Coke & Comics

Tales to Astonish #67

The Mystery of the Hidden Man and his Rays of Doom!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: February 4, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
Way-out story by: Stan Lee
Ring-a-ding art by: Bob Powell
Singin’ inkin’ by: Chic Stone
Boss balloons by: Artie Simek
12 pages

Previous	#352	Next
Tales to Astonish #66, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #67, Story B
Tales to Astonish #66, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #67, Story B

We need to recall that everything is happening almost concurrently. The X-Men fight the Stranger and then Juggernaut. The Fantastic Four fight the Frightful Four and get lost at sea. The Avengers fight the Masters of Evil, then disband, then get replaced by the New Avengers. Thor fights Absorbing Man, then faces the Trial of the Gods, then the Destroyer. Hulk faces a series of villains controlled by the Leader.

These all overlap to some extent.

We’ve just caught up on 4 months of Hulk stories in this title. We’d been keeping up with the Giant-Man stories, but skipping the Hulk ones. Now we’re caught up to both. The Huk’s saga is continuing, so we’ll read the next 3 issues together.

That’s commentary on when these Giant-Man/Wasp stories take place. They fit better before Avengers #15 or perhaps in the middle of Avengers #16, before Giant-Man and Wasp announce their retirement (page 6). When the Avengers disbanded, it sure looked like Giant-Man and Wasp wanted a break from superheroing. These next 3 issues we are about to read are published concurrently with Avengers #15-17.

Tales to Astonish #66, Story B

The Power of Doctor Banner!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: January 5, 1965
Cover: April 1965
12 cents
Power-packed script by: Stan Lee
Hard-hitting art by: Steve Ditko
Two-fisted inking by: Vince Colletta
Silken-soft lettering by: Art Simek
10 pages

Previous	#351	Next
Tales to Astonish #65, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #67
Tales to Astonish #66	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #67

We are almost up to date with our Hulk stories. This is the last issue where we’d read the Giant-Man/Wasp stories in the past.

We just had a discussion about how Colleta’s inking over Kirby.

How do we feel about Colletta over Ditko? The answer is that we dislike all inkers over Ditko. Ditko is best when inking himself. However, the final artwork here looks close enough to Ditko work. Ditko must have done tight pencils. So we don’t hate it. But we don’t prefer it.

Tales to Astonish #65, Story B

On the Rampage Against the Reds!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: December 3, 1964
Cover: March 1965
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee (our faithful writer!)
Drawn by: Steve Ditko (our reliable artist!)
Inked by: Dick Ayers (our dependable inker!)
Lettered by: S. Rosen (our other letterer!)
10 pages

Previous	#350	Next
Tales to Astonish #64, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #66, Story B
Tales to Astonish #65	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #66

Our saga continues. Stan offers a recap. Hulk and Talbot are on Astra Isle with a new nuclear device of Dr. Banner’s. Hulk is fighting the Leader’s humanoids and a Marine task force is closing in.

We know now that strain triggers the transformation. When Dr. Banner feels strain, he turns into the Hulk. And when the Hulk feels too much strain, he turns back into Dr. Banner.

Now that Roussos has moved on, Ditko will have rotating inkers to finish off his run on the Hulk. Of course, Ditko’s work looks its best when he inks himself.

The cliffhanger of last issue resolves by page 2 as Hulk and the Humanoids fall into the ocean.

This leads to the actual plot of this issue. Banner is rescued by a Soviet sub and taken to an unnamed Soviet country as a prisoner.

Tales to Astonish #64, Story B

The Horde of Humanoids!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: November 3, 1964
Cover: February 1964
12 cents
Written with the sparkling skill of Stan Lee!
Drawn with the peerless power of Steve Ditko!
Inked with the classic clarity of George Bell!
Lettered with the TV set on by: Artie Simek
10 pages

Previous	#349	Next
Tales to Astonish #63, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #65, Story B
Tales to Astonish #64	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #65

Recall we read the Giant-Man/Wasp story in this issue a while back, but we’ve saved the Hulk stories for a big push.

Interesting that Stan refers to this as “the only super-hero soap opera”. I feel like that phrase with epitomize Marvel comics for decades to come.

I think it’s time to bid farewell to George Roussos, one of the most prominent inkers of our early reading, always under the pseudonym George Bell (oft abbreviated to Geo. Bell). We’ve read almost 50 stories with his inks, including Fantastic Four, Sgt. Fury, Iron Man, Thor, Human Torch, Giant-Man/Wasp, and Hulk stories. He’s off to do other work. He’ll return to Marvel in the 1970s and become one of Marvel’s most prominent colorists. He’s also been coloring much of the work we’ve been reading, but I’ve read most of his stories in recolored reprints, so miss out.

We open with Banner in jail, suspected of treason. He is taking tranquilizer pills to keep himself from transforming. Remember, it’s now strain that triggers the transformation.

Tales to Astonish #63, Story B

A Titan Rides the Train!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: October 1, 1964
Cover: January 1965
12 cents
Only Stan Lee could have written this monumental masterpiece!
Only Steve Ditko could have drawn these powerful panels!
Only Geo. Bell could have inked this sensational saga!
Only S. Rosen would have lettered his name S. Rosen!
10 pages

Previous	#348	Next
Journey Into Mystery #119, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #64, Story B
Tales to Astonish #63	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #64

We’re nominally on the March books, but we just got up to June with Thor comics and July with X-Men, and now we need to go back to October of 1964 for Hulk stories.

We read the first story of this issue a while back. We’ve been skipping the Hulk stories because they are so intertwined with each other. Hulk is in the middle of a saga that really began in issue 60. We’re going to try to do the whole saga in something like three chunks.

Let’s review the story so far.

Dr. Bruce Banner is a weapons builder on a military base who is frequently absent. General Thunderbolt Ross has little patience for Banner and is uspet his daughter Betty seems so fond of the “weakling”. Of course, Bruce is also the Hulk. He recently decided that strain was the trigger of his uncontrollable changes into a monster with its own personality.

Dr. Banner has built a robotic suit, but a spy has stolen it. Hulk fights the spy in the robot suit. After a couple encounters, the robot is tossed into a bottomless pit.

Major Glen Talbot has been hired as the chief of security, with a particular remit to look into Dr. Banner’s strange behavior and any connection between Banner and the Hulk. He also seems fond of Betty, and the General would much prefer his daughter choose someone like the Major.

Hulk finds himself captured by the military. Rick has been spending time with Captain America and the Avengers, but still feels a debt to the Hulk. He returns to the New Mexico military base and helps Dr. Banner escape the military. This was likely before the Avengers’ battle with Immortus.

We learn the spy was working for someone named the Leader, whose face we do not see. Since the spy failed, the Leader dispatches the Chameleon to investigate what happened. When the Hulk foils Chameleon’s plans, Leader decides to get personally involved. He has just perfected a creation called the Humanoid.

And that’s where we left off.

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.

Journey Into Mystery #119, Story B

Gather, Warriors!

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: June 1, 1965
Cover: August 1965
12 cents
Written with gallantry by: Stan Lee
Drawn with greatness by: Jack Kirby
Inked with grandeur by: Vince Colletta
Lettered with a straight face by: Artie Simek
5 pages

Previous	#347	Next
Journey Into Mystery #119	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #63, Story B
Journey Into Mystery #119	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #120

Third chapter of the Odinsword Saga. Loki and Thor are almost ready to begin their quest to discover who has broken the Oversword of Asgard.

Loki has more new recruits. His last recruit tried to assassinate Thor.

Journey Into Mystery #119

The Day of the Destroyer!

Featuring: Thor
Release: June 1, 1965
Cover: August 1965
12 cents
Who but Stan Lee could have written this tale?
Who but Jack Kirby could have drawn it?
Who but Vince Colletta could have inked it?
Who but Artie Simek could be called Artie Simek?
16 pages

Previous	#346	Next
Mystic Comics #6	PRELUDE
Journey Into Mystery #118, Story B	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #119, Story B
Journey Into Mystery #118, Story B	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #119, Story B

Interesting grid layout for the cover. Haven’t seen too many of those from Kirby. I’m guessing that’s because something went very wrong here. As all four cover panels are just taken from the interior art.

Either Kirby didn’t finish a cover or his cover was rejected. This looks like somebody scrambling at the last minute to get something, anything on the cover before the book got printed.

This is the June issue of Thor. We’ve read almost consecutively since January and are now 3 months ahead of the rest of our reading. We’re going to pause after this issue, despite the inconclusiveness of the ending. We need to check in on our other heroes. Because we’re mostly in March with our reading, I don’t want to worry too much about June things right now. Like, let’s not focus on the fact that “Marvel Comics Group” has apparently become “Marvel Pop Art Productions”. We’ll reflect on that when we reach June properly.

For now, a recap. Loki has helped an evil and unnamed hunter locate the Temple of Darkness, which housed the Destroyer, a mindless being imbued with the power of Odin who would one day defend Earth in its hour of need. The Destroyer took the hunter’s mind, and has awakened too early, and thinks Thor is who it’s meant to destroy.

It’s already destroyed his hammer.

But Thor really just wants to bring his bag of Norn Stones to Odin to prove Loki cheated in the Trial of the Gods. All-wise, all-seeing Odin is not aware of these Stones because he’s currently taking a nap.

Loki likes to torment Thor, but is afraid his latest scheme will result in Thor’s death. He doesn’t mind Thor being dead, but fears the punishment of Odin if he is blamed. He has thus attempted to wake Odin and save Thor, but was thrown in prison for it.

Whew. That’s where we left off.

Oh, and the Destroyer was moments away from killing Thor, and still is.

PRELUDE: Mystic Comics #6

The Destroyer

Featuring: The Destroyer
Release: July 31, 1941
Cover: October 1941
10 cents
Story by: Stan Lee
By: Jack Binder
15 pages

Previous		Next
Journey Into Mystery #118, Story B	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #119

We just met the Thor villain, the Destroyer. It seems a good time to look back to Marvel’s original Destroyer, an early Stan Lee co-creation from 1941.

He is introduced in Mystic Comics #6. You may recall we’ve already read the story from Mystic Comics #4 which introduced the original Black Widow.

In our normal 1965 reading, we just saw Thor take his part in the Vietnam War. Marvel was willing to take a clear stand in a conflict. The Vietnam War is a much more controversial one amongst Americans, and Lee’s take in that story was entirely in line with US policy.

This story takes a clear stance against the Nazis, something historically less controversial, but that was not at the time well-aligned with US policy. And US opinion on the war in Europe was far from homogeneous when this was released in July 1941.

Stan describes a war between democracy and dictatorship, and the Destroyer is a hero who will specifically destroy the Nazi hordes.

Germany is then criticized for a lack of press freedom, claiming only German official propaganda is released, and that the truth is being hidden.

Journey Into Mystery #118, Story B

The Crimson Hand!

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: May 4, 1965
Cover: July 1965
12 cents
Story by: Stan Lee the legend teller!
Art by: Jack Kirby the legend maker!
Inking by: Vince Colletta the legend portrayer!
Lettering by: Sam Rosen the letterer!
5 pages

Previous	#345	Next
	PRELUDE	Mystic Comics #6
Journey Into Mystery #118	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #119
Journey Into Mystery #118	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #119

This is the second part of what I’ll dub the “Odinsword Saga”. Unlike most sagas which we’ll try to read all together, I’ve deemed this one reads best one chapter at a time, as the backups to the main Thor feature.

To recap, warriors of Asgard were getting restless, when Odin revealed the Oversword was broken, and directed Thor and Loki to go on a quest to learn who was responsible.

Now Thor is visiting Morduk the map maker.

Is that candle holder a monstrous hand? That’s cool.

Morduk warns Thor’s course will take him… into the unknown.