January 28: The Comics Code becomes less strict and will soften its rules a few more times during the year. Initially "liberalized" on January 28, 1971, to allow for (among other things) the sometimes "sympathetic depiction of criminal behavior . . . [and] corruption among public officials" ("as long as it is portrayed as exceptional and the culprit is punished")[3] as well as permitting some criminal activities to kill law-enforcement officers and the "suggestion but not portrayal of seduction."[3] Also newly allowed were "vampires, ghouls and werewolves . . . when handled in the classic tradition such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and other high calibre literary works written by Edgar Allan Poe, Saki, Conan Doyle and other respected authors whose works are read in schools around the world." Zombies, lacking the requisite "literary" background, remain taboo.
March 11: The final episode of Andries Brandt's Horre, Harm en Hella is published.[7]
March 14: In the story La resa dei conti (The showdown), by Claudio Nizzi and Carlo Boscarato, Larry Yuma gets his definitive name (in the two previous episodes, the character was called Dave).[8]
March 20: Andries Brandt and Jan Van Haasteren's Aafje Anders makes its debut. After a few stories Robert Hamilton and Richard Klokkers take over the artwork. The series will run until 17 April 1973.[7]
With the publication of Savage Tales #1, Marvel creates its black-and-white magazine line, which published material that doesn't carry the seal of the Comics Code Authority.
August 5: In the obscenity case against the British underground magazine Oz and their issue Schoolkids Oz the publishers are convicted. Particularly a pornographic parody of the children's comic Rupert Bear made by a 16-year old pupil named Vivian Berger drew a lot of controversy. However, within a few months the sentences are overturned. [21]
DC Comics raises the price of its typical comic book from 15 cents to 25 cents, and the page-count from 36 to 52 by adding reprints and new backup features.[22][23]
October 22: In Copenhagen the comics store Fantask opens its doors, which will become the oldest Danish comics store in the world.[26]
October 22: first issue of the Italian magazine Menelik (Tattilo editore) dedicated to quality erotic comics.
The Brave and the Bold #98 (written by Bob Haney) — Jim Aparo's first issue as artist. Haney and Aparo continue to contribute the majority of issues until the series' finale in July 1983.
In the Days of the Mob #1 and Spirit World #1, two one-shot black-and-white magazines by Jack Kirby.[27]
Marvel Comics, following rival DC's lead, raises the price of its typical comic book from 15 cents to 25 cents, and the page-count from 36 to 52.
The Avengers #93: Neal Adams begins his celebrated stint as Avengers artist, continuing the "Kree-Skrull War" story arc begun in issue #89 of the title.
DC Special (1968 series), with issue #15 (November /December cover date), is cancelled by DC.
December
December 3: The first episode of Jean-Pol's Annie en Peter is published in Zonnestraal. It will run in this magazine until 1980, but the series itself will continue until 1987. [28]
After a month-long experimentation with 25-cent comics, Marvel reduces the price of a typical comic to 20 cents, and returns the page-count from 52 to 36 pages.
The first issue of the Flemish comics magazine/fanzine CISO-Magazine is published by Danny De Laet. It will change its name into Stripgids in 1974 and receive a new chief editor, Jan Smet.
April 23: Marius J.G. Thomassen, aka Mathos, Dutch illustrator and comics artist (De Avonturen van Flits, de herder en Bull, de dog), dies at age 81.[46]
I came back into the field because of [convention organizer Phil Seuling]. I remember [him] calling me in New London, [Connecticut], where I was sitting there as chairman of the board of Croft Publishing Co. My secretary said, 'There's a Mr. Seuling on the phone and he's talking about a comics convention. What is that?' She said, 'I didn't know you were a cartoonist, Mr. Eisner.' 'Oh, yes,' I said, 'secretly; I'm a closet cartoonist.' I came down and was stunned at the existence of the whole world. ... That was a world that I had left, and I found it very exciting, very stimulating".[79]
^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 144 "New editor Julius Schwartz, new scripter Denny O'Neil, and regular artist Curt Swan removed the Man of Steel's greatest weakness from the face of the Earth."
^"Bill Tidy". lambiek.net. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 145 "Before Batman first encountered one of his greatest adversaries, Ra's al Ghul, he met his daughter, the lovely but lethal Talia [in a story by] writer Denny O'Neil and artist Bob Brown."
^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 145: "Writer Denny O'Neil once stated that he and artist Neal Adams 'set out to consciously and deliberately to create a villain...so exotic and mysterious that neither we nor Batman were sure what to expect.' Who they came up with was arguably Batman's most cunning adversary: the global eco-terrorist named Ra's al Ghul."
^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 146: "'Swamp Thing' was the name of Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson's start of the 20th century tale, and its popularity with readers led a modernized version of the character into his own series a year later."
^Levitz, Paul (2010). 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking. Taschen America. p. 481. ISBN978-3-8365-1981-6. When Swamp Thing debuted in this issue of House of Secrets as a "one-shot", no one could have known it would lead to an enduring hit franchise, least of all its cover model, future comics writer Louise Simonson.
^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 144: "Although decreasing sales and inflation dictated a hefty cover price increase from 15 to 25 cents, [DC Comics Publisher Carmine] Infantino saw to it that extra pages containing classic reprints and new back-up features were added to DC titles."
^Levitz, p. 451: "Marvel took advantage of this moment to surpass DC in title production for the first time since 1957, and in sales for the first time ever."
^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 146 "It was taboo to depict drugs in comics, even in ways that openly condemned their use. However, writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams collaborated on an unforgettable two-part arc that brought the issue directly into Green Arrow's home, and demonstrated the power comics had to affect change and perception."
^"Malik". lambiek.net. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
^McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 147: "Believing that new formats were necessary for the comics medium to continue evolving, Kirby oversaw the production of what was labeled his 'Speak-Out Series' of magazines: Spirit World and In the Days of the Mob...Sadly, these unique magazines never found their desired audience."
^ ab"Ever Meulen". lambiek.net. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
^McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 145. ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9. As the writer, artist, and editor of the Fourth World family of interlocking titles, each of which possessed its own distinct tone and theme, Jack Kirby cemented his legacy as a pioneer of grand-scale storytelling.
