In the monthly Bullpen Bulletins - later replaced by editor-in-chief Mr Quesada's Cup O' Joe column - that appeared in the middle of every issue of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and Quasar (ask your father), the Mighty House of Marvel sure did sound like a fun place to work. Just a bunch of guys hanging out, coming up with the next crazy idea that was gonna get the kids reading all in a tizzy and, if you were lucky, they might even share with you a little tease about what that upcoming event was going to be! The columns were one of the wisest PR decisions Marvel ever made, because it let them totally control the public perception of how they operated. This was long before the days of social media, the internet, or even Wizard Magazine spreading gossip and hearsay. Any controversies that occurred happened within the pages of the comics themselves, and they could usually be explained away with some judicious mental gymnastics performed in the letters page of next month's issue. Things are much different now, though. Along with all the terrible decisions they've made with stories and characters, fans are also party to all the dodgy behind-the-scenes dealings as well, thanks to Twitter, fanzines and books like Sean Howe's Marvel: The Untold Story. And with the succession of hucksters who have steered the Marvel ship over the years, there's a fair few mucky controversial events in the company's history to rake through. Here are ten of the worst...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
