DC co-own the trademark, though the exact story differs. According to Buzzfeed, both companies threatened legal action against Mego Toys when the company secured the trademark in 1981, so they gave it up. According to NPR however, the two companies have jointly held the trademark since the 1960s.

In 1988, DC polled readers on whether Jason Todd (the second Robin) should live or die. Fans could call a 1-900 number to cast their vote. They voted (by a margin of 72 votes) for him to die.

Marvel had a 40.4% market share of all comics sold in 2018, compared to DC's 33.8%. However, DC had the highest-selling single issue, which was Action Comics #1000.

Marvel (then known as Timely Comics) had a 15-chapter serial film of Captain America in theaters in 1944. The first DC film in theaters was Superman and the Mole Men, a 1951 theatrically-released pilot for the TV show The Adventures of Superman.

Marvel produced the first Star Wars comics in 1977, and continued publishing them until 1986. Several other companies then produced Star Wars comics over the next couple decades, mostly Dark Horse Comics, before the license returned to Marvel in 2014 after Lucasfilm was bought by Disney.