Coke ⊕ Comics

Tales to Astonish #90, Story B

The Abomination!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: January 10, 1967
Cover: April 1967
12 cents
An heroic, hulkish handiwork, by: Stan (The Man) Lee and Gil (Sugar Lips) Kane
Lettered by Swingin’ Sammy Rosen
10 pages

Previous	#657	Next
Tales to Astonish #90	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #91
Tales to Astonish #90	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #91

Only one thing will insure the safety of mankind.. The Hulk must die! Even though it means the death of Bruce Banner, as well!

We did leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger. Hulk is under the mental command of the Stranger and is going to go on a global rampage to weaken Earth enough for Stranger to conquer.

It’s the type of cliffhanger that usually makes me skip ahead to read the next issue promptly.

But I find the resolution here so anticlimactic, that it didn’t feel worth it.

As the situation is resolved by page 2.

Hulk reverts back to Banner. Stranger had taken control of Hulk’s brain. Not Banner’s. So therefore Earth is saved. And we can get on to the issue’s main plot points.

Tales to Astonish #90

To Be Beaten By Byrrah!

Featuring: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner
Release: January 10, 1967
Cover: April 1967
12 cents
Produced with pageantry– presented with pride– by: Stan Lee and Bill Everett
Lettered by: Sherigail
Water ballets staged by: Irving Forbush
12 pages

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Sub-Mariner #35, Story B	PRELUDE
Tales of Suspense #88	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #90, Story B
Tales to Astonish #89, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #90, Story B

For years, Prince Namor has kept Atlantis on the brink of war! His reign has been a series of endless battles– battles against the surface men– against the savage hordes of Attuma, the barbarian– even against Warlord Krang, who had once been our Prince’s most trusted military leader! I say the time is come to put an end to the tyranny of this war monger– this power-mad despot who wears the glorious crown of Atlantis! The reign of Namor has been one of danger– disaster– and never ending despair! We, the free citizens of Atlantis, are weary of Namor, the war-monger!

The rare lettering not from Sam or Artie. We’ve seen the lettering of Sherigail a couple times before, an alias for Morrie Kuramoto, the alias being a concatenation of his wife and daughter’s names.

We had just read the 1950s stories that introduced Byrrah. Now we see his return.

Here, he’s described as Namor’s cousin, and later his “blood-cousin”. Hmm… Byrrah is the Emperor’s stepson and Namor is his grandson, son to the Emperor’s daughter Fen. So maybe Byrrah is Namor’s… step-uncle?

He also gets referred to as Lord Byrrah this issue, when he had been Prince Byrrah before.

It’s honestly never made sense to me that Namor is still Prince Namor. It made sense in the 1950s when the Emperor was still around, but now that he’s the monarch, is “Prince” still the right title?

PRELUDE: Sub-Mariner #35, Story B

The Dawn of the Sub-Mariner

Featuring: Sub-Mariner
Release: June 2, 1954
Cover: August 1954
10 cents
Bill Everett
3 pages

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Sub-Mariner #35	PRELUDE
Tales of Suspense #88	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #90

It’s because I’m part American! I– and only I– of all the Sub-Mariners, can live indefinitely out of water!!!

The next 3 issues feature stories from Namor’s childhood. This is a short and simple story, but shows us the rivalry between Namor and Byrrah goes back to childhood.

PRELUDE: Sub-Mariner #35

Invasion!

Featuring: Sub-Mariner
Release: June 2, 1954
Cover: August 1954
10 cents
Bill Everett
8 pages

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	PRELUDE	Sub-Mariner #35, Story B
Tales of Suspense #88	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #90

The Sub-Mariner’s loyalty to his own native race, whose home lies beneath the vast ice fields of the South Polar region, is often brought to a severe test when it comes in direct conflict with his almost equal loyalty to the people who inhabit the surface of the Earth! Frequently such conflicts have occurred– but never sone so terrible, nor so heartbreaking, as the incident known and recalled by Prince Namor with bitterness, as the Invasion!

This was during the attemped 1950s superhero revival by Marvel, where they brought back Captain America, Human Torch, and Sub-Mariner. Sub-Mariner had the most successful revival, his revived title lasting 10 issues, Sub-Mariner #33-42, coming out bimonthly over the course of a couple years. In contrast, Captain America and Human Torch lasted 3 issues apiece.

Before he makes his triumphant Marvel Age return, I felt now would be a good time to meet Prince Byrrah.

Tales of Suspense #88

Beyond All Rescue!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: January 10, 1967
Cover: April 1967
12 cents
Stan Lee and Gene Colan
Inked by: Fearless Frank Giacoia
Lettered by: Adorable Artie Simek
12 pages

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	PRELUDE	Sub-Mariner #35
Tales of Suspense #87, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #90
Tales of Suspense #87, Story B	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #88, Story B

They must never reach the surface!

Stark had his factory evacuated for his experiments, so fortunately nobody else was inside when Mole Man sank it beneath the ground. Except maybe some unconscious Commie spies we seem to have forgotten about. And it turns out Pepper had snuck back in because she was worried about Tony.

“You little fool!” says Iron Man. “I’ve now got a female’s safety to worry about!”

“At least your make-up isn’t smudged!” he adds reassuringly.

Tales of Suspense #87, Story B

Wanted: Captain America!

Featuring: Captain America
Release: December 8, 1966
Cover: March 1967
12 cents
Editing: Stan Lee
Script: Roy Thomas
Drawn by: Jack Sparling
Inked by: Joe Sinnott
Lettered by: Sam Rosen
Subway swept by: Honest Irv
10 pages

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Tales of Suspense #87	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #88
Tales of Suspense #87	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #88

You may have had hours of practice… but I’ve had years!

That’s quite a surprising line-up of creators. Lee and Kirby have been handling Captain America thus far. Kirby took a couple issues off last year, with fill-ins by Ayers or Romita. And Kirby isn’t done with the book, but it will be a few issues until we see him again, with Gil Kane taking over. Lee is only taking this one issue off.

Thomas is Lee’s standard backup at this point, so his name isn’t that surprising. Joe Sinnott is our favorite inker these days, so it’s good to see him.

But who is Jack Sparling? That’s a new name to us. He’s one of those guys that’s worked in comics since the 1940s, seemingly at every company but Marvel. This is his first Marvel work and he won’t become a regular.

Here’s a sampling of his work.

The Yorktown Younger Set, Calling All Girls #3, Parents’ Magazine Press, 1942
Hap Hopper, Sparkler Comics v2 #10, United Feature Syndicate, 1942
Nyoka the Jungle Girl, Master Comics #50, Fawcett, 1944
Claire Voyant, Keen Teens, M.E., 1945
Lovers Lane #2, Lev-Gleason, 1949
Texas Rangers, Action Comics #140, DC, 1950
Kid Lochinvar, Great Lover Romances #1, Toby, 1951
Warfront #1, Harvey, 1951
Masked Raider #1, Charlton, 1955
The Sword and the Dragon, Four Color #1118, Dell, 1960
Adventures into the Unknown #121, ACG, 1961
Immortal Man, Strange Adventures #177, DC, 1965

He’s at this time a fixture of DC’s horror books, while still drawing romance, war, or other comics for companies like Harvey and Dell.

Tales of Suspense #87

Crisis– At Earth’s Core!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: December 8, 1966
Cover: March 1967
12 cents
A Stan Lee ○ Gene Colan Super-powered spectacular!
Inked by: Frank Giacoia
Lettered by: Artie Simek
12 pages

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Avengers #37	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #87, Story B
Tales of Suspense #86, Story B	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #87, Story B

For the first time, man will be able to probe the deepest secrets at the very core of the planet he lives upon!

Tony Stark is experimenting with a dangerous nuclear-powered device that will enable subterranean exploration. It sounds boring.

Some Commie spies want it. They are no match for Iron Man.

Avengers #37

To Conquer a Colossus!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: December 8, 1966
Cover: February 1967
12 cents
Electrifying editing by Stan Lee
Scintillating scripting by Roy Thomas
Invigorating illustrating by Don Heck
Languishing lettering by Artie Simek
20 pages

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Avengers #36	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #87
Avengers #36	Avengers	Avengers #38

How must it feel to be the last of your kind– alone in a world where you don’t belong? Can it be even lonelier than to live forever behind the colorful mask of… Captain America?

Ixar’s Ultroids have defeated the Avengers and plan to absorb their powers.

We learn the Ultroid who had impersonated Scarlet Witch is named Ultrana.

Avengers #36

The Ultroids Attack!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: November 10, 1966
Cover: January 1967
12 cents
Edited by: Stan (The Man) Lee
Scripted by: Roy (The Boy) Thomas
Drawn by: Don (The One) Heck
Lettered by: Sam (The Sham) Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#651	Next
Sgt. Fury #39	Reading order	Avengers #37
Avengers #35	Avengers	Avengers #37

It was with a feeling of eagerness… almost of exhilaration… that I donned my crimson costume once again…

Stan the Man is by far Stan’s most common nickname at this point. I think this is our first time seeing Roy the Boy. I appreciate the rhyming scheme they have going on here, except… Don and One don’t rhyme. Maybe they do in the same way as eye and symmetry.

Who was the mystery figure who confronted Captain America at the end of last issue? It turns out to be the Scarlet Witch.

Or does it?

Rest in peace, Alex Guenther

Alex Guenther was a Brazilian comic artist, who passed away a couple weeks back at the age of 48. He leaves behind a wife and two sons.

His website contains a number of samples of his work. His characters were always expressive. And you can see he was an extremely versatile artist, suited to a number of genres. He could do anything.