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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp Release: June 2, 1964 Cover: September 1965 12 cents By: Stan Lee, Dick Ayers, Paul Reinman, S. Rosen 5 pages
Wasp’s solo adventures were cancelled, so there is a 5-page void. Starting next issue, Hulk will get half the pages. This issue, the void gets filled with an “About” section. We recently saw a similar feature for Iron Man.
I don’t own this comic, and the digital versions of Tales to Astonish #59 exclude this section for some reason. Which makes it a hard story to track down. It was reprinted in Marvel Tales #13.
While the story title claims we will learn about Hank and Jan, it’s almost entirely about Hank. Wasp is just not treated with sufficient dignity. When she is mentioned, it’s only in the context of talking about Hank. The comic mentions her air gun, but focuses on the fact that Hank invented it. The comic dedicates more space to talking about their headquarters.
The comic mostly walks through what we know about Giant-Man. I think the only new details are that Captain America taught him karate and the precise weight he can press: 2000 pounds.
Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp Release: June 2, 1964 Cover: September 1965 12 cents Rapidly written by: Stan Lee Dashingly drawn by: Dick Ayers Instantly inked by: P. Reinman Lazily lettered by: Art Simek 18 pages
Art Simek’s lettering is referred to as “lazy”. Indeed, he seems to have forgotten Paul Reinman’s name, crediting him as R. Reinman, rather than the usual P. Reinman.
This is Ayers’ first time drawing the Hulk. In fact, it’s the first time anybody but Kirby or Ditko has drawn the Hulk.
It’s clear that prior to this point, Hulk is not yet the character modern readers (or TV viewers or moviegoers) have come to know. Steve Ditko will take over the art/plotting duties on Hulk’s new ongoing series, and often gets the credit for inventing Hulk as we know him. But it seems to me all the groundwork is laid right here by Lee and Ayers. This issue introduces a more recognizable version of Hulk.
For several months, Hulk has been bouncing title to title (Avengers, Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man) ever since his own series got cancelled a year earlier. This guest appearance in Giant-Man’s comic is his final bounce, and a transition into the return of his ongoing solo adventures in this very title. This is why they cancelled Wasp’s solo adventure backups, to make room for Hulk’s return. And this time, Hulk’s series will endure for a long time.
They refer to Hulk as the “Jolly Green Giant”. Think they took that name off a mascot for canned vegetables.
Besides being the lead-in to his new series, this is a significant issue for Hulk. We learn his full name for the first time: Dr. Robert Bruce Banner. This explains why Stan sometimes called him Bruce and sometimes Bob. I had assumed Stan just got careless with details.
Featuring: Avengers Release: June 9, 1964 Cover: August 1964 12 cents Magnificently written by: Stan Lee Majestically illustrated by: Jack Kirby Masterfully inked by: Chic Stone Meticulously lettered by: Art Simek 22 pages
In Tales of Suspense #56, Tony Stark very briefly flirted with giving up his Iron Man identity. He now faces a board of inquiry for his failure to answer an Avengers call. At that very moment, Odin is rendering judgment on Enchantress and Executioner for their part in the events of Journey Into Mystery #103. These events show the ever-tightening interconnectedness of the series.
Recall that Thor’s title went over a dozen issues without referencing or being referenced by any other series. There was no evidence it was set in the same world as that of the other heroes. Now, they are rather intertwined.
But continuity brings continuity errors, even when a single writer is nominally writing every title. The inquiry is tricky to reconcile with the details of Tales of Suspense #56 in a few ways. Thor charges Iron Man with ignoring a call. However, the Avengers didn’t really know how to contact him and never reached him. They talked to Mr. Stark’s secretary. She was able to talk to Mr. Stark, but never (as far as anyone knows) Iron Man. It would be like somebody who doesn’t know my phone number charging me with not answering my phone they didn’t call.
Secondly, they were trying to contact Iron Man to ask him to look into the Unicorn. Within a couple hours of that failed call, Iron Man did indeed find, battle, and defeat the Unicorn. So they attempted to contact Iron Man, didn’t know how to, never reached him, and thus it was, say, 2 hours between their attempt at contact and his completing the mission they sought to assign him. That hardly seems worth an inquiry.
There was no mention of this coming inquiry in the Iron Man comic. In fact, at the time, the Avengers all seemed to agree that Iron Man was in his rights to live his own life.
