The 1970s

At casual glance, it would appear Yeti disappears in the 1970s. After the tumultuous 60's, the elusive creature seems to have fled from the limelight, retreating into his ice cave.

But if you know where to look, the Yeti was still there; he was just lying low.

In terms of Yeti depictions, the Seventies is the Decade of Comics.  Out of all of the examples I collected for the '70s time line, just under half are from comics. The Bronze Age of comics, with its subversive and more psychologically complex focus, embraced the Yeti's dark side. He was rarely cuddly or cute in this decade. Even outside of comics, like in TV's Land of the Lost or Disney's Matterhorn ride, Yeti was depicted as a ferocious enemy - a monster to be feared or fought.  He no longer had to be associated with the Himalayas; any snowy place would do - even fantasy worlds and alien planets.  In 1970, Marvel launched an adaptation of pulp character Conan the Barbarian, which led to the popularity of more sword & sorcery characters and situations. These stories were notable for their recurring antagonistic ape-men.

And a little tabletop game called Dungeons & Dragons was published in 1974. Its creator, Gary Gygax, included the Yeti as one of the original monsters for players to fight. This would have huge ramifications later when video games advanced to a point where their makers were ready for new sources of inspiration.

Kids of the 70's continued to be introduced to Yeti and not just in comics.  Childhood heroes of all stripes -  Scooby Doo, the Harlem Globetrotters, G.I. Joe, the original Ghost Busters, Spider-man on the Electric Company, and even Alfred E. Newman from Mad Magazine - endorsed the Snow Beast.

1970    Scooby Doo, Where Are You!: "That's Snow Ghost" (animation)
1970    Fantastic Four (comic)
1970    Web of Horror (comic)
1971    Creepy cover (comic)
1972    Harlem Globetrotters (comic)
1973    G.I. Joe Search for the Abominable Snowman (toy)
1973    Zoo Robbery (film) [Not pictured]
1973    Superman (comic)
1973    Supergirl (comic)
1974    Shriek of the Mutilated (film)
1974    Baron Weirwulf (comic)
1975    Dungeons & Dragons (game)
1975    The Ghostbusters (television)
1975    Night of the Howling Beast/Werewolf vs. The Yeti (film) (film) [Not pictured]
1975    Better Business Bureau PSAs (ad)

1975    Electric Company (television)
1975    Phoenix (comic)
1975    Miracle Strip Amusement Park (attraction)
1975    One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (film)
1975    Boris Karloff (comic) [Not pictured]
1975    Daffy Duck (comic) [Not pictured]
1976    Land of the Lost (television)
1976    Fredric Brown cover (book)
1977    Snowbeast (film)
1977    Famous Monsters of Legend (toy)
1977    Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics (animation)
1977    The All New Super Friends Hour (animation)
1977    Black Panther (comic)
1977    M.A.C.H. 1 (comic)
1977    Warlord (comic)
1977    Eisvampire (book) [Not pictured]
1977    Creepy (comic)
1977    PM Monthly (comic) [Not pictured]

1977    Yeti il Gigante / Sculpture (attraction)
1977    Milton Bradley Boardgame (toy) [Not pictured]
1978    Disneyland Matterhorn animatronic (attraction)
1978    Jason of Star Command (television)
1978    The Primevals (film - unreleased)
1979    Abominable Snow Mad (book)
1979    In Search Of... (television) [Not pictured]

On to the Eighties...