Year overall •
Paragon Publications is established in Longwood, Florida, by
Bill Black. •
Tower Comics goes out of business. •
Kinney National Company, parent of National Periodical Publications, takes over
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, changing its name to just
Warner Bros.. •
Chuck Rozanski starts selling comics at age 13, from his parents' basement, which is the foundation of
Mile High Comics, a comics store in
Boulder, Colorado. He would open Mile High as a professional store at age 19.
January •
January 2: In the magazine
Pilote, the first episode of the
Lucky Luke story
Jesse James, by
René Goscinny and
Morris is serialized. •
Rip Off Press established in San Francisco by
Gilbert Shelton,
Jaxon, Dave Moriaty, and Fred Todd. •
Sub-Mariner #9: First appearance of the
Serpent Crown. •
Marvel Super-Heroes #18: debut of the
Guardians of the Galaxy (created by
Arnold Drake and
Gene Colan, from an idea by
Roy Thomas and
Stan Lee)
February •
February 1: The first issue of the
underground comix magazine
Gothic Blimp Works is published. It will last until 1 September. •
February 18: In
Tintin, the first chapters of the
Ric Hochet story
Cauchemar pour Ric Hochet by
André-Paul Duchâteau and
Tibet are serialized. In the same issue the
Bruno Brazil story
Commando Caiman by
Greg and
William Vance takes off. •
February 24: The first issue of the French comics magazine
Pif Gadget is published. It marks the debut of
Rahan by Roger Lécureux and
André Chéret, as well as Henri Crespi and Marc Moallic's
Ludovic. •
February 27: The first episode of
Bob De Groot and
Turk's gag comic
Robin Dubois is published in
Tintin. • The Golden Age character
Phantom Stranger makes his first Silver Age appearance in
Showcase #80. •
Flash Gordon (
1966 series), with issue #12, is picked up by
Charlton Comics, taking over from the defunct
King Comics. • In France, the first issue of
Charlie Mensuel is published.
March •
March 15: The first episode of
Tom Tully and
Francisco Solano López's
Janus Stark is published. •
March 22: The first episode of
Martin Lodewijk and
Dino Attanasio's
Johnny Goodbye is serialized in Pep. • The final issue of the Italian comics magazine
Killing is published. •
Strange Adventures, with issue #217, becomes a reprint title. (DC Comics) •
Renzo Barbieri and
Giorgio Cavedon's
Jacula makes its debut. •
Tex Gigante gets number 100;
Bonelli celebrates the achievement publishing, for the first time, an album in colors (
Supertex, by
Gianluigi Bonelli and
Galep). • In France, the first issue of the sci-fi horror comic magazine
Wampus, by Marcel Navarro and
Luciano Bernasconi (
Éditions Lug, is published. Because of its extreme violent content, censors force it into cancellation after only six months.
April •
April 10: The first issue of the erotic series
Lucrezia by
Renzo Barbieri (Ediperiodici) is launched, inspired by the life of
Lucrezia Borgia. •
April 19: Nikola Lekić and Lazo Sredanović 's
Dikan makes its debut. •
April 26: The final issue of the British comics magazine
Eagle is published. •
April 26: The final episode of
Ted Cowan and
Reg Bunn's
The Spider is published. •
April 28:
Charles M. Schulz opens his own
ice arena,
Redwood Empire in
Santa Rosa, California. •
House of Mystery #179, "The Man Who Murdered Himself" was the first professional comic work by artist
Bernie Wrightson.
May •
May 10 : In
Tintin,
The Adventures of Alix story
Le Dieu Sauvage by
Jacques Martin starts its serialisation. •
May 15: The first episode of
Jaroslav Němeček'
Čtyřlístek is published. •
May 15: In
Pilote, the
Blueberry story
La Mine de l’Allemand Perdu (
The Mine of The Lost German) by
Jean-Michel Charlier and
Jean Giraud is first serialized, the first chapter of the diptych
Superstition mountains. •
May 18: The command and lunar module for the
Apollo 10 are named after
Charlie Brown and
Snoopy. • The first episode of
Max Bunker and
Roberto Raviola's
Alan Ford is published. • The final issue of the magazine
Not Brand Echh is published. •
Il giuramento (The oath) by
Gian Luigi Bonelli and
Aurelio Galeppini; for the first time, the circumstances surrounding the death of Lilith (
Tex Willer’s Indian wife) are revealed.
June •
June 8: In the Disney magazine
Topolino, the
Donald Duck story
Paperinik il Diabolico Vendicatore (
The Demonic Avenger) by
Guido Martina and
Giovan Battista Carpi is first serialized. This marks the debut of
Donald Duck's masked crusader alter ego
Paperinik, created by Elisa Penna.
Paperinik will remain a staple of the Italian
Disney comics universe. •
June 19: In a daily
Mickey Mouse comic by Del Connell and
Floyd Gottfredson, Gloria Bee,
Goofy’s girlfriend, makes her debut. •
June 28: The final episode of
Charles Kuhn's
Grandma is published. •
DC Comics raises the price of its typical comic from 12 cents to 15 cents. • In the Argentine magazine
D’Artagnan, the series
Gilgamesh the Immortal by
Robin Wood and
Lucho Olivera debuts, a sci-fi version of the
Sumerian hero.
July •
July 10: The first chapter of the story
Zagor Racconta (from the series
Zagor) by
Guido Nolitta and
Gallieno Ferri, is published and reveals the origins of the hero. •
July 15: In
Tintin, the first chapter of
Michel Vaillant 's story
5 Filles dans la Course ! by
Jean Graton is serialized. •
July 29 : In
Tintin, the first chapter of the
Ric Hochet story
Les Spectres de la Nuit by
André-Paul Duchâteau and
Tibet is serialized.
August •
August 8: The first episode of
Fujiko F. Fujio's
Doraemon is published. •
August 12: The final episode of
Alain Saint-Ogan's
Zig et Puce (in the rebooted version by
Greg) is published. •
Marvel Comics follows DC's lead and raises the price of its typical comic from 12 cents to 15 cents. • The first issue of the Italian comics magazine
Re di Picche is published in which
Luciano Bottaro's
Re di Picche makes his debut. • In the 4th issue of
Zap Comix Robert Crumb's controversial comic strip
Joe Blow causes scandal over its tale of
incest within the all-American family. The magazine is banned from many stores afterwards.
September •
September 6: The final issue of the British comics magazine
TV Century 21 is published. It merges with Joe 90 on 27 September and will continue in this format until 25 September 1971. •
September 11: The first episode of
Maurice Tillieux and Arthur Piroton's detective series
Jess Long debuts in
Spirou. • The first issue of the comics magazine
Vampirella is published, introducing
Forrest J. Ackerman and
Trina Robbins's character
Vampirella. • The first issue of the horror comics magazine
Tower of Shadows is published. • The final issue of
Strange Suspense Stories is published. •
The Brave and the Bold #85, Artist
Neal Adams updated
Green Arrow's visual appearance by designing a new costume for the character in
The Brave and the Bold #85 (August -September 1969).
October •
October 12: in
Corriere dei Piccoli, the story
Valentina Mela Verde (
The Green Apple) by
Grazia Nidasio is first serialized, a
coming-of-age story about a girl from the Milan middle-class. •
October 13: The first episode of the controversial British satirical and erotic comic strip
Varoomshka by
John Kent is published. •
October 18: The first issue of the British comics magazine
Whizzer and Chips is published. In its first issue
Mike Lacey's ''
Sid's Snake'' debuts, which will run until 2000. Another comic strip to make its debut is
Terry Bave's
Odd Ball. •
October 20:
John Lennon releases his solo album
Wedding Album, which features a self-drawn three-page comic strip inside the sleeve. •
October 25: In the second issue of
Whizzer and Chips Mike Lacey's
Shiner debuts, which will run until 1976. In the same issue, the
Lucky Luke story
Western circus by
Goscinny and
Morris takes off. • The final issue of the first run of
Space Family Robinson is published. It will be rebooted in October 1973. • The
Marvel Comics reprint title ''
Marvel Collectors' Item Classics, with issue #23, becomes Marvel's Greatest Comics''. • The first issue of the Italian comics series
Vartan by
Sandro Angiolini is published. • In
Sgt. Kirk, the story
Gli scorpioni del deserto (''The Desert's Scorpions''), a war series by
Hugo Pratt takes off.
November •
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts buys
National Comics Publications (
DC Comics). •
Dino Buzzati's graphic novel
Poem Strip is published. • The first issue of the Italian horror magazine
Terror (Ediperiodici) is published. • In
Télé 7 Jours, the story
La Langouste ne Passera Pas by
Jean Yanne and Tito Topin is first serialized, the first episode of the parodic spy series
Les Dossiers du BIDE.
December •
December 13: The final issue of the
British girls' comics magazine
Lady Penelope is published. •
December 16: In
Tintin, the first chapter of the
Bruno Brazil story
Les Yeux sans Visage by
Greg and
William Vance is serialized. •
December 25: The first episode of
Yvan Delporte,
André Franquin,
Raymond Macherot and
Will's
Isabelle is published. •
Metal Men, with issue #41 (December 1969/January 1970 cover-date), suspends publishing. (The title is revived in
1973 as a reprint book, then goes on hiatus until
1976.) (DC Comics). • First issue of the magazine
Horror (Gino Sansoni editore), dedicated to the Italian author comics of fantastic genre.
Specific date unknown • The first episode of
Charles Grigg's
Splodge is published. •
Fat Freddy's Cat makes his debut in
Gilbert Shelton's
Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. • Jo Addams and Luis Roca's
Scarth A.D. 2195 debuts as
Scarth. •
Edwina Dumm’s
Alec the Great comes to an end. • The final episode of the newspaper comic
Little Lulu is published. ==Births==