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X-Men #14

Among Us Stalks.. The Sentinels!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: September 2, 1965
Cover: November 1965
12 cents
Stan Lee, D.S. (Doctor of Story)
Jack Kirby, D.L. (Dean of Layout)
Jay Gavin, M.A. (Master of Art)
V. Colletta, B.I. (Bachelor of Inking)
Artie Simek, T.O.L. (Tired of Lettering)
20 pages

Previous	#401	Next
Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1	Postlude
Fantastic Four Annual 3	Reading order	X-Men #15
X-Men #13	X-Men	X-Men #15

The world must be shocked! The danger was never greater! We’ve been so busy worrying about cold wars, hot wars, atom bombs and the like, that we’ve overlooked the greatest menace of all! Mutants walk among us! Hidden! Unknown! Waiting–! –Waiting for their moment to strike! They are mankind’s most deadly enemy! For only they have the actual power to conquer the human race! Even as we speak, they are out there– scheming, plotting, planning– thinking we don’t suspect! But– there is still time to smash them! If we strike now!

We just read the wedding of Reed and Sue, followed by a retelling of the story form 1996. The retelling focused on a child named Mark caught up in the chaos. A child wearing a Fantastic Four t-shirt who idolized the superheroes, but was afraid of the X-Men, because they were mutants.

We’ll soon read Marvels #2, which will focus on this central dichotomy. The inspiration for Marvels #2 came from Kurt Busiek looking at the same continuity we are now. The X-Men attended a wedding, all seeming in good shape. But we know that the X-Men battled the Stranger and Juggernaut in a single day, and then were badly injured for a period of time. We further know, because Human Torch helped the X-Men battle Juggernaut, that the wedding had not yet occurred. As we read the coming issues, we will see the X-Men’s adventures leave them little space for a wedding after this issue.

The X-Men must attend the wedding within the pages of this issue. This issue affords them only a space of a couple days between getting their bandages removed and getting captured by the Sentinels. Thus we know very tightly when the wedding occurred.

The wedding was a big media circus. Celebrities like Tony Stark and Millie the Model were in attendance. The Fantastic Four fan club was outside cheering. It was front page news.

The Fantastic Four are celebrities and people love them.

On the days surrounding the wedding, Trask would go on the radio to talk about the mutant menace. And the public listened and took him seriously, and was sympathetic with his plan to create mutant-hunting robots to destroy the mutant scourge.

It’s a very strange dichotomy. The Fantastic Four gained their powers through cosmic accident. The X-Men were born with theirs, perhaps because their parents had been exposed to nuclear radiation. The “Children of the Atom”. That difference seems so insignificant, and yet, this is exactly how bigotry works.

We’ll explore this dichotomy further when we get to Marvels #2.

These continuity considerations and thematic contrast are why we’re reading this X-Men arc now, two months early. The FF wedding issue was released the same day as X-Men #13, which noted the wedding was “soon”. X-Men has been published bi-monthly, which doesn’t help. But we see on the cover that X-Men is now monthly, so we’ll have less alignment trouble in the future.

The issue opens with the X-Men recovering from the injuries left by the Juggernaut.

We see Professor X remind Beast not to think of “normal” humans as inferior. Probably they should find better language than to refer to one group of people as “normal”.

POSTLUDE: Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1

For Better and For Worse!

Featuring: Everybody
Release: August 21, 1996
Cover: October 1996
$2.95
Scintillating script by Stan Lee
Prurient plot by Fabian Nicieza
Pulse-pounding pencils by Sal Buscema, John Buscema, John Romita, Sr., Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, Marie Severin & Ron Frenz
Incredible inks by Tom Palmer, Joe Sinnott, Terry Austin, Bill Reinhold, Marie Severin & Al Milgrom
Kaleidoscopic colors by John Kalisz (with perfect page one and colossal cover coloring by Paul Becton)
Lascivious letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft/ad
Effervescent edits by Matt Idelson
Aching assistant edits by Paul Tutrone
Evil editing-in-chiefing by Bob Harras
Very special thanks to: Mariano Nicieza, Darren Auck, Scott Koblish, Gil Kane, The Raiders, and the many terrific talents of the Mighty Marvel Bullpen
Based on Fantastic Four Annual #3 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
48 pages

Previous		Next
Fantastic Four Annual 3	Reading order	X-Men #14

Just between us, Alicia– I’ve been ready ever since I met the man!

I’m not trying to include too many POSTLUDE entries, but don’t have a clear standard for when I do. Having a copy of the comic in my living room as opposed to in storage somewhere is a good motivator. Plus, I actively used this comic as a reference when making my Fantastic Four Annual post, in deciding who might have been present at the wedding but off-panel.

Heroes & Legends is a loving retelling of the wedding of Sue and Reed from 1996, by continuity nerd Fabian Nicieza with a rotating cast of classic artists and a script by Stan Lee.

We know Steve Ditko very well by this point. We’ve seen some early work of John Romita, but he’s just about to join our regular cast of artists. Gene Colan just started drawing Namor’s adventures. Marie Severin has been working behind the scenes, and we’ll see her artwork soon enough. We’ve already seen some artwork of her brother John. John and Sal Buscema will be shaking things up eventually, and Ron Frenz in the more distant future. We’ll see Tom Palmer soon enough. We’ve briefly met Joe Sinnott a couple times, but he’s just about to become a regular. I’d bemoaned he wasn’t the original inker on the annual. It came out just one month too early. The other inkers will be coming along later.

This tells the same story as the Fantastic Four Annual, but with over twice as many pages.

In a short while, we’ll also read Marvels #2, which includes yet another take on this wedding to contrast with these two takes.

We’ll compare the new comic to the original and note the artist on the new comic. The original art is all by Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta. As noted above, for everything but the first page, John Kalisz did the colors in the new one.

The opening page deliberately mirrors the original.

New art by Sal Buscema & Tom Palmer with colors by Paul Becton

The big addition is a kid named Mark, a superhero fan who gets separated from his father in the commotion, and targeted by villains and saved by heroes. He serves as the centerpiece for this retelling.

X-Men #13

Where Walks the Juggernaut!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: July 1, 1965
Cover: September 1965
12 cents
Story by smilin’ Stan Lee
Layouts by jolly Jack Kirby
Penciling by Jay Gavin
Inking by Joe Sinnott
Lettering by Swingin’ Sam Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#331	Next
X-Men #12	Reading order	Fantastic Four #38
X-Men #12	X-Men	X-Men #14

We are jumping a bit ahead with X-Men, as issues 11-13 all take place the same day, but the comic is bi-monthly. In general, we are still in March 1965, which is when X-Men #11 was released.

Last issue sort of introduced the Juggernaut. We mostly saw him in shadow and marveled at how easily he broke through the X-Men’s defenses. He was revealed in the last panel. Most of the issue had been about Xavier’s youth. Now, we meet Juggernaut properly.

We also had the legendary Alex Toth on art, as Kirby is moving off X-Men. Kirby has often been the go-to guy for getting series started, but then usually soon handed off the reins. Fantastic Four is the only series he’s really stuck with so far. Though he’ll do a decent stretch on Captain America, and his recent return to Thor is for the long haul.

Let’s look at the credits. Jay Gavin is a new name, and not even a real one. Jay and Gavin are the names of the sons of Werner Roth, our new artist. Werner Roth is not quite the legend that Alex Toth is. He is probably most notable for this stint on X-Men, where he is unfortunately stuck being “the guy that followed Kirby”. He got started in comics later than many peers, already 30 or so before working regularly. He’s already 44 at this point as he takes the reins on X-Men. He died tragically young at the age of 52, never quite having set the world of comics on fire.

X-Men #12

The Origin of Professor X!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: May 4, 1965
Cover: July 1965
12 cents
Stupifying story by: Stan Lee
Spectacular layouts by: Jack Kirby
Slam-bang pencilling by: Alex Toth
Sensational inking by: Vince Colletta
The usual lettering by: Sam Rosen
Kibitzing by: the whole blamed bullpen!
20 pages

Previous	#330	Next
X-Men #11	Reading order	X-Men #13
X-Men #11	X-Men	X-Men #13

Happy Labor Day. Thanks to all the workers, past and present, for all they have done to shape this nation by the fruits of their labors.

We just read X-Men #11. And by just, I mean over 2 weeks ago. Sorry, life stuff got in the way of my comic reading priorities. That issue ended with alarms warning the X-Men of what Xavier called the most deadly danger they had ever faced approaching. Seeming to ignore the fact that they’d just faced a godlike alien being.

I’ve left us hanging with that cliffhanger for 2 weeks now. But it’s better than kids in the 60s had it. They had to wait 2 months to meet this new menace, and then perhaps be disappointed to learn we don’t actually glimpse him until the very final panel.

Before we get to the story, we must ask questions about the credits: Why are there so many artists? And who is this Alex Toth? What’s this bullpen?

This is the second time Stan has referred to the “bullpen” in the credits, and the second time he has credited them with kibitzing.

X-Men #11

The Triumph of Magneto!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: March 4, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
X-traordinary script by: Stan lee
X-travagant art by: Jack Kirby
X-ceptional inking by: Chic Stone
X-emplory lettering by: Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous		Next
Strange Tales #134	Reading order	X-Men #12
X-Men #10	X-Men	X-Men #12

The basic tension of the series is that every mutant that comes along, Magneto wants to recruit them to be evil. And Professor X wants to recruit them to be not evil. General agreement that no third option is acceptable; every mutant must join either the X-Men or Evil Mutants. When Blob tried to do neither, the X-Men attacked him and tried to mindwipe him. The only fine print there is the word “mutant”. Occasionally, someone such as Ka-Zar turns out to not be a mutant, in which case they are not obligated to join either team.

Now we meet a man who describes himself as a Stranger. He is very powerful. Is he a mutant? If so, they must recruit.

X-Men #10

The Coming of… Ka-Zar!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: January 5, 1965
Cover: March 1965
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Inker: Chic Stone
Letterer: S.Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#315	Next
Tales to Astonish #66	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #64
X-Men #9	X-Men	X-Men #11
Marvel Comics #1, Story F	Prelude

Stronger than mastodon! Stronger than giant boar! Mighty is Ka-Zar! Lord of Jungle!

The cover claims this comic is introducing Ka-Zar. It’s unclear if that’s true when we just met a Ka-Zar in our last post, introduced almost 30 years earlier.

Same guy? No evidence otherwise, except that he’s somehow moved from the Congo to Antarctica.

I’m so glad they tell us how to pronounce his name. It’s the bane of comics reading. Nobody tells you how to pronounce the names. You think you’re an expert in this stuff, then along comes a movie and you’ve been pronouncing names wrong for decades, and everyone looks at you like an idiot. But now we know: “Kay-Sar”.

My buddy Brian just polled on Twitter about how people pronounced his name when they first read it, and I was forced to admit that I was saying “Kay-Zar” in my head in my ignorant youth. Perhaps if I’d known more German then, I would have different ideas about pronouncing that ‘Z’.

Fantastic Four #36

The Frightful Four!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: December 10, 1964
Cover: March 1965
12 cents
Proudly produced by: Smilin’ Stan Lee and Jolly Jack Kirby
Inked by: Chic Stone
Lettered by: Artie Simek
21 pages

Previous	#312	Next
Avengers #14	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #65
Fantastic Four #35	Fantastic Four	Fantastic Four #37

The main credits are shared between Stan and Jack without specifying who did what.

Fantastic Four has been one of the best of these Marvel superhero titles since the start, but it’s regarded as one of the best comic series ever, which hasn’t yet been obvious. The series gets better at some point. It can be hard to pinpoint the exact point of transition. We noted issue 29 when Kirby started using photo collages as a step toward greatness. The introduction of the Frightful Four in this issue also suggests we are well down the path. Particularly the mysterious Madam Medusa.

Sue and Reed announced their engagement last issue. They’ve now made a public announcement, and the press is excited, underscoring their celebrity status. There will be a big engagement party this issue.

Also, I think Sue’s gotten a haircut. Her hair definitely seems shorter.

Fantastic Four #35

Calamity on the Campus!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: November 10, 1964
Cover: February 1965
12 cents
Adequate script: Stan Lee
Satisfactory art: Jack Kirby
Passable inking: Chic Stone
Sufficient lettering: Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous	#301	Next
Strange Tales #129, Story B	Reading order	Daredevil #6
Fantastic Four #34	Fantastic Four	Fantastic Four #36

The page count in these books had been gradually dwindling. At first it was to make room for more letters pages or announcements, or the occasional pin-up. This is the third FF story in a row to clock in at 20 pages. Before that, they’d been 21 or 22; 23 pages even earlier. It doesn’t seem to be a fixed quantity. We still have the occasional 21-pager coming up, but 20 pages seems to be the new rule. Other titles have followed this pattern.

Comics have not gotten much more expensive over time. There were a dime in 1939 and a dime in 1961. In 1964, they’ve only increased to 12 cents. What’s changed is how many story pages you get for those pennies, often 70-80 pages for that dime in 1939. (These days Marvel comics tend to go for $3.99)

The comic returns us to State U, the alma mater of Reed and Ben. Reed is giving a guest lecture.

Where is State U? I assume it’s in New York somewhere. They seem to have brought a lot of luggage. They go galavanting all over the world and into space and into the depths of the ocean with far less.

X-Men #9

Enter, The Avengers!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: November 3, 1964
Cover: January 1965
12 cents
Savagely written by: Stan Lee
Supremely drawn by: Jack Kirby
Superbly inked by: Chic Stone
Stoically lettered by: S. Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#295	Next
Avengers #12	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #64
X-Men #8	X-Men	X-Men #10

The cover promises the return of Professor X. He left the team in issue 7, leaving Cyclops in charge. We haven’t seen him since, except for a brief appearance in issue 8 where he and Cyclops have a telepathic chat. Anyway, now it’s issue 9 and we get the long-awaited return of Professor X.

Also, the X-Men meet the Avengers!

Of course, they fight.

X-Men #8

Unus, the Untouchable

Featuring: X-Men
Release: September 1, 1964
Cover: November 1964
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Inker: Chic Stone
Letter: S. Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#270	Next
Fantastic Four #32	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #12
X-Men #7	X-Men	X-Men #9

The X-Men are no longer students, but the status quo hasn’t changed much. They now train for missions; their training sessions look very similar to the classes they used to take. Professor X is still away and Cyclops is in charge; so he is running the training session. Hence, he is in a suit rather than a uniform. So you know he’s in charge.

Iceman practices making his body icier. As he does, some of the smoothness fades, allowing defined corners within his now icy body. These are the first hints of a new look forming. Iceman’s visual evolution is similar to Thing’s, going from a softer ill-defined look to lots of defining lines and corners.

It’s weird that Iceman is described as transparent and compared to the Invisible Girl. I usually think of the ice as a layer around him; they seem to be suggesting his insides are turning to ice as well, though the art indicates nothing of the kind.