If you missed the last one…
The late 1960s and early 1970s was a time of great interest in the Occult and the unexplained. Books like Chariots of the Gods? (1968) by Erich van Daniken were bestsellers. Interest in cryptids also exploded, spilling out into all kinds of media, including comic books. The Paterson-Gimlin film of supposed Sasquatch in 1967 fueled many new sightings. Leonard Nimoy told us all about Bigfoot and Nessie on TV on In Search Of… On dramatic shows like The Six Million Dollar Man, we got Ted Cassidy in yak hair. No wonder Chewbacca, two years later, was a such a success! Han Solo got to run around with an intergalactic Sasquatch!
“The Abominable Schmoman!” (The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #116, January-February 1970) was written by Alan Riefe. This is a fake monster story with Jerry in a fur coat and a mounted ape’s head stuck on his own head.
“Curse of the Yeti!” (Web of Horror #3, April 1970) was written by Otto Binder. A man kills a yeti and becomes a yeti. This meme seems old to me but looking back, Otto may have been the first to do it. It will show up again and again here.
“The Super-Reckless Lois Lane” (Superman’s Girl-Friend, Lois Lane #101, May 1970) was written by Leo Dorfman. Knowing Superman will save her, Lois does dangerous stunts. She comes across the yeti in one of them.
“The Thing Goes Wild” (Fantastic Four #99, June 1970) was written by Stan Lee. Johnny encounters the Inhuman (again!) and one of them is an ape creature called Yeti. This was his first appearance.
“Snowmen From the Sky” (UFO Flying Saucers #2, November 1970) was written by an unknown author. Another alien/sasquatch story, with the furry ones coming in a flying saucer. The comic was called UFO Flying Saucers after all. We will see more of these later too.
“King Keller” (Creepy #37, January 1971) was written by Nick Cuti. The yetis have gone wild thanks to a rocket that has landed in their domain. King Keller goes back to disarm the nuke but ends up having to stay on on the Yeti king.
“Quest of the Bigfoot” (Creepy #43, January 1972) was written by Michael Rosen. A squad of soldiers go to the woods to find whatever is killing hunters and locals. They discover a race of Bigfoots that have been hiding for centuries. Too bad for the cryptids when another secret race takes over.
“The Abominable Snowman” (Bugs Bunny #140, January 1972) was written by an unknown author. Elmer Fudd invents a rocketship that is also a snowmobile. Perfect for exploring the Himilayas. They make friends with a yeti by the end.
“Last of Its Kind” (Midnight Tales #1, December 1972) was written by Nick Cuti. A hunter seeks a mysterious creature that is the last of its kind. Or is it?
“Taw!” (Nightmare #11, February 1973) was written by Ed Fedory. A group lookiing for the mysterious Taw encounter an old priest at a temple then the monster. Turns out they are one and the same. This one is unusual in design because the yeti has horns.
“The Abominable Snowman” (Secrets of Sinister House #9, February 1973) was written by Jack Oleck. Donovan discovers the yeti then forces the local Sherpas to help him catch one. He ends up in a block of ice and we see that the Sherpas were yeti in disguise.
I should mention Wendigo here. He first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #162 (April 1973). He is the legendary woods monster but looks a lot like a Yeti. For more on him, go here.
“Blind to Danger” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #49, August 1973) was written by an unknown author. The first of two cryptid stories in the same issue, this one has a Bigfoot that likes to hide in bog holes and befriends a young blind boy. That tells you how “hot” cryptids were in 1973.
“The Yeti Will Get You!” (Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #49, August 1973) was written by Len Wein. Gold hunters discover their treasure is guarded by yeti. And the hunters become the yeti. The second story is Otto Binder’s idea again.
“Ice Jungle” (Tarzan #227, January 1974) was written and drawn by Joe Kubert. A black warrior and a greedy white hunter both end up in the mountains looking for yeti. Tarzan goes along and only two come back. One of my favorite possessions from my youth. It bore that “#227” on the cover. I did not understand that the numbering was continued from the old Dell/Gold Key issues. I thought there were two hundred and twenty-six other issues by Joe Kubert! Sadly, there were only about fifty DC issues. But we can dream…
“Nightmare in the Snow” (Fantastic Four #145, April 1974) was written by Gerry Conway. Johnny and Medusa are attacked by a horde of yeti. These serve Ternak in his hidden city in the Himalayas, where he plots to attack the world with cold.
“The Yeti” (Psycho #19, July 1974) was written by Al Hewetson (as Howie Anderson). The yeti comes to Switzerland to kill, kill, kill. Nothing human can stop it. Fortunately Frankenstein lives there, and his monster. Not sure how the yeti go to Central Europe but love this one all the same.
“Tomorrow the Snowman Will Kill You” (Psycho #20, August 1974) was written by Augustine Funnell. A group of yeti hunters find the silent creatures and discover they are not the missing link to humans. Using their mind powers, they make the humans shoot each other.
“The Thing in the Ragged Mountains” (Nightmare #23, February 1975) was written by Al Hewetson (as Ted Freeman). Hunters encounter an ape-like creature in the mountains. Their bullets do not hurt it. Every man who shoots at the beast is killed by it. One man survives, noticing that the monster has human eyes. Later he is arrested for murder (the cops don’t believe him) and put in an insane asylum.
“Legend of Bigfoot” (Valley of the Dinosaurs #1, April 1975) was written by an unknown author. This one strikes me, once again, as odd. Like Turok, Son of Stone, this comic is set in a valley filled with cavemen. Why have Bigfoot then? I notice they gave him a fur skirt, probably out of some sense of propriety. This was a kiddie comic.
“The Snow Men!” (Midnight Tales #12, April 1975) was written by Nick Cuti. Wang-Ti uses the yeti as his servants. They attack a party exploring the mountains to try and take the female member for Wang-Ti’s harem.
“Guest of Honor” (Boris Karloff Takes of Mystery #61, June 1975) was written by an unknown author. A team goes to the Himalays to find the legendary Geecha. They return with a cast of the monster, which loses its outer shell and reveals the living monster beneath!
Conclusion
Even in the early Bronze Age, the yeti dominates. We do see some Bigfoot stories, as well as a couple that aren’t cryptid specific. The party that goes to the Himalayas always ends up paying for it somehow. Edmund Hilary never had it this bad.
Next time...The Bronze Age continues…
