Bronze Age – Page 7

Detective Comics (1970’s)

Posted on April 4, 2026September 1, 2026 by EHT Comics

Writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams had their first collaboration on Batman on the story “The Secret of the Waiting Graves” in issue #395 (Jan. 1970). The duo, under the direction of Schwartz, would revitalize the character with a series of noteworthy stories reestablishing Batman’s dark, brooding nature and taking the books away from the campy look and feel of the 1966–68 ABC TV series. Comics historian Les Daniels observed that “O’Neil’s interpretation of Batman as a vengeful obsessive-compulsive, which he modestly describes as a return to the roots, was actually an act of creative imagination that has influenced every subsequent version of the Dark Knight.” Adams introduced the Man-Bat with writer Frank Robbins in Detective Comics #400 (June 1970). O’Neil and artist Bob Brown crafted Batman’s first encounter with the League of Assassins in Detective Comics #405 (Nov. 1970) and created Talia al Ghul in issue #411 (May 1971).

After publishing on a monthly schedule throughout its run, Detective Comics became a bi-monthly book from issues #435 (June–July 1973) to #445 (Feb.-March 1975). Issues #438 (Dec. 1973-Jan. 1974) to #445 (Feb.–March 1975) of the series were in the 100 Page Super Spectacular format. O’Neil and artist Dick Giordano created the Batman supporting character Leslie Thompkins in the story “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley” appearing in issue #457 (March 1976). Writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshall Rogers produced an acclaimed run of Batman stories in Detective Comics #471–476 (Aug. 1977 – April 1978), and provided one of the definitive interpretations that influenced the 1989 Batman movie and would be adapted for the 1990s animated series. The Englehart and Rogers pairing, was described in 2009 by comics writer and historian Robert Greenberger as “one of the greatest” creative teams to work on the Batman character. In their story “The Laughing Fish”, the Joker is brazen enough to disfigure fish with a rictus grin, then expects to be granted a federal trademark on them, only to start killing the bureaucrats who try to explain to him that obtaining such a claim on a natural resource is legally impossible. Writer Len Wein and Rogers co-created the third version of the supervillain Clayface in Detective Comics #478 (July–Aug. 1978). The original Katherine Kane also known as “Batwoman” was killed in the lead story in issue #485 (Aug.–Sept. 1979) by the League of Assassins.

Supernatural Thrillers (1972)

Posted on March 30, 2026March 30, 2026 by EHT Comics

Supernatural Thrillers ran 15 issues (cover-dated December 1972 – October 1975). The title was one of four launched by Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Roy Thomas to form a line of science fiction and horror anthologies with more thematic cohesiveness than the company’s earlier attempts that decade, which had included the series Chamber of Darkness and Tower of Shadows. Whereas those titles generally presented original stories, these new books would instead adapt genre classics and other stories.

Issue #5 (August 1973) introduced the Living Mummy in a standalone story about an African tribal prince enslaved by Egyptians and mummified by an evil priest, who eventually reawakens in modern times. The character, created by writer Steve Gerber and penciler Rich Buckler, returned two issues later as the starring character in a generally 15-page solo series that ran from #7 to the final issue, #15 (June 1974 – October 1975). The cover logo during this time was “Supernatural Thrillers featuring The Living Mummy”.

Supernatural Thrillers CGC 9.6 Off-White to White Pages $199

King Conan (1980)

Posted on March 29, 2026 by EHT Comics

Doorway to Nightmare (1978)

Posted on March 29, 2026September 1, 2026 by EHT Comics

Doorway to Nightmare, introduced in 1978, was the last of the DC “Mystery” line of titles in the 1970s that became the forerunner of Vertigo. It did not have a consistent creative team—the intent was to create writer-artist pairings that had never occurred before, except for the cover art of Michael William Kaluta. Madame Xanadu, the star of the series, was not a host but an active participant, albeit never the main character in her stories.

Doorway to Nightmare# 2 CGC 9.6 White $95

Star Trek (1979)

Posted on March 24, 2026 by EHT Comics

Marvel’s series of Star Trek comics began in 1979 with an adaptation of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and continued for another two years. These tales take place during a second five-year mission of Kirk and the Enterprise that would have been featured in the never-produced Star Trek: Phase II TV series. Marvel’s license from Paramount prohibited them from using concepts introduced in the original series. They were only allowed to use the characters and concepts from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The series lasted 18 issues and ended in 1981.

The House of Mystery (1970’s)

Posted on March 22, 2026 by EHT Comics

With issue #174, EC Comics veteran Joe Orlando was hired by DC to take over as editor of House of Mystery. As the Comics Code Authority was now being challenged by both DC and Marvel over content restrictions, the series returned to its overt horror themes. The first issue under Orlando would be a reprint issue of old horror/suspense stories, as the new direction would truly begin with #175 (July–August 1968). The issue would introduce a new figure to the series, Cain, the “able care taker” of the House of Mystery who would introduce nearly all stories that would run in the series before its cancellation. Cain would also host the spin-off humor series Plop! and later become a recurring character in Blue Devil and The Sandman.

Artist Bernie Wrightson‘s first professional comic work was the story “The Man Who Murdered Himself” which appeared in issue #179 (March–April 1969)

House of Mystery was in the Dollar Comics format for issues #251 (March–April 1977) to #259 (July–August 1978). House of Mystery featured stories by writers T. Casey Brennan (#260, 267, 268 and 274) and Scott Edelman (#257, 258, 260, 264, 266, 270, 272, 273). Orlando’s tenure as editor ended with #257 (March–April 1978).

The Defenders V1 (1970’s)

Posted on March 17, 2026 by EHT Comics

The Defenders had a rotating line-up from 1972 until 1986, with Dr. Strange and the Hulk being more or less constant members along with a number of other mainstays such as Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat, the Gargoyle, Beast, the Son of Satan and Luke Cage, and a large number of temporary members. The publication was retitled near the end of the run as The New Defenders but featured none of the original members and only Valkyrie, the Beast and the Gargoyle of the former long-term members. The concept was modified in the 1993–95 series Secret Defenders, in which Dr. Strange assembled different teams for each individual mission. Later, the original team were reunited in a short-lived series by Kurt Busiek and Erik Larsen. In the 2000s, Marvel published a new miniseries featuring the classic line-up. Writer Matt Fraction and artist Terry Dodson launched a new Defenders series in December 2011.

The Savage She-Hulk (1980)

Posted on March 9, 2026 by EHT Comics

Jennifer Walters, the cousin of Bruce Banner (Hulk), is the small and somewhat shy daughter of Los Angeles County Sheriff William Morris Walters and Elaine (née Banner) Walters (who died in a car crash when Jennifer was seventeen). Operatives of Nicholas Trask, a crime boss who had crossed paths with her father, shot and seriously wounded her on a day that Bruce Banner happened to be in town for a visit. Since no other donors with her blood type were available, Banner provided his own blood for a transfusion; as they already shared the same blood type and DNA, his radioactive blood, combined with her anger transformed Jennifer into the green-skinned She-Hulk when the mobsters tried to finish her off at the hospital.

Madame Xanadu (1981)

Posted on March 9, 2026 by EHT Comics

Step thru the doorway into nightmare with Madame Xanadu in the 25-page “Dance For Two Demons.” Script by Steve Englehart, art by Marshall Rogers. Madame Xanadu centerfold by Michael W. Kaluta. Plus: A disease that transforms and corrupts is explored in the 7-page science fiction tale “Falling Down to Heaven…” Script by J.M. DeMatteis, art by Brian Bolland. Cover by Michael W. Kaluta.

Coyote (1983)

Posted on March 4, 2026 by EHT Comics

The characters first appeared in Eclipse Magazine #2-8. It would later be reprinted in a color trade paperback, I Am Coyote. Afterwards, a new comic book series started at Marvel Comics Epic Comics line, that ran 16 issues. It was notable for the first published work of Todd McFarlane. According to Epic editor-in-chief Archie Goodwin, artist Steve Leialoha‘s departure after issue #2 caused deadline problems that the series never fully recovered from, leading to its early cancellation.