Are Marvel and DC Comics the same thing?

Answer 1

Oh, there are definitely rivalries. Some of the manga publishers I know who are competing in such a way are Shonen Jump!, Shonen Sunday, and Shojo Beat. Shonen Jump seems to be tha most popular one at the time, though, and it's also the most famous.

Shounen Jump, etc mentioned above are comic magazine titles, not manga publishers.

Shueisha Inc. 集英社 publishes Weekly Shounen Jump, Akamaru Jump, etc.

Other publishers are Kodansha 講談社, which organizes the annual Kodansha Manga Award, and is well-known for publishing the Weekly Shounen Magazine and Monthly Shounen Magazine. Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Dragon ball are some some notable series published by Shueisha.

Shueisha's Weekly Shounen Jump was the younger upstart established later than Kodansha's that aims to be Kodansha's rival. Shueisha recently ended its Monthly Shounen Jump series, which was obviously a counterpart to match Kodansha's Monthly Shounen Magazine. Nodame Cantabile, xxxHolic, Boys Be, Initial D, Fairy Tail are some notable series published by Kodansha.

Other publishers include Hakusensha 白泉社, publisher of the well-known Lala magazine (Ouran High School, Skip Beat!, Vampire Knight), which separated from Shueisha, Shougakukan 小学館, famous for publishing Doraemon and Pokemon series, and many others.

Many of these publishers do not just publish comics, they have other lifestyle magazines and publications such as novels.

Answer 2

No, DC is (currently) owned by Warner Brothers and Marvel is (currently) owned by Disney. They both produce comics, but different characters.

Answer 3

I would describe them as competitors.

Answer 4

yes