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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

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

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 of Suspense #76

Here Lies Hidden… The Unspeakable Ultimo!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: January 1, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Tenderly written by: Stan Lee
Lovingly pencilled by: Adam Austin
Gently delineated by: Gary Michaels
Finally lettered by: Sam Rosen
12 pages

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Tales of Suspense #75	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #26
Tales of Suspense #75, Story B	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #76, Story B

Look at you! Bedraggled and red-eyed! Too much celebrating last night, eh? I always said you were nothing but a playboy!

Marvel has given up on the idea of clean story breaks, which makes reading tricky when I’d like to put the stories together. This is part 3 of the Happy-as-The-Freak arc, but also part 1 of the Ultimo arc. Essentially they seem to want to end every issue on a cliffhanger, so they begin the next story now. I can’t just keep reading Iron Man. We already are getting ahead of the Captain America stories he shares the title with, because I need to align those with the SHIELD arc. And there’s a whole Marvel Universe to check in with. Which means I need to either break last issue with the Freak saga unresolved, or break after this issue with the Ultimo saga unresolved. The Freak saga resolves in about 2 pages, but the Ultimo saga really only takes up the last 2 pages. The ongoing Senator Byrd subplot dominates the middle bit. I don’t know. We’re reading this now, then we’ll take a break. And see what happens with Ultimo at a later date.

Where were we. The experimental treatment on Happy turned him into a Freak. Iron Man had a thing that might save Happy, at risk to himself.

Well, it worked.

This was all a fallout from the Titanium Man battle. That’s when Happy was injured saving Iron Man, and revealed he knew (or suspected) Tony’s secret. This is their first chance to talk since then.

Tales of Suspense #75

The Fury of… The Freak!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: December 9, 1965
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Titanically written by: Stan Lee
Tremendously drawn by: Adam Austin
Tumultuously inked by: Gary Michaels
Timorously lettered by: Sam Rosen
12 pages

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Tales of Suspense #74, Story B	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #76
Tales of Suspense #74, Story B	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #75, Story B

He’s got to learn that Iron Man cannot work only for him, when the entire nation might benefit by his powers!

Happy Hogan has been turned into a Freak. A depowered Iron Man is in pursuit.

The Freak takes an interest in Pepper.

Senator Byrd has been a thorn in Iron Man’s side. Not a villain, but a nuisance. Does he have a point though? Should the powers of Iron Man benefit the entire nation, and not be controlled by a single corporation?

Tales of Suspense #74

If This Guilt Be Mine–!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: November 11, 1965
Cover: February 1966
12 cents
Story: As only the fabulous Stan Lee can tell it!
Art: As only the fantastic Adam Austin can draw it!
Inking: As only the flamboyant Gary Michaels can delineate it!
Lettering: As only the frantic Artie Simek can scribble it!
12 pages

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Tales of Suspense #73, Story B	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #74, Story B
Tales of Suspense #73, Story B	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #74, Story B

Somehow– I feel as though my whole world is crashing down around me–!

Jack Abel returns under the Gary Michaels pseudonym. He’ll be the regular inker for a period of time.

Recall Happy had been badly injured during the battle with Titanium Man in issue 71, and last issue he was kidnapped from his hospital by the Black Knight. Iron Man rescued Happy and the Black Knight fell to his death, but now Iron Man is out of power.

To add a bizarre but strangely common wrinkle to the relationships, Pepper now decides she loves Iron Man and hates Tony. It used to be the other way around. Tony loves Pepper but can’t be with her because he has a bad heart, so he’s been intentionally cruel. Happy loves Pepper, but Pepper couldn’t love him back because of Tony, but now she’s over Tony and in love with Iron Man.

Tales of Suspense #73

My Life for Yours!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: October 12, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Adam Austin, Gary Michaels, Sol Brodsky, Flo Steinberg, and Merrie Ol’ Marie Severin!
12 pages

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Tales of Suspense #72, Story B	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #73, Story B
Tales of Suspense #72, Story B	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #73, Story B

Now look, Avenger– No one takes the law into his own hands– not even you!

Stan seems to be crediting an unusual amount of people, but it’s really people who are always involved. Lee always credits himself, this time presumably in an editing role. Roy Thomas is the scripter, Adam Austin (aka Gene Colan) the penciller, Gary Michaels (aka Jack Abel) the inker. The other names show up less commonly in credits. Sol Brodsky is the production manager, and usually is, though uncredited. Marie Severin is the colorist, and frequently is, though uncredited. (Unfortunately we won’t see any of Severin’s coloring in my images, as I’ve only found the digital version online, which is entirely recolored, and that’s likely Stan Goldberg coloring the cover above.) What’s interesting here is Flo Steinberg, who’s been behind the scenes since the beginning, handling the office work for Marvel. She gets her name here apparently because she assisted Roy with the plot.

Weirdly, for all that crediting, they forgot to mention the letterer. Apparently this time normal letter Artie Simek is joined by Ben Oda.

Speaking of Roy Thomas, that’s the new guy we first met on Modeling with Millie, which was released one week earlier. This is his first superhero work. Wonder if he’ll do any more.

Jack Abel is also new to us in our modern reading, though we read an old Captain America story he’d likely contributed to. He’d worked for Marvel back in the 1950s, often inking Bill Benulis or Bob Forgione, but lately has been focused on DC’s war comics. It’s probably why he uses a pseudonym here, so DC won’t know he’s doing side-work. He’ll eventually move on to DC’s superhero line and become the main inker on Superman stories. Here’s a sampling of his artwork.

Journey Into Mystery #20, Marvel, 1954
Our Fighting Forces #50, DC, 1959
Sea-Devils #14, DC, 1963

And a sampling of his finishing work.

Western Outlaws and Sheriffs #72, Marvel, 1952, pencils by Warren Broderick
Adventures into Terror #11, Marvel, 1952, pencils by Bill Benulis
Combat Casey #11, Marvel, 1953, pencils by Bill Benulis
All-American Men of War #25, DC, 1955, pencils by Bob Forgione
Wyatt Earp #1, Marvel, 1955, pencils by Bob Forgione
Turok, Son of Stone #3, Dell, 1956, pencils by Bob Correa

As a complete aside, the plot of that Adventures into Terror story amused me to no end. Lots of these stories about somebody murdering a partner for ambition. But in this case, they were a two-man horse act, and the guy who played the end of the horse wanted to play the horse’s head. Talk about ambition!

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

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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.

Tales to Astonish #76

Uneasy Hangs the Head…

Featuring: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner
Release: November 4, 1965
Cover: February 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Pencilling: Adam Austin
Delineation: Vince Colletta
Lettering: Sam Rosen
12 pages

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Tales to Astonish #75	Reading order	Sgt. Fury Annual 1
Tales to Astonish #75, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #76, Story B

Where Namor was Prince of the Blood, Krang would have been tyrant! Where Namor ruled by divine right, Krang would have ruled by terror!

The ruler of Atlantis by birthright is again on the throne. Yay for monarchy.

The story was almost over as this issue began. Dorma saved. Krang defeated. It’s been a 7-part arc, but it’s over by page 5 of this issue.

Tales to Astonish #75

The End of the Quest!

Featuring: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner
Release: October 5, 1965
Cover: January 1866
12 cents
Story by: Smilin’ Stan Lee
Pencilling by: Admirable Adam Austin
Delineation by : Valorous Vince Colletta
Lettering by: Sagacious Sam Rosen
12 pages

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Tales to Astonish #74, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #76
Tales to Astonish #74, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #75, Story B

Though I hold life most dear to me, I shall show how a Prince faces death!

It turns out abandoning the quest was the way to complete the quest.

Per Neptune: Every attribute of a Prince is yours… courage, strength, honest… and, most important of all… a heart which can love… a soul which can sacrifice!