Bronze Age of Comic Books: Difference between revisions

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{{more footnotes|date=October 2022}}

A concern with social issues had been a part of comic book stories since their beginnings: early Superman stories, for example, dealt with issues such as child mistreatment and working conditions for [[Minor (law)|minors]]. However, in the 1970s relevance became not only a feature of the stories, but also something that the books loudly proclaimed on their covers to promote sales. The Spider-Man drug issues were at the forefront of the trend of "social relevance" with comic books noticeably handling real-life issues. The above-mentioned ''Green Lantern/Green Arrow'' series dealt not only with drugs, but other topics like racism and environmental degradation. The [[X-Men]] titles, which were partly based on the premise that mutants were a metaphor for real-world minorities, became wildly popular. Other well-known "relevant" comics include the "[[Demon in a Bottle]]", where [[Iron Man]] confronts his alcoholism, and the socially conscious stories written by [[Steve Gerber]] in such titles as ''[[Howard the Duck]]'' and ''[[Omega the Unknown]]''. Issues regarding female empowerment became trends with female versions of popular male characters ([[Jessica Drew|Spider-Woman]], [[Red Sonja]], [[Carol Danvers|Ms. Marvel]], [[She-Hulk]]).

===Creator credit and labor agreements===

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* [[Mark Evanier]] (''[[Blackhawk (DC Comics)|Blackhawk]]'', ''[[The DNAgents]]'', ''[[Crossfire (Eclipse Comics)|Crossfire]]'')

* [[Michael Fleisher]] (''[[Jonah Hex]]'', ''[[Spectre (DC Comics character)|Spectre]]'')

* [[Steve Gerber]] (''[[Howard the Duck]]'', ''[[The Defenders (comicscomic book)|The Defenders]]'', ''[[Man-Thing]]'', ''[[Omega the Unknown]]'', ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team)|Guardians of the Galaxy]]'')

* [[Archie Goodwin (comics)|Archie Goodwin]] (''[[Manhunter (comics)|Manhunter]]'')

* [[Bill Mantlo]] (''[[Micronauts (comics)|Micronauts]]'', ''[[Rom the Space Knight|Rom]]'')

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* [[Al Milgrom]] (''[[Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man]]'', ''[[The Incredible Hulk (comic book)|Incredible Hulk]]'')

* [[Doug Moench]] (''[[Master of Kung Fu (comics)|Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu]]'', ''[[Moon Knight]]'')

* [[David Michelinie]] (''[[Aquaman (comic book)|Aquaman]]'', ''[[Iron Man (comic book)|Iron Man]]'')

* [[Dennis O'Neil]] (''[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]'', ''[[Green Lantern/Green Arrow]]'')

* [[Jim Shooter]] (''[[The Avengers (comic book)|The Avengers]]'')

* [[Jim Starlin]] (''[[Captain Marvel (Marvel ComicsMar-Vell)|Captain Marvel]]'', ''[[Adam Warlock]]'')

* [[Roy Thomas]] (''[[Conan the Barbarian (comics)|Conan the Barbarian]]'', ''[[All-Star Squadron]]'')

* [[Len Wein]] (''[[Swamp Thing (comic book)|Swamp Thing]]'', ''[[Giant-Size X-Men]]'')

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* [[Neal Adams]] (''[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]'', ''[[Detective Comics]]'', ''[[Green Lantern/Green Arrow]]'')

* [[Ross Andru]] (''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'')

* [[Jim Aparo]] (''[[The Brave and the Bold]]'', ''[[Aquaman (comic book)|Aquaman]]'', ''[[Adventure Comics]]'', ''[[Batman and the Outsiders]]'')

* [[Frank Brunner]] (''[[Doctor Strange (comic book)|Doctor Strange]]'')

* [[Rich Buckler]] (''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'', ''[[Deathlok]]'')

* [[John Buscema]] (''[[Conan the Barbarian (comics)|Conan the Barbarian]]'', ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'', ''[[Savage Sword of Conan]]'', ''[[Thor (comic book)|Thor]]'')

* [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] (''[[Alpha Flight (comic book)|Alpha Flight]]'', ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'', ''[[Uncanny X-Men]]'')

* [[Dave Cockrum]] (''[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]'', ''[[Uncanny X-Men]]'')

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* [[Frank Miller]] (''[[Daredevil (Marvel Comics series)|Daredevil]]'')

* [[George Pérez]] (''[[The Avengers (comic book)|The Avengers]]'', ''[[The New Teen Titans]]'')

* [[Don Perlin]] (''[[Werewolf by Night]]'', ''[[The Defenders (comicscomic book)|The Defenders]]'', ''[[Ghost Rider (comic book)|Ghost Rider]]'')

* [[Keith Pollard]] (''[[Thor (comic book)|Thor]]'', ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]'', ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'')

* [[Marshall Rogers]] (''[[Detective Comics]]'')

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*January 1971: [[Clark Kent]] becomes a newscaster at WGBS-TV.

*February 1971: African-American superhero [[Falcon (comics)|Falcon]] shares co-feature status in renamed ''[[Captain America and The Falcon]]''.

*July 1971: DC Comics introduces the character of ''[[Swamp Thing]]'' in its ''[[House of Secrets (DC Comics)|House of Secrets]]'' title.

*April 1972: Marvel begins publishing ''[[The Tomb of Dracula]]''.

*June 1972: [[Luke Cage]] becomes the first African American superhero to receive his own series in ''Hero for Hire #1''.

*June 1973: [[Green Goblin]] kills [[Gwen Stacy]] in ''[[The Night Gwen Stacy Died|''Amazing Spider-Man'' #121]]''.

*December 1973: The absurdist [[Howard the Duck]] makes his first appearance in comics and would be one of the most popular non-superheroes ever. He would get his own series in 1976 and he would graduate to his own daily newspaper strip and a 1986 film.

*February 1974: First appearance of the [[Punisher]] in [[The Amazing Spider-Man 129|''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #129]].

*November 1974: First appearance of [[Wolverine (character)|Wolverine]] in ''[[The Incredible Hulk (comic book)|Incredible Hulk]]'' #181.

*May 1975: ''[[Giant-Size X-Men]]'' #1 by [[Len Wein]] and [[Dave Cockrum]] introduces the "all-new, all-different [[X-Men]]."

*July 1977: At the request of Roy Thomas, Marvel releases ''[[Star Wars (1977 comic book)|Star Wars]]'', based on the hit movie, and it quickly becomes one of the best-selling books of the era.

*August 1977: [[Black Manta]] kills Aquababy in ''[[Adventure Comics]]'' #452.