While selling 50 million comics per year in 1968, Goodman revised the constraining distribution arrangement he made with Independent News during the Atlas years, now allowing him to produce as many comics that were demanded. During the fall of that same year, Goodman sold Marvel Comics and his other publishing companies to the Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation, which grouped them all together as Magazine Management Company with Goodman remaining as publisher. In 1969, Goodman ended his deal with Independent News by signing with Curtis Circulation Company. During 1971, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare asked Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee if he would do a comic book story about drug abuse. After writing the three part Amazing Spider-Man #96-98 (May-July 1971) storyline address drug abuse and all its harm, the Comics Code Authority refused to approve the comics due to narcotic references. However, with Goodman’s permission, Lee published the first three comics without the CCA approval stamp. The public reacted very well to this and that same year the CCA revised the Code on comics.
Goodman retired in 1972 and passed the torch onto his son, Chip. Shortly, Lee succeeded his as publisher and also became Marvels president. During Lee’s time as president, Roy Thomas, whom Lee appointed as editor-in-chief, added “Stan Lee Presents” to the opening page of each comic book. During another slow time, a series of new editor-in-chiefs oversaw the company and, once again, Marvel tried to diversify their comics. They wrote comics on horror, martial arts, sword-and-sorcery, satire (shout out to Howard the Duck everybody!), and science fiction.
Everything Comic-book! 