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Thor #131, Story B

The Warlock’s Eye!

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: June 2, 1966
Cover: August 1966
12 cents
Lee wrote it!
Kirby drew it!
Colletta inked it!
Simek lettered it!
5 pages

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So! Thou wouldst trifle with Volstagg? Know you that my very belly is more than a match for a dozen such as thee!

It’s been a minute. We were in the middle of the Harokin/Warlock’s Eye saga. I’ve decided not to worry about the flow of the Tales of Asgard feature, and just read them as back-ups to the Thor comics, as they were published. So because we paused Thor’s story in the main stories, we paused here.

But now it’s been 9 months and we need to remember things. Harokin has used the Warlock’s Eye to conquer Muspelheim. Thor looks enough like Harokin that he thinks he can disguise himself as Harokin and do some subterfuge.

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Wishing You a Happy New Year!

Enjoy 2024!

Welcome to 2024! Thanksgiving and Christmas time got a bit busy around here, so it’s been a bit now since we’ve seen an update. And I know you’re all as eager as I am to learn how Nick Fury and SHIELD deal with the menace of the Druid!

It’s a new year, and we’re hoping to get going strong again. Some very exciting Marvel stories coming up soon!

Strange Tales #142

Who Strikes At— SHIELD?

Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD
Release: December 9, 1965
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Stan Lee, writer! (Our answer to Bond)
Jack Kirby, penciller! (Our answer to UNCLE)
Mike Demeo, inker! (Our answer to Brand echh)
Artie Simek, letterer! (Our answer to Rosen)
12 pages

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We’re a team, blast it! We trained month after month ta live like a team– fight like a team– die like a team!

I’d like to open this post with a happy birthday to the issue’s artist, Jack Kirby. He would be 106 years old today.

The story breaks have become increasingly unclear. Last issue seemed to both end the Hydra saga and begin this Mentallo/Fixer saga we find ourselves embroiled in. We took a pause at the end of the last issue, so let’s recall where we were.

Hydra was finally defeated, the Supreme Hydra murdered by his own agents; Nick allowed his daughter Agent H to escape because he had a soft spot for her. We were then introduced to the “Thinkers”, SHIELD’s ESP division. Mentallo had been a former agent of this division, who had gone rogue. Mentallo decides to form an alliance with a villainous inventor called the Fixer. And Nick Fury realizes Mentallo must be stopped at all costs.

This issue opens with a robot out of control. Lee, as the narrator, lets us know this robot has nothing to do with the main story. Sometimes it feels as though he is offering his commentary on Kirby’s storytelling as we go.

But whatever, Stan. Check out Jack’s awesome robot design!

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Turning 60: Marvel’s Doctors

Two of Marvel’s best doctors celebrate their 60th anniversary today, having been introduced on April 9, 1963.

Happy birthday to Dr. Octopus and Dr. Strange! Both creations/co-creations (to varying degrees) of Steve Ditko with Stan Lee.

(The other most famous Doctor was expelled from University for occult experiments, which makes me question whether he even is a Doctor.)

In a nice bit of timing, we just this week read the best Dr. Octopus story.

Less happy holidays

It hasn’t been the merriest of Christmases, I fear. On Sunday after Christmas, my family and I went to see an obscure indie film in the cinemas, in which the protagonist had a secret revealed and thought he could avoid the consequences with the help of a wizard friend, but this led to enemies from other movies coming to his universe, and things escalated from there.

The movie was good and the day was going well until we returned to the car to find the window shattered and my backpack stolen, including my passport (relevant to my attempts to return home), and my laptop (relevant to this blog), as well as some comic books (like my Fantastic Four collection I was using to take notes on FF#39).

There is a lesson about making sure everything is backed up that I may or may not learn.

All my notes for this blog are in flat text files which I knew weren’t directly backed up. However, those notes have all been transferred to this blog itself (except for the next couple entries). So the information isn’t lost, though it’s not as accessible as in text form, and I’m going to need to extract it all.

However, I also had a spreadsheet file–which I thought was backed up in the cloud–that helps me organize my reading and all of this. The information I need in that spreadsheet is all in this blog, but not in as compact or accessible a form, and I’m really pretty lost until I reconstruct it. It’s my notes on reading order and release dates and my ratings and such.

This is almost certainly going to delay the next blog entry. So please be patient and check back in a few weeks. I’ll hopefully get a new passport and get home and see my cats and reconstruct my spreadsheet and get back to work soon enough. As always, thanks for reading!

Rest in peace, Greg Hatcher

I’d like to take a moment to talk about my friend Greg Hatcher, who passed away just a few days ago. I met him through the internet about 15 years ago in person at the occasional comic convention. We’ve remained friends through the years, and I’m a big fan of his columns about comics and pop culture.

In addition to his writing, he was a teacher who I know touched many students in significant ways. He was a voice of true compassion and enthusiasm in the comics community. We are worse off without him.

Please take the time to check out his column about comics and pulp novels at Atomic Junk Shop. He set the standard for what writing about comics should look like.

Also check out some of his fiction writing, mostly found in anthologies and featuring classic characters like Sherlock Holmes. But you can also find his own creations Dr. Fix-It or the Silver Riders in there. Greg Hatcher on Amazon.

Finally, Greg leaves behind Julie, the sweetest woman in the world. There is a GoFundMe page to help Julie deal with this time and all the burdens that come with it. Consider donating if you are able.

Wherever Greg is, I hope he’s finally finding the time to finish that stack of unread books.

Now what? Now I guess I go on to my next column and talk about some old comics. I think Greg would approve.

Strange Tales #120

The Torch Meets the Iceman!

Featuring: Human Torch
Release: February 11, 1964
Cover: May 1964
12 cents
Deftly written by: Stan Lee
Dazzlingly drawn by: Jack Kirby
Dramatically inked by: Dick Ayers
Distinctively lettered by: S. Rosen
14 pages

Been a little while since Kirby has deigned to draw a Human Torch story. I assume we owe his presence to the guest appearance of Iceman, just like a Captain America crossover motivated his last visit.

Mr. Fantastic notes the X-Men are hard to contact because nobody knows their identities. Iron Man was able to contact them just fine, and they all have access to a government-provided superhero communications network.

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Strange Tales #118, Story B

The Possessed!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: December 9, 1963
Cover: March 1964
12 cents
Written by: Magical Stan Lee
Drawn by: Mystical Steve Ditko
Lettered by: Mysterious Sam Rosen
8 pages

As we noted in the last post, this issue represents the first time Dr. Strange has appeared on the cover of a comic. He’s allotted a small horizontal strip at the bottom of the cover. He’s on his way to becoming a star.

We again see Dr. Strange’s adventures no longer bear the “Master of Black Magic” subtitle. In fact, I think the stories will soon stop using the phrase “black magic” completely, even though the first several issues mentioned it constantly.

We also get some “clever credits”. It seems to be Stan’s new thing. We just saw it in our last Fantastic Four story (released the same day) and we’ll see it again in other stories out this month.

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