Captain Marvel was the most popular superhero of the 1940s, with his Captain Marvel Adventures series selling more copies than Superman and other competing superhero books. He was also the first superhero to be adapted into film in 1941 (The Adventures of Captain Marvel). Because of a decline in the popularity of superheroes and a copyright infringement suit from DC Comics alleging similarities between Captain Marvel and Superman, Fawcett ceased publishing Captain Marvel and Marvel Family comics in 1953. They later licensed the Marvel Family characters to DC in 1972 and ceded the rights to them outright in 1980. Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family have been integrated into the "DC Universe", and DC has attempted a few revivals. However, Captain Marvel has not found widespread appeal with new generations, although a 1970s Shazam! live action television series featuring the character was very popular. Due to the fact that Marvel Comics trademarked their Captain Marvel comic book during the interim between the original Captain Marvel's Fawcett years and DC years, DC Comics has to promote and market their Captain Marvel/Marvel Family properties under the title Shazam!.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Marvel_%28DC_Comics%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1864: American Civil War: Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea ended with the capture of Savannah, Georgia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman%27s_March_to_the_Sea)

1885: Ito Hirobumi, a samurai from Choshu, became the first Prime Minister of Japan. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ito_Hirobumi)

1989: Romanian Revolution: After a week of bloody demonstrations, Ion Iliescu took over as President of Romania, ending the Communist dictatorship of Nicolae CeauÅŸescu . (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Iliescu)

2001: Burhanuddin Rabbani of the Northern Alliance handed over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai (pictured). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Karzai)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"My own experience and development deepen every day my conviction that our moral progress may be measured by the degree in which we sympathize with individual suffering and individual joy." -- George Eliot (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Eliot)