The early 1970s were a time of change for the Man of Steel. As Clark Kent shifted from being a newspaper reporter to a TV newscaster, his alter ego saw the destruction of all remaining Kryptonite on Earth! This period also featured many new villains, including Terra-Man, and the dramatic reintroductions of such foes as Lex Luthor — in green and purple armor!
Stan Lee said he created a synopsis for the first Fantastic Four story that he gave to penciller Jack Kirby, who then drew the entire story. Kirby turned in his penciled art pages to Lee, who added dialogue and captions. This approach to creating comics, which became known as the “Marvel Method“, worked so well for Lee and Kirby that they used it from then on; the Marvel Method became standard for the company within a year.
Kirby recalled events somewhat differently. Challenged with Lee’s version of events in a 1990 interview, Kirby responded: “I would say that’s an outright lie”, although the interviewer, Gary Groth notes that this statement needs to be viewed with caution. Kirby claims he came up with the idea for the Fantastic Four in Marvel’s offices, and that Lee had merely added the dialogue after the story had been pencilled. Kirby has also sought to establish, more credibly and on numerous occasions, that the visual elements of the strip were his conceptions. He regularly pointed to a team he had created for rival publisher DC Comics in the 1950s, Challengers of the Unknown. “[I]f you notice the uniforms, they’re the same… I always give them a skintight uniform with a belt… the Challengers and the FF have a minimum of decoration. And of course, the Thing’s skin is a kind of decoration, breaking up the monotony of the blue uniform.” The characters wear no uniforms in the first two issues.
The third Flash was Wally West, introduced in The Flash (vol. 1) #110 (Dec. 1959) as Kid Flash. West, Allen’s nephew by marriage, gained the Flash’s powers through an accident identical to Allen’s. Adopting the identity of Kid Flash, he maintained membership in the Teen Titans for years. Following Allen’s death, West adopted the Flash identity in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 and was given his own series, beginning with The Flash (vol. 2) #1 in 1987.[1] Many issues began with the catchphrase: “My name is Wally West. I’m the fastest man alive.”
After the Legion pushed new Superboy stories out of Adventure Comics in 1963, Superboy became the only comic book to feature original Superboy stories. Less than two years after the Legion itself left Adventure Comics, Superboy became the Legion’s new home. Starting with Superboy #172 (March 1971), the Legion appeared as an occasional backup feature. Once again, the Legion feature proved so popular that by Superboy #197 (Sept. 1973), the Legion had become the lead feature, and with the next issue, the title’s only feature. Although from issue #197, the cover logo read Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes (and replaced starring with #222), the official title (shown in the indicia) of the comic remained Superboy until #231 (Sept. 1977), when the comic became Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. In issue #259 (Jan. 1980).
Vigilante was an ongoing series published from November of 1983 to February 1988. The series featured the honorable Adrian Chase, who was first introduced in the pages of New Teen Titans Annual #2. Spanning a total of fifty issues and two Annuals, the series ended with the death of the main character.
The series began with a Spider-Man/Angel team-up story by Chris Claremont and Michael Golden. Other Spider-Man appearances in the title included team-ups with the Scarlet Witch in issue #6 (Jan. 1983) and the Hulk in issue #47 (Nov. 1989). Several characters appeared in multiple issues including Doctor Strange, Weirdworld, the Warriors Three, the Black Knight,[ and Shanna the She-Devil. Writer Roger McKenzie wrote several stories for Marvel Fanfare including a two-part Iron Man vs. Doctor Octopus tale drawn by Ken Steacy. A Captain America backup story in issue #29 (Nov. 1986) featured early work by artist Norm Breyfogle.
Marvel Fanfare was envisioned as a showcase of the comics industry’s best talent. Each issue featured 36 pages of material with no advertisements and it was printed on magazine-style slick paper. It was more than twice as expensive as standard comic books ($1.25 in 1982 when most titles were 60 cents and $2.25 in 1991 when most were $1).
DC Comics was a hotbed of experimentation during the 1970s, and in 1975 the character became the first villain to feature as the title character in a comic book series, The Joker. The series followed the character’s interactions with other supervillains, and the first issue was written by O’Neil. Stories balanced between emphasizing the Joker’s criminality and making him a likable protagonist whom readers could support. Although he murdered thugs and civilians, he never fought Batman; this made The Joker a series in which the character’s villainy prevailed over rival villains, instead of a struggle between good and evil. Because the Comics Code Authority mandated punishment for villains, each issue ended with the Joker being apprehended, limiting the scope of each story.
From 1977-79, Godzilla starred in a 24-issue run of comics written by Doug Moench, drawn by Herb Trimpe and published by Marvel Comics entitled Godzilla, King of the Monsters. The series thrusts Godzilla completely into the Marvel Universe. In a nod to King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla first appears by bursting out of an iceberg near Alaska; although how the prehistoric creature came to be trapped again in ice is never revealed (although it is stated in the issue that this “will doubtless be determined in the future.”). Over the course of the series, he crosses the continental United States and eventually ends up in New York City.
Each issue of Ghosts carried multiple stories of the supernatural. The stories were prefaced by a short description introducing the premise and ended with a summation of how a mysterious justice was dealt to the evildoers of the tale. The first issue of this series carried the singular title Ghost in its indicia, but everywhere else, including advance promotional house ads and even on its own cover, it was the plural Ghosts, as even the indicia would read from #2 on. Limited Collectors’ Edition #C–32 (Dec. 1974–Jan. 1975) reprinted stories from Ghosts #1, 3–6 and featured new material by Leo Dorfman and artists Gerry Talaoc, E. R. Cruz, and Frank Redondo.
Marvel Two-in-One continued from the team-up stories starring the Thing in the final two issues of Marvel Feature and lasted for 100 issues from January 1974 through June 1983. Seven annuals were also published. Artist Ron Wilson began his long association with the title with issue #12 (November 1975) and worked on it throughout its run. With issue #17, the series had a crossover with Marvel Team-Up #47, which featured Spider-Man. The second Marvel Two-in-One Annual was a crossover with Avengers Annual #7 both of which were written and drawn by Jim Starlin. The “Project Pegasus” storyline in Marvel Two-in-One #53-58 saw the introduction of the name “Quasar” for the Wendell Vaughn character and the transformation of Wundarr into the Aquarian.
Many notable comics creators contributed to the series, including Steve Gerber, Frank Miller, Jack Kirby (who did pencils on several covers during its run), John Byrne, John Buscema, George Pérez and Marv Wolfman.
Marvel Two-In-One ended after one hundred issues and was immediately replaced with a Thing solo series.
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