In 1975, both DC and Marvel attempted to gain the rights to publish a comic adaptation of the Wizard of Oz. The two companies eventually decided to co-publish the project as a joint effort. The result was the Tabloid-Sized "MGM's Marvelous Wizard of Oz", the first comic ever co-published by the two comic industry giants.

DC and Marvel agreed to another co-publishing venture the following year. The project would team the most popular characters of each company in a shared adventure. Thus in early 1976, "Superman Vs. Spider-Man" was released and was a true milestone in comic history. Superman Vs. Spider-Man was a one-shot tabloid priced at $2.

Five years later, DC and Marvel agreed to revisit the cross-company concept. Superman and Spider-Man teamed up again in Marvel Treasury Edition #28 in 1981. DC took their turn later that year by publishing Batman Vs. the Incredible Hulk in DC Special Series #27. Both tabloid-sized crossovers sold for $2.50 and were successful enough that two more crossovers were planned for 1982.

Marvel and DC Present #1 was the first non-Tabloid format crossover between Marvel and DC. It teamed characters from the most popular titles, the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans. Marvel and DC Present was a 64-page deluxe format giant priced at $2.

A second issue of Marvel and DC Present was planned. The project which was to feature JLA and the Avengers, drawn by star artist George Perez. Midway through the project a conflict arose over the script. Marvel and DC could not agree on a resolution and the project was shelved. Perez had completed more than half the book, but it would never be published. Some of the Perez drawn pages surfaced in various publications over the next 20 years.

After the JLA/Avengers debacle, DC and Marvel ceased joint publishing ventures for more than 12 years. In 1994, the two companies got back together to publish a number of new inter-company crossovers. Perez even went back to work on a new JLA/Avengers project, which was released in 2003.