Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp Release: May 5, 1964 Cover: August 1964 12 cents Written completely by: Stan Lee Illustrated neatly by: Dick Ayers Inked discreetly by: P. Reinman Lettered sweetly by: Art Simek 16 pages
Wasp notes it’s skiing season. This note is very important for chronologists. I myself haven’t paid close attention to seasons, but experts in this field think very hard about the seasons, and how they relate to the school years of Peter Parker and Johnny Storm. The Official Marvel Index to the Avengers notes this story takes place in February, likely with references like the “skiing season” quote in mind.
It’s now been two issues since Hank bought that engagement ring, but he hasn’t mentioned it again. The relationship drama is now centered around the amount of time he spends in his lab, to the neglect of his girlfriend. She complains he has a test tube instead of a heart.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: December 9, 1963 Cover: March 1964 12 cents Lovingly written by: Stan Lee Tenderly drawn by: Jack Kirby Heroically inked by: Geo. Bell Neatly lettered by: S. Rosen 23 pages
The most notable thing about this comic is the credits. “Lovingly written”, “Tenderly drawn”,… Stan is starting to insert a little creativity into that box. This will become a pretty regular thing for him. It begins here. The closest we’ve seen to any embellishment before was in the “Tales of Asgard” story from Journey Into Mystery #99, which was “Presented with pride…”.
The Fantastic Four pose for a photoshoot with Life Magazine. We’ll get to see Alex Ross’s rendering of a Life cover when we get to Marvels #2.
Featuring: Avengers Release: September 3, 1963 Cover: November 1963 Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inking: Paul Reinman 22 pages
Cover box of the second issue matches the first. Wasp is still left out. Ant-Man has not yet been updated to Giant-Man.
Now that Ant-Man is Giant-Man, his strength is at least vaguely in the same class as the rest of his male teammates. The giant-formula has not been shared with his partner, the Wasp. And will not be any time soon.
Thor comments on Hulk’s outfit. We saw a similar exchange in Avengers #1½.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: June 11, 1963 Cover: September 1963 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 21 pages
It’s perhaps cheating that I’ve seen so many later renderings of Super-Skrull, but hindsight being the new year, that’s not a great image of Super-Skrull on the cover. It suggests only that he has Human Torch powers. No hint that he has the powers of the entire Fantastic Four (well, no visual hint. I guess the text tells you). He should be rocky and flaming and stretching and invisible. My two cents. Though he’s also never rocky in the issue, just strong. But he should be rocky.
At this point, the earth has been invaded by about a dozen alien races this year. All of whom have given up and withdrawn entire fleets at the slightest hint of possible resistance. The Skrulls are the first to return, to try again after their ignoble defeat.
Their plan is to make an agent powerful enough to stop the Fantastic Four, reasoning it was the FF who defeated them before. But the Fantastic Four did not defeat the Skrulls, at least not with their powers. The Skrulls were scared off by pictures of monsters in comic books. So really, they should make an agent powerful enough to fight all the monsters that scared them away.
Featuring: Ant-Man and Wasp Release: May 2, 1963 Cover: August 1963 12 cents Plot: Stan Lee Script: H.E. Huntley Art: Don Heck 13 pages
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man/Giant-Man vol. 1.
We have met Cyclopes twicebefore. (Yes, I had to google how to make “Cyclops” plural.) It is not clear what connection if any this character has to those two. Dr. Pym notes that according to myth, there was a whole race of Cyclopes, who came from Thrace. Of course, this turns out to not be a real Cyclops, but a robot sent by alien invaders (basically identical to the Gargantus story). Perhaps the others we have met were real Cyclopes. Or perhaps all were sent by the same alien invaders.
This comic is most notable for introducing flying ants to Ant-Man. Riding a flying ant is a better way for him to keep up with Wasp than his catapult. It’s not clear it’s technically the introduction, as Ant-Man appears with flying ants in Fantastic Four #16, which was released a month earlier than this issue, but which I’ve decided to read after this one. Mainly because here he really seems to be meeting flying ants, whereas there he acts like riding flying ants is just something he does.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: February 12, 1963 Cover: May 1963 12 cents Story: Stan Lee Art: Steve Ditko 10 pages
I read this story in Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection vol. 1: Great Power. Scans are taken from Marvel Tales #139, a 1982 reprinting.
Spider-Man meets his 2nd elderly super-villain in a single issue!
OK, now I’ll have to admit that not every Spider-Man story is a masterpiece. But even at their worst, they’re a cut above. When the issues have an “A” and “B” story, it seems like the effort went into the “A” story.
Even here, we see a lot of the greatness at play. Steve Ditko’s art, of course. But also the coherence of the story, tangling together Peter Parker’s story seamlessly with Spider-Man’s.
The name “Cobbwell” brings to mind “cobweb”. Coincidence? Probably.
There is some type of rule that each of these superheroes must fend off an alien invasion by their second issue. It’s very out of place here.
The armor makes him a superhero and keeps his heart beating.
Iron Man Versus Gargantus! Featuring: Iron Man Release: January 10, 1963 Cover: April 1963 12 cents Plot: Stan Lee Script: R. Berns Art: J. Kirby Inking: D. Heck 13 pages
I read this story in Iron Man Omnibus vol. 1.
Most of the credits only get first initials, perhaps to fit on a line. The letterer John Duffy doesn’t even get an initial, referred to as “Duffi”. Heck was the primary artist on the first issue of Iron Man, though building off some initial character work by Kirby. Here, Heck is credited with inking over Kirby. But to my eye, this issue mostly reminds me more of Heck than Kirby.
The script is credited to “R. Berns”. The first time we’ve seen that name. In fact, I think it’s the first writing credits given to anybody except for Stan or his brother Larry. The scripter is Robert Bernstein, who used the pseudonym “R. Berns” for all of his Marvel work, as he was mostly known for his DC superhero work at the time. He’d been working in comics for at least 17 years at this point, and had worked with Lee before on western and war stories. But he’d spent the last 4 years working in superhero comics at DC, famously reviving Aquaman for the Silver Age, and adding Aqualad and Aquagirl to the cast (working with Ramona Fradon). His Superboy stories (with George Papp) introduced the menace of General Zod and other Kryptonian criminals imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, concepts that would make it into the 1978 Superman film and the 2013 reboot. And he transformed Congo Bill into Congorilla (alongside Howard Sherman). An impressive pedigree to join our crew.
We saw 18 months of superhero comics made almost entirely by 3 people. It wasn’t sustainable as the number of heroes continued to grow, so we’ve seen an infusion of new writers and artists in the last month, some filling in, some here to stay.
The Incredible Hulk vs The Metal Master Featuring: Hulk Release: January 3, 1963 Cover: March 1963 12 cents Story: Stan Lee Art: Steve Ditko 24 pages
I read this story in Incredible Hulk Omnibus vol. 1.
All good things must come to an end. Turns out things like this series also come to an end.
The great Steve Ditko takes over for Jack Kirby for the first full-length Hulk story since the second issue, and what is also the final issue of Incredible Hulk. Though no hint of that ending can be found in the cover or the letters pages. There simply isn’t an issue 7.
This Ditko guy draws a pretty good Hulk.
Perhaps it’s for the best. The first issue was one of the best comics we’ve read and showed so much potential. A dark psychological sci-fi drama, with elements of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. That potential was squandered on constant tweaks to the character, a series that had the feeling of throwing things at the wall until something stuck, then giving up when nothing stuck. It will take Steve Ditko to reshape the character into a more enduring form, but he won’t get a chance to do that now, as the series is being cancelled.
5th alien invasion. 2nd by shape-changing aliens. But who’s counting?
Trapped by the Carbon-Copy Man! Featuring: Thor Release: January 3, 1963 Cover: March 1963 12 cents Plot: Stan Lee Script: Larry Lieber Art: Al Hartley 13 pages
I read this comic in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor vol. 1.
As has been the theme of recent posts, Jack Kirby seems to be on a bit of a break, letting Al Hartley fill in on this Thor story. As far as I can tell, this is Hartley’s only credit for Marvel superheroes. He’d been working with Stan Lee for at least 14 years at this point, in a variety of genres. Most notably, he’d been working on Marvel’s Patsy Walker since 1958. He’s quoted as saying he was more comfortable in the humor and teen drama genres than the superhero genre.
Prisoners of Kurrgo, Master of Planet X It Came From the Skies!/Outlawed!/Bound for Planet X!/Twenty Four Hours Till Zero! Release: July 3, 1962 Cover: October 1962 12 cents Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Inker: Dick Ayers 24 pages
I read this comic in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1. Dick Ayers is credited within the omnibus, but not the issue itself.
It sounded incredible the first time, maybe even the second…
This is at least the fourth time aliens have come to earth in recent months, if you accept that all the stories we’ve been reading take place in the same continuity. The government may have covered up some of them, but the Toad Men broadcast their demands for surrender globally. There is no reason for a US military commander to be shocked by the appearance of a spaceship. Even if the Hulk and Thor stories were their own thing, the military guy should at least know the Skrulls attacked earth.
In general, I would prefer we move toward less scenes of characters being shocked by fantastic things. I prefer Betty’s observation from Incredible Hulk #1, recognizing that the world has fundamentally changed: “…with the strange and supernatural forces all around us, I feel as though we’re on the brink of some fantastic unimaginable adventure!” Or the phrasing from Marvels #0: “…the world would know the presence of the unnatural and extraordinary as part of reality.”
This issue concerns the Fantastic Four being summoned to Planet X to help prevent the world’s destruction.
