Everyone knows that Marvel Comics is home to legendary super-heroes as Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America and Iron Man. But Marvel comics has a rather different secret history hidden in those well-known franchise empires. This fascinating collection digs back to the 1930s when Marvel wasn't just a comic-book company. Owner Martin Goodman had interests in a publishing world that lead to production of lurid and sensationalistic short stories and magazines featuring sexually-charged detective and romance short fiction, as well as gossipy scandal sheets.