1991 Third Quarter Report

Background

From a collector's standpoint, one of the most interesting aspects of the Marvel Comic's Board of Directors taking the comicbook company public in 1991 was that when the company began issuing quarterly and annual reports, those reports (unlike similar reports of other publicly-traded companies) were issued in the form of comicbooks. These comicbooks/reports have since become collectible items on their own.

This first report set the tone of the other quarterly reports to follow. It was a four-page, glossy report that was produced as a faux-comic, this one staring Spider-Man and the Hulk, spouting facts and figures about the company.

Story Details

Spider-Man and The Hulk are sitting around an office with charts, and piles of comic books. They are here to tell you about how successful Marvel Comics are, and have been since the company went public. Citing good comic sales, a non- refundable cash advance from James Cameron to produce a Spider-Man movie, licensing fees for Marvel toys and action figures, plus hints about how cool some of the upcoming projects were going to be in the next quarter.

General Comments

Spidey appeared on the cover of the report web swinging through the New York Stock Exchange, that alone makes it hugly collectible.

Overall Rating

The coolness factor of this first Quarterly Report gives this initial comic this high rating.

Footnote

Only shareholders were entitled to receive quarterly reports so it is a fair bet that most of them got tossed. However, anyone (shareholder or not) could request an annual report, so it is possible that there are more of them available.