Year overall • In
The Daily Orange, the
Syracuse University students' newspaper, the initial story of
Vaugh Bode’s
Cheech Wizard,
Race to the Moon, appears. • In Milan,
Renzo Barbieri and
Giorgio Cavedon, after the bankruptcy of their Editrice 66, set up another publishing house specialized in erotic comics, ErreGi. The new label immediately gets a great public success. • On
Almanacco dei comics, the catalog of the Lucca International Comics Fair, the first Italian graphic novel,
La rivolta dei racchi (The riot of the ugly people) by
Guido Buzzelli, is published. •
La Vilaine Lulu by
Yves-Saint Laurent (Tchou). The work, an erotic graphic novel created by the fashion designer ten years earlier, becomes controversial for its sadistic and pedophilic content.
January •
January 7: Wim Lensen and
Dick Matena's
Polletje Pluim makes its debut in the women's weekly Prinses. •
January 11: The final issue of the Flemish children's magazine
Pum-Pum is published. •
January 17:
Greg and
William Vance's
Bruno Brazil makes its debut in
Tintin. •
January 17: In
Tintin,
Greg and
Eddy Paape's
Luc Orient makes its debut. In the same issue,
Mach 1 pour Steve Warson by
Jean Graton, with the first appearance of the
Michel Vaillant’s nemesis, the Leader. •
January 20:
The Rolling Stones release their album
Between the Buttons. On the back cover, a comic strip drawn by drummer
Charlie Watts can be seen. •
January 21: The first issue of the British comics magazine
Pow! is published. It will run until 13 January 1968. •
January 21: The first issue of the
British girls' comics magazine
Mandy is published. It will run until 1991. •
January 21: In Italy, the first issue of the comic series
Pappagone (
Gallo Rosso), by
Luciano Bernasconi and
Peppino De Filippo starts serialisation. De Filippo, who interpreted the protagonist in television, appears also in the series as a secondary character. •
Blackhawk #228, the beginning of "the New Blackhawk Era" — in the issues that follow, all characters but team leader Blackhawk gain a costumed superhero alter-ego at the behest of a shadowy government agency. (
DC Comics) •
Detective Comics #359, "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl," written by
Gardner Fox and illustrated by
Carmine Infantino. (
DC Comics)--first appearance of
Batgirl • "
The Death of Ferro Lad" story arc begins in
Adventure Comics #352, by
Jim Shooter,
Curt Swan, and
George Klein (continued in
Adventure Comics #353). (DC Comics)--first appearance of the
Fatal Five • ''
Fightin' 5'' #41—last issue, canceled by Charlton. •
Le dernier Spartiate by
Jacques Martin. • In
Hara-Kiri, first episode of the underground comic
Pravda la surviveuse by
Guy Pellaert; for its feminist and anti-consumerist themes, it anticipates the youth protest of
May 68.
February •
February 9: In
Spirou, the
Lucky Luke story
La Diligence by
René Goscinny and
Morris starts serialisation. •
February 18: The first issue of the British comics magazine
Fantastic is published. It will run until February 1968. •
February 25: The first issue of the
British girls' comics magazine
Tina is published, but will be cancelled in September, when it merges with
Princess to become
Princess Tina. •
February 28: In
Tintin, the
Ric Hochet story
Suspense à la Télévision by
Tibet and
André-Paul Duchâteau starts serialisation. •
Ghost Rider #1 published •
Warfront #39 (
1951 series) the final issue, canceled by
Harvey Comics. •
Thor #137:
Ulik debuts. •
Spyman is cancelled. • In
Walt Disney’s comics and stories,
The Red Wasp Mystery, by Cecil Beard and
Paul Murry, marks the debut of Red Wasp, a
Mouseton superhero. • Gerard Wiegel's
Professor Cumulus debuts in
De Volkskrant, where his adventures will run until 1970.
March •
March 21:
Ill pioniere becomes a supplement to
Noi Donne. • "
The Adult Legion" story arc begins in
Adventure Comics #354, by
Jim Shooter,
Curt Swan, and
George Klein (Concludes next issue) (DC Comics) • The character
Peacemaker, who debuted in November 1966, now receives his own series. • The final issues of
Dracula and
Frankenstein are published by Dell Comics. • In
Donald Duck,
A Whale of an Adventure, by
Vic Lockman and
Tony Strobl is printed, which marks the debut of
Moby Duck.
April •
April 1:
David Sutherland's
Billy the Cat and Katie makes its debut in
The Beano. It will run until 1971. •
April 4: In
Peanuts the yellow bird
Woodstock makes its debut, but he will only receive his name on 22 June 1970. •
April 14:
Sezgin Burak's
Tarkan debuts in the daily pages of
Hürriyet. •
April 15: The first issue of the British comics magazine
Terrific is published. It will run until 3 February 1968. •
C.C. Beck and
Otto Binder's
Fatman the Human Flying Saucer makes his debut.
May •
May 1: In an issue of the American satirical magazine
The Realist Wally Wood creates the
Disneyland Memorial Orgy, a highly subversive deconstruction of familiar Disney characters to commemorate
Walt Disney's passing at the end of 1966. •
May 5:
Robert Crumb's character
Mr. Natural makes his first appearance in the first issue of the underground newspaper
Yarrowstalks. •
May 14: In
Topolino,
Duckburg Delivered, a parody of
Torquato Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered, by
Guido Martina and
Giovan Battista Carpi, is printed. •
May 25: The final episode of
David Wright and Peter Meriton's
Carol Day is published. •
May 28: The first episode of
Captain Kate by Jerry and Hally Skelly is published. It will run until 21 May 1972. • The first issue of
The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves is published. It will run until January 1986. • In
Uncle Scrooge,
The Cattle King by
Carl Barks. • In
Almanacco Topolino,
Paperone e l’angolare di sicurezza, by Rodolfo Cimino and Massimo De Vita marks the debut of
Battista,
Uncle Scrooge’s butler. •
Le Jene del Mare (
The Sea Hyenas) by
Guido Nolitta and
Gallieno Ferri; the treasure seeker Digging Bill, recurring character in the
Zagor series, makes his debut.
June •
June 1: In
Pilote, the
Blueberry story ''L'Homme au Poing d'Acier
(The Steel-fisted Man''), by
Jean-Michel Charlier and
Jean Giraud, starts serialisation. •
June 10: The first issue of the Dutch girls comics magazine
Tina is published. •
June 15: In
Pilote, the
Astérix story ''
Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield'' by
René Goscinny and
Albert Uderzo starts serialisation. •
June 19: Jimmy Hughes'
Bully Beef and Chips makes its debut. •
Blue Beetle #1 (vol. 5) (Charlton)--first appearance of
The Question • The first issue of the Italian Western comics magazine
Rodeo (
Edizioni Audace) is published. It contains ''Verso l'ignoto
, the first episode of Storia del West'' by
Gino D'Antonio and
Renzo Calegari, that will run until December 1980.
July •
July 1: The final episode of Roland J. Scott's long-running newspaper comic series ''Sally's Sallies
and Scott's Scrapbook'', which respectively ran since 1926 and 1931, is published. •
July 8: The final episode of
Philip Francis Nowlan's
Buck Rogers newspaper comic is published. •
July 11: In
Tintin, the
Michel Vaillant story
Le Cirque Infernal by
Jean Graton starts serialisation. •
July 28:
Violet Moore Higgins, American illustrator and comic artist (
Drowsy Dick), dies at age 80. • The first issue of the German comics magazine
Bussi Bär is published by
Rolf Kauka's comics company. • The first issue of the Italian comics magazine
Sergeant Kirk is published. In it
Héctor Germán Oesterheld and
Hugo Pratt's
Corto Maltese makes its debut in the story
The Ballad of the Salty Sea. •
Our Army at War #182: Artist
Neal Adams makes his DC Comics debut with the short story "It's My Turn to Die". •
Strange Adventures, with issue #202, changes format from science fiction to supernatural fantasy. (DC Comics) •
The Amazing Spider-Man #50' "
Spider-Man No More!," written by
Stan Lee and illustrated by
John Romita, Sr. (
Marvel Comics) •
Robert Crumb's
Snoid makes his debut in the second issue of
Yarrowstalks.
August •
August 17: In
Spirou,
Un Métier de Chien (''A Dog's Work
) by Maurice Rosy and Derib starts serialisation, marking the debut of the series Les Aventures d'Attila'', with a dog, agent of the
Swiss secret service, as protagonist. •
The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #101: "Jerry the Asto-Nut", Neal Adams' first full-length story for DC. • Closure of the longtime publisher
American Comics Group, and the cancellation of their long-running titles
Adventures into the Unknown (174 issues),
Forbidden Worlds (145 issues), and
Unknown Worlds (57 issues). • In the third issue of the underground newspaper
Yarrowstalks Robert Crumb's character Flakey Foont makes his debut. • The first issue of
Not Brand Echh is published. It will run until May 1969. • The final episode of
Osamu Tezuka's
Ambassador Magma is published. • In
Huey, Dewey and Louie Junior Woodchucks,
Rescue of the Grand Mogul, by
Vic Lockman and
Tony Strobl; debut of the
Gran Mogul.
September •
September 7: The first episode of
Pierre Seron's
Les Petits Hommes debuts in
Spirou. •
September 11: The first episode of
Gordon Bess'
Redeye is published. •
September 23: The British comics magazines
Princess and
Tina merge into
Princess Tina. It will exist in this form until 1973. •
September 26: In
Spirou, the
Lucky Luke story
Le Pied-Tendre, by
René Goscinny and
Morris starts serialisation.
October •
October 1: The first episode of the TV adaptation of
Jean Dulieu's
Paulus the woodgnome is published, the first TV adaptation of a Dutch comic strip. •
October 11: P. Hans Frankfurther establishes the Dutch comics appreciation society Het Stripschap, the oldest and longest-running of its kind in the Netherlands. •
October 12: In
Spirou, the
Spirou and Fantasio story
Panade à Champignac by
André Franquin starts serialisation. •
Strange Adventures #205 (DC Comics): first appearance of
Deadman, and the first known depiction of
narcotics in a story approved by the
Comics Code Authority. •
Strange Suspense Stories is relaunched for the fourth and final time. It will run until September 1969. •
Gold Key publishes the first
Star Trek comics album. • The final episodes of
EsseGesse's
Captain Miki and
Il grande Blek are published. • In
Uncle Scrooge,
King Scrooge the First by
Carl Barks and
Tony Strobl is first printed, the last
Scrooge McDuck story written by Barks, before his retirement.
November •
November 4: First issue of
Ciccio & Franco, by
Luciano Bernasconi (Gallo Rosso) •
November 9:
Pierre Christin and
Jean-Claude Mézières's
Valérian et Laureline makes its debut in
Pilote with the story
Valerian Contre Les Mauvais Rêves. •
November 30: The final gag of
Bob De Moor's experimental gag comic
Balthazar is published in
Tintin. •
Ghost Rider, with issue #7, canceled by Marvel. •
Thunderbolt, with issue #60, canceled by Charlton. •
Peacemaker, with issue #5, canceled by Charlton. • First issue of the magazine
Eureka (Editoriale Corno), directed by
Luciano Secchi.
December •
December 5: In
Tintin, the
Michel Vaillant story
Km. 357 by
Jean Graton is published. •
December 16: The first episode of
Gordon Bell's
Pup Parade is published in
The Beano. •
December 29: In
Pilote, the
Blueberry story
La Piste des Sioux by
Jean-Michel Charlier and
Jean Giraud starts serialisation. •
Judomaster, with issue #98, canceled by Charlton. •
Captain Atom, with issue #89, canceled by Charlton. •
King Comics, with issue #11, publishes its final issue of
Flash Gordon. •
Saga de Xam by
Jean Rollin and Nicholas Devil (
Eric Losfeld).
Specific date unknown • In
Toronto, Canada, George Henderson aka
Captain George, opens the first Canadian comics store
Memory Lane, which is also one of the oldest in the world at that time. The store will remain in business until the 1980s. •
Bill Tidy's
The Cloggies debuts in the satirical magazine
Private Eye. •
Don Martin's
Captain Klutz debuts in one of
Mad Magazine's paperbacks. •
Vaughn Bodé's
Cheech Wizard makes his debut. •
Robin Wood and
Lucho Olivera 's
Nippur de Lagash makes its debut. • The first issue of
Gordon Johnston's
It Happened in Canada is published. • The final episode of
Jerry Robinson's
True Classroom Flubs and Fluffs is published. • The final episode of
Robert Renzi and
Augusto Pedrazza's
Akim is published. • The final episode of
Alfred Mazure's
Dick Bos is published. •
Kinney National Company acquires
National Periodical Publications (a.k.a.
DC Comics). • A tumultuous year for
Charlton Comics, as they debut titles like
Blue Beetle (vol. 5),
The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves,
Peacemaker, and
Timmy the Timid Ghost; but are forced to cancel ''
Fightin' 5, Thunderbolt, the afore-mentioned Peacemaker
, Judomaster, and Captain Atom''. • George Perry and
Alan Aldridge's
The Penguin Book of Comics is published, the first British reference guide about comics. It will receive a revised edition in 1971. • Roberto Altomann publishes
Geste Hypergraphique, a comic book with abstract imagery, a surreal plot and symbols and freeform interpunction. • Ralph Dunagin's ''Dunagin's People'' makes its debut. It will run until 2001. • Jean-Pol and
Jacques van Melkebeke create
Bi-Bip for
Het Laatste Nieuws. The comic strip will have an unexpected international success and run until 1969. • Belgian novelist
Hugo Claus and cartoonist hugOKÉ make a satirical comic book,
Belgman. • In India,
Anant Pai establishes the historical-educational comic book series
Amar Chitra Katha. ==Births==