* Martin Goodman; Publisher Founded Marvel Comics

Martin Goodman, 84, whose Marvel Comics created such characters as Captain America and Spider-Man. Goodman began his career in comics in the 1930s, first supplying other publishers with his cartoon strips. But he soon organized his own publishing house featuring a large collection of magazine and pulp novel titles. Goodman sold his company and retired in 1968. Captain America, created to “express (Goodman’s) feelings about what the U. S. stood for,” and Spider-Man are still among Marvel’s top characters. On June 6 in West Palm Beach of a stroke.