Chris Coke

Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1, Story C

How Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Create Spider-Man!

Featuring: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Release: June 11, 1964
Cover: 1964
25 cents
By: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
3 pages

Wonderful opening page with the creators, particularly that first panel with Stan and all the characters.

This story is an interesting little artifact. It pokes fun at the two creators and their relationship. Ditko drew the story, seemingly in good humor. This suggests their relationship had not yet fully deteriorated.

Within 2 years, Ditko would leave Marvel over bitter conflict with Stan. He had been refusing to speak to Stan long before he left the series. There are many with more expertise who can give you the behind-the-scenes details, though plenty remain uncertain or debated.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1, Story B

The Secrets of Spider-Man!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: June 11, 1964
Cover: 1964
25 cents
By: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
9ish pages

Confession time, here’s what I got. I haven’t decided the best way to break up issues with a lot of bonus content like this. My posts don’t cover entire issues, but stories within them. So what is a “story”?

This issue has 3 comic-sequence-like features: the main feature of 41 pages we just covered; a 9-numbered-page sequence we are covering now; and, a 3-page sequence I’ll cover in the subsequent post.

After the main feature, there is a 14-page gallery of all Spider-Man’s villains from the first 15 issues of the series: the Burglar, Chameleon, the Vulture, the terrible Tinkerer, Dr. Octopus, Sandman, Doctor Doom, the Lizard, the Living Brain, Electro, the Enforcers and the Big Man, Mysterio, the Green Goblin, and Kraven the Hunter. That’s quite the collection of villains for only 15 issues. All original except Dr. Doom. No other series can match.

That brings us to the featurette which is the main subject of this post: “The Secrets of Spider-Man!” This isn’t a narrative story, but it is told in standard comic panel format. We get a recap of the origin of Spider-Man followed by a detailed analysis of his powers and web shooters.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1

The Sinister Six!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: June 11, 1964
Cover: 1964
25 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Steve Ditko
Lettered by: S. Rosen
41 pages

It’s 1964. You’re young. You don’t have a lot of money. But you know some math. Most comics cost 12 cents. This one costs 25. You could get two comics for that price! But wait… those two comics between them would only net you 42-46 story pages. This one promises 72 pages! 72 big pages, at that.

Indeed, this first story is 41 pages, enough to give you your money’s worth. But there’re over 30 pages of bonus features as well!

Plus, most of those comics will give you one super-villain, two at most. This cover promises a sinister six villains for your hard-earned quarter.

If you’re not yet sold to drop two bits, the first page should do it. Aunt May and Betty Brant have been captured by the Sinister Six, and Spider-Man has lost his powers! Now that’s a story!

Fantastic Four #30

The Dreaded Diablo!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: June 6, 1964
Cover: September 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee (A rather nice writer)
Drawn by: Jack Kirby (A quite noteworthy artist)
Inked by: Chic Stone (A somewhat nifty inker)
Lettered by: Art Simek (An occasionally neat letterer)
22 pages

On vacation in Transylvania, the Fantastic Four awaken Diablo, an evil alchemist sealed in his crypt 100 years earlier.

Diablo gives Thing a potion which turns him into a prettier (?) version of himself, which leads to Thing betraying the Fantastic Four to join Diablo. Diablo proceeds to make himself wealthy by selling a variety of miracle potions to the world.

Strange Tales #124, Story B

The Lady from Nowhere!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: June 9, 1964
Cover: September 1964
12 cents
Written inside a haunted house by: Stan Lee
Illustrated inside a gypsy’s tent by: Steve Ditko
Inked inside a hidden cave by: Geo. Bell
Lettered inside… because it was raining outside by: S. Rosen
9 pages

Dr. Strange gets more than his usual amount of cover real estate. Some 15% of the page devoted to his story. Enough to actually depict the story within. The second time that’s happened. Strange’s day will come.

For the second of three issues, we have to put up with George Roussos finishing Ditko’s art. There’s a payoff that makes it all worth it, though. When Ditko resumes the full art duties in two issues, he’ll give us 20 of the best comics ever made.

The first page asks, “Can you guess the identity of the Lady from Nowhere??” This puts me in a bind I’ve been in before. The issue reveals her identity on the final page. I’m not a fan of spoilers and don’t want to spoil things for you. That said, this comic is over 55 years old, so it’s not like you haven’t had ample time to read it.

Even if I don’t spoil the ending in my write-up, I do like to give a listing of all the characters in this issue afterward, which would reveal who the Lady is. Tell you what. I’ll give you some hints and see if you can guess before we reach the character listing below. This is her second Marvel Age appearance, after the Iron Man story in Tales of Suspense #44. (Clicking the link will probably give away the answer.)

We’d actually already met her in one of our PRELUDE posts, when we read Venus #1. It’s not absolutely clear how or if these three versions of the character are related.

Strange Tales #124

Paste-Pot Pete

Featuring: Human Torch and Thing
Release: June 9, 1964
Cover: September 1964
12 cents
Written by: Smilin’ Stan Lee
Illustrated by: Darlin’ Dick Ayers
Inked by: Peerless P. Reinman
Lettered by: Adorable Art Simek
14 pages

Starting with last issue, Thing and Human Torch are costars in this space, though last issue still described Thing as a guest star. Now Thing goes right in the title: “The Human Torch and The Thing Team Up to Battle The Menace of… Paste-Pot Pete.” Of course, Human Torch still gets top billing. This was his title first after all.

Paste-Pot Pete gets a new look this issue, a step toward becoming a more serious foe. He’s clean-shaven. He’s got on a real battle suit, almost like armor, from which he… well, from which he still just shoots paste.

Tales of Suspense #57, Story B

The Watcher’s Power!

Featuring: Watcher
Release: June 9, 1964
Cover: September 1964
12 cents
Story plot by: Stan Lee
Script + Art by: Larry Lieber
Inking by: Geo. Bell
Lettering by: Art Simek
5 pages

Larry Lieber celebrated his birthday last week. 89 years young. I think he is the only still-living creator we have encountered thus far. The Marvel superheroes of this era have become a cornerstore of our culture, but we have few remaining connections to those who helped make them. The most notable of those connections is Larry Lieber, younger brother of the late Stan Lieber, better known as Stan Lee.

Space pirates set to attack a world run afoul of the Watcher. Like the last would-be attacker to do so, they think the Watcher won’t be a problem, due to his oath. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t read the fine print of the oath.

Tales of Suspense #57

Hawkeye, the Marksman!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: June 9, 1964
Cover: September 1964
12 cents
Written by: Smiling Stan Lee
Illustrated by: Sparkling Don Heck
Lettered by: Sterling S. Rosen
18 pages

Interestingly, this is the first Iron Man cover not drawn by Kirby. In fact, it’s the first major cover of the era not drawn or partially drawn by Kirby or Ditko. In general, Ditko has been drawing the covers of his books, and Kirby has been drawing the covers of his own and everybody else’s. For example, Kirby has drawn very few Giant-Man stories, but has drawn every cover. Since covers were often drawn before the issue, Kirby often had a hand in the creation of the new villains, by virtue of being the first to actually draw them. But not Hawkeye. Hawkeye may be the first major character we’ve met not in any way attributable to Kirby or Ditko. He seems to be entirely the creation of Stan Lee and Don Heck.

For example, Kirby is generally not credited as a creator of Black Widow, but he was involved at the beginning, having drawn her first cover appearance. Same story for Daredevil. I see none of his fingerprints on Hawkeye, but may be unaware of some behind-the-scenes work.

When we met Daredevil, I declared our cast of original stars complete. That was an admittedly arbitrary cut-off. I could have waited just a few months and claimed Hawkeye completes the package.

I said what I said because Hawkeye is not of our stars. At least not yet. He is a just a new super-villain, one of many. Like Black Widow. Like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch…

See the Our Cast So Far page to see how I’m breaking out the characters.

Amazing Spider-Man #16

Duel with Daredevil

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: June 9, 1964
Cover: September 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee, master of the spoken word
Illustrated by: Steve Ditko, dean of dramatic drawings
Lettered by: S. Rosen, sultan of sparkling spelling
22 pages

Let me start by wishing a happy birthday to Steve Ditko, who would have been 93 today had he not passed away in 2018.

Ditko has created a number of new villains for this series, while maintaining a generally pretty high quality (Green Goblin excepted). The team has only once borrowed a villain so far, when Spider-Man fought Dr. Doom in issue 5. This is the second time borrowing a villain, but they dig deeper, bringing back Ringmaster from Incredible Hulk #3 two years earlier. We’ve read over 200 comics since we last met Ringmaster and his Circus of Crime.

Aunt May still insists Peter accept a blind date with Mary Jane Watson. Peter makes the reasonable protestation that he has a girlfriend. May notes they are not engaged. Does May just not like Betty for some reason? On the other hand, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a date. Peter could just offer to hang out with Mrs. Watson’s niece as a favor to Aunt May. I feel like they could compromise here.

Sgt. Fury #9

Mission: Capture Adolf Hitler!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: June 9, 1964
Cover: August 1964
12 cents
Sensational story by: Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee!
Awe-inspiring art by: Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers!
Inked by: Geo. Bell
Lettered by: S. Rosen
22 pages

Nick Fury is always on his best behavior when on a date with Pam. Unfortunately, their lovely evening is brought to a halt when Fury’s Howlers splash mud on him. He starts to lose his temper, only to be scolded by Pam, who is more impressed by Percy’s gentlemanliness. Fury then gets a scolding from the Captain for the muddy uniform. This remains the funniest title.

The Howlers’ mission is to sneak into Berlin and capture Hitler. Seems easy enough until Fury is recognized by Baron Strucker.