Featuring: Captain America
Release: November 10, 1964
Cover: February 1965
12 cents
Pow! script: Stan Lee
Wham! art: Jack Kirby
Zowie! inking: Chic Stone
Ulp! lettering: Art Simek
10 pages
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| Tales of Suspense #62 | Reading order | Avengers #11 |
| Tales of Suspense #62 | Tales of Suspense | Tales of Suspense #63 |
The title brings to mind the classic 1954 film, Riot in Cell Block 11. Perhaps an intentional homage?
These opening credits left me with some fascinating questions. “Pow! Wham!” is forever associated with the medium of comics and the superhero genre, an association devotees of both often bemoan. People rightfully want to make clear that comics is a broad medium and not just superheroes and silliness. Others want to argue that the superhero genre is not children’s stuff, despite the fact that it evidently is.
I am not certain when this association between these sound effects and comics first took place. I believe the 1966 Batman television series really cemented it in the wider public consciousness. These onomatopoeic effects go back to the earliest days of the medium and we’ve seen plenty of sound effects in our reading. What is interesting here is that they are presented as a gag which presupposes the association of these words and superheroes, as well as the choice of words. “Pow” and “Wham”. These seem the sound effects most associated with superheroes (perhaps along with Biff! and Bam!), though I can’t say we’ve seen them any more than other sound effects in our reading.
Continue reading “Tales of Suspense #62, Story B”