70 Years of Marvel - 2002

2002 was the year of MAX Comics. OK, technically, that's not true. The first MAX comics were launched the previous year, but 2002 saw Marvel's 18-certificate comics line get well and truly established, to the consternation of the internet (and, if wikipedia is to believed, to the consternation of Stan Lee as well).

MAX Comics is probably most renowned for having introduced Jessica Jones to the Marvel Universe. Hard-bitten private eye / ex-superheroine, Jessica was the creation of Brian Bendis and Michael Gaydos, swore a lot, and shagged Luke Cage, before being watered down sufficiently to appear in the pages of Bendis' Avengers. MAX's other big creation has been the Hood, created by Brian K. Vaughan, but hijacked by Bendis to act as one of the main protagonists (read: most overused characters) of his recent Dark Reign storyline.

MAX also produced a fair amount of character revivals. Not just Luke Cage, reinvented as a non-costumed swearing machine, but also War Machine (now actually able to kill people), Nick Fury (rewritten by Garth Ennis as a burned-out Cold War veteran looking for one last war), Shang-Chi (reuniting 70s fan faves Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy), Howard the Duck (from original creator Steve Gerber), Blade (launched to cash in on the movie franchise), Black Widow (the blonde one, not the good one), Apache Skies (featuring some of Marvel's Western heroes). And that was just in 2002! The MAX line is still going, if not strong, than at least surviving, with a series featuring the 40s hero, Destroyer, recently out, and Howard Chaykin's revival of his Dominic Fortune character.

2002 also saw the release of the first issue of Kevin Smith's Daredevil / Bullseye miniseries. Optimistic people are still waiting for the release of issue 2.

In the real world, the Euro entered common currency, the US Government was setting up the Department of Homeland Security, and Britain, the US, and various allies were looking forward to invading Iraq.

70 Years of Marvel - 1973

1973 saw the Black Panther, after guest-starring in pretty much every title out there, finally get a shot at his own book. This was the start of "Panther's Rage", a 13-parter which, these days, is recognised as ground-breaking in terms of being a very early example of a graphic novel. "Panther's Rage" was written by Don McGregor, in virtually his first work for Marvel, and, like a lot of Panther books, was able to push the creative envelope, safe in the knowledge that most people wouldn't be reading it anyway.

Elsewhere in 1973, the Titan priestess-turned-hero, Moondragon, was making her presence felt, although for reason best know to herself, was dubbing herself Madame MacEvil at this point. Meanwhile, her father, Drax the Destroyer, was also turning up, as another new writer, Jim Starlin, began introducing more and more cosmic elements to Marvel's books. Vampire-slayer, Blade, began hunting down Dracula, and martial-artist Mantis, Celestial Madonna-to-be, debuted in the pages of the Avengers. In the newly-revived Strange Tales, Len Wein and Gene Colan were introducing Brother Voodoo, a young man with a big future, whilst in the pages of Adventure In Fear, a book starring the monstrous Man-Thing, a duck named Howard was making his debut. The Son of Satan was making his first appearance, in the pages of Ghost Rider. Another famous son, this time, Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, and son of Fu Manchu, was making his first appearance. And Marvel was bringing one of its first big crossovers, as Steve Englehart brought us the Avengers-Defenders War! Yoinks!

In the real world, 1973 saw Nixon, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, "I am not a crook." Meanwhile, his VP, Spiro Agnew, was being convicted of tax evasion. Happy days.

On the tv, Last of the Summer Wine started, bringing the hilarious exploits of three ancient Yorkshiremen to anyone too lazy to change channels. We were also treated to the almost equally hilarious exploits of the cast of Are You Being Served, while over in America, the Six-Million Dollar Man was making his debut. Meanwhile, at the pictures, The Exorcist was terrifying witless teenagers, and Yul Brynner was a psychotic android in Westworld.