DC gegen Marvel #1

Jun 1996 · Dino Verlag · 4.90 DEM; 4,90 CHF; 39 ATS; 6,50 NLG; 6.300 ITL; 575 ESP

🌐 German edition · synopsis shown in English

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“DC gegen Marvel Comics, Erste Runde”

About this Issue

DC gegen Marvel #1 is the German-language debut of the first full-scale, officially in-continuity crossover between DC Comics and Marvel Comics — the first such event to be treated as canonical within both publishers' shared histories, unlike all prior inter-company crossovers. Written by Ron Marz and Peter David with art by Dan Jurgens and Claudio Castellini, the original four-issue miniseries introduced Access (Axel Asher), a jointly owned character capable of moving between the two universes — and this first issue establishes the cosmic-collision premise that would detonate into the Amalgam Comics imprint. For German-speaking readers, this issue also launched Dino Verlag's flagship crossover series, which ran to 38 issues through January 2001 and served as the primary conduit for DC/Marvel crossover material in the German market throughout the era.

A 1996 crossover special from Dino Verlag, "DC gegen Marvel Comics, Erste Runde" brings together iconic characters from both universes, including Batman, Bruce Wayne, Aquaman, Bane, Beast, Archangel, Ben Grimm, and Bruce Banner, in a team-up that blends the artistic styles of Dan Jurgens and Claudio Castellini, with inking by Joe Rubinstein and Paul Neary, and coloring by Gregory Wright and Digital Chameleon.

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writer Ron Marz · writer Frank Neubauer · artist Dan Jurgens · artist Claudio Castellini · inker Joe Rubinstein · inker Paul Neary · colorist Gregory Wright · colorist Digital Chameleon · letterer Harm Bengen · cover Dan Jurgens, Joe Rubinstein

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History

Dino Verlag GmbH, which had been publishing German-language DC Comics since the mid-1990s, launched the DC gegen Marvel series in June 1996, reprinting the American DC Versus Marvel / Marvel Versus DC miniseries (cover-dated February–May 1996) under local editorial direction. Frank Neubauer handled both editing and German translation duties on the issue, which was printed at 48 pages. Unusually for a reprint edition, Dino issued three numbered limited-edition variant covers of issue #1 alongside the standard edition — a comparatively ambitious publishing gesture for a German comics imprint of the period. The series went on to run 38 issues, eventually folding into Dino's broader DC/Marvel crossover catalogue before the publisher's operations were ultimately absorbed by Panini Verlag in 2003.

Trivia · 8 facts

DC gegen Marvel #1 (Dino Verlag, June 1996) reprints DC Versus Marvel Comics #1 (DC Comics, cover date February 1996), the first chapter of the landmark four-issue intercompany crossover miniseries.
The source miniseries was written by Ron Marz and Peter David, pencilled by Dan Jurgens and Claudio Castellini, inked by Josef Rubinstein and Paul Neary, and colored by Gregory Wright — with Dino's Frank Neubauer providing the German translation and editorial oversight.
This issue contains the first appearance of Access (Axel Asher), a new character jointly owned by DC and Marvel who can traverse the boundaries between the two universes; his introduction here seeds the Amalgam Comics concept.
The original American miniseries was the first DC/Marvel crossover formally treated as in-continuity for both publishers — previous team-ups were not subsequently referenced in regular continuity.
Issue #1's story sets the crossover premise in motion: a mysterious cosmic light transports heroes and villains across universes — Juggernaut appears in Metropolis, Spider-Man (then Ben Reilly) lands in Gotham and encounters the Joker, and Robin turns up at Xavier's School for the Gifted.
A 'Decision '96' back-up feature in the American source issue presented character dossiers on the heroes set to fight, and distributed ballot information so readers could vote on five key matchups — a participatory storytelling mechanism unprecedented at this scale in mainstream comics.
The Dino Verlag edition of issue #1 was published in three numbered limited-edition variant covers (Limitierte Sonderedition 1, 2, and 3 von 3) in addition to the standard edition, making it a multi-variant release in the German market.
The DC gegen Marvel series ran 38 issues at Dino Verlag (June 1996 – January 2001), eventually expanding beyond the core miniseries to incorporate subsequent DC/Marvel crossovers including the Amalgam titles, All Access, and individual crossover one-shots.