70 Years of Marvel - 1976

In 1976, the Defenders were the antidote to superhero comics. Steve Gerber had taken over the book a year or so back, and what had been just another team book rapidly became something else, with bodyswaps, self-help gurus, possessed deer, and the Hulk dressed as a clown. And all that , just in the issue above! These weren't your dad's comic books.

In the same year, Captain Britain was making his debut, in the pages of his own Marvel UK title. Richard Ryder was gaining the power of Nova. The Shroud was turning up for the first time, in the pages of Super-Villain Team-Up. In the X-Men, Jean Grey was transforming into the Phoenix. Third-string super hero, Jack of Hearts, was appearing in the pages of Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. And, with Kirby back at Marvel, he was taking over the reigns at Captain America, adapting the 2001: A Space Odyssey movie, as well as launching a new team of god-like beings, the Eternals.

In the real world, 1976 saw Jim Callaghan become British PM, Jimmy Carter become American President, and Chairman Mao dead.

On television, children were watching Rentaghost and Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, whilst the grown-ups were watching Reginald Perrin and I, Claudius. Sylvester Stallone was making a name for himself as Rocky Balboa. And vampire literature got a boost, with the publication of Interview With The Vampire, introducing the "vampire rock star" subgenre of horror fiction.

70 Years of Marvel - 1975

By 1975, Marvel had a raft of horror magazines out on the racks: Haunt of Horror; Dracula Lives; Tales of the Zombie; Monsters Unleashed; and Vampire Tales. These were black and white books aimed at an older market. But, since there was money to be made, Marvel also had a few horror books set in the mainstream Marvel Universe, of which Tomb of Dracula was both the most famous and, at 70 issues, the longest-running.

In the course of ToD, the lord of the vampires would encounter many Marvel heroes, including Dr Strange, who, after the book was cancelled, would wipe out Dracula and his brethren. It wouldn't take, of course, and Dracula still shows up every so often, most often in the pages of Captain Britain's latest title.

1975 also saw the creation of Madrox the Multiple Man, a mutant who, after appearing with the Fantastic Four, skulked around the corners of the Marvel Universe for over a decade, before turning up as a regular character in the Peter David version of X-Factor. Batman-a-like, Moon Knight began haunting the pages of Werewolf By Night. In the pages of the Avengers, the Scarlet Witch married her android fiancé, the Vision. The Fantastic Four became the Fantastic Five, with the birth of Franklin Richards. Spider-Man had his first encounter with his clone (yes, that one). Meantime, sometime allies, Doctor Doom and the Sub-Mariner were back together, in the pages of Super-Villain Team-Up. And, with Hank Pym chopping and changeing between his Ant-Man and Yellowjacket costumes, the Goliath identity was being taken on by Pym's former partner, Bill Foster. A new team of Champions was born. Most notably, however, 1975 saw the revival of the X-Men, or rather the New X-Men, as Len Wein and Dave Cockrum introduced a new team of international heroes. Marvel Comics would never be the same again.

On tv, Saturday Night Live and Fawlty Towers were making their debut. At the pictures, Jack Nicolson was faking it in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. At the theatre, audience were witnessing the first performance of the Rocky Horror Show. And in the real world, a young man called Bill Gates was going into business.