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This chapter examines major developments in British comics during the period 1950–1961. It first considers comics as one of the cornerstones of children's entertainment in the 1950s before discussing the means by which American comics came to Britain as well as the objections to American comics in the country. It then describes the rise of girl's comics in the early 1950s, the appearance of parodies of the superhero, and the (continued) rise of the small superhero publishers. It also explores British publications that were viewed as doppelgangers of Captain Marvel, including Electroman, the production of Marvelman stories by the Gower Studio, and the resurrection of DC Thomson superheroes and the creation of new ones. Finally, it looks at the publications of Fleetway and the Independent Publishing Corporation (IPC) and suggests that the late 1950s and early 1960s were very interesting times for British adventure comics.

This chapter focuses on the reinvention of the Marvel superhero and the mergers among some of the major comics publishers in Britain during the period 1962–1980. The challenge of reinventing the superhero in the 1960s was taken on by Stan Lee, who was asked by Martin Goodman, the publisher of Marvel Comics, to put together a superhero team. The result was The Fantastic Four (1961). The Marvel revolution changed superhero comics profoundly. The chapter first considers the merger between Odhams and Fleetway Publications Ltd (formerly Amalgamated Press) that led to the formation of the Independent Publishing Corporation (IPC) before discussing Fleetway/IPC's adventure comics of the 1960s, along with the publications by Odhams, the Power Comics, and Marvel UK. It also examines the creations by Dave Gibbons at DC Thomson and the emergence of independent comics scene in the 1970s and 1980s.

This chapter examines the tradition of periodical adventure stories that existed in Britain during the period 1825–1935, focusing on “story papers” and “penny bloods,” also known as “penny dreadfuls.” It first provides a historical background on the emergence of British comics before discussing “story papers” and “penny dreadfuls,” and especially their relationship with similar publications in America and the characters who, in retrospect, can be seen as protosuperheroes and villains. It also shows how these publications established the market and audience for adventure comics in Britain and influenced the rise of a similar market in America, where dime novels and pulp magazines, along with newspaper strips, would later influence the rise of superhero comics. The chapter concludes with an analysis of three of the early treatments of the superhuman from science-fiction literature: Edward Bulwer-Lytton's The Coming Race (1871), Philip Wylie's The Gladiator (1930), and Olaf Stapledon's Odd John (1935).