Coke & Comics

Thor #126

Whom the Gods Would Destroy!

Featuring: Thor
Release: January 4, 1966
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Stan Lee the literary lion!
Jack Kirby the pencilling pussycat!
V. Colletta the delineating dragon!
Artie Simek the lettering looks it!
16 pages

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Journey Into Mystery #125, Story B	Reading order	Thor #126, Story B
	Thor	Thor #126, Story B

“By the cloven hooves of Pan!! What doth it take to defeat the Son of Odin!??!” “A stronger arm! A stouter heart! A nobler soul! And none doth Hercules possess, thou blabbering, blustering, boastful buffoon!”

This is the first issue of Thor. It’s also the 126th issue of Thor.

Which is a little confusing. Last month (well, last week for us), we read Journey Into Mystery #125, which starred Thor, as it has for the last 40+ issues. Now the comic will just be called Thor.

Why not call it Thor #1?

For complicated and probably shady legal and financial reasons, they found it more sensible to keep the numbering of the old magazine.

Thor’s name has been prominent on cover going back to issue 104. But it’s no longer “Journey Into Mystery with the Mighty Thor”. It’s just: “The Mighty Thor”. The official title as seen in the indicia is simply “Thor”.

Starting a new superhero title that keeps the numbering of the horror title will become a common practice… though not soon. We’ll talk more at the end of this post about Marvel’s history of naming comics. Let’s get into the comic, starting with the title.

Journey Into Mystery #125, Story B

The Queen Commands

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: December 2, 1965
Cover: February 1966
12 cents
None but Marvel’s Stan Lee could tell such a tale!
None but Marvel’s Jack Kirby could draw such a tale!
None but Marvel’s Vince Colletta could ink such a tale!
None but Marvel’s Artie Simek could be such a pussycat!
5 pages

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Journey Into Mystery #125	Reading order	Thor #126
Journey Into Mystery #125	Journey Into Mystery

We seek no needless battle– though we surrender to none!

“By the bristling beard of Odin”, says the Narrator. An oath Thor exclaimed in the first part of this issue.

Journey Into Mystery #125

When Meet the Immortals!

Featuring: Thor
Release: December 2, 1965
Cover: February 1966
12 cents
Bombastically written by: Stan Lee
Brilliantly drawn by: Jack Kirby
Beautifully inked by: Vince Colletta
Bashfully lettered by: Artie Simek
16 pages

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Journey Into Mystery #124, Story B	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #125, Story B
Journey Into Mystery #124, Story B	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #125, Story B

But even a Thunder God has the right to love!

We come to Thor’s final adventure in Journey Into Mystery, the series concluding after 125 issues. We’ll see next month what they have instead. Such a finale would be a good time for an overview of the series as a whole, but I gave a summary to celebrate the 100th issue, so I’ll just point to that. It may even spoil what’s coming next month.

“By the bristling beard of Odin,” Thor exclaims. We’ll start hearing that oath a lot. Have we heard it before? I failed to note it if we did.

Thor’s battle with the Demon concludes pretty readily and Thor takes the final Norn Stone to return to Odin.

The Saga of Adam Warlock

I’d like to read through the story of Adam Warlock in the comics, inspired by his role in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. I made it through about 15 years of his history, at which point he seemed to be dead, so I stopped there.

We’ll also check in on some characters inexorably intertwined with his story, including High Evolutionary, Thanos, Drax the Destroyer, Captain Marvel, and Moondragon. As well as Six Gems that seem quite powerful.

Journey Into Mystery #124, Story B

Closer Comes the Swarm!

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: November 4, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
How gallant, this script by: Stan Lee
How glorious, this artwork by: Jack Kirby
How gracious, this inking by: Vince Colletta
How come? This lettering by: Artie Simek
5 pages

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Journey Into Mystery #124	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #125
Journey Into Mystery #124	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #125

Is it not passing strange that the Grim One– the taker of countless lives in battle–should be so eager to protect the single life of Balder?

Ah, the Odinsword Saga. I made the decision not to read the whole thing at once, but that means we need to remind ourselves where we left off. In theory, the impetus for the Saga is that an unknown enemy has cracked the Odinsword, and Thor is leading a voyage to find the culprit. Along the way, Loki schemes to kill Thor, and the voyage encounters obstacles unrelated to the main quest. They just resolved one, involving a Dragon and Balder blowing a Horn. This issue introduces another such obstacle.

Journey Into Mystery #124

The Grandeur and the Glory!

Featuring: Thor
Release: November 4, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Story by: Stan (The Man) Lee
Pencilling by: Jack (King) Kirby
Delineation by: Vince (the Prince) Colletta
Lettering by: Artie (Sugar Lips) Simek
16 pages

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Daredevil #14	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #124, Story B
Journey Into Mystery #123, Story B	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #124, Story B

“Those arms of his can crush concrete! And yet!–“
“He’s holdin’ that kid as gently as if she was made outta egg-shells.”

Stan has a different nickname for the creators every issue it seems. But this is not the first time he’s referred to himself as “The Man” and to Jack as “King”, and these nicknames are the ones that will stick with them across the decades. Despite its rhyming qualities, “Vince the Prince” will not stick. I have no comment on the prevalence of this nickname for Artie.

The newsstand is selling the latest issue of Strange Tales, emphasizing what I’ve noted before: just how great a month for comics this is, perhaps the best in Marvel’s history.

Thor is reading a newspaper which is reporting on the Demon. As we’ve noted, there are no really clear stopping points in Thor’s saga anymore. Most ongoing threads resolved last issue, except last issue also began this Demon story, which is still just getting started; Thor and the Demon will finally meet in this issue’s final panels. That story involves a Vietnamese Witch Doctor finding a Norn Stone, so ultimately still traces back to the Trial of the Gods from issue 116 and Thor’s battle with the Viet Cong in issue 117. Jane remains in the hospital from smoke inhalation after being kidnapped by Harris Hobbs, as we saw in issue 122. While the Demon saga will resolve itself next issue, this issue, as the cover notes, also introduces Hercules to the mix, and a story which will continue on. The last year of Thor tales have covered a very short span of time.

Daredevil #14

If This Be Justice…!

Featuring: Daredevil
Release: January 4, 1966
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Pencilling: John Romita
Inking: Frankie Ray
Lettering: Artie Simek
20 pages

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Daredevil #13	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #124
Daredevil #13	Daredevil	Daredevil #15

There it is– the most valuable ore of all time!

The kids are growing up. After two issues with Kirby layouts, Lee is ready to let Romita stand on his own feet and draw the comic from scratch, which likely means a lot of the plotting for this issue is also owed to Romita. Frank Giacoia is brought in to finish.

This will wrap up the Ka-Zar saga. Bit of a recap of the key points. Ka-Zar and the Plunderer are brothers. Ka-Zar’s original name was Kevin Plunder. Their father Lord Plunder had been an explorer who discovered a Vibrating Ore with strange and powerful properties. The secret of the mound lies in having the completed medallion that he gave half of to each son.

Plunderer has brought Ka-Zar and Daredevil to his castle in England, and called the local authorities on them, taking advantage of his nobility to accuse them of murder.

Daredevil #13

The Secret of Ka-Zar’s Origin!

Featuring: Daredevil
Release: December 12, 1965
Cover: February 1966
12 cents
Dastardly story by: Stan Lee
Demonic layouts by: Jack Kirby
Devastating artwork by: John Romita
Dilapidated lettering by: Sam Rosen
20 pages

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Daredevil #12	Reading order	Daredevil #14
Daredevil #12	Daredevil	Daredevil #14

No man is ever helpless… not while he lives… not while he dares!

The title promises the secret of Ka-Zar’s origin. The narration seems to hedge a bit, promising only new clues to his origin.

Recall, we had a bit of confusion last time. In name and appearance, Ka-Zar appears to be a character we’d met long before. David Rand, a jungle lord in the Congo introduced in Marvel Comics #1. This Ka-Zar looks the same and also goes by Ka-Zar, but lives in a hidden dinosaur-laden land in Antarctica. Is this Ka-Zar David Rand? And if so, how did we get to Antarctica?

We left off with Ka-Zar in peril from a plant and Daredevil in peril from Maa-Gor, last of the Ape Men, whom we met alongside Ka-Zar in X-Men #10.

Daredevil #12

Sightless, in a Savage Land!

Featuring: Daredevil
Release: November 4, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Layouts: Jack Kirby
Lettering: Sam Rosen
.. and introducing: the matchless artistic wizardry of Marvel’s newest, and most eagerly-awaited, illustrator… the inimitable John Romita!
20 pages

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Sgt. Fury #26	Reading order	Daredevil #13
Daredevil #11	Daredevil	Daredevil #13

Ka-Zar have you, Zabu… Need no other! You are wisest… bravest… swiftest of all!

John Romita’s arrival is greeted enthusiastically by Stan. Kirby does layouts, as is common when welcoming new artists, as Stan doesn’t yet trust their storytelling chops (or his own).

Daredevil has a lack stability with revolving doors of legendary superstar artists. Bill Everett only made it one issue because he struggled with deadlines. Joe Orlando left after 3 issues because he got angry with Stan. Wally Wood left after 5 issues because he got angry with Stan. Good luck, John.

We’ve seen John Romita before in our “Prelude” posts. He was a regular artist on Captain America’s short-lived 1950s revival. His art has improved a lot in the intervening 10 years. He found his niche with the romance genre, and then left comics for a successful career in advertising. He draws good-looking people, in a way that artists like Kirby and Ditko don’t. Stan talked him into coming back to comics.

We talked about Romita’s career when we read Captain America #78. This is his new regular gig as a main artist at Marvel, but we’d seen him before providing finishes for Don Heck in Avengers #23, released 3 months earlier.

The story picks up where last issue left off, with Matt leaving Nelson & Murdock. The characters have lots of thoughts. Matt is leaving to let Foggy and Karen be together. Karen is sad because she loves Matt. Foggy thinks Matt is his best friend, but is happy that Karen can now be his. Matt doesn’t recognize that Karen loves him; he thinks her affection is just pity for a blind man. Matt books an ocean cruise to the other side of the world.

Sgt. Fury #26

Dum Dum Does It the Hard Way!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: November 11, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Written with block-buster force by Stan Lee!
Drawn with machine-gun power by Dick Ayers!
Inked with dive-bomber impact by Carl Hubbell!
Lettered with bloodshot eyes by Artie Simek!
20 pages

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Tales of Suspense #76	Reading order	Daredevil #12
Sgt. Fury #25	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #27

Sweet dreams, Master Race!!

We last saw Dum Dum two issues back. He was wounded in America and sent to the hospital. The Howlers couldn’t wait for him because they were urgently recalled to base to battle (maybe) the Red Skull. Dum Dum was in for a worse fate, because his wife and mother-in-law were going to visit him in the hospital.

This will be Dum Dum’s chance to shine in a largely solo feature.

We see the rest of the team in the beginning for a mission brief that fills us in on what Dum Dum has been up to since his recovery.