By WALLY MONK – PM Library Editor

There seem to be disagreements on when the “Bronze Age” of comics officially began. But for the intents and purposes of my brief musings here, we’ll use 1977 as the starting point for this occasional series of retrospectives. 1977 is also the year I grabbed my first comic books off the shelf at the local convenience store for “Still Only 35 Cents,” so I’m literally starting at my “beginning” as a comic hobbyist.

July of 1977 saw the release of several iconic issues and even more that rate high on collector’s lists these days. If only my eight year old self knew enough to hermetically seal these books and stash them away for later…

I can vividly remember seeing many of these issues on the shelves. Writing this brief walk down memory lane reminded me of just how old I am – these comics were on sale 42 years ago.

In A Galaxy Far, Far Away…

One of Marvel’s summer premiere issues that year would prove to be from science-fiction’s most enduring franchise. This was the summer that Marvel released Star Wars #1.

Written by PM Library favorite and Conan scribe extraordinaire Roy Thomas, Howard Chaykin provided the pencils for the comic book installment of George Lucas’ futuristic vision. Marie Severin colored his artwork, with lettering by Jim Novak.

Some of the comics released that month are still available – although in revised form and new series – like Avengers, Black Panther and the Champions.

In total, 52 releases were offered up by the House of Ideas this month those many years ago. Can you spot any issues from your collection below?

Marvel Comics Releases – 7/1/77 thorough 7/31/77

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)