Comic Book History

Comic Book History Key Moments in Comic Publishing

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Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man #1

DC/Marvel • 1976 • Vol. 1
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Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man #1
 
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100-page oversized crossover featuring Superman and Spider-Man

First official crossover of characters from the Marvel and DC Universe

Black Lightning #1

DC • 1977 • Vol. 1
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Black Lightning #1
 
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1st appearance and origin of Black Lightning

1st appearance of Tobias Whale

First solo title featuring a black hero at DC

Femzine #1

Paragon Publications • 1981 • Vol. 1
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Femzine #1
 
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1st team appearance of FemForce, the world's first all-female superteam: Phantom Lady, Synn, Tara, Miss Victory, Blonde Bomber

Daredevils #7

Marvel • 1983 • Vol. 1
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Daredevils #7
 
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1st cameo appearance and death of Miracleman, an alternate reality version of Marvelman

First mention of the standard Marvel Universe referred to as 616

1st full appearance of Captain U.K., in costume

Shatter Special #1

First • 1985 • Vol. 1
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Shatter Special #1
 
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First digitally-illustrated comic book, created on Apple's 1984 Macintosh Plus running MacPaint

Early issues were printed on a dot-matrix printer, until Apple donated their state-of-the-art LaserWriter which at that time retailed for $6,995 (about $25,000 today)

The story continues in Jon Sable, Freelance #25 which was on newsstands the same day

A four-page preview was first printed in the UK computer magazine Big K #12 in March 1985, preceded by an article that featured artwork in Big K #6 (1984)

Mangazine #1

Antarctic Press • 1985 • Vol. 1
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Mangazine #1
 
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First comic book published by Antarctic Press

Dark Horse Presents #1

Dark Horse • 1986 • Vol. 1
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Dark Horse Presents #1
 
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First comic book published by Dark Horse Comics founded in 1986

1st appearance of Concrete, an average man's journey through life in a stone body

1st appearance of Black Cross, a fearless warrior in a post-apocalyptic world

Watchmen #1

DC • 1986 • Vol. 1
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Watchmen #1
 
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Premiere issue of a twelve-issue series that explores the dark side of superheroes from a realistic, flawed perspective

1st appearance of Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, Ozymandias, Silk Spectre, The Comedian and Night Owl

Alan Moore based his characters off of DC's newly acquired Charlton heroes: the Question, Captain Atom, Thunderbolt, Nightshade, the Peacemaker and Blue Beetle

[July 2023 - Warner Bros. announced an animated Watchmen feature is in development]

Boiled Angel #1

Michael Hunt Publications • 1989 • Vol. 1
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Boiled Angel #1
 
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100-page, black and white, independently published comic book written and illustrated by Mike Diana then distributed to approximately 300 subscribers

Diana has the distinction of being the first person in the United States to be convicted of 'artistic obscenity' for the graphic content of the Boiled Angel series which included extreme violence, sexual assault and murder of men, women and children

Diana was fined $3,000, ordered to stay away from minors and given three years probation with one of the conditions being to cease creating art

In addition to police viewing Diana's work as illegal, they also supposedly identified the creator as a suspect in the 1990 Gainseville Ripper slayings, of which he was cleared

A documentary about the case titled 'Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana' was released in 2018

Value unknown

Terminator: The Burning Earth #1

Now • 1990 • Vol. 1
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Terminator: The Burning Earth #1
 
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First cover art by Alex Ross

X-Men #1

Marvel • 1991 • Vol. 2
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X-Men #1
 
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1st team appearance of the X-Men Gold (team): Storm, Archangel, Colossus, Iceman and Jean Grey

1st team appearance of the X-Men Blue (team): Cyclops, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Psylocke and Beast

1st team appearance of The Acolytes: Fabian Cortez, Annie-Marie Cortez, Chrome, Nance Winters, Delgado

Best-selling comic of all-time with sales of 8.1 million copies

Interior pin-up by Jim Lee, 'A Villains Gallery'

Youngblood #1

Image • 1992 • Vol. 1
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Youngblood #1
 
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First comic book published by Image

1st appearance of Shaft

1st appearance of Chapel

1st appearance of Badrock

1st appearance of Vogue, Link and Diehard

Superman: The Wedding Album #1

DC • 1996 • Vol. 1
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Superman: The Wedding Album #1
 
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Marriage of Superman and Lois Lane

Interior art depicts a number of past Superman creators attending the wedding which is officiated by Jerry Siegel

Zombie Tales #1

BOOM! • 2005 • Vol. 1
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Zombie Tales #1
 
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First comic book published by Boom Studios

One-shot featuring six zombie stories written by Mark Waid and Keith Giffen

Betty #190

Archie • 2011 • Vol. 1
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Betty #190
 
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Final comic to bear the Comics Code Authority logo

Archie was the last publisher to stop submitting books to the CCA following the lead of DC and Marvel

The Comics Code symbol had been in continuous use on Newsstand comics since its inception in 1954

Deadpool #27

Marvel • 2014 • Vol. 5
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Deadpool #27
 
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Currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most comic characters on the cover of a single issue with 224

1st appearance of Shiklah, Deadpool's betrothed, in printed comics

Shiklah previously appeared in a digital comic only series called Deadpool: The Gauntlet

X-Men: Grand Design #1

Marvel • 2018 • Vol. 1
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X-Men: Grand Design #1
 
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Variant cover art by Ed Piskor featuring Stan Lee

Detective Comics #1000

DC • 2019 • Vol. 3
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Detective Comics #1000
 
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Milestone issue #1000

1st cameo appearance of Arkham Knight in DC continuity

1st appearance of Knute Brody

1st appearance of Echo, the daughter of Batman and Catwoman in an alternate reality

1st appearance of April Fool, the son of Joker in an alternate reality

The Walking Dead #192

Image • 2019 • Vol. 1
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The Walking Dead #192
 
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Death of Rick Grimes

Official Image Timeline, The

Image • 2022 • Vol. 1
Non-Key
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Official Image Timeline, The
 
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64-page one-shot

A comprehensive timeline of Image's publishing history in celebration of the company's 30th anniversary

Previews #438

Diamond • 2025 • Vol. 1
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Previews #438
 
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Final Previews catalog following the January 2025 bankruptcy announcement of Diamond Comics Distributors

Launched in 1989, the Previews catalog served the 'Direct Market' aka comic book shops with thousands of products listed in this catalog

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