betty ross – Coke & Comics

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 #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 #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 #75, Story B

Not All My Power Can Save Me!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: October 5, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Layouts: Jack Kirby
Illustrations: M. Demeo
Lettering: S. Rosen
Enjoying: That’s your job, pussycat!
10 pages

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Tales of Suspense #76, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #76, Story B
Tales to Astonish #75	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #76

At last I got somethin’ to smash out against… somethin’ to fight… a chance to do the thing I can do better than anything that lives!

This picks up right where the last issue left off, though we paused for a bit since reading the last issue and since reading the earlier half of this comic.

Hulk had just acquired the Ultimate Machine for the Leader from the Watcher’s world. Leader’s attempt to use the machine resulted in his death.

Tales to Astonish #70, Story B

To Live Again!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: May 4, 1965
Cover: August 1965
12 cents
Take a Stan Lee story,
add Jack Kirby artwork,
mix with Mickey Demeo inking,
and Artie Simek lettering…
Presto! Instant confusion!
10 pages

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Tales to Astonish #70	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #71
Tales to Astonish #70	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #71

And the madder I get, the stronger I get–!

A little surprising this series is continuing since last issue ended with Bruce Banner dead. But then, the title of this issue is “To Live Again!” So maybe we shouldn’t give up on him.

We’d probably have gotten around to this story sooner if I hadn’t just assumed he was dead and it was over. Now I’m beginning to think this Hulk guy is Immortal.

Plus, the threat of the Leader still looms.

Are we going back to the days of the constantly changing status quos for Hulk? We’d been able to hold on to this one for an entire dozen issues. Now we’re back to: always Hulk, Banner’s mind. Perhaps all creators except for Ditko struggle with how to deal with a non-heroic protagonist.

Tales to Astonish #68, Story B

Back from the Dead!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: March 4, 1965
Cover: June 1965
12 cents
Story and art by Marvel’s modern masters: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Inking: Mickey Demeo
Lettering: Artie Simek
10 pages

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Tales to Astonish #68	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #69
Tales to Astonish #68	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #69

With Ditko off the title, Kirby is back to take another shot at his co-creation. Stan shares the top billing with Jack for this triumphant return. The original Lee/Kirby run on Hulk lasted 5 issues. This one will make it around 15 or so. I’m expecting it to be largely immemorable.

We open with a trick out of the Ditko run. The last issue ended with Banner facing impending death and transforms to the Hulk just in time to be saved. Banner and Talbot are falling to their death when Banner transforms.

Hulk crosses the Pacific with leaps. Isle to isle, plane to plane.

That’s… a very long distance, even if you can jump very far. Maybe there are enough islands between Japan and Hawaii to hopscotch it, but it’s 2500 miles from Hawaii to California with nothing in between.

We check in with the Leader, still scheming.

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

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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 #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

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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.

PRELUDE: Young Allies #4

The Most Amazing Story of All Time…

Featuring: Young Allies
Release: June 17, 1942
Cover: Summer 1942
10 cents
Script and editorial: Stan Lee
Illustrated by: Al Gabriele
45 pages

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Captain America Comics #16, Story D	Prelude	Captain America Comics #37, Story C
Sgt. Fury #16	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #65

Let’s begin by noting this is not the most amazing story of all time. This is an awful series and nobody should read it. Least of all me.

This story drags on for 45 bloody pages. At least it’s not as bad as the last one we read. And it’s actually a much faster and smoother read than the first issue. Perhaps that’s Stan Lee’s scripting at work.

We noted last time how awful all the characters are, so we’ll just try to skip to the Red Skull stuff this time.

I’m including this story only because the continuity remains pretty tight, and I do want us to be able to untangle Red Skull’s contradictory appearances intelligently.

PRELUDE: Captain America Comics #7

The Case of the Red Skull and the Whistling Death

Featuring: Captain America
Release: August 4, 1941
Cover: October 1941
10 cents
Art and editorial by: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
13 pages

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Young Allies #1	Prelude	Captain America Comics #16, Story D
Sgt. Fury #16	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #65

We’re well into Captain America’s adventures, but it’s worth noting this still predates America’s entry into World War II.

The Red Skull’s modus operandi has all been variations on a theme so far. Originally, he had a death gaze; he killed you by looking you. (It turned out he was also injecting you with a poison while he looked at you.) Then, the death touch; he killed you by touching you. (It turned out his glove was electrified and shocked his victims to death.)

Now… the tune he plays on his flute is deadly.

This time, the explanation is simpler. Red Skull whistles Chopin’s Funeral March, but then just shoots the guy.