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Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
    Marvel Comics Timeline

1970

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Kirby leaves the FF this year. This is basically it for the Silver Age in any meaningful sense. There really isn't a lot of quality in the art at Marvel at this time. Romita is good when he does full pencils on Spider-Man. John Buscema is good but doesn't do anything regularly until he takes over on the FF. His brother Sal is serviceable on the Avengers but not great. Gene Colan is still out there, but inconsistent (The secret ingredient is Tom Palmer inks). Everywhere else it's pretty bad. There's a tendency to try and emulate Steranko's style but most artists don't have his talent and it just comes off looking messy.

Comic awards seem to be a more regular thing, indicating a growth/sophistication of the fan base. Marvel sweeps: Roy Thomas gets best writer (it should really still be Stan for Spider-Man), Neal Adams gets best penciler, Tom Palmer gets best artist. Fantastic Four is the best adventure title. Silver Surfer #5 (Al Harper) gets best full length story. Spider-Man is best hero and Dr. Doom is best villain. Stan Lee lost best editor to DC's Dick Giordano by one vote.

For a few months comics had pages that split space between story and ads. Comic panels on the top, ads on the bottom. Very annoying. I don't think this went over well and it went away fairly quickly (as best as i can tell).

Notable events: Not a lot of major events this year:
  • The Black Widow upgrades her costume.
  • Dr. Doom gets his own series in Astonishing Tales, shared with Ka-Zar.
  • Death of Captain Stacy
New characters: You can tell that we're not seeing A-list characters being created, as well: the Zodiac, Kangaroo, Monocle, Arkon, Jim Wilson, Robert Fisk, Llyra

Sub-Mariner #21  
Uncanny X-Men #64 1st Sunfire 
Avengers #72  
Amazing Spider-Man #80  
Silver Surfer #12  
Iron Man #21-22  
Uncanny X-Men #65  
Fantastic Four #94 1st Agatha Harkness 
Daredevil #60  
Thor #172  
Hulk #124  
Amazing Spider-Man #81  
Fantastic Four #95  
Avengers #73-74  
Silver Surfer #13  
Sub-Mariner #22  
Daredevil #61  
Uncanny X-Men #66  
Iron Man #23  
Hulk #125  
Captain America #121-126  
Amazing Spider-Man #82  
Sub-Mariner #23-24 1st Orka 
Fantastic Four #96  
Silver Surfer #14  
Daredevil #62  
X-Men/Spider-Man #1  
Avengers #75-76 1st Arkon. Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver rejoin. Wasp & Yellowjacket leave. 
Fantastic Four #97  
Amazing Spider-Man #83  
Silver Surfer #15-18  
Iron Man #24  
Hulk #126  
Fantastic Four #98  
Sub-Mariner #25  
Hulk #127  
Amazing Spider-Man #84  
Iron Man #25  
Thor #173  
Hulk #128  
Fantastic Four #99  
Amazing Spider-Man #85  
Avengers #77  
Sub-Mariner #26  
Fantastic Four #100  
Amazing Spider-Man #86 Black Widow gets her classic 70s costume. 
Hulk #129  
Fantastic Four #101  
X-Men: The Hidden Years #1-9  
Sub-Mariner #27 1st Kraken 
Avengers #78-79  
Captain America #129  
X-Men: The Hidden Years #10-15  
Sub-Mariner #28  
Amazing Spider-Man #87  
Sub-Mariner #29  
Astonishing Tales #1-3 1st Garokk, Zaladane, Tongah 
Astonishing Tales #4-5  
Captain America #130  
Thor #174  
Captain America #131-132  
Amazing Spider-Man #88-90 Death of Captain Stacy 
Avengers #80-81  
Daredevil #69  
Avengers #82  
Iron Man #26  
Thor #175-177  
Captain America #133  
Iron Man #27 1st Firebrand 
Amazing Spider-Man #91-92  
Iron Man #28  
Avengers #83  
Thor #178  
Iron Man #29  
Sub-Mariner #30  
Iron Man #30  
Amazing Adventures #1 (Black Widow)  
Amazing Adventures #1-2 (Inhumans)  
Amazing Adventures #2-4 (Black Widow)  
Captain Marvel #20-21  
Hulk #130-134 1st Jim Wilson 
Fantastic Four #102-104  
X-Men: The Hidden Years #16-22  
Sub-Mariner #31  
Iron Man #31  
Thor #179-181  
Sub-Mariner #32 1st Llyra 
Amazing Adventures #3-4 (Inhumans)  
Iron Man #32  



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