Marvel Comics: The Mid '70s
Marvel Does Horror, Invents the Anti-Hero, and Revamps the X-Men
Aug 27, 2008
Stan Lee’s decision to buck the “Comics Code” and publish a Spider-Man story that dealt with drug abuse brought about the first update to the “Comics Code” since its inception in 1955. The change, among other things, removed the restrictions on publishing horror comics. Marvel, as always, was ready.
Ghost Rider, Dracula, and the Man-Thing
Marvel released several horror titles from 1972-1974, reintroducing concepts and creatures that had been forbidden for twenty years, but updating them to work with superheroes. The Marvel policy of blanketing a genre and letting the market decide which characters were best produced two strong books that lasted well after their contemporaries had been cancelled.
The first of these The Tomb of Dracula brought Bram Stoker’s classic vampire into the Marvel Universe. Lasting seven years, it is the longest selling comic book ever to feature a villain as the main character.
The second horror character to make it big was Ghost Rider. Although his origin was firmly rooted in the occult, there was no mistaking that the character was more superhero than monster. The meshing of the two genres worked and the Ghost Rider comic lasted for ten years.
Civil Rights Come to Marvel
Stan Lee decided that Marvel should reflect the changing views in America about race and gender. Not content with having created the first black superhero (the Black Panther) back in 1966, Stan decided to create a new black hero who would become the first to star in his own title, Luke Cage: Hero for Hire.
Marvel also premiered a series about an Asian hero, Shang Chi in Master of Kung Fu, and created a solo title for the Black Panther. At the same time, books featuring female leads were being produced, titles like The Cat, Shanna the She-Devil, and Night Nurse. While Marvel had little success with any of these titles, the company showed that it was committed towards equality and diversity.
The Coming of the Anti-Heroes
When The Incredible Hulk #181 and Spider-Man #129 were published no-one at Marvel suspected that they had just changed the face of comics forever—once again. Those issues introduced, originally as villains, Wolverine and the Punisher respectively, and together they created the standard for the comic book anti-hero.
While Wolverine would immediately go on to star in X-Men, the Punisher was forced by his overly violent nature to remain a guest star. It would be several years before Marvel got to see exactly what he could do on his own.
Marvel Tries It Black and White
Lee’s experience with the close minded nature of the “Comics Code” had left him eager for a way to get around it. His idea was to start a line of black and white magazines with comic book content. The books allowed for beautifully done artwork in its purest pencil and ink form and stories that could push the envelope. Unfortunately, the comics community had become very used to color and the books never sold well.
The X-Men and Chris Claremont
The X-Men comic had been publishing reprint issues instead of new stories for five years when the decision to revamp the team was made. Writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum put together a brand new team in international mutants and released a special called Giant Size X-Men #1. The comic has become a legend for fans and creators alike. It took a poor selling team of characters that never seemed to find their place and turned them into the best selling comic book team of all time.
Wein lasted as writer for the X-Men for only three more issues in their regular book before he left the title to focus on writing The Incredible Hulk. As his replacement he tapped his young assistant Chris Claremont, unknowingly beginning one of the longest and most celebrated runs in comics history.
Howard the Duck Comes Calling
Perhaps the strangest success story to come out of Marvel’s mid ‘70s is the Steve Gerber creation Howard the Duck. Originally conceived as a joke character in a Man-Thing story in Adventure Into Fear #19, the foul tempered, cigar smoking water fowl became so popular that he not only garnered his own book but also managed to receive several thousand votes for President of the United States (as a write in candidate).
Unfortunately, Howard’s creator left Marvel over a dispute about the rights to his character and no other writer could seem to get the duck done right. By 1979 one of the oddest and most original of Marvel comics was cancelled.
Marvel’s sales by the mid ‘70s were booming, but trouble for the company was once again on the horizon.
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Marvel Comics: The End of the '70s
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