Tales to Astonish #80

To the Death!

Featuring: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner!
Release: March 3, 1966
Cover: June 1966
12 cents
Story by Smilin’ Stan Lee
Pencils by Grinnin’ Gene Colan
Inks by Dazzlin’ Dick Ayers
Lettering by Snarlin’ Sam Rosen
12 pages

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I am still the Lord of the Seven Seas!

Where were we. Krang and Puppet Master have teamed up to control the Behemoth. Hank Pym and Janet were around at some point. We’ll catch up with them next time in the pages of Avengers.

We’re supposed to believe that because Krang is controlling the Behemoth through the clay puppet, the creature has better reflexes than it would otherwise. That makes little sense to me.

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Tales to Astonish #79, Story B

The Titan and the Torment!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: February 3, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Hulkish story by: Stan Lee
Hulkable layouts by: Jack Kirby
Hulking artwork by: Bill Everett
Hulksome lettering by: Artie Simek
10 pages

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Even he cannot suspect that Bruce Banner’s gamma rays have miraculously given Hulk the power to grow stronger, rather than weaker, so long as his rage keeps mounting!

As Richard recently pointed out in the comments, this is a great cover of Hulk battling Hercules, courtesy of Kirby and Everett. I fear the issue itself won’t quite live up to the image.

There is some pretty tight continuity on display. When we last saw Hercules, he and a casting agent had left New York bound for Los Angeles. Here we see them on a train from New York to LA. We’ll next see them arriving in LA in Thor #128. The casting agent doesn’t know this is the real Hercules. He’s been cast to play Hercules, so the agent assumes he’s method acting.

Note how little time there has been to breathe in these stories. Hulk’s battle with the Leader led right into his battles in the future, which have led right into his battle with Dr. Zaxon. There’s been no room to breathe. Cliffhanger after cliffhanger. Not so much one long story, as a bunch of story threads that don’t respect issue boundaries.

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Tales to Astonish #79

When Rises the Behemoth

Featuring: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner
Release: February 3, 1966
Cover: May 1966
12 cents
Now this is a story! By: Stan Lee
Now this is pencilling! By: Adam Austin
Now this is delineation! By: Bill Everett
Now this is lettering! By: Artie Simek
12 pages

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Back, you mortal rabble– back!!

Without much fanfare, we have Bill Everett inking Gene Colan. Bill Everett is the creator of the Sub-Mariner. Of course, for whatever reason, it’s the publisher and not he that controls the character. So Marvel gets to publish and profit off Sub-Mariner stories, and he only gets paid if he does more work. So here he is inking Colan’s pencils with Stan adding dialogue. Once Everett wrote and drew Namor’s adventures entirely on his own.

He’s slowly coming back to do more work for Marvel. The last thing he did for them was create Daredevil. But his Daredevil comic was drawn with immaculate detail and unfortunately not within deadline. So he got immediately removed from his own character, and only now 2 years later is starting to get regular work with Marvel again.

As of last issue, he’s the regular finisher on the Hulk stories within this title. He’s just filling in on this Namor story, but will be returning to Namor regularly soon.

I was down to two choices for the pull quote at the top of this quote. I went with one that best exhibited Namor’s personality. I could have gone with the more standard Stan Lee heroic purple prose: There is a time to flee– and a time to fight! While life endures–I shall ever choose the latter course!

I’m never quite clear on what the powers of all these characters are. Namor sometimes seems like Superman. But we see here he’s not bulletproof. He gets shot in the shoulder, and is wounded and losing blood.

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Tales to Astonish #78, Story B

The Hulk Must Die!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: January 4, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Story by: Stan Lee (Certainly!)
Layouts by: Jack Kirby (Naturally!)
Artwork by: Bill Everett (Surprisingly!)
Lettering by: Sam Rosen
10 pages

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Everett is on art now. We know him as the creator of Sub-Mariner, who told Namor’s original stories. And as the co-creator of Daredevil with Stan Lee, who worked on that series for a single issue. He was removed for being very over-deadline. I think a full-length comic for an entirely new character takes longer than a 10 page Hulk story.

Nonetheless, Kirby is brought in for layouts. Though Everett is the more senior of the two and has long been a writer/artist.

Hulk’s story hasn’t had a pause to breathe since he got his new title. No sooner had the Leader finally been defeated than Hulk was transported into the future. Thinking him dead, Rick revealed Banner’s secret to Major Talbot. But Hulk lives, and has returned from the future.

Has Talbot not told anybody his news yet? Not even Ross?

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Tales to Astonish #78

The Prince and the Puppet!

Featuring: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner
Release: January 4, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Blue ribbon story by: Stan Lee
Prize winning pencilling by: Adam Austin
Academy Award winning inking by: Vince Colletta
Booby prize lettering by: Artie Simek
12 pages

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Fire! The one element which is alien to me! The one element I fear!

Austin had unmasked as Gene Colan last issue. Not sure why were are back to the pseudonym.

We are into Namor’s second story arc in his new series. Though it will turn out to be less of an arc than a bunch of loose threads. Surface experimentation is threatening Atlantis; Namor resolves to go to the surface to stop it; the earthquakes created unleash the Behemoth; Namor finds Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne–formerly Giant-Man and Goliath–responsible for the testing.

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Tales to Astonish #77, Story B

Bruce Banner is the Hulk!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: December 2, 1965
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Script by: Stan Lee
Layouts by: Jack Kirby
Pencilling + inking by: Johnny Romita!
Lettering by: Sam Rosen
10 pages

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Why shouldn’t I tell? It’s time the world learned the truth…!

That’s a damn compelling cover, a collaboration between Kirby and Romita, with the Romita influence coming in heavy, but a unique look for the Hulk that is very distinctive compared to either man’s style. Dramatically, we shockingly hear Rick Jones tell an officer (presumably Talbot) Hulk’s secret. We’ll see how that plays out.

John Romita took over as the regular artist on Daredevil last month. He’s just filling in here, as the series has floundered without a regular artist for the last 10 months. Bill Everett will be taking over next issue. We also saw Romita filling in on last month’s Captain America

As we noted in our recent Daredevil post, John Romita just recently passed away in June 2023 at the age of 93. One of the greatest comic artists of all time.

It is a compelling title. “Bruce Banner is the Hulk!” Is this the issue where his secret identity is finally revealed? Secret identities have been revealed on occasion before, but the learner of the identity usually develops amnesia or dies.

Recall from last issue the army built Banner’s T-Gun without knowing what it did. They hit Hulk with it and now everybody assumes Hulk is dead. In fact, Hulk has been transported to the future.

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Tales to Astonish #77

To Walk Amongst Men!

Featuring: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner
Release: December 2, 1965
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Stan Lee, writer
Gene Colan, penciller
Vince Colletta, inker
Sam Rosen, letterer
12 pages

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Supreme is the head that wears the crown! The decision must be Namor’s alone to make! Imperius Rex!

A secret has been revealed! Not to us, because I spoiled it when he first showed up. But this is the first time Gene Colan’s name has shown up in the credits. Yet it’s clearly the same artist as last issue, drawn by “Adam Austin”. So Adam Austin must be Gene Colan!

Just like superheroes have secret identities, artists do too. In this case, it was likely to disguise the fact that he was moonlighting for both DC and Marvel. Some comic artists used pen names so that their lesser comic work wouldn’t get conflated with the great novels or works or art they were one day to create. For many, it may have been to make their names sound less Jewish.

Since Namor got his own series back in issue 70, he’d been on a continuous quest to retake his kingdom from Krang. Last issue was almost a clean ending to that quest, save for the final pages. Namor was now the ruler again, with Lord Vashti his Grand Vizier. But then an earthquake strikes, and Namor suspects atomic tests of the surface world are responsible. He resolves to go to the surface world to sort this.

If Namor is the ruler of Atlantis, why is he Prince Namor? Why not King Namor? The Atlanteans must do it differently.

Vashti sits on Namor’s council and offers the wisdom that the choice of action is Namor’s, as the absolute monarch. Then why even be on the council, Vashti? Namor knows it’s his decision. Advise him!

This next story arc is going to get quite convoluted. The last one was relatively clean. Krang had taken the throne. Namor needed to recover some ancient artifact to reclaim it and followed a series of clues. This story begins with an earthquake and Namor’s plan to go to the surface world to get them to stop the tests. Let’s see where it goes from there.

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Tales to Astonish #76, Story B

I, Against a World!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: November 4, 1965
Cover: February 1966
12 cents
Script: Stan Lee
Layout: Jack Kirby
Pencilling: Scott Edward
Inking: Mickey Demeo
Lettering: Artie Simek
10 pages

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Stay back!! Back!! You’re just a pack of men– but me, I’m the Hulk!

I like to think I know Marvel decently well, but I’ve never heard of Scott Edward. Usually means a regular DC artist is moonlighting at Marvel on the down low. Indeed, Scott Edward is the already legendary Gil Kane. He’s got some great work at Marvel ahead of him. Of course, Gil Kane isn’t actually his name either. His birth name is Eli Katz, but we all know him as Gil Kane.

But let’s see what he’s done in his 20+ years in comics before getting here. We technically did meet him as one of the artists working with Wood on Thunder AGENTS.

By this point in his career, his biggest claim to fame is the creation of the new Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.

As well as the new Atom, Ray Palmer.

Inks by Murphy Anderson

Arguably, the sleek stylish sci-fi looks of Gil Kane– along with those of Carmine Infantino– are what gave birth to DC’s Silver Age of comics.

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Tales to Astonish #75, Story B

Not All My Power Can Save Me!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: October 5, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Layouts: Jack Kirby
Illustrations: M. Demeo
Lettering: S. Rosen
Enjoying: That’s your job, pussycat!
10 pages

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At last I got somethin’ to smash out against… somethin’ to fight… a chance to do the thing I can do better than anything that lives!

This picks up right where the last issue left off, though we paused for a bit since reading the last issue and since reading the earlier half of this comic.

Hulk had just acquired the Ultimate Machine for the Leader from the Watcher’s world. Leader’s attempt to use the machine resulted in his death.

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Tales of Suspense #76, Story B

The Gladiator, the Girl, and the Glory!

Featuring: Captain America
Release: January 11, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Script: Smilin’ Stan Lee
Art: Jazzy Johnny Romita
Lettering: Adorable Artie Simek
10 pages

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Is this my destiny? To have been given a second chance at life– only to lose everything I ever held dear? First, it was Bucky, the greatest sidekick a man ever had! Then, those many years ago, I can still remember her– promising to wait– no matter how long it might be-! Now– when I thought I had found her reborn– I’ve lost her again! And perhaps this time– it will be– forever!

For a story that’s introducing a pretty woman to Cap’s world, the late John Romita seems like the perfect artist. Though the woman is barely in this comic.

In fact, we’ve seen John Romita’s work on Captain America before way back in the 1950s, in his early days as an artist.

Romita won’t be returning to Cap regularly. He’s just filling in for Kirby here. He’s already the regular artist on Daredevil and may be taking over another title soon.

Recall where we left off. This Agent of SHIELD may be the younger sister of Cap’s WWII sweetheart. We don’t know her name. She has Inferno 42 and is protecting it from Batroc, but doesn’t realize it’s cracked and set to destroy New York within half hour. Cap and Batroc have teamed up to save the city.

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