The Defenders

In the early 1960s, Dell Comics launched a short-lived, two-issue series simply titled The Defenders, a forgotten footnote from the pre-superhero boom. Written by Carl Memling and illustrated by Frank Springer and Gerald McCann, this series is notable primarily for its title, which predates the more famous Marvel team by nearly a decade. Despite its brief run, it stands as a curious artifact of the era, showcasing Dell's attempt to capitalize on the "defender" concept before the term became synonymous with Marvel's non-team.