1972 in comics

Events

Year overall

• Marvel Comics forms their British publishing arm, Marvel UK.
• Phil Seuling founds Sea Gate Distributors, developing the concept of the direct market distribution system for getting comics directly into comic book specialty shops, bypassing the established newspaper/magazine distributor method.
• DC acquires licensing rights to the Marvel Family, originally published by Fawcett Comics.
• Fleming H. Revell establishes Spire Christian Comics.
• Jacques Glénat, at only twenty years old, establishes Glénat.
• Newspaper strip Captain Kate ceases syndication.
• Kinney National Company spun off its non-entertainment assets and changed its name to Warner Communications.
• In Italy, Renzo Barbieri founds Edifumetto, publishing house specialized in cheap erotic comics, in concurrence with the EdiGi of his former associate Renzo Cavedon. The firm launches, in the year, new characters, as Zora, Biancaneve and the super-hero Playcolt.

  January

• January 2: Il corriere dei piccoli, doubles in two magazines: Il corriere dei piccoli, aimed to the children, and Il corriere dei ragazzi aimed to the teen-agers.
• January 6: on Pif Gadget, Concert en O mineur pour harpe et nitroglycérine, by Hugo Pratt, with Corto Maltese; it is the first of four tales set in the Celtic countries.
• Korak, Son of Tarzan, with issue #45, cancelled by Gold Key Comics.
• Primaggio Mantovi's Sacarrolha debuts.
• Hound of the Moaning Hills' and Storm dancers by Carl Barks and Kay Wright', on Huey, Dewey and Louie Junior Woodchucks.

  February

• February 12: After a long trial Al Capp is fined for attempted adultery in a plea bargain, his public image and the popularity of Li'l Abner are damaged beyond repair.
• February 26: The final episode of Big Sister appears in print. It had run since 1928.
• The Brave and the Bold #100 : Batman teams up with Robin, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Green Lantern.
• With issue #206, Gold Key Comics cancels Tarzan, a title it acquired from Dell Comics in 1962.

  March

• March 30: on Pilote, first chapter of Ballade pour un cercueil, by Jean-Michel Charlier and Jean Giraud, last episode of the Blueberry’s trilogy about the Confederate gold.
• The first issue of the French Disney comics magazine Picsou Magazine is published.
• Marvel Comics launches its second ongoing Spider-Man title, Marvel Team-Up.
• House of Mystery #200, edited by Joe Orlando.
• The day the mountain shook, by Carl Barks and Kay Wright, on Huey, Dewey and Louie Junior Woodchucks.

  April

• Marvel Comics launches Marvel Premiere, an anthology series.
• With issue #207, DC Comics begins publishing Tarzan, acquired from Gold Key Comics.
• With issue #89, DC suspends publishing Green Lantern.
• The first issue of the Italian magazine Il mago is published by Mondadori.

  May

• May 4: first chapter of Asterix and the soothsayer, by Goscinny and Uderzo, on Pilote.
• May 21: The final episode of Jerry and Hally Skelly's newspaper comic strip Captain Kate is published.
• Wonder Woman #200 : 52-page giant, "The Beauty Hater," by Denny O'Neil and Dick Giordano.
• Tomahawk, with issue #140, canceled by DC.

  June

• June 15: first chapter of Chasseur de primes, by Goscinny and Morris, on Pilote.
• Marvel Comics launches Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, which is the debut of the title character.
• Thor #200: "The End of the World," by Gerry Conway, Stan Lee, John Buscema, and John Verpoorten.
• Action Comics #413: Metamorpho becomes the backup feature.
• The Avengers #100: "Whatever Gods There Be," by Roy Thomas and Barry Smith.
• The Darkhold, also known as The Book of Sins, is introduced in Marvel Spotlight #4.
• Stan Lee starts his long-running monthly column, Stan's Soapbox, in Marvel's readers pages Bullpen Bulletins. It will appear until 1982.
• Korak, Son of Tarzan, with issue #46, taken over by DC from Gold Key Comics.
• With issue #12, All-Star Western changes its name to Weird Western Tales — DC Comics
• With issue #5, The Sinister House of Secret Love changes its name to Secrets of Sinister House — DC Comics

  July

• July 12: The final episode of Marten Toonder's Kappie is published.
• July 22: The first edition of Wizard World Chicago, aka the Chicago Comic-Con, is organized by Nancy Warner.
• After a year-long experimentation with 25-cent, 52-page comics, DC Comics reduces the price of a typical comic to 20 cents, and returns the page count to 36 pages.
• Art Spiegelman publishes "Maus", a three-page strip which will eventually turn into Maus, for the one-shot underground magazine Funny Animals , an underground comic published by Apex Novelties.
• Detective Comics #425: Jason Bard replaces Batgirl as the backup feature.
• Sgt. Fury #100: "One Hundredth Anniversary," by Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers, and Mike Esposito.
• Pippo e I parastinchi di Olimpia, by Romano Scarpa, on Olympic Goofy – story written for the 1972 Summer Olympics.

  August

• Auigust 31: on Pif Gadget, Au nom d'Allah le très miséricordieux, le compatissant, by Hugo Pratt, with Corto Maltese; it’s the first chapter of The Ethiopian, an arc of four stories set in Africa, where the captain has, as a partner, the Afar warrior Dash.
• The Flash #217: Four months after the cancellation of his own title, Green Lantern begins appearing as a backup feature in The Flash #217.
• Justice League of America #100: "The Unknown Soldier of Victory!", by Len Wein, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella.
• Forever People, with issue #11, is cancelled by DC.
• In the story The kingdom under the sea, by Rodolfo Cimino and Giorgio Cavazzano, Queen Reginella makes her debut.

  September

• September 14: RAI broadcasts the first episode of Gulp, spectacle of “TV comics” very popular among the Italian young viewers. For the show, original comics are realized, as The flying fat women, by Vittorio Metz, La secchia rapita, by Pino Zac and moreover Nick Carter, by Bonvi and De Maria.
• House of Secrets #100, edited by Joe Orlando.
• Stan Lee becomes Marvel Comics' publisher; Roy Thomas takes over as Marvel editor-in-chief.
• In The People's Comics, Robert Crumb draws the story Fritz the Cat Superstar, in which his most famous character Fritz the Cat is murdered, thus terminating the comic strip. Crumb drew the story in reaction to Ralph Bakshi's animated feature film adaptation which premiered a few months earlier.

  October

• October 28: The final episode of Mort Walker and Frank Roberge's Mrs. Fitz's Flats is published.
• Date with Debbi, with issue #18, is cancelled by DC.
• Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth #1: new series by writer/artist Jack Kirby is launched by DC Comics with an October/November cover date).
• New Gods, with issue #11, is temporarily cancelled by DC.
• Silver Age inker Sid Greene dies at age 66.

  November

• November 9: The first episode of Willy Vandersteen's comics series Robert en Bertrand is published and will run until 1992.
• Girls' Love Stories, with issue #180, cancelled by DC Comics.

  December

• December 7: on Le journal de Tintin, first chapter of Sarabanda a Sacramento, by Greg and William Vance.
• Justice League of America #103, Writer Len Wein and artists Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano craft the DC portion of a metafictional unofficial crossover spanning titles from both major comics companies. The Marvel chapters appear with 1973 cover dates. Each comic featured writers Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, and Len Wein, as well as Wein's first wife Glynis, interacting with Marvel or DC characters at the Rutland Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont. Beginning in Amazing Adventures #16, the story continued in Justice League of America #103, and concluded in Thor #207.

  Specific date unknown

• Carlos Enrique Figueroa creates the comics character Tricolín.

  Deaths

January

• January 5: Bud Counihan, American comics artist, dies at age 84.
• January 28: Dino Buzzati, Italian novelist, author also, as writer and illustrator, of the graphic novel Poem strip, dies at age 65.

  March

• March 4: Charles Biro, American comics artist, dies at age 60.
• March 5: Frans Meijer, also published under the name Jaap van Loon, Ko Koster, F.M., Piet Pion and Henk, Dutch comics artist, dies at age 71.
• March 17: Antonio Rubio, Cuban cartoonist and comics artist, passes away at age 51.
• March 31: Aleksandar Denkov, Bulgarian illustrator, animator and comics artist, dies at age 47.

  May

• May 5: Frank Tashlin, aka Tish Tash, aka Frank Tash, American animator, cartoonist, illustrator, screenwriter, film director and comics artist, dies at age 59.
• May 23: Louis Salvérius, Belgian comics artist, unexpectedly dies from a heart attack at the age of 38.
• May 23: Nino Pagot, Italian comics artist and animator, dies at the age of 64.
• May 26: Robert Dansler, aka Bob Dan, Bobby, Erdé or Hoberdon, French comics artist, dies at age 71.
• May 28: Rea Irvin, American illustrator, graphic artist and comics artist, dies at age 90 from a stroke.

  June

• June 17: Frank Ellis, American comics artist, dies at age 74.
• June 20: Johanna Bernardina Midderigh-Bokhorst, Dutch illustrator and comics artist, passes away at age 92.
• June 22: Johan Jacob Voskuil, aka Jo Voskuil, Dutch illustrator, painter and comics artist, dies at age 75.

  July

• July 8: John Henry Gordon Freeman, aka Don Freeman, British comics writer and novelist, dies at age 69.
• July 28: Fanny Cory, American illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 94.

  August

• August 9: Noël Bissot, Belgian comics artist, passes away at age 55.
• Specific date unknown: Lovrien Gregory, American comics artist, passes away at age 84.

  September

• September 12:
• * Max Fleischer, American animator and comics artist, dies at age 89.
• * Ivar Mauritz-Hansen, Norwegian illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 75.
• September 20: William Ritt, American comics writer and journalist, dies at the age of 69 or 70.
• Specific date unknown: September: Regino Bernad, Spanish-French comics artist, dies at age 70.

  October

• October 31: John L. Jukes, British comics artist, dies at age 71.

  December

• December 11: Don Gunn, American comics artist, dies at age 66.

  Specific date unknown

• Gaspar Bolaños, Mexican comics artist, dies at age 63 or 64.
• C.H. Chapman, British comics artist dies at the age of 92 or 93.
• Allen Dean, American comics artist, painter and illustrator , dies at age 82 or 83.
• Francis Kirn, American comics artist, dies at age 67 or 68.
• Hans Nije, Dutch musician and comics artist, dies at age 54.

  Conventions

• March 3–5: Cosmicon — first iteration of this early Canadian comic book/science fiction/horror convention; official guests include Jim Steranko, Neal Adams, Gray Morrow, Alain Resnais, and Dan Adkins
• April 25–28: First American International Congress of Comics
• May 26–29: EC Fan Addict Convention — official guests include William Gaines, Al Williamson, Wally Wood, George Evans, Harvey Kurtzman, Joe Orlando, and Al Feldstein
• June: Multicon — 2nd occurrence of this show; guests include Will Eisner
• June 16–18: Phoenix Con — 2nd occurrence of this show, organized by Bruce Hamilton and the Phoenix Fans of Art & Nostalgia ; guest of honor is C. C. Beck
• July 1–5: Comic Art Convention — Jack Kirby and Alex Toth guests of honor; other guests include Jim Steranko; announcement of the 1971 Goethe Awards
• July 22–23: Nostalgia '72 — first Chicago-area comics and collectibles convention, produced by Nancy Warner; c. 2,000 attendees
• July 29–30: Fancon — produced by Dixieland Fandom; guests include Guest of Honor Wally Wood, Kelly Freas, Murray Leinster, Jeff Jones, Michael Kaluta, and Frank Brunner
• August 3–6: Detroit Tri-Con — organized by Tom Orzechowski & Michael Kucharski ; official guests include Edmond Hamilton, Leigh Brackett, Gray Morrow, Lin Carter, Al Williamson, Russ Myers, John Jakes, T. Casey Brennan, Robert Taylor, Ken Muse, and Fan Guest of Honor Rick Yager; program cover by Gray Morrow
• August 5–6: Comicon '72 — 5th annual show, produced by Nick Landau
• August 18–21: San Diego's West Coast Comic Convention — 900+ attendees; official guests: Bob Clampett, Harry Harrison, Jack Kirby, Katherine Kurtz, Mel Lazarus, Roy Thomas, and Milt Gray
• September 2–4: Newcon '72 — organized by Martin Greim; guests included Roy Thomas, Jim Steranko, Otto Binder, and Vincent Fago
• October 19–22: Detroit Triple Fan Fair — 7th edition of the convention, program includes "a history of the Detroit Triple Fan Fair"; official guests include Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Vaughn Bodé, Jeff Jones, Russ Heath, Bud Plant, Dale Manesis, Jerry Bails, Phil Seuling, Gene Roddenberry, and Majel Barrett
• November 24–26: Creation Con II — guests of honor: Philip José Farmer and Frank Kelly Freas; other guests: Vaughn Bodé, Jim Steranko, Gray Morrow, Michael Kaluta, Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin, John Severin, Frank Brunner, Isaac Asimov, Ron Goulart, Carlos Garzon, Roy Krenkel, and Hans Stefan Santesson

  Awards

Goethe Awards

• Favorite Pro Artist: Barry Windsor-Smith
• * Neal Adams
• * Bernie Wrightson
• * Jack Kirby
• Favorite Pro Writer: Roy Thomas
• * Len Wein
• * Jack Kirby
• * Dennis O'Neil
• * Steve Englehart
• Favorite Pro Editor: Roy Thomas
• * Julius Schwartz
• Favorite Pro Comic Book: Conan
• * Swamp Thing
• * Tarzan
• * The Avengers
• Favorite Non-Newsstand Comic Book: The Menomonee Falls Gazette
• * Bedtime Stories
• * Further Adventures of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
• * Fantagor
• * Skull Comics
• * Phase
• Favorite Comic-Book Story: “"The Black Hound of Vengeance!"”
• * "And Through Him Save a World"

• * "The Pact”"
• * "Dark Genesis"”
• Favorite Comic-Book Character: Conan
• * Batman
• * Spider-Man
• * Tarzan
• * Green Arrow
• Favorite Fan Magazine: The Comic Reader
• * The Buyer's Guide to Comics Fandom
• * Comixscene
• * Comic Crusader
• * Graphic Story World
• * Rocket's Blast Comicollector''
• Favorite Fan Writer: Don & Maggie Thompson
• * Tom Fagan
• * Tony Isabella
• * Jan Strnad
• * Paul Levitz
• Favorite Fan Artist: Richard Corben
• * Don Newton
• * John Fantucchio
• * Martin Greim

  Shazam Awards

• Best Individual Story: "Dark Genesis", by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson, Swamp Thing #1
• Best Individual Short Story : "The Demon Within", by John Albano and Jim Aparo, House of Mystery #201
• Best Writer : Len Wein
• Best Penciller : Berni Wrightson
• Best Humor Story: "The Poster Plague", by Steve Skeates and Sergio Aragones, House of Mystery #202
• Best Inker : Sergio Aragones
• Special Award: DC letterer/proofreader Gerda Gattel "for bringing her special warmth to our history"
• Superior Achievement by an Individual: Julius Schwartz "for bringing the Shazam Family back into print"

  First issue by title

DC Comics

Marvel Comics

Other publishers

Initial appearance by character name

DC Comics

• Alec Holland, in Swamp Thing #01
• Anton Arcane, in Swamp Thing #02
• Bernadeth, in Mister Miracle #06
• Cassandra Craft, in Phantom Stranger #17
• Jim Corrigan, in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #149
• Destiny, in Weird Mystery Tales #01
• Devilance, in Forever People #11
• Doctor Moon, in Batman #240
• Effron the Sorcerer, in World's Finest Comics #210
• Etrigan the Demon, in The Demon #01
• Jason Blood, in The Demon #01
• Forager, in New Gods #09
• Funky Flashman, in Mister Miracle #06
• Gilotina, in Mister Miracle #08
• Heggra, in New Gods #07
• Human Target, in Action Comics #419
• Jonah Hex, in All-Star Western #10
• Kamandi, in Kamandi #01
• Kanto, in Mister Miracle #07
• Lashina, in Mister Miracle #06
• Morgaine le Fey, in The Demon #01
• Mad Harriet, in Mister Miracle #06
• Magnar, in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #147
• Matthew Cable, in Swamp Thing #01
• Nebula Man, in Justice League of America #100
• Starbreaker, in Justice League of America #96
• Steppenwolf, in New Gods #07
• Stompa, in Mister Miracle #06
• Terra-Man, in Superman #249
• The Un-Men, in Swamp Thing #01
• Tigra, in New Gods #07

  Marvel Comics

• Adam Warlock, in Marvel Premiere #1
• Brute , in Marvel Premiere #2
• Luke Cage, in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1
• Diamondback , in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1
• Dracula, in Tomb of Dracula #1
• Dragon Lord I, in Sub-Mariner #52
• Frank Drake, in Tomb of Dracula #1
• Damon Dran, in Daredevil #92
• Elric, in Conan the Barbarian #15
• Kulan Gath, in Conan the Barbarian #14
• Ghost Rider , in Marvel Spotlight #5
• Gibbon, in The Amazing Spider-Man #110
• Grand Director, in Captain America #153
• Hammerhead, in The Amazing Spider-Man #113
• Jonas Harrow, in The Amazing Spider-Man #114
• Mister Fear, in The Mighty Thor #200
• Night Nurse, in Night Nurse #1
• Thundra, in Fantastic Four #129
• Tigra, in The Cat #1
• Rachel van Helsing, in Tomb of Dracula #3
• Werewolf by Night, in Marvel Spotlight #2
• Zarathos, in Marvel Spotlight #5

  Independent publishers

• Captain Paragon, in Captain Paragon #1
• Doctor Spektor, in Mystery Comics Digest #5
• Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec, in Pilote magazine #680
• L'omino bufo by Alfredo Castelli - in Il corriere dei ragazzi..
• Gianconiglio by Carlo Peroni – in Il corriere dei piccoli
• Agar, by Claude Moliterni and Robert Gigi - on Il corriere dei piccoli
• Johnny Logan, by Romano Garofalo and Leone Cimpellin – Editoriale Dardo
• Nick Carter, by Bonvi and Guido De Maria – on Gulp and Il corriere dei ragazzi
• Zora, by Renzo Barbieri – Edifumetto
• Biancaneve, by Renzo Barbieri and Rubino Ventura – Edifumetto