Coke & Comics

Avengers #27

Four Against the Floodtide!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: February 10, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Mad, mixed-up story by Stan Lee
Ickie, insane illustrations by Don Heck
Daffy, dizzy delineation by Frankie Ray
Loony, lampoony lettering by Artie Simek
20 pages

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Avengers #26	Reading order	Avengers #28
Avengers #26	Avengers	Avengers #28

Only a fool– or a liar– says he’s never afraid, Wanda!

A lot of plot threads to pick up on from last issue. Namor headed to New York (though we’ve already seen how that plays out in the pages of Tales to Astonish). Dr. Pym busy with research on ship. Other Avengers captured in attempt to rescue Wasp. Attuma engaging them in trial combat to impress men, as the sea poured in. Hawkeye in a coma attempting to remember his password. A mysterious figure in the shadows. Wasp has escaped Atttuma but her fate is unknown.

The password thing is quite funny. People forget their passwords at work and need to call IT support to get it reset. No such backup here. Hawkeye must hook himself up to a fancy memory-jogging machine.

But the number he couldn’t remember was 1313. How hard is that? It’s not like the password was something actually secure like _b9<Jgu_X^TZDS.

Avengers #26

The Voice of the Wasp!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: January 11, 1966
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Incredible script by: Stan Lee
Inconceivable art by: Don Heck
Indescribable inking by: Frank Ray
Indelible lettering by: Artie Simek
20 pages

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Tales to Astonish #80	Reading order	Avengers #27
Avengers #25	Avengers	Avengers #27

He endures so much– to hold the Avengers together! And yet– none can help him! He walks– alone!

A recap. Giant-Man and the Wasp left the Avengers in Avengers #16. Then in Tales to Astonish #69, they agreed it was time to retire from superheroing and work on their relationship. And presumably on Pym’s scientific interests as well. Flash forward to Tales to Astonish #77 and Hank’s experiments involve drilling into the ocean to learn the secrets of life. These experiments are wreaking havoc on Namor’s domain. This leads to conflict. Namor breaks their equipment and then decides to head to New York. In a nonsensical plot decision, Jan decides to become the Wasp once more to race Namor across the ocean to New York. But she’s the size of a wasp, and can presumably fly at about the speed of a wasp. She obviously can’t cross an ocean. But she tries anyway.

Unsurprisingly, we haven’t heard from her since. Surprisingly, we will hear from her again.

I’d like to start thinking about something as we read the next several Avengers comics. At some point very soon, the Fantastic Four are going to fight a massive global threat, one the Avengers probably should have helped them with. The Avengers do not show up to help, which implies the Avengers are busy. So let’s be on the lookout for where the Avengers might be at the time that they don’t notice a very noticeable world-ending threat.

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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Tales to Astonish #79, Story B	Reading order	Avengers #26
Tales to Astonish #79, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #80, Story B

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.

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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Tales to Astonish #79	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #80
Tales to Astonish #79	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #80

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.

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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Tales to Astonish #78, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #79, Story B
Tales to Astonish #78, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #79, Story B

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.

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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Tales to Astonish #78	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #79
Tales to Astonish #78	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #79

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?

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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Tales to Astonish #77, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #78, Story B
Tales to Astonish #77, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #78, Story B

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.

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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Tales to Astonish #77	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #78
Tales to Astonish #77	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #78

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.

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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Tales to Astonish #76, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #77, Story B
Tales to Astonish #76, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #77, Story B

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.

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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Tales to Astonish #75, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #77
Tales to Astonish #76	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #77

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.

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.