1963 in comics

Events

Year overall

• In Italy, Diabolik, started softly the previous year, becomes a growing success and finds its definitive shape. In a series of classic stories Diabolik begins to use the Jaguar E-Type, the rubber masks and the shelters, leaves his cover identity as Walter Dorian, ends dramatically his affair with the nurse Elisabeth Gray and begins a long love-story with Eva Kant.

  January

• January 26: The first issue of the British comics magazine Boys' World is published. It will run until 1964.
• The first issue of the Catholic magazine Messaggero dei ragazzi is published in Padua by the Friars Minor of the Basilica of Saint Anthony.. In the next decades, the magazine, in spite of its limited distribution, will host the works of important cartoonists such as Dino Battaglia and Hugo Pratt.
• Sergio Aragones makes his debut in MAD Magazine #76.
• Jack Miller and Joe Certa's Zook makes his debut.
• Fantastic Four #10 - Marvel Comics
• The Incredible Hulk #5 - Marvel Comics
• Journey into Mystery #88 - Marvel Comics
• Kid Colt Outlaw #108 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #104 - Marvel Comics
• Tales of Suspense #37 - Marvel Comics
• Tales to Astonish #39 - Marvel Comics
• Two-Gun Kid #61 - Marvel Comics
• The Purple Smurfs, by Peyo, first album of the Smurfs.
• Oddbal Odissey by Carl Barks, on Uncle Scrooge.

  February

• February 16: The final issue of the British comics magazine Knockout is published, after which it merges with Valiant.
• February 4: The first chapter of Jacovitti’s Baby Rocket, about the interstellar adventures of a half-notch gangster, is published in Il giorno dei ragazzi.
• February 7: The first episode of Asterix and the Banquet by Goscinny and Uderzo, is prepublished in Pilote. The story marks the debut of Dogmatix, Obelix' dog.
• Fantastic Four #11 - Marvel Comics
• Journey into Mystery #89 - Marvel Comics
• Magnus, Robot Fighter 4000 A.D. marks the debut of Russ Manning's Magnus Robot Fighter.
• Rawhide Kid #32 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #105 - Marvel Comics
• Tales of Suspense #38 - Marvel Comics
• Tales to Astonish #40 - Marvel Comics

  March

• March 2: The final issue of the British comics magazine Swift is published. It merges with Eagle afterwards.
• March 3: In L'arresto di Diabolik, the third issue of Angela Giussani and Luciana Giussani's Diabolik, Eva Kant makes her debut. Because this story, the two sisters endure a proceedings for "incitement to corruption".
• March 10–17: The story Topolino e l’uomo di Altacraz, by Romano Scarpa is first prepublished in Topolino, a story vaguely inspired by Birdman of Alcatraz.
• March 18: Jerry Marcus' Trudy makes its debut. It will run until 2000.
• The Amazing Spider-Man #1 - Marvel Comics
• Fantastic Four #12 - Marvel Comics
• The Incredible Hulk #6 - Marvel Comics
• Journey into Mystery #90 - Marvel Comics
• Kid Colt Outlaw #109 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #106 - Marvel Comics
• Tales of Suspense #39 - Marvel Comics - First appearance of Iron Man
• Tales to Astonish #41 - Marvel Comics
• Two-Gun Kid #62 - Marvel Comics
• Uncle Scrooge, The Status Seeker by Carl Barks, on Uncle Scrooge.'

  April

• April 13: The first issue of the Flemish children's magazine Ohee is published, supplement of the newspaper Het Volk. It will run until 31 December 1977.
• Black Cat, with issue #65, canceled by Harvey Comics
• Fantastic Four #13 - Marvel Comics
• Fantastic Four Annual #1 - Marvel Comics

• Journey into Mystery #91 - Marvel Comics
• Metal Men #1 — DC Comics
• Rawhide Kid #33 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #107 - Marvel Comics
• Tales of Suspense #40 - Marvel Comics
• Tales to Astonish #42 - Marvel Comics

  May

• May 13: The first episode of Peter O'Donnell and Jim Holdaway's Modesty Blaise is published.
• May 23: Mars Ravelo and Jim Fernandez's Captain Barbell makes his debut.
• May 25: The final episode of Oskar Lebeck and Alden McWilliams' newspaper comic Twin Earths is published.
• The Amazing Spider-Man #2 - Marvel Comics
• Fantastic Four #14 - Marvel Comics
• Journey into Mystery #92 - Marvel Comics
• Kid Colt Outlaw #110 - Marvel Comics
• Sgt. Fury #1 - Marvel Comics. First appearance of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos.
• Strange Tales #108 - Marvel Comics
• Tales of Suspense #41 - Marvel Comics
• Tales to Astonish #43 - Marvel Comics
• Two-Gun Kid #63 - Marvel Comics

  June

• June 1: The final episode of Mort Walker and Jerry Dumas' Sam's Strip is published.
• June 8: The final episode of Ken Reid's Jonah is published in The Beano.
• June 11: The final episode of Andries Brandt's Holle Pinkel is published.
• June 16: The first issue of ABC dei ragazzi, is published in Milan.
• Fantastic Four #15 - Marvel Comics
• Journey into Mystery #93 - Marvel Comics
• My Greatest Adventure #80 - DC Comics - first appearance of the Doom Patrol, created by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani.
• Rawhide Kid #34 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #109 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales Annual #2 - Marvel Comics
• Tales of Suspense #42 - Marvel Comics
• Tales to Astonish #44 - Marvel Comics

• Young Love #38 — final issue published by Prize Comics; title sold to and continued by DC Comics
• Young Romance #124 — final issue published by Prize Comics; title sold to and continued by DC Comics
• A Duck's-eye View of Europe, by Carl Barks, on Walt Disney's Comics and Stories..

  July

• July 8: Alex Graham's Fred Basset makes its debut.
• The Amazing Spider-Man #3 - Marvel Comics

• Fantastic Four #16 - Marvel Comics
• Gunsmoke Western, with issue #77, canceled by Marvel Comics
• Journey into Mystery #94 - Marvel Comics
• Kid Colt Outlaw #111 - Marvel Comics
• Sgt. Fury #2 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #110 - Marvel Comics

• Tales of Suspense #43 - Marvel Comics
• Tales to Astonish #45 - Marvel Comics
• Two-Gun Kid #64 - Marvel Comics

  August

• August 8: The first episode of Jacques Devos' Génial Olivier is published in Spirou.
• Fantastic Four #17 - Marvel Comics
• House of Secrets #61 - DC Comics. First appearance of Eclipso by writer Bob Haney and artist Lee Elias
• Journey into Mystery #95 - Marvel Comics
• Justice League of America #21 - the first team-up of the Justice League and the Justice Society of America as well as the first use of the term "Crisis" in reference to a crossover between Golden Age and Silver Age characters.
• Rawhide Kid #35 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #111 - Marvel Comics

• Tales of Suspense #44 - Marvel Comics
• Tales to Astonish #46 - Marvel Comics
• Young Romance #125 — DC Comics, continuing numbering from Prize Comics series

  September

• The Amazing Spider-Man #4 - Marvel Comics

• Avengers #1 - Marvel Comics

• Fantastic Four #18 - Marvel Comics

• Green Lantern #23 - DC Comics
• Journey into Mystery #96 - Marvel Comics
• Kid Colt Outlaw #112 - Marvel Comics
• Sgt. Fury #3 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #112 - Marvel Comics
• Tales of Suspense #45 - Marvel Comics

• Tales to Astonish #47 - Marvel Comics
• Two-Gun Kid #65 - Marvel Comics
• Uncanny X-Men #1 - Marvel Comics

• Young Love #39 — DC Comics, continuing numbering from Prize Comics series

  October

• October 17: The first episode of the Lucky Luke story Les Dalton se rachètent, by Goscinny and Morris, is prepublished in Spirou.
• October 31: Jean Giraud's Blueberry is first published in Pilote.
• The Amazing Spider-Man #5 - Marvel Comics
• Fantastic Four #19 - Marvel Comics
• *First appearance of Rama Tut
• Journey into Mystery #97 - Marvel Comics
• Rawhide Kid #36 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #113 - Marvel Comics
• Tales of Suspense #46 - Marvel Comics
• Tales to Astonish #48 - Marvel Comics

  November

• November 7: Greg's Achille Talon makes its debut.
• November 16: The British comics magazine The Wizard merges with The Rover and becomes Rover and Wizard, under which title it will continue until August 1969.
• November 22: The comic strip Miss Caroline: The Little Girl in the Big White House by Gerald Gardner and Frank B. Johnson is cancelled after U.S. President John F. Kennedy is murdered. The comic had only ran for about a few months.
• The Amazing Spider-Man #6 - Marvel Comics
• *First appearance of Lizard and Billy Connors.
• Avengers #2 - Marvel Comics
• Fantastic Four #20 - Marvel Comics
• Journey into Mystery #98 - Marvel Comics
• *First appearance of Cobra
• Kid Colt Outlaw #113 - Marvel Comics
• Sgt. Fury #4 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #114 - Marvel Comics
• *Begins monthly Doctor Strange back-up story
• Tales of Suspense #47 - Marvel Comics
• Tales to Astonish #49 - Marvel Comics
• *First appearance of Henry "Hank" Pym as Giant-Man
• Two-Gun Kid #66 - Marvel Comics
• Uncanny X-Men #2 - Marvel Comics

  December

• December 5: The first episode of Asterix and Cleopatra, by Goscinny and Uderzo, is prepublished in Pilote..
• December 12: A tiny dog, introduced in René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo's Astérix album Asterix and the Banquet earlier this year, receives a name through a readers' contest: Dogmatix, which is first revealed to the public in an issue of Pilote.
• December 12: The final episode of Clarence D. Russell's Pete the Tramp is published.
• December 18: The final issue of the Flemish comics magazine, De Kleine Zondagsvriend is published.
• The Amazing Spider-Man #7 - Marvel Comics
• Fantastic Four #21 - Marvel Comics

• Journey into Mystery #99 - Marvel Comics
• Rawhide Kid #37 - Marvel Comics
• Strange Tales #115 - Marvel Comics
• Tales of Suspense #48 - Marvel Comics

• Tales to Astonish #50 - Marvel Comics.
• In Italy, the first issue of Braccio di Ferro, containing Popeye’s adventures written by Italian authors, produced by Classici Audacia is published.
• The first issue of the Italian monthly Il piccolo ranger is published.

  Specific date unknown

• DC Comics purchases two Prize Comics romance titles, Young Love and Young Romance, continuing their numbering.
• Shueisha publishes Margaret.
• Alfredo Alcala's Voltar makes its debut.
• Jim Berry's Berry's World debuts.
• Mauricio de Sousa's The Funnies and The Tribe and Horacio's World debut.
• The final issue of the Argentine comics magazine Hora Cero is published.
• The final episode of Malcolm Judge's Colonel Crackpot's Circus is published.
• The final episode of Horace Boyten, Stewart Pride and Evelyn Flinders' The Silent Three is published.
• The final episode of Birgitta Lilliehöök's Spara och Slösa is published.
• The final episode of Brian Lewis' The Suicide Six is published.
• The final episode of Al Jaffee's Tall Tales is published.

  Deaths

January

• January 2: Joaquín Buigas, Spanish comics writer, dies at age 76.
• January 18: Francisco Valença, Portuguese comics artist and illustrator, passes away at age 80.

  February

• February 18: Vadim Lazarkevich, Russian-Bulgarian illustrator and comics artist, passes away at age 67.
• February 26: Charles Folkard, British illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 84.

  March

• March 23: Maurice Boyer, aka Moriss, French actor, comedian, illustrator, caricaturist and cartoonist, dies at age 88.

  May

• May 3: Alejandro Del Prado, aka Calé, Argentine cartoonist and comics artist, dies at age 37.

  July

• July 2: Alicia Patterson, American publisher and comics writer, dies at age 56 of complications following stomach surgery for an ulcer.
• July 7: François-Joseph Herman, Belgian comics artist, passes away at age 31.
• July 28: Violet Moore Higgins, American illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 76.

  August

• August 16: Ralph Fuller, American comics artist, passes away at age 73.
• August 30: Jan Lunde, Norwegian comics artist, dies at age 74.
• August 31: Willem Gerrit van de Hulst, Sr., Dutch novelist and comics writer, dies at age 83.

  September

• September 19: David Low, New Zealand-British cartoonist and comics artist, passes away at age 62.
• September 20: Jan Wiegman, Dutch comics artist and illustrator, dies at age 79.

  October

• October 9: Leonard Sansone, American comics artist, dies in a traffic accident at age 46.
• October 23: Clarence D. Russell, American comics artist, dies at age 68.
• October 25: Lewis Baumer, British caricaturist, cartoonist, illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 93.

  December

• December 1: Jimmy Hatlo, American comics artist, dies at age 65.
• December 12: Wynne W. Davies, Australian illustrator and comics artist, passes away at age 71.

  Specific date unknown

• Gilbert Lawford Dalton, British comics writer, dies at age 48 or 49.
• Andrés Guevara, Paraguayan illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 58 or 59.
• Harry Mace, American comics artist, dies at age 40.
• Arthur Mansbridge, British illustrator and comics artist, dies at age 85.
• Arnold Warden, British comics artist, dies at age 70 or 71.

  First issues by title

DC Comics

Marvel Comics

Other publishers

Initial appearance by character name

DC Comics

• Reverse-Flash, in The Flash #139
• Eclipso, in House of Secrets #61
• Tattooed Man, in Green Lantern #23
• Negative Man, in My Greatest Adventure #80
• Elasti-Girl , in My Greatest Adventure #80
• Chief , in My Greatest Adventure #80
• Robotman , in My Greatest Adventure #80
• Mera , in Aquaman #11
• Element Lad, in Adventure Comics #307
• Doctor Polaris, in Green Lantern #21
• General Immortus, in My Greatest Adventure #80
• Heat Wave, in The Flash #140
• Queen Bee , in Justice League of America #23
• Catman , in Detective Comics #311
• Doctor Hurt, in Batman #156
• Shark , in Green Lantern #24
• Rainbow Girl, in Adventure Comics #309
• Lightning Lass, in Adventure Comics #308
• Paul Gambi, in The Flash #141
• Night Girl, in Adventure Comics #306
• Polar Boy, in Adventure Comics #306
• Chlorophyll Kid, in Adventure Comics #306
• Ron-Karr, in Adventure Comics #314
• Stone Boy, in Adventure Comics #306
• Fire Lad, in Adventure Comics #306

  Marvel Comics

• Ancient One - Strange Tales #110
• Angel - Uncanny X-Men #1
• The Avengers - Avengers #1
• Baron Mordo - Strange Tales #111
• Beast - Uncanny X-Men #1
• Chameleon - The Amazing Spider-Man #1
• Cobra - Journey into Mystery #98
• Crimson Dynamo - Tales of Suspense #46
• Cyclops - Uncanny X-Men #1
• Doctor Octopus - The Amazing Spider-Man #3
• Doctor Strange - Strange Tales #110
• The Eel in Strange Tales #112
• Nick Fury - Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1
• Giant-Man - Tales to Astonish #49 - Marvel Comics
• Happy Hogan - Tales of Suspense #45
• Hate-Monger - Fantastic Four #21
• Iceman - Uncanny X-Men #1
• Impossible Man - Fantastic Four #11
• Iron Man — Tales of Suspense #39
• Jack Frost - Tales of Suspense #45
• John Jameson - Amazing Spider-Man #1
• J. Jonah Jameson - Amazing Spider-Man #1
• Kala - Tales of Suspense #43
• Lava Men - Journey into Mystery #97
• Lizard - The Amazing Spider-Man #6
• Willie Lumpkin - Fantastic Four #11
• Mad Thinker & his Awesome Android — Fantastic Four #15
• Magneto - Uncanny X-Men #1
• Marvel Girl - Uncanny X-Men #1
• Melter - Tales of Suspense #47
• Metal Master — The Incredible Hulk #6
• Mister Doll - Tales of Suspense #48
• Mister Hyde - Journey into Mystery #99
• Molecule Man - Fantastic Four #20
• Nightmare - Strange Tales #110
• Paste Pot Pete - Strange Tales #104
• Pepper Potts - Tales of Suspense #45
• Plantman - Strange Tales #113
• Porcupine - Tales to Astonish #48
• Radioactive Man - Journey into Mystery #93
• Rama Tut - Fantastic Four #19
• Red Ghost - Fantastic Four #13
• Sandman - The Amazing Spider-Man #4
• Space Phantom - Avengers #2
• Super-Skrull in Fantastic Four #18
• Surtur - Journey into Mystery #97
• Tyrannus - The Incredible Hulk #5
• Uatu - Fantastic Four #13
• Vanisher - Uncanny X-Men #2
• The Voice - Tales to Astonish #42
• The Vulture - Amazing Spider-Man #2
• Wasp - Tales to Astonish #44
• Human Top - Tales to Astonish #50
• Professor X - Uncanny X-Men #1
• The X Men - Uncanny X-Men #1

  Independent publishers

• Dogmatix, by Goscinny and Uderzo, in Asterix and the banquet.
• Eva Kant, Diabolik’s lover and partner, by the Giussani sisters, in Diabolik arrested.
• Madame Min - Disney
• Hellingen, mad scientist and Zagor’s antagonist, by Guido Nolitta and Gallieno Ferri, in On the Titan's footprints
• Blueberry, by Charlier and Giraud, in Fort Navajo