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Jack Kirby Leaves Marvel Comics
Jack Kirby was one of the main creators of many famous Marvel comic book characters like Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, The Fantastic Four, and Groot. It was a shock to many comic readers when Kirby announced that he was leaving Marvel to work for it's competition, DC Comics. He left due to lack of creative control at Marvel and the fact that his writing partner, Stan Lee, was getting more fame than him. He later returned to Marvel in 1976. -
Creation of Comic Books With No Superheroes
While superheroes were the most popular characters in comic books at the time, Marvel and DC decided to experiment with new non-superhero characters in order to evolve the medium. One of the most popular comic book characters to be introduced during this time was Marvel Comic's Conan the Barbarian which was originally created by Robert E. Howard during the 1930's. Marvel and DC also created comics based on movies like Jaws and 2001: A Space Oddessy and even on people like Pope John Paul II. -
Government Involvement in Comic Books
Around this time, the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare asked comic book writer and Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee to write a comic that touched on drug abuse. The story that Lee created was the Spider-Man comic "Green Goblin Reborn". In the story, Peter Parker or Spider-Man, finds out that his best friend, Harry Osborne is abusing prescription pills because the girl that he likes, Mary Jane Watson, doesn't have the same feelings towards him. -
Team-Up Comics
Because superhero comics were so popular, comic book companies would often team up different characters from their line-up for one or more comic books. Examples include Marvel's "Daredevil and the Black Widow" and "Captain America and the Falcon" and DC's "Green Lantern/Green Arrow" and "The Brave and the Bold" which had The Flash and Green Lantern teaming up. Marvel also did something different by having two villians from The Fantastic Four comics, Dr. Doom and Sub-Mariner, team up for a comic. -
Popularity of Minority Superheroes
Although Black Panther and Falcoln, two black comic characters, were created before the 1970's, the rise of popularity in superheroes of different ethnicities happened during the 70's. The first new superhero was Marvel Comic's Luke Cage. Other characters include Marvel's Storm and Blade and DC's Bronze Tiger, Black Lightning, Cyborg, and John Stewart. John Stewart was originally a recurring character in the "Green Lantern" comics before becoming the main character throughout the 1980's. -
Major Death in Comic Book History
In the 121st issue of "The Amazing Spider-Man".something happened that changed the face of what could happen in comics forever. In the comic, Spider-Man's girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, is killed by the villian, the Green Goblin. This was one of the first times in the history of comic books where the villian actually won. This is what started the much darker directions comic books took during the 70's compared to the much lighter 60's comic books. -
Introduction of Supernatural and Horror-Themed Comics
As I said already, comic books were starting to become darker and more serious and as a result, many supernatural or horror-themed comics were created. This was a result of DC and Marvel cutting down on their lower selling superhero comics and putting these in their place. One of the most popular was the creation of Marvel's Ghost Rider. In that comic, the main character sells his soul to the devil and as a result, inherits a curse that causes his skull to catch on fire at night. -
Company Crossover Comics
At the time, a common conversation between comic readers was who would win in a fight if a Marvel character fought a DC character.Marvel and DC later made that a reality as they teamed up to create a comic book that contained a battle between both companies most popular characters. The first comic was "Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man". After that "Batman vs. Hulk" was created. In a move that could/ve made history, "The Avengers vs. The Justice League of America" was made but not publsihed. -
Creation of Female Superheroes
Although there was already DC's Wonder Woman, there was a lot more female superheroes and villians being created during the 70's. One of the first creations was Marvel's Ms. Marvel while the Women's liberation movement was going on. On the cover of the comic, the phrase "This Female Fights Back" was used as the timeline. The X-Men comics were seen as culturally important by the smart and strong portrayal of the female characters Storm, Jean Grey, Kitty Pryde, and Rogue. -
Social Commentary in Comics
As comics got darker during the 70's they started to touch on more serious and social topics during the time. One of the most popular exampes of this was the Iron Man comic "Demon in a Bottle". In this issue Tony Stark deals with his alcholism in a very serious manner. DC did something similar by having Green Lantern's sidekick, Speedy, deal with his heroin addiction. Green Lantern also dealt with themes of poverty and racism as well. X-Men also used themes of discrimination.
