Notable events of 1978 in comics.

Events

January

* ''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

'' #100: Double-size special featuring ''

'',

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

Black Canary Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...

, and

Air Wave Air Wave is the name of three superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first two were active in the Golden Age of Comic Books (albeit the second Air Wave had only one appearance). The third appears in comics in th ...

. (DC Comics). * The first episode of ''L’uomo di Tsushima'' (The man of Tsushima) by

Bonvi Bonvi, pen name of Franco Bonvicini (31 March 1941 – 10 December 1995) was an Italian comic book artist, creator of the comic strips ''Sturmtruppen'' and ''Nick Carter (comics), Nick Carter''. Biography Bonvicini was born either in Parma or in ...

is published, a retelling of the famous battle as seen by

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

, for the series ''Un uomo un’avventura'' ( Bonelli).

February

* February 2: Belgian comics artist

Maurice Tillieux Maurice Tillieux (7 August 1921 – 2 February 1978) was a Belgian writer and comic artist. He is regarded by many as a major figure of post-war Belgian comics. Early life Maurice Tillieux was born in Huy in 1921. At first he studied for th ...

is killed in a car crash. * The first issue of the Belgian comics magazine ''

À Suivre ''À Suivre'' or ''(A SUIVRE)'' (English translation: "To Be Continued") was a Belgian comics magazine published from February 1978 to December 1997 by the Casterman publishing house, and was preceded by a "0", or test, issue in October 1977. A ...

'' is published. It will run until December 1997. ** In the first issue of A Suivre the first chapter of

Jean-Claude Forest Jean-Claude Forest (11 September 1930 – 30 December 1998) was a French writer and illustrator of comics and the creator of character Barbarella. Biography Jean-Claude Forest was born in Le Perreux-sur-Marne, a Paris suburb and graduated ...

and

Jacques Tardi Jacques Tardi (; born 30 August 1946) is a French comic artist. He is often credited solely as Tardi. Biography Tardi was born on 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. After graduating from the École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon and the Écol ...

's ''Ici Même'' (''Just Here'') makes its debut. * ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' #475, "The Laughing Fish" by

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

Marshall Rogers William Marshall Rogers III (January 22, 1950 – March 24, 2007),William Marshall Rogers III

, and Terry Austin. (DC Comics) * February 8: Marvel UK publish '' Star Wars Weekly'' in a black-and-white anthology format. * February 28:The first appearance of ''

ElfQuest ''Elfquest'' (or ''ElfQuest'') is a comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978, and still owned by them. It is a fantasy story about a community of Elves (Elfquest), elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and ...

'' by

Wendy and Richard Pini Wendy Pini ( Fletcher; born June 4, 1951) and Richard Pini (born July 19, 1950) are the husband-and-wife team responsible for creating the well-known ''Elfquest'' series of Comic book, comics, graphic novels and prose works. They are also known ...

in issue #1 (and only) of ''Fantasy Quarterly''.

March

* March 2: In ''Spirou'', the first chapter of the ''

Yoko Tsuno ''Yoko Tsuno'' is a comics album series created by the Belgian writer Roger Leloup published by Dupuis in '' Spirou'' magazine since its debut in 1970. Through thirty volumes, the series tell the adventures of Yoko Tsuno, a female electrical e ...

'' episode ''La fille du vent'', by

Roger Leloup Roger Leloup (; born 17 November 1933) is a Belgian comic strip artist, novelist, and a former collaborator of Hergé, who would rely upon him to create detailed, realistic drawings and elaborate decoration for ''The Adventures of Tintin''.

, is published. * March 21: In ''

Pilote ''Pilote'' (), for a while subtitled ''the magazine of Asterix and Obelix'' (French: ''Le Journal D’Astérix et D’Obélix'' ) was a French comics magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major Franco-Belgian comics, French ...

'', the first chapter of the '' Valérian'' story ''

Heroes of the Equinox Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

'' by

Pierre Christin Pierre Christin (; 27 July 1938 – 3 October 2024) was a French comics creator and writer. Biography Christin was born at Saint-Mandé on 27 July 1938. After graduating from the Sorbonne, Christin pursued graduate studies in political scie ...

and Jean-Claude Mezieres is published. * In the second issue of ''

Benoît Sokal Benoît Sokal (28 June 1954 – 28 May 2021) was a Belgian comic artist and video game developer, best known for his comics series '' Inspector Canardo'', and the ''Syberia'' adventure game franchise. Biography Benoît Sokal was born in Brussels ...

's ''

Inspector Canardo Inspector Canardo is a comics series created by the Belgian artist Benoît Sokal. He was named after the French noun ''canard'', which means "duck". History Sokal created the character Inspector Canardo after graduating from Institut Saint-L ...

'' makes its debut. *

Dennis O'Neil Dennis "Denny" Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until h ...

and

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

' comic book ''

Superman vs. Muhammad Ali ''Superman vs. Muhammad Ali'' is an oversize celebrity comic book published by DC Comics in 1978. The 72-page book features Superman teaming up with the heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali to defeat an alien invasion of Earth, a story in w ...

'' is published, in which

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

meets boxing champion

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

April

*April 18: In the ''

Le journal de Tintin ''Tintin'' (; ) was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century. Subtitled ''"The Magazine for the Youth from 7 to 77"'', it was one of the major publications of the Franco-Belgian comics scene and published such no ...

'', the first chapter of the second ''

Thorgal ''Thorgal'' is a fantasy Adventure (genre), adventure series created in the Franco-Belgian comics, Franco-Belgian ''bandes dessinées'' (BD) tradition by Belgian writer Jean Van Hamme and Polish graphic artist Grzegorz Rosiński. Debuting in 1977, ...

'' story '' The island of frozen seas'' by

Jean Van Hamme Jean Van Hamme (born 16 January 1939) is a Belgian novelist and comic book writer. He has written scripts for a number of Belgian/French comic series, including ''Histoire sans héros'', '' Thorgal'', '' XIII'' and ''Largo Winch''. Biography ...

and

Grzegorz Rosiński Grzegorz Rosiński (Polish: ; born 3 August 1941) is a Polish comic book artist, illustrator and painter. He is best known for providing the artwork for the series '' Thorgal''. His other notable work includes art drawn in the '' Hans'' and '' C ...

is published. *April 20: In '' Spirou'', the first chapter of '' Kodo le tyran'', by

Jean-Claude Fournier Jean-Claude Fournier (; born 21 May 1943), known simply as Fournier, is a French cartoonist best known as the comic book artist who handled ''Spirou et Fantasio'' in the years 1969-1979. Biography Fournier was born in Paris. In 1965, Fournier app ...

is published. *''

Claw the Unconquered Claw is a sword and sorcery superhero in comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Claw the Unconquered'' #1 (June 1975), in which he was created by writer David Michelinie and designed by artist Ernie Chan. Similar in many ways ...

'', with issue #10 (April /May), is revived by DC after an 18-month hiatus. * ''

Power Man Power Man may refer to: * Luke Cage, a Marvel Comics superhero, originally called Power Man * Erik Josten, a Marvel supervillain later known as Smuggler, Goliath and Atlas * Victor Alvarez, the current Power Man introduced in the mini-series ''Sh ...

'', with issue #50, changes its name to ''

Power Man and Iron Fist ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' (originally ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' then ''Luke Cage, Power Man'') was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist. Publication history ''Hero ...

''.

May

*May 14-21: In ''

Topolino ''Topolino'' (from the Italian language, Italian name for Mickey Mouse) is an Italian digest-sized comic series featuring Disney comics. The series has had a long running history, first appearing in 1932 as a comics magazine. Since 2013, it has ...

'', ''The planetary wars'', by

Guido Martina Guido Martina (9 February 1906 – 6 May 1991) was an Italian comic writer, documentarist and author. Martina is well known for his Disney comics stories, including the first of the "" story "L'inferno di Topolino", and the creation of Paperini ...

and

Giovan Battista Carpi Giovan Battista Carpi (; November 16, 1927 – March 8, 1999) was a prolific Italian comics artist, illustrator, and teacher from Genoa. Carpi worked mainly for Disney comics, mostly on books featuring Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck, although ...

, a spoof of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'', is published. * May 19: Scripps Company merges its two syndication arms,

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary new ...

and

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate, Inc. (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media ( ...

(established by Scripps in 1919), to form United Media Enterprises. *'' Showcase'' #100: "Awesome Anniversary Edition! 60 Sensational Super-Stars" — featuring almost every character who ever appeared in ''Showcase'' — by

Paul Kupperberg Paul Kupperberg (; born June 14, 1955) is an American writer and comics editor. He is currently a writer and executive editor at Charlton Neo Comics and Pix-C Webcomics, and a contributing author with Crazy 8 Press. Formerly, he was an editor for ...

Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002 to 2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...

, and

Joe Staton Joe Staton ( born January 19, 1948) is an American comics artist and writer. He co-created the Bronze Age Huntress (Helena Wayne), as well as the third Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kilowog and the Omega Men for DC Comics. He was the artist o ...

. *

IPC Magazines TI Media Ltd. (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of it ...

publishes the first issue of the short-lived comics magazine '' Starlord''

June

* Continuing the " DC Explosion," the company increases its titles' page counts to 25 story pages and increases the price of a typical comic from 35 cents to 50 cents. * ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' #300: "The Last Batman Story—?", by David V. Reed,

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...

, and

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

. * ''

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

'', by Jim Davis is launched on June 19 in 41 newspapers. * In the magazine ''Cannibale'' RanXerox by

Tanino Liberatore Gaetano Liberatore (born 12 April 1953), better known as Tanino Liberatore, is an Italian comics author and illustrator. His best known fictional character is RanXerox. Life and work Born in Quadri, Liberatore went to high school in Pescara w ...

makes its debut.

Summer

* ''

DC Special Series ''DC Special Series'' was an umbrella title for one-shots and special issues published by DC Comics between 1977 and 1981. Each issue featured a different character and was often in a different format than the issue before it. ''DC Special Serie ...

'' #15 — "I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife!", marriage of Batman and

Talia al Ghul Talia al Ghul (; , ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The character was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Bob Brown (comics), Bob Brown, and first app ...

, by Dennis O'Neil, Michael Golden, and

. See also '' Batman: Son of the Demon''

July

* July 4 : In '' Tintin magazine'', the first chapter of the ''Jonathan'' story ''L'Espace bleu entre les nuages'' (The blue space amongst the clouds) by Cosey, the fifth episode of the series, is published.

August

* The

DC Implosion The "DC Explosion" and "DC Implosion" were two events in 1978 – the first an official marketing campaign, the second a sardonic reference to it – in which American comics company DC Comics expanded their roster of publications, then abruptly cu ...

takes hold, as the company cancels 4 ongoing titles, ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

'', ''

Mister Miracle Mister Miracle is the name of three fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first and third are humans Thaddeus Brown and Shilo Norman, while the second is New God Scott Free. The Scott Free incarnat ...

'', and ''

Shade, the Changing Man Shade, the Changing Man is a comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was Shade, the Changing Man (Vertigo), later adapted by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo in one of the first Vertigo Comics, Vertigo ...

''. * Fledgling publisher

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...

releases '' Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species'', by

Don McGregor Donald Francis McGregor (born June 15, 1945) is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics; he is the author of one of the first graphic novels. Early life Don McGregor was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he ...

and

Paul Gulacy Paul Gulacy (; born August 15, 1953) is an American comics artist best known for his work for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, and for drawing one of the first graphic novels, Eclipse Enterprises' 1978 '' Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species'' ...

, considered one of the industry's first "

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

s". * With issue #10 '' The Rampaging Hulk'' changes its title to '' The Hulk!'', and goes from black-and-white to color (

Curtis Magazines Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of Fren ...

Fall

* ''

'' #16 — "The Last Bounty Hunter!", death of Jonah Hex, by

Michael Fleisher Michael Lawrence Fleisher (November 1, 1942 — February 2, 2018) was an American writer known for his DC Comics of the 1970s and 1980s, particularly for the characters Spectre and Jonah Hex. Biography Early life and career Fleisher was raise ...

and

Russ Heath Russell Heath Jr. (September 29, 1926 – August 23, 2018) was an American artist best known for his comic book work, particularly his DC Comics war stories and his 1960s art for ''Playboy'' magazine's " Little Annie Fanny" feature. He also prod ...

. ''DC Special Series'' goes on hiatus after this issue and is revived in Summer 1979.

September

* September 7: The first episode of

Frank Pé Frank Pé, often signing solely as Frank (15 July 1956) is a Belgium, Belgian comic book artist, best known for ''Broussaille'' and ''Zoo''. Biography Frank Pé was born in Ixelles in 1956.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Frank". In België gestript, pp ...

's ''Broussaille'' is published in '' Spirou''. * September 30:

Martin Lodewijk Martinus Spyridon Johannes Lodewijk (born 30 April 1939) is a Dutch comics writer and cartoonist, and advertising illustrator. Martin Lodewijk was born in Rotterdam. He dropped out of high school in 1957, and started drawing cartoons, notably of ...

receives the

Stripschapprijs The Stripschapprijs is a Dutch prize awarded to List of comic creators, comic creators for their entire body of work. It is awarded annually by the ''Stripschap'', the Dutch Society of comics fans, since 1974. The prize is non-pecuniary, but is con ...

. *

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...

's gag comic ''

Life in Hell ''Life in Hell'' was a comic strip by Matt Groening that was published weekly from 1977 to 2012. Its main characters include anthropomorphic rabbits and a gay couple. The comic covers a wide range of subjects, such as love, sex, work, and deat ...

'', launched in 1977, appears in print for the first time in the art magazine Wet. * Suffering from the

, the company cancels 8 ongoing titles, ''

All Star Comics ''All Star Comics'' is an American comic book series from All-American Publications, one of three companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. While the series' cover-logo trademark reads ''All St ...

'', '' Battle Classics'', ''

Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...

'', '' Doorway to Nightmare'', '' Dynamic Classics'', '' Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth'', '' Showcase'', and ''

Our Fighting Forces ''Our Fighting Forces'' is a war comics anthology series published by DC Comics for 181 issues from 1954 to 1978. Publication history ''Our Fighting Forces'' began with an October-November 1954 cover date. Writer-editor Robert Kanigher's work a ...

''. In addition, DC cuts back comic story pages to 17, and the typical cover price to 40 cents. *

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984. History Gold Key Comics was created in 1962, when its ...

, with issue #19, picks up ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...

'' (

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

series) from

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...

, which had stopped publishing the title in 1970. * After many delays, DC releases ''

All-New Collectors' Edition ''Limited Collectors' Edition'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972 to 1978. It usually featured reprints of previously published stories but a few issues contained new material. The series was published in an overs ...

'' #C-56, featuring the story ''

''. * In ''

'', the first chapter of '' The black order brigade'' by

and

Enki Bilal Enki Bilal (born Enes Bilal; born 7 October 1951) is a French comic book creator and film director. Biography Early life Bilal was born in Belgrade, PR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Czech mother, Ana, who came to Belgrade as child from Karlovy ...

is published.

October

* The

forces the company to cancel 6 more ongoing titles, '' Firestorm, the Nuclear Man'', '' House of Secrets'', ''

Secrets of Haunted House ''Secrets of Haunted House'' was a horror-suspense comics anthology series published by American company DC Comics from 1975 to 1978 and 1979 to 1982. Publication history The series began in April–May 1975. Like its predecessor ''Secrets of S ...

'', '' Star Hunters'', '' Steel: The Indestructible Man'', and '' The Witching Hour''. *

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

's graphic novel ''

A Contract with God ''A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories'' is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Will Eisner published in 1978. The book's short story cycle revolves around poor Jewish characters who live in a tenement in New York City. Eisner p ...

'' is published by Baronet Books. An early landmark of the

form. *

's " Signal From Space" storyline begins in ''

Spirit Magazine The Spirit is a fictional masked crimefighter appearing in American comic books. Created by cartoonist Will Eisner, he first appeared as the main feature of a tabloid (paper size), tabloid-sized comic book insert distributed in the Sunday editio ...

'' #19 (continuing through issue #26, October

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

). * In ''

'',

Milo Manara Maurilio Manara (; born 12 September 1945), known professionally as Milo Manara, is an Italian comic book writer and artist. Career After architecture and painting studies, he made his comics debut in 1969 drawing for ''Genius'', a fumetti neri ...

's '' HP and Giuseppe Bergman'', is first published. *October 14: IPC Magazines merged two comic books: 2000 AD and Starlord into "2000 AD and Starlord". *October 15: The Dutch comics organisation '' Het Stripschap'' holds a dinner to celebrate their 10th anniversary. During the event one of their guests,

Dick Matena Dick Matena (born 24 April 1943) is a Dutch comics writer and cartoonist. He has also published under the pseudonyms A. den Dooier, John Kelly and Dick Richards. He has made several kinds of comics, from humor comics to erotic comics, but is bes ...

, starts making a scene while drunk. The incident will become legendary afterwards. *

Diane Noomin Diane Robin Noomin ( Rosenblatt, May 13, 1947 – September 1, 2022) was an American comics artist associated with the underground comics movement. She is best known for her character DiDi Glitz, who addresses transgressive social issues such as ...

releases the collective comic book ''Lemme Outa Here! Growing Up Inside the American Dream'', published by Print Mint.

November

* November 22: In Belgium the ''Vlaamse Onafhankelijke Stripgilde'' (''Flemish Independent Comics Guild'') is founded, with cartoonist Eddy Ryssack as their first president. * ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

'' #200: Double-sized anniversary issue, "When Titans Clash!" by

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade (character), Blade, and DC Comi ...

Keith Pollard Keith Pollard (; born January 20, 1950) is an American comic book artist. Originally from the Detroit area, Pollard is best known for his simultaneous work on the Marvel Comics titles ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Fantastic Four'', and ''Thor'' ...

, and

Joe Sinnott Joseph Leonard Sinnott (; October 16, 1926 June 25, 2020) was an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four'', from 1965 to 1981 (and briefly in the la ...

. (Marvel Comics) *''L’uomo delle nevi'' (The

snowman A snowman is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes wit ...

), by

Alfredo Castelli Alfredo Castelli (26 June 1947 – 7 February 2024) was an Italian comic book artist and writer. Biography Born in Milan, Castelli began his comic book career at an early age, creating the strip '' Scheletrino'', a humor series for Italian comic ...

and

, for the series ''Un uomo un’avventura'' ( Bonelli). * In '' Il mago'' Soviet secret agent Ivan Timbrovic by

Massimo Cavezzali Massimo Cavezzali (11 February 1950 – 10 May 2023), also known as Cavez, was an Italian comic artist and illustrator, whose career spanned over 40 years. Life and career Born in Ravenna, Cavezzali started his career in 1976, collaborating with ...

makes his debut. *First volume of the ''Storia d’Italia a fumetti di Enzo Biagi'' (

Enzo Biagi Enzo Biagi (; 9 August 1920 – 6 November 2007) was an Italian journalist, writer and former partisan. Life and career Biagi was born in Lizzano in Belvedere, and began his career as a journalist in Bologna. In 1952, he worked on the screenpl ...

’s History of Italy in comics), drawn by some of the best Italian cartoonists (

Sergio Toppi Sergio Toppi (11 October 1932 – 21 August 2012)Dino Battaglia Dino Battaglia (1 August 1923 – 4 October 1983) was an Italian comics artist, noted for a distinctive and expressive style, best known for his visual adaptations of classic novels. In 1946 Dino Battaglia became part of the so-called Group of V ...

December

*''Kamillo Kromo'', book for children by

Francesco Tullio Altan Francesco Tullio Altan (born 30 September 1942) is an Italian comics artist and satirist. He was born in Treviso, the son of Friulan anthropologist Carlo Tullio Altan. He studied at the University IUAV of Venice, but halted his studies to wo ...

. *

Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...

creates ''Ed Head'', published in

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

on an irregular basis until November 1981.

Specific date unknown

Edwina Dumm Frances Edwina Dumm (1893 – April 28, 1990) was a writer-artist who drew the comic strip '' Cap Stubbs and Tippie'' for nearly five decades; she is also notable as America's first full-time female editorial cartoonist. She used her middle name ...

becomes the first female comic artist to receive the Gold Key Award from the

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

. * DC suffers the

, the abrupt cancellation of more than two dozen ongoing and planned titles, including ''

'', ''

'', '' House of Secrets'', ''

'', '' Showcase'', and '' The Witching Hour''. The vast majority of the books leave uncompleted story lines, most of which are later wrapped up in other titles. * Archie Goodwin resigns as

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

editor-in-chief, replaced by

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor, and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comic ...

(who will hold the post until mid-

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

). * Underground publisher the

Print Mint The Print Mint, Inc. was a major publisher and distributor of underground comix based in the San Francisco Bay Area during the genre's late 1960s-early 1970s heyday. Starting as a retailer of psychedelic posters, the Print Mint soon evolved into ...

stops publishing comics. * "

The Korvac Saga Korvac is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in '' Giant-Size Defenders'' #3 (Jan. 1975) and was created by Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin. Publication history Korvac debuted in '' ...

" story arc, written by

and

David Michelinie David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and ''Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in ''Action Comics''. Among the characters he created or ...

, with art by

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (c ...

and

David Wenzel David T. Wenzel (; born November 22, 1950) is an illustrator and children's book artist. He is best known for his graphic novel adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's ''The Hobbit''. Career Wenzel's first ambition had been to work for one of the big ani ...

, runs through ''

The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

'', beginning in issue #167 (February) and running through issue #177 (November) * " The Cursed Earth"

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of the British weekly anthology Comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977). He is the magazi ...

storyline runs in '' 2000 AD'' (May – October) * Belgian comic artist

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé ( ; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian comic strip artist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of T ...

is knighted as Officer in the

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

. * Roger Brunel starts drawing porn parodies of famous comics, serialized in the magazine Circus and released in album format by Glénat under the title ''Pastiches''. * The final episode of ''Crawford'' is published, a newspaper comic launched by animation director

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...

Births

June

* June 24:

Carlo Pagulayan Carlo Pagulayan (born June 24, 1978) is a Philippines, Filipino freelance comic book artist. Early life He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Santo Tomas, Santo Tomas br ...

, Filipino comic book artist (''

Deathstroke Deathstroke is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character first appeared in ''The New Teen Titans'' #2 (December 1980) as Deathstroke the Terminator. In his co ...

'', ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

'', ''

Elektra Electra, also spelt Elektra, was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Animals * ''Electra'' (bryozoan), a genus of aquatic invertebrates * ''Elektra'' (bug), a genus of insects in the ...

'').

July

* July 15: Tom King, American comic book writer (''

'', ''

Omega Men The Omega Men are a fictional team of extraterrestrial superheroes who have appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. They first appeared in ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 2) #141 (June 1981), and were created by Marv Wolfman and Joe ...

'', ''

'', '' The Vision'').

Deaths

January

* January 1:

Don Freeman Don Freeman (August 11, 1908 – February 1, 1978) was an American painter, printmaker, cartoonist, and an illustrator and writer of children's books. He was active from the 1930s to the 1970s and often used Times Square as the backdrop of his ...

, American comics artist, painter, illustrator and children's novelist (''

Corduroy Corduroy is a textile with a distinctively raised "cord" or wale texture. Modern corduroy is most commonly composed of tufted cords, sometimes exhibiting a channel (bare to the base fabric) between them. Both velvet and corduroy derive from fu ...

''), dies at age 61. * January 9: Tijs Dorenbosch, Dutch comics artist (''Sjefke Schrober'', ''Henkie van 't Grijze Nest'', ''Pieternel'', ''Heintje Hups en Honkie''), dies at age 66. * January 18:

Clark Haas Clark S. Haas Jr. (July 21, 1919 – January 18, 1978) was an American cartoonist and, from 1957 to 1965, owner of Cambria Studios, which produced the limited animation series ''Clutch Cargo'' (1959). Career Before working professionally in c ...

, American comics artist, animator and animation producer (''Sunnyside'', assisted on ''

Buz Sawyer ''Buz Sawyer'' is a comic strip created by Roy Crane.Ron Goulart, ''The Funnies : 100 Years of American Comic Strips''. Holbrook, Mass. : Adams Pub, 1995. (pp. 149-50) Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it had a run from November 1, 1943 t ...

'' and ''

Tim Tyler's Luck ''Tim Tyler's Luck'' is an adventure comic strip created by Lyman Young, elder brother of ''Blondie (comic strip), Blondie'' creator Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip ran from August 13, 1928, until August 24, 1996. ...

''), dies at age 58.

February

* February 1: Roland Kohlsaat, German illustrator and comics artist (''Jimmy das Gummipferd'', ''Julios Abenteuerliche Reisen''), dies at age 64. * February 2:

, Belgian comics artist (''Félix'', ''

Gil Jourdan Gil Jourdan is a Belgian detective comic strip created by Maurice Tillieux. It is a combination of mystery, adventure and humour. Origin and premise In 1956 the Belgian comic magazine '' Héroïc Albums'' ceased publication. ''Felix'', the a ...

''), dies in a car accident at age 56. * February 5: Frans Van Immerseel, Belgian painter, caricaturist, cartoonist, illustrator and comics artist (''De Lotgevallen van Janssens''), dies at age 68. * February 7: Enrique Rapela, Argentine comics artist (''Cirilo El Audaz''), dies at age 67. * February 9: **

Woody Gelman Woodrow Gelman (1915 – February 9, 1978) was a publisher, cartoonist, novelist and an artist-writer for both animation and comic books. As the publisher of Nostalgia Press, he pioneered the reprinting of vintage comic strips in quality hardcov ...

, American animator, comics artist, novelist and publisher (''The Dodo and the Frog'', co-creator of ''

Bazooka Joe Bazooka Joe is a comic strip character featured on small comics included in individually wrapped pieces of Bazooka (chewing gum), Bazooka bubble gum. He wears a black eyepatch, lending him a distinctive appearance. He is one of the more recogniza ...

''), dies of a stroke at age 62. ** Warren King, American comics artist ('' The Firefly''), dies at age 62. * February 19: Gisela Zimmermann, German comics artist (continued ''Digedags'' and ''Abrafaxe''), dies at age 65 of heart failure. * February 21: Pol Dom, Belgian-Dutch illustrator, sculptor, caricaturist and comic artist (made comics for the jam factory De Betuwe), dies at age 92. * February 28: Glenn Chaffin, American comics writer (''

Tailspin Tommy ''Tailspin Tommy'' was an aviation-adventure comic strip about a youthful pilot, "Tailspin" Tommy Tomkins (sometimes spelled Tompkins). Originally illustrated by Hal Forrest and initially distributed by John Neville Wheeler's Bell Syndicate and ...

''), dies at age 80.

March

* March 3: Frank Fogarty, American comics artist (''Mr. & Mrs.'', continued ''Clarence''), dies at age 80. * March 8:

Tjeerd Bottema Tjeerd (Tsjeard) Bottema (6 February 1884 in Langezwaag – 8 March 1978 in Katwijk) was a Dutch painter, illustrator and book cover designer. Biography Bottema was a student at Kunstnijverheidsschool Quellinus and the Rijksakademie van ...

, Dutch illustrator and comics artist (''Er Was Eens Een Oud Vrouwtje''), dies at age 94. * March 30: István Köpeczi Bócz, Hungarian poster designer, costume designer, illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 58.

April

* April 9:

Elmer Woggon Elmer Woggon (November 4, 1898 – April 1978), who signed his art Wog, was the creator of an early newspaper comic strip that eventually developed into the long-running '' Steve Roper and Mike Nomad''. Biography Born and raised in Toledo, ...

, American comics artist (''Big Chief Wahoo ( Steve Roper and Mike Nomad)''), dies at age 79. * April 14: André Beautemps, Belgian comics writer and artist (''Michael Logan''), dies at age 29. * April 29: Louis Zansky, American comics artist (worked for

Classics Illustrated ''Classics Illustrated'' is an American comic book/magazine series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as '' Les Misérables'', ''Moby-Dick'', ''Hamlet'', and '' The Iliad''. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication ...

), dies at age 57.

May

* May 7:

Mort Weisinger Mortimer Weisinger (; April 25, 1915 – May 7, 1978) was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' ''Superman'' during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books. He also co-created such features ...

, American comic book writer (

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

), dies at age 63. * May 11:

Clinge Doorenbos Clinge is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Hulst, and lies about 28 km southwest of Bergen op Zoom. Clinge is located on the Dutch-Belgian border and joins with the Belgian town of De Klinge, i ...

, Dutch comedian, singer, songwriter, children's novelist, poet, journalist and comics writer (''Flippie Flink'' ), dies at age 93. * May 27:

Jo Spier Joseph Eduard Adolf Spier (26 June 1900 – 21 May 1978) was a popular Dutch artist and illustrator. Life Jo Spier was born in Zutphen, the Netherlands. From 1924 to 1939 Jo Spier worked for the newspaper ''De Telegraaf'' where he created humo ...

, Dutch illustrator and cartoonist, dies at age 77.

June

* June 22: William Reusswig, American illustrator and comics artist (made comic adaptations of novels), dies at age 75.

July

* July 5:

Paul Cuvelier Paul Cuvelier (22 November 1923 – 5 July 1978) was a Belgium, Belgian comics artist best known for the comic series ''Corentin (comics), Corentin'', published by Le Lombard, which first appeared in the first issue of ''Tintin (magazine), Tintin ...

, Belgian comics artist and painter ('' Corentin'', ''Epoxy''), dies at age 54. * July 23: Tom Hill, American comics artist (continued ''

Mark Trail ''Mark Trail'' is a newspaper comic strip created by the American cartoonist Ed Dodd. Introduced April 15, 1946, the strip centers on Environmentalism, environmental and ecological themes. As of 2020, King Features syndicated the strip to "near ...

''), dies at age 56.

August

* August 1: Geoffrey William Backhouse, British illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 74.

September

* September 9:

Barbara Shermund Barbara Shermund (June 26, 1899 – September 9, 1978) was an American cartoonist whose work appeared in ''The New Yorker'' from its first year in 1925. She was one of the first three women cartoonists inducted into the National Cartoonists Soci ...

, American cartoonist (''Shermund's Sallies''), dies at age 79.

October

* October 4: Sezgin Burak, Turkish comics artist (''

Tarkan Tarkan may refer to: People * Tarkan (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Tarkan (singer) (born 1972), Turkish pop singer Other uses

* Tarkhan, an ancient Turkic and Mongol nobility title * Tarkan (comics), a fic ...

''), dies at age 43. * October 10:

J.R. Bray John Randolph Bray (August 25, 1879 – October 10, 1978) was an American animator, cartoonist, and film producer. Early life John Randolph Bray was born in Addison, Michigan on August 25, 1879, to Methodism, Methodist Presbyterian minister Edw ...

, American animator and comics artist (''Singing Sammy'', ''Mr. O.U. Absentmind'', '' Colonel Heeza Liar''), dies at the age of 99.

November

* November 8:

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

, American painter and illustrator (made a few sequential illustrations in his career), dies at the age of 84. * November 20: Tom Okamoto, aka Tom Oka, aka Tom Mako, Japanese-American animator and comics artist (''Deems'', ''Little Brave'', continued ''Li'l Neebo''), dies at age 62. * November 21: Orhan Ural, Turkish comics artist (''Pazar Ola Hasan Bey''), dies at age 64 or 65.

December

* December 4: Brian Lewis, British illustrator, comics artist and animator ('' The Suicide Six'', continued '' Jet Ace Logan''), dies at age 49. * December 6: Dick Dreux, A.K.A. Rod Draga, Dutch novelist, radio writer and comics artist (''Raket-Ridders''), dies at age 65. * December 28: Hi Mankin, American comics artist (the

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

newspaper comic, ''

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

'' comics, assisted on ''

The Adventures of Smilin' Jack ''The Adventures of Smilin' Jack'' is an aviation comic strip that first appeared October 1, 1933, in the ''Chicago Tribune'' and ended April 1, 1973. After a run of 40 years, it was the longest-running aviation comic strip. The strip was create ...

'', ''

Bringing Up Father ''Bringing Up Father'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 2, 1913, to May 28, 2000. The strip was later titled ''Jiggs and Maggie'' (or '' ...

'', ''

Dotty Dripple ''Dotty Dripple'' was an American gag-a-day comic strip, originally started by Jeff Keate & Jim McMenamy on June 26, 1944, but was taken over by Buford Tune on October 16, and continued for the next thirty years. The strip was distributed by Pu ...

''), dies at age 51 or 52 from a heart attack. * December 31: Arsène Brivot, French comics artist and illustrator (''Jojo Richissime''), dies at age 80. * December 31:

Basil Wolverton Basil Wolverton (July 9, 1909 – December 31, 1978)
at the

Mad Magazine ''Mad'' (stylized in all caps) is an American humor magazine which was launched in 1952 and currently published by DC Comics, a unit of the DC Entertainment subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. ''Mad'' was founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman an ...

'', '' Powerhouse Pepper''), dies at age 69. * Specific date unknown: Jacques Gagnier, Canadian caricaturist, comics artist, children's book illustrator and cartoonist (''La Vie en Images''), dies at age 61.

Specific date unknown

* Aldo De Amicis, Italian comics artist (worked for ''

Il Vittorioso ''Il Vittorioso'' (Italian for "The Victorious") was a weekly comic magazine published in Italy from 1937 to 1966. History and profile The magazine was born on the initiative of the Azione Cattolica association as a catholic response to the secu ...

''), dies at age 74 or 75. * Al Fago, American comics artist (''

Atomic Mouse Atomic Mouse is a talking animal superhero created in 1953 by Al Fago for Charlton Comics. Publication history Created by writer-artist Al Fago, Atomic Mouse debuted in Charlton Comics' ''Atomic Mouse'' #1 (cover-dated March 1953).Atomic Rabbit Atomic may refer to: * Of or relating to the atom, the smallest particle of a chemical element that retains its chemical properties * Atomic physics, the study of the atom * Atomic Age, also known as the "Atomic Era" * Atomic scale, distances comp ...

'', ''

Timmy the Timid Ghost Timmy the Timid Ghost is a fictional comic book ghost, whose adventures were published by Charlton Comics. Publication history Timmy the Timid Ghost first appeared as a minor character in an Atomic Mouse story, "3-D Crime Wave" by Al Fago, in ''A ...

''), dies at age 73 or 74. *

Frank Fogarty Frank Fogarty (1887-1978)
''Lambiek's Comiclopedia''. Accessed Dec. 23, 2017. was an American

* Henry Le Monnier, French illustrator and comics artist (made various realistic adventure comics), dies at age 84 or 85. * Oscar Novelle, Argentinean-American comic artist (worked for

, ''

Eerie Eerie may refer to: * Feeling of creepiness * Eerie (magazine), ''Eerie'' (magazine), an American horror comic first published in 1966 * Eerie (Avon), ''Eerie'' (Avon), a 1947 horror comic * Eerie (film), ''Eerie'' (film), a 2018 Filipino horror fi ...

'', ''

Creepy Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease to someone and/or something. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others; interest in horror or the macabre might come across as 'c ...

''), dies at age 57 or 58.

Conventions

Lancaster Comic Art Convention Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

(Lancaster, Pennsylvania) — produced by Chuck Miller and Charlie Roberts * Summer:

Atlanta Fantasy Fair The Atlanta Fantasy Fair (AFF) was a multigenre convention which took place once each summer in Atlanta, Georgia from 1975 to 1995. Organized by A.C.F.F., Ltd., the convention was a nonprofit entity designed to promote the fantasy genre in the A ...

(Dunfey's Royal Coach, Atlanta, Georgia) — official guests included

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an Americans, American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett an ...

Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comics artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, Illusionist, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with th ...

* June 23–25:

Houstoncon Houstoncon was an annual multi-genre fan convention which was held between 1967 and 1982 in Houston, Texas. Houstoncon started out as a member of the Southwesterncon series of regional conventions, but eventually became an independent con. Most H ...

(Houston, Texas) — guests include

Frankie Thomas Frank Marion Thomas Jr. (April 9, 1921 – May 11, 2006), was an American actor, author and Contract bridge, bridge-strategy expert who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early t ...

Kirk Alyn Kirk Alyn (born John Feggo Jr.; October 8, 1910 – March 14, 1999) was an American actor, best known for being the first actor to play the DC Comics character Superman in live-action for the 1948 movie serial ''Superman'' and its 1950 sequel '' ...

Ron Goulart Ronald Joseph Goulart (; January 13, 1933 – January 14, 2022) was an American popular culture historian and mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. He worked on novels and novelizations (and other works) being published under various ps ...

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...

Jenette Kahn Jenette Kahn (; born May 16, 1947) is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics in 1976 as publisher, and five years later was promoted to president. In 1989, she stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of editor ...

Frank Brunner Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Early life Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating class ...

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of both fields. In a career spanning more than 40 ...

Greg Jein Greg Jein (born October 31, 1945, in Los Angeles, US; died May 22, 2022, in Los Angeles) was a Chinese American model designer who created miniatures for use in the special effects portions of many films and television series, beginning in the 19 ...

Kerry Gammill Kerry Gammill (born April 26, 1954) is an American artist who has worked in the fields of comic books, special effects, storyboards, and character designs. As a comic book artist, he is best known for his work on ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' for ...

, Jim Newsome, and Paula Crist * July 2–5:

Comic Art Convention The Comic Art Convention (CAC) was an American comic book fan convention held annually New York City, New York, over Independence Day weekend from 1968 through 1983, except for 1977, when it was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 1978 to 19 ...

I (Americana Hotel, New York City) * July 8–9:

II (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) * July 14–16:

Chicago Comicon Fan Expo Chicago (formerly Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, and commonly known as the Chicago Comicon), is a comic book convention held during the summer in Rosemont, Illinois, United States, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. It was ...

(Pick-Congress Hotel, 520 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois) — 3rd annual convention under that name * July 26–30:

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

(El Cortez Hotel, San Diego, California) — show reaches attendance mark of 5,000 for the first time. Official guests:

John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

Shary Flenniken Shary Flenniken (born 1950) is an American editor-writer-illustrator and underground cartoonist. After joining the burgeoning underground comics movement in the early 1970s, she became a prominent contributor to '' National Lampoon'' and was on ...

Alan Dean Foster Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He has written several book series, more than 20 standalone novels, and many novelizations of film scripts. Career ''Star Wars'' Foster was the ghost ...

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight ...

Burne Hogarth Burne Hogarth (born Spinoza Bernard Ginsburg, December 25, 1911 – January 28, 1996) was an American artist and educator, best known for his work on the ''Tarzan (comics), Tarzan'' newspaper comic strip and his series of anatomy books for artis ...

Bob Kane Robert Kane ( Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator, and artist who created Batman and many early related characters for DC Comics. He was inducted into the comic book industry's Jack Kirby ...

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001)Gray Morrow
at the S ...

, Clarence "Ducky" Nash,

Grim Natwick Myron "Grim" Natwick ( Nordveig; August 16, 1890 – October 7, 1990) was an American artist, animator, and film director. Natwick is best known for drawing the Fleischer Studios' most popular character, Betty Boop. Background Born in Wisc ...

Wendy Pini Wendy Pini ( Fletcher; born June 4, 1951) and Richard Pini (born July 19, 1950) are the husband-and-wife team responsible for creating the well-known ''Elfquest'' series of Comic book, comics, graphic novels and prose works. They are also known ...

Frank Thorne Benjamin Franklin Thorne (June 16, 1930 – March 7, 2021
at the

Boris Vallejo Boris Vallejo (born January 8, 1941) is a Peruvian-American painter who works in the science fiction, fantasy, and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have appeared on the covers of numerous novels in the science fiction, sword ...

* July 29–30: Comicon '78 (British Comic Art Convention) (Bloomsbury Centre Hotel, London, England) — "10th anniversary special;" guests include

(guest of honor),

Jim Salicrup Jim Salicrup (; born May 29, 1957) is an American comic book editor, known for his tenures at Marvel Comics and Topps Comics. At Marvel, where he worked for twenty years, he edited books such as ''The Uncanny X-Men'', ''Fantastic Four'', '' Aveng ...

, Duffy Vohland,

Brian Bolland Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' (Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology ''2000 AD (comi ...

John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican Party (United States), Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to ...

, Brian Lewis,

Trevor Goring Trevor Goring (born 1949, London, England) is a visual artist, author, publisher, lecturer and consultant. Early life and career Trained in Montreal at the École des Beaux Arts, Université du Québec (1968-1972) in print-making with Pierre ...

Dez Skinn Derek Graham "Dez" Skinn (born 4 February 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', 10 June 2005. Accessed 14 August 2010WebCitation archive is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of ...

, and

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story " For the M ...

; 2nd annual presentation of the

Eagle Awards The Eagle Awards were a series of British awards for comic book titles and creators. They were awarded by UK fans voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's seminal boys' comic ''Eagle'', the awards were launched in ...

* September:

OrlandoCon OrlandoCon, also known as O'Con, was a long-running comic book and comic strip fan convention which was held annually between 1974 and 1994 in Orlando, Florida. The first comics convention held in the Orlando area, OrlandoCon billed itself as the ...

(Orlando, Florida) — guests include

Bob Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, film director, director, film producer, producer and puppeteer best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the te ...

Les Turner Leslie Turner (December 25, 1899 – March 2, 1988) was an American cartoonist and writer who produced ''Captain Easy'' for more than three decades. Biography Early life and education Born in Cisco, Texas, Turner grew up from age eight in W ...

Ralph Dunagin Raymond Ralph Dunagin Jr. (June 19, 1937 – June 24, 2020) was an American cartoonist for the ''Orlando Evening Star'' and the ''Orlando Sentinel'' from 1961 to 2001. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize twice. Early life and education Dunag ...

, C. C. Beck, Edmond Good,

Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...

Morris Weiss Morris S. Weiss (August 11, 1915 – May 18, 2014) was an American comic book and comic strip artist and writer. Active from the 1930s through the mid-1970s, he created the teen-comedy character Margie for Timely Comics, the 1940s predecessor of ...

, Ralph Kent, Bill Crooks, and

Zack Mosley Zack Terrell Mosley (December 12, 1906 - December 21, 1993) was an American comic strip artist best known for the aviation adventures in his long-running '' The Adventures of Smilin' Jack'' which ran in more than 300 newspapers from 1933 to 1973. ...

* September 2–3: Albany Comic Con (Turf Inn,

Colonie, New York Colonie is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. It is the most-populous suburb of Albany, and is the third-largest town in area in Albany County, occupying approximately 11% of the county. Several hamlets exist within the town. ...

) — tentative guest list included

, and

Al Milgrom Allen L. Milgrom (born March 6, 1950) is an American comic book artist (penciller and inker), writer, and editor, primarily for Marvel Comics. He is known for his 10-year run as editor of '' Marvel Fanfare''; his long involvement as writer, penci ...

* September 2–3: Comicon II (British Comic Art Convention II) (Imperial Hotel, Birmingham, UK) — Guest of honor:

Dave Cockrum David Emmett Cockrum (; November 11, 1943 – November 26, 2006) was an American comics artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler (character), Nightcrawler, Storm (Marvel Comics), Storm, Colossus (character), Colos ...

(did not show), other guests:

Paul Neary Paul Neary (18 December 1949 – 10 February 2024) was a British comic book artist, writer and editor. His first work was for Warren Publishing in the 1970s before working with Dez Skinn at Marvel UK as well as work for '' 2000 AD''. He later ...

Hunt Emerson Hunt Emerson (born 1952) is an English cartoonist. He was closely involved with the Birmingham Arts Lab of the mid-to-late 1970s, and with the British underground comics scene of the 1970s and 1980s. His many comic strips and graphic novels have ...

Chris Welch Chris Welch (born ) is an English music journalist, critic, and author who is best known for his work from the late 1960s as a reporter for ''Melody Maker'', ''Musicians Only'', and ''Kerrang!''. He is the author of over 40 music books. Earl ...

Sallis, Ed. "Fan-Things," ''BEM'' #21 (Nov. 1978), p. 10. * October 29–November 5:

Salone Internazionale dei Comics Lucca Comics & Games is an annual Comic book convention, comic book and gaming convention in Lucca, Italy, traditionally held at the end of October, in conjunction with All Saints' Day. It is the largest comics festival in Europe, and the secon ...

(Lucca, Italy) — 13th edition of the festival (having skipped 1977) * November 13–15: OAF SF & Nostalgia Show 1978 (Tradewinds Hotel, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) — science fiction/nostalgia convention staged by the Oklahoma Alliance of Fans, producers of Multicon * November 17–19: Delaware Valley Comicart Consortium Third Annual Convention Honoring Women in Comics (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) — guests included Paty,

Mary Jo Duffy Mary Jo Duffy (born February 9, 1954) is an American comic book editor and writer, known for her work for Marvel Comics in the 1980s and DC Comics and Image Comics in the 1990s. Biography A native of the New York City area, Duffy attended Welles ...

Frank Thorne Benjamin Franklin Thorne (June 16, 1930 – March 7, 2021
at the

, and Bill Ward * November 24–26: Creation '78 (Statler Hilton, New York City) — guests include John Byrne,

Herb Trimpe Herbert William Trimpe (; May 26, 1939 – April 13, 2015) was an American comics artist and occasional writer, best known as the seminal 1970s artist on '' The Incredible Hulk'' and as the first artist to draw for publication the character Wol ...

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001)Gray Morrow
at the S ...

Bob Larkin Bob Larkin (born July 10, 1949) is an American comics artist primarily known for his painted covers for Marvel Comics' magazine-format titles Marvel Magazines in the 1970s and early 1980s and for his 32 painted covers on the Bantam Books paperba ...

, John Romita, Sr., John Romita, Jr.,

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

Rudy Nebres Rodolfo D. Nebres (born January 14, 1937) is a Filipino comics artist who has worked mostly as an inker in the American comic book industry. Known for his lush, detailed inklines, Nebres' most prolific period was in the late 1970s and the 1980s. ...

, and

Tom Yeates Thomas Yeates (born January 19, 1955) is an American comic strip and comic book artist best known for illustrating the comic strips ''Prince Valiant'' and ''Zorro'' and for working on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Career Thomas Yea ...

* December 1–3: Wintercon '78 (Tradewinds Hotel, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) * December 29: Albany Comic Con II (Albany, New York)

Awards

Eagle Awards The Eagle Awards were a series of British awards for comic book titles and creators. They were awarded by UK fans voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's seminal boys' comic ''Eagle'', the awards were launched in ...

''Presented in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

for comics published in 1978:'' * Roll of Honour:

American section

* Favourite Writer:

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...

* Favourite Artist: John Byrne * Favourite Inker: Terry Austin * Favourite Comic Book (Drama): ''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...

''Letters page, ''

'' #119 (March 1979). (

) * Favourite New Comics Title:

Micronauts Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the '' Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy company Takara in 1974 ...

* Favourite Single Story: "Mindgames", ''

'' #111, by

and John Byrne * Best Continuing Story: "

", in ''

'' #167, 168, 170–177, written by

and

, with art by

and

* Favourite Cover: ''

Master of Kung Fu Zheng Shang-Chi,. also known as the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, debuting in ''Spec ...

'' #67, by

* Favourite Team:

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

* Favorite Supporting Character:

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

* Favourite Villain:

Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

* Character Most Worthy of His Own Title:

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

* Favourite Specialist Comics Publication: ''

Comic Media News Richard Burton is a British comic publisher and editor who had a lengthy career at IPC Magazines. While an assistant editor at '' 2000 AD'', he became known to readers as Tharg the Mighty's bumbling assistant Burt, who appeared in a number of st ...

U.K. section

* Favourite Writer: T.B. Grover * Favourite Artist:

* Favourite Comic: '' 2000 AD'' (Fleetway) * Favourite Character:

First issues by title

DC Comics

'' Army at War'' : ''Release'': November. ''Editor'':

. (Immediately cancelled as a victim of the

.) '' Battle Classics'' : ''Release'': September/October. ''Writer'':

Robert Kanigher Robert Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over ...

. ''Artist'':

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Poland, Polish-born Americans, American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawk ...

. (Immediately cancelled as a victim of the

.) ''

DC Comics Presents ''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...

'' : ''Release'': July. ''Writer'':

Martin Pasko Martin Joseph "Marty" Pasko (born Jean-Claude Rochefort; August 4, 1954– May 10, 2020) was a Canadian comic book writer and television screenwriter. Pasko worked for many comics publishers, but is best known for his superhero stories for DC Com ...

. ''Artists'':

José Luis García-López José Luis García-López (born March 26, 1948) is a Spanish people, Spanish-Argentines, Argentine comics artist who works in the United States, particularly in a long-running relationship with DC Comics. In addition to his storytelling art, he pr ...

and

Dan Adkins Danny L. AdkinsDanny L. Adkins
at the Social Security Death Index via FamilySearch.org. Retrieved December ...

. '' Doorway to Nightmare'' : ''Release'': January/February. ''Writer'':

. ''Artist'':

Val Mayerik Val Mayerik (born March 29, 1950) is an American comic book and commercial artist, best known as co-creator of the satiric character ''Howard the Duck'' for ''Marvel Comics''. Biography Early life and career Val Mayerik was born in Youngstown, ...

. '' Dynamic Classics'' : ''Release'': September/October. ''Editor'':

Cary Burkett Cary Burkett is an American radio broadcaster and former comic book writer best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Nemesis with artist Dan Spiegle. Biography Cary Burkett attended the University of Texas at Austin and earned a BFA deg ...

. (Reprint title immediately cancelled as a victim of the

.) '' Firestorm, the Nuclear Man'' : ''Release'': March. ''Writer'':

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...

. ''Artist'':

. '' Steel: The Indestructible Man'' : ''Release'': March. ''Writer'':

. ''Artists'':

Don Heck Donald L. HeckDonald L. Heck
at the Social Security Death Index. Retrieved on Septem ...

and

Joe Giella Joe Giella (June 27, 1928 – March 21, 2023) was an American comic book artist best known as a DC Comics inker during the late 1950s and 1960s period which historians and fans call the Silver Age of Comic Books. Due to his long and prolific caree ...

Marvel Comics

Devil Dinosaur Devil Dinosaur is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Devil Dinosaur'' #1 (April 1978). Devil Dinosaur is depicted as resembling an enormous, crimson '' ...

'' : ''Release'': April. ''Writer/Artist'':

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

. ''

Machine Man Machine Man (also known as Aaron Stack, Mister Machine and serial number Z2P45-9-X-51 or X-51 for short) is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for '' 2001: A ...

'' : ''Release'': April. ''Writer/Artist'':

. ''

Man From Atlantis ''Man from Atlantis'' is an American Superhero fiction, superhero television series that ran on the NBC network from 1977–78. It began as four TV movies that aired in Spring 1977. The movies achieved high ratings which led to the commissioning ...

'' : ''Release'': February. ''Writer'':

Bill Mantlo William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: '' Micronauts'' and '' R ...

. ''Artists'':

Tom Sutton Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002) He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in 1955, and worked on art projects while stationed at Fort Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyoming. Later, stationed at Itam ...

and

Sonny Trinidad Celso L. "Sonny" Trinidad (died November 23, 2009) was a Filipino comics artist who worked in the Filipino and American comic book industries. In the U.S., he is mostly known for his work for Marvel Comics in the mid–1970s. Career Trinidad beg ...

. ''

Spider-Woman Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first major version is Jessica Drew (and later impersonated by Veranke), the second major version is Julia Carpenter, and the third m ...

'' : ''Release'': April. ''Writer'':

. ''Artists'':

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

and

Tony DeZuniga Antony de Zuñiga (November 8, 1932 – May 11, 2012) who worked primarily under the name Tony DeZuniga, was a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist and illustrator best known for his works for DC Comics. He co-created the fictional characters Jonah ...

Other publishers

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

'' : ''Release'': June by

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...

. ''Editor'':

Bill DuBay William Bryan Dubay (January 11, 1948 – April 15, 2010William Bryan Dubay

Anarchy Comics ''Anarchy Comics'' is a series of underground comic books published by Last Gasp (publisher), Last Gasp between 1978 and 1987, as part of the underground comix subculture of the era. Edited by Jay Kinney (#1-3) and Paul Mavrides (#4), regular con ...

'' : ''Release'': by

Last Gasp (The) Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) Last Gasp is a San Francisco–based book publisher with a lowbrow art and counterculture focus. Owned and operated by Ron Turner, for most of its existence Last Gasp was a publisher, dis ...

. ''Editor'':

Jay Kinney Jay Kinney (born 1950) is an American author, editor, and former underground cartoonist. Kinney has been noted for "adding new dimensions to the political comic" in the underground comix press of the 1970s and '80s. Career Kinney was a member, ...

. ''

'' magazine : ''Release'': February by

Casterman Casterman is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics, specializing in comic books and children's literature. The company is based in Tournai, 90 kilometres southwest of the centre of Brussels, Belgium. History The company was founded in 1780 by Don ...

. ''

Elfquest ''Elfquest'' (or ''ElfQuest'') is a comic book property created by Wendy and Richard Pini in 1978, and still owned by them. It is a fantasy story about a community of Elves (Elfquest), elves and other fictional species who struggle to survive and ...

'' : ''Release'': August by

WaRP Graphics WaRP Graphics, later Warp Graphics, is an alternative comics publisher best known for creating and being the original publisher of the ''Elfquest'' comic book series. It was created and incorporated in 1977 by Wendy and Richard Pini. The compan ...

. ''Writers'':

and

Richard Pini Wendy Pini ( Fletcher; born June 4, 1951) and Richard Pini (born July 19, 1950) are the husband-and-wife team responsible for creating the well-known ''Elfquest'' series of comics, graphic novels and prose works. They are also known as WaRP (as ...

. ''Artist'':

. '' Il Male'' ''Release'': February 7, Director : Vincino. ''

Misty In cryptography, MISTY1 (or MISTY-1) is a block cipher designed in 1995 by Mitsuru Matsui and others for Mitsubishi Electric. MISTY1 is one of the selected algorithms in the European NESSIE project, and has been among the cryptographic tech ...

'' : ''Release'': February 4 by

Fleetway Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. History It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies t ...

. '' Starlord'' : ''Release'': May 13 by

IPC Media TI Media Ltd. (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of it ...

Canceled titles

DC Comics

* ''

'', with issue #74 (September/October) * ''

'', with issue #63 (August/September) * '' Army at War'', with issue #1 (November ) * ''

Batman Family ''Batman Family'' is an American comic book anthology series published by DC Comics which ran from 1975 to 1978, primarily featuring stories starring supporting characters to the superhero Batman. An eight-issue miniseries called ''Batman: Famil ...

'', with issue #20 (November ) — folded into the newly reformatted DC Dollar Comic ''

'' * '' Battle Classics'', with issue #1 (September/October) * ''

'', with issue #11 (September/October) * ''

Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...

'', with issue #87 (June/July) * ''

'', with issue #12 (August/September) * ''

DC Super Stars ''DC Super Stars'' was a comics anthology series published by DC Comics from March 1976 to February 1978. Starting off as a reprint title, it finished its run with original stories. Publication history The tagline "The Line of DC Super-Stars" wa ...

'', with issue #18 (January /February ) * '' Doorway to Nightmare'', with issue #5 (September/October) — folded into the DC Dollar Comic '' The Unexpected'' * '' Dynamic Classics'', with issue #1 (September/October) * '' Firestorm, the Nuclear Man'', with issue #5 (October/November) * '' Freedom Fighters'', with issue #15 (July/August) * '' House of Secrets'', with issue #154 (October/November) * '' Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth'', with issue #59 (September/October) * '' Karate Kid'', with issue #15 (July/August) * ''

Metal Men The Metal Men are a group of robot superheroes that appear in DC Comics. The characters first appeared in '' Showcase'' #37 (March–April 1962) and were created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru. Debuting in the Silver Age of C ...

'', with issue #56 (February /March ) * ''

'', with issue #25 (August ) * ''

'', with issue #181 (September/October) * '' Return of The New Gods'', with issue #19 (July/August) — the numbering had continued from the ''

New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

'' 1971 series, which itself had been cancelled in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

. * ''

Secret Society of Super Villains Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League, Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #1 ...

'', with issue #15 (June/July) * ''

'', with issue #14 (October/November) — revived a year later, however, with issue #15; the title continues until issue #46 in March

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. * ''

'', with issue #9 (August/September) * '' Shazam!'', with issue #35 (May/June) — folded into the DC Dollar Comic '' World's Finest'' * '' Showcase'', with issue #104 (September ) — the numbering had continued from the first volume of ''Showcase'', which itself had been cancelled in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. * '' Star Hunters'', with issue #7 (October/November) * '' Steel: The Indestructible Man'', with issue #5 (October/November) * ''

Super-Team Family ''Super-Team Family'' is a comic book anthology series published by DC Comics from 1975 to 1978 that lasted for 15 issues. It included a mix of original and reprinted stories. Publication history ''Super-Team Family'' began publication with an O ...

'', with issue #15 (March/April) — the basic concept is reborn a few months later with the July debut of ''

'' * ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'', with issue #53 (February ) * ''

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class nicknamed the Sweathogs. Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the ser ...

'', with issue #10 (March/April) * '' The Witching Hour'', with issue #85 (October ) — folded into the DC Dollar Comic '' The Unexpected''

Marvel Comics

* ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

'', with issue #17 (January) * ''

'', with issue #9 (December) * '' The Eternals'', with issue #19 (January) * ''

Kull the Destroyer Kull of Atlantis or Kull the Conqueror is a fictional character created by writer Robert E. Howard. The character was more introspective than Howard's subsequent creation, Conan the Barbarian, whose first appearance was in a re-write of a reject ...

'', with issue #29 (October) * ''

Marvel Classics Comics ''Marvel Classics Comics'' was an American comics magazine which ran from 1976 until 1978. It specialized in adaptations of literary classics such as ''Moby-Dick'', ''The Three Musketeers'', and ''The Iliad''. It was Marvel Comics' attempt to pic ...

'', with issue #36 (December)

Other publishers

* ''

Bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...

'', with issue #147 ( D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, December ) — merged with ''

Warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...

'' * ''

Ghostly Haunts ''Ghostly Haunts'' is an American horror-suspense anthology comic book series that was published by Charlton Comics from 1971 to 1978. The book was "hosted" by Winnie the Witch, a " moddish" blue-skinned witch. ''Ghostly Haunts'' was part of a w ...

'', with issue #58 (April, Charlton) * '' Krazy'', with issue #79 (IPC, April 15) — merged with ''

Whizzer and Chips ''Whizzer and Chips'' was a British comics magazine that ran from 18 October 1969 to 27 October 1990, when it merged with the comic '' Buster''. As with most comics of the time, ''Whizzer and Chips'' was dated one week ahead of the day it actu ...

'' * ''

The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves ''The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves'' is an American supernatural-anthology comic book that was published by Charlton Comics, often featuring stories by writer-artist Steve Ditko. The eponymous Dr. M. T. Graves was a fictional character who hosted ...

'', with issue #65 (Charlton, May) — the title picks up again with issue #66 in May

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

* '' Starlord'', with issue #22 (

, October 7)

Initial appearances by character name

DC Comics

* Harold Jordan, in ''

'' #48 (January) *

Cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

, in ''

Weird Western Tales ''Weird Western Tales'' is a Western genre comics anthology published by DC Comics from June–July 1972 to August 1980. It is best known for featuring the adventures of Jonah Hex until #38 (Jan.–Feb. 1977) when the character was promoted to hi ...

'' #48 (September /October ) *

Commander Steel Commander Steel (also known as Captain Steel, Citizen Steel and Sergeant Steel) is the name of three superheroes appearing in media published by DC Comics, all members of the same family. The first Steel appeared in ''Steel, The Indestructible ...

, in '' Steel, the Indestructible Man'' #01 *

Count Vertigo Count Vertigo (Werner Zytle) is a supervillain created by Gerry Conway, Trevor Von Eeden and Vince Colletta as an enemy of Black Canary, Batman and later Green Arrow in the DC Comics Universe. Count Vertigo is the last descendant of the royal f ...

, ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' #251 *

Doctor Mist Doctor Mist is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. He was created by E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon, first appearing in a cameo in ''Super Friends'' #12 (June–July 1978). Hailing from the mythical realm of Kor, Nommo is a famo ...

, in ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of Am ...

'' #12 * Fadeaway Man, in ''

'' #479 *

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

, in '' Firestorm, the Nuclear Man'' #01 *

Martin Stein Martin Stein is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is commonly associated with, and sometimes is, the superhero Firestorm. Stein has made several appearances in DC-related media. He is portrayed by ...

, in '' Firestorm, the Nuclear Man'' #01 * Ronald Raymond, in '' Firestorm, the Nuclear Man'' #01 * Killer Frost, in '' Firestorm, the Nuclear Man'' #03 *

Madame Xanadu Madame Xanadu (Nimue Inwudu) is a fictional character published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur''. Jeryl Prescott portrays X ...

, in '' Doorway to Nightmare'' #01 (February) *

Madame Zodiac Madame Zodiac is a supervillain, a comic book witch published by DC Comics. She debuted in ''Batman Family'' #17 (April 1978), and was created by Bob Rozakis and Don Heck. Publication history Madame Zodiac first appears in ''Batman Family'' #17 ...

, in ''

'' #17 *

Multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...

, in '' Firestorm, the Nuclear Man'' #02 *

Ultraa Ultraa is a DC Comics character, originally the first superhuman on Earth Prime. The original first appeared in '' Justice League of America'' #153 (April 1978), he was created by Gerry Conway and George Tuska. The current Ultraa first appeared ...

, in ''

Justice League of America The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...

'' #153 *Jed Rikane, in ''

Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes The 1958 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes (also called the original/Preboot Legion) is a fictional superhero team in the 31st century of the . The team is the first incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and was followed by the Legion of ...

'' #240 (June) * Preston Payne, in ''

'' #477 (June) *

Odd Man (comics) The Odd Man is a fictional comic book hero created by Steve Ditko. The character was intended to first appear in ''Shade, the Changing Man'' #9 but instead first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #487 in December 1979. Fictional character biograph ...

, in ''

Cancelled Comic Cavalcade The "DC Explosion" and "DC Implosion" were two events in 1978 – the first an official marketing campaign, the second a sardonic reference to it – in which American comics company DC Comics expanded their roster of publications, then abruptly cu ...

'' #02 (September)

Marvel Comics

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

, in ''

Marvel Team-Up ''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...

'' #65 (January) * Big Wheel, in ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' #182 *

Bethany Cabe Bethany Cabe is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, the character first appeared in ''Iron Man'' #117 (December 1978). Bethany Cabe is a supporting character and lo ...

, in ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

'' #117 *

Carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

, in ''

Spectacular Spider-Man ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics. Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...

'' #25 *

, in ''

'' #1 (April) * Vindicator (later Guardian), in ''

'' #109 * Hoder, in ''

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

'' #274 *

Hypno-Hustler The Hypno-Hustler (Antoine Delsoin) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December ...

, in ''

'' #24 * Kiber the Cruel, in ''

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

'' #11 (September) *

Moon-Boy Moon-Boy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is best known as the constant companion of Devil Dinosaur. Publication history Being primarily a supporting character to Devil Dinosaur, Moon-Boy ...

, in ''

'' #1 (April) * Moonstone, in ''

'' #228 * Mystique, in '' Ms. Marvel'' #16 *

Ben Urich Benjamin "Ben" Urich () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in stories featuring Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil and Spider-Man. Urich is a invest ...

, '' Daredevil'' #153 *

Virako The Eternals are a fictional race of cosmic beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The following is a list of known Eternals in the Marvel Universe. Characters Earth The following Eternals reside on Earth: * Ikaris ...

, in ''

Annual'' #7 * Wendell Vaughn (Marvel Man), in ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

'' #217 (January)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1978 In Comics