Superman vs. Spider-Man is back. DC and Marvel are reprinting coveted crossover comics

Comic-book store owner Jermaine Exum couldn’t believe his ears when a customer asked to reserve a copy of the upcoming 960-page “DC versus Marvel” comics collection.

Comic-book store owner Jermaine Exum couldn’t believe his ears when a customer asked to reserve a copy of the upcoming 960-page “DC versus Marvel” comics collection. “I said, ‘What now? Let me make sure you get what?,’” the Greensboro, North Carolina businessman and comics fan said. “Because I thought it can’t possibly be real.” Exum’s surprise reflects the excitement felt by fans when DC, owned by CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, announced in February a new project with Marvel that republishes long out-of-print crossover comics. You may think that Superman’s greatest rival is Lex Luthor – but, in the past, sometimes it’s been Spider-Man. The heroes were created decades ago by competing comic-book companies: DC, founded in 1934, and upstart Marvel, founded in 1939. Since then, the Big Two of comics have captivated fans with their superhero worlds: Batman and Wonder Woman on one side, The X-Men and Iron Man on the other. Now, DC and Marvel, owned by Disney since 2009, are collaborating on a project that resurfaces material by both firms’ writers and artists. From 1976 to 2003, crossovers between the DC and Marvel universes (“Superman vs. Incredible Hulk,” or “Batman vs. Daredevil”) were regular features as the companies sought to expand their markets. Yet these comics went largely out of print in the 2000s as once-niche superheroes became billion-dollar movie stars. In an industry now defined by Hollywood, the news of a re-release of comics featuring match-ups between the companies’ stars sent waves of curiosity, nostalgia and hopes for more throughout the comics industry.