On the splash page for The Avengers #40 (May 1967), heralding a battle between Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the Sub-Mariner, writer Roy Thomas has the following come-on: “Seldom has such a cataphonic conflict been so clamorously craved!”
Cataphonic? I made a note to look that one up. I knew that “phonic” meant “sound,” but the prefix “cata-” has a pretty wide range of meanings, generally referring to a downward or oppositional movement. Put them together and what do you get?
The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary had no entry for “cataphonic.” Cataphatic has the meaning of knowledge of God obtained through affirmation. Cataphoresis is “the use of electricity to enable medicinal substances to pass through the skin.” But no cataphonic.
Well, online dictionaries are more thorough now, and more up-to-date. The Oxford definition there gives cataphonic a grammatical meaning, referring to a word or a phrase that is later used in a text. Though this is also said to be “cataphoric.” Elsewhere it is said to be a synonym for catacoustic, which means having relation to “the science that studies reflected sound.”
In truth, there isn’t a lot out there even online to explain the word and its usage. It doesn’t even pass muster with spellcheck. If I had to guess I’d say Thomas was thinking of the noise of voices raised against each other, but if so that’s a meaning he may have invented on his own.
Alex Good 
Cataphonic also relate to catacoustics – the study of echoes and sonic reflections, and there’s a Canadian band/ DJ called cataphonic who do electro techno music. So I figure he is just emphasising the noise to double down on clamorous.
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Yeah I saw that DJ’s name come up when I was looking around, but I don’t think he was even alive in 1967!
Some places seemed to say that cataphonic and catacoustic are synonyms.
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My thoughts were around “cacophonous” or catastrophically loud or an “aural cataclysm.” In other words, a very noisy battle! He had to make it up to preserve the rhythm of the alliteration.
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I was thinking it might have been a typo with something like cacophony in mind. But basically my hunch is he just made it up because it sounded good. Which is fine. I don’t mind the dictionary exercise.
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I’d go with him having made the word up. That’s why comics were so educational after all 😀
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They taught me everything I knew but can no longer remember.
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See, the BEST kind of education. That way you can never be wrong.
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