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The Bronze Age of Comics

1970

Ligne Claire clear line is a term introduced by European comic critics for comics that emphasized a

clean graphic style, clear storytelling, and flat colors.

Jack Kirby leaves Marvel Comics for DC.

1971

Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Stan Lee, approached by the Department of health, Education and

Welfare to do a comic book story about drug abuse, wrote a three-part Spider-Man story, "Green Goblin

Reborn!, which portrayed drug use as dangerous and unglamorous. At that time, any portrayal of drug

use in comic books was banned outright by the Comics Code Authority. The CCA refused to approve the

story, but the positive reception that the story received led to the CCA revising the Comics Code later

that year to allow the portrayal of drug addiction, as long as it was depicted in a negative light.

November 1971 saw both Marvel and DC increase comics prices from 15 cents to 25 cents, with the

number of pages in the title increasing from 36 to 52. In December, Marvel returned back to 36 pagesand lowered its price to 20 cents. DC would keep the 52 page, 25 cent format for another year.

1972

Art Spiegelmans Maus, published in RAW Magazine, utilizes anthropomorphism to comment on the

absurdity of the division of people based on nationality.

Luke Cage becomes the first African American superhero to receive his own series in Hero for Hire #1.

1973

The murder of Spider-Man's long-term girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, at the hands of the Green Goblin in 1973's

 Amazing Spider-Man #121-122 is considered by many to be the definitive Bronze Age event.

The absurdist Howard the Duck makes his first appearance in comics and would be one of the most

popular non-superheroes ever.

1974

Adrian Tomine, publisher of Optic Nerve and winner of the 1996 Harvey Award for Best New Talent, is

born on May 31.

1976

1976 Chandler by Jim Steranko introduces a 2-panel per page style with text at the bottom.

1977

Racket Rumba by the French artist Loro is a spoof of the noir-detective genre. Noir is a subset of the

hardboiled style which is associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal

of violence and sex.

1978

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Will Eisner enters the scene with A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories inspired by Lyn

Wards woodcut style.

Marvel Comics produced the first original mass-market trade paperback graphic novel, THE SILVER

SURFER, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

1979

"Demon in a Bottle, a nine-issue Iron Man story arc concerning alcoholism, is published by Marvel.

Future Day by Gene Day is published.

1981

Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez publish the first issue of Love and Rockets, one of the first comics in the

alternative comics revolution of the 1980s.

1984

Marvel begins releasing the first "big event" storyline, Secret Wars, which would, along with Crisis on

Infinite Earths, popularize big events, and make them a staple in the industry.

Heartburst by Rich Veitch is published.

1985-1986

DC Comics completed its special event, Crisis on Infinite Earths which marked the revitalization of the

company's product line to become a serious market challenger to Marvel again.