Featuring: Hulk Release: November 3, 1966 Cover: February 1967 12 cents Hulkamorous script by: Stan (The Man) Lee Hulkitudinous art by: Gil (Sugar) Kane Hulkifying lettering by: Sammy (Dozin’) Rosen 10 pages
The poor, lumbering brute! He was guilty only of being feared– and misunderstood!
Gil Kane is going to become a big name at Marvel. We’ve seen him once before on a Hulk story a dozen issues back under the alias of Scott Edward and we reviewed his career at the time.
It’s possible this is his first properly credited Marvel work.
He brings a distinctive style, a very different take on Hulk from that of John Buscema the past two issues.
It’s been 7 issues since Boomerang entered Hulk’s life. We finally see that saga reach a conclusion. It’s been a long road, and I summarize in painstaking detail that road below. These past 6 months have been the most interconnected the Marvel Universe has yet been. Perhaps fittingly we will soon see that the phrase “Marvel Universe” also debuted in that timespan.
At this point it seems like everybody knows Hulk’s secret identity. But the first person to learn it after Rick was the President of the United States, presumably President Johnson. And that is presumably President Johnson now interceding on Hulk’s behalf.
Unfortunately, Boomerang intervenes and drives Hulk to a rampage and another conflict with the military.
Featuring: Hulk Release: October 11, 1966 Cover: January 1967 12 cents Story: Smilin’ Stan Lee Art: Big John Buscema Inks: Mighty Mickey D. Lettering: Adorable Artie S. 10 pages
“Have you gone mad?” “I hope so! It’s what I’m counting on!”
Every issue has a nickname for these creators. I claim the most enduring for Lee is Stan (The Man) Lee. Though I might guess that in our reading so far, Smilin’ Stan Lee is the most common nickname.
This is only John Buscema’s second month in his return to Marvel, and Stan has already found the nickname that will stick. Big John Buscema is the one I most associate with him.
Adorable Artie is also one of the more common ones. Stan loves his alliteration.
We left Hulk in Manhattan battling the Leader’s Hulk-Killer Humanoid. The Secret Empire is defeated. Boomerang is still up to stuff.
Though I’ve lived as the monstrous Hulk– I’ll die as Bruce Banner– I’ll die as– a man!
John Buscema still on art.
The Secret Empire stands defeated, but their agent Boomerang remains at large. The Orion Missile is heading for New York. Hulk leaped at the missile, and somehow this calmed him down. So now Bruce Banner is riding a missile.
The transformation here is really badly storyboarded; just Bruce one panel and Hulk the next. Stan compensates with narration to make up for the artistic failings. Come on, Big John!
Featuring: Hulk Release: August 2, 1966 Cover: November 1966 12 cents Script: Stan Lee Pencils: John Buscema Inks: John Tartaglione Lettering: Ray Holloway Hulk’s pants-pressing: Irving Forbush 10 pages
“Who is it, Phil?” “We’ll probably never know! From the looks of things, I’d say he was pretty much beyond recognition!”
Colan has been the regular penciller on Namor’s adventures of late. Bill Everett is the creator of Namor, and this is his second time working as Colan’s inker on the series.
Where were we? The head of the ruined Secret Empire had tricked an amnesiac Namor into being his pawn, until a blast from Krang’s ship sent Namor into the ocean, where he regained his memory. We pick up with Krang flying away, thinking he has killed Namor.
Dorma has been with Krang for a while now. Originally she had agreed to marry him in exchange for saving Namor’s life. Namor doesn’t know this and is mad at Dorma for betraying him. Krang keeps trying to kill Namor anyway, and Dorma keeps staying with him, so it’s all a bit confusing.
Also confusing that Number One blames Hulk for the destruction of the Secret Empire, when the Hulk had nothing to do with it. It was a combination of internal strife and infiltration by Gabe Jones of SHIELD that took them down.
…To Become an Avenger! Featuring: Spider-Man Release: August 2, 1966 Cover: November 1966 25 cents Smilin’ Stan Lee Layouts by Jazzy Johnny Romita Pencilin’ by Dashin’ Donnie Heck Inking’ by Mirthful Mickey Demeo Letterin’ by Adorable Artie Simek 21 pages
I can’t fight it any longer! I’ve got to follow my own destiny– and let the chips fall where they may! I must have been given my spider-power for a reason! Thor was right! I do have an obligation– to mankind!
This is a “King-Size Special”. Which Marvel will sometimes be calling their Annual issues.
It boasts “72 Big Pages”. Let’s do math. The story is actually a pretty normal-sized 21 pages, but they reprint two old Spider-Man stories (issues 11 and 12), which brings the total to 64 pages. What are the other 8 pages? A table of contents, and some ads. When they advertise 72 pages, they are advertising 7 pages of ads.
The first stories I ever read with Spider-Man were Transformers #3 and Avengers #317. In the Avengers saga, Spider-Man was offered membership in the Avengers, but when Spider-Man struggled to keep up on their space adventure, Captain America and Spider-Man both agreed membership wasn’t for him. Avengers was one of the first series I regularly followed, so I read Avengers #329 a year later, in which Spider-Man does officially join the Avengers. No explanation was given for why Cap and Spider-Man changed their mind. Avengers #329 is the first time he officially became an Avenger, but the arc in #314-317 was not the first time he came close. That is here.
The Avengers are an interesting grouping. They began as Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. All characters who had had solo (or duo) series. Left out of the Avengers were the Fantastic Four, already an established team, as well as Dr. Strange and Spider-Man. Behind the scenes, there seems a clear pattern that Kirby formed the Avengers from characters he had created, but left off the characters Ditko had created. They were soon joined by a revived old character of Kirby’s, Captain America.
When the original team disbanded, they needed replacements. Rather than turn to established loner superheroes like Daredevil, Dr. Strange, or Spider-Man, they sought out old enemies like Namor and Hulk, and accepted applications from reformed villains, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch.
The Avengers know Spider-Man, or at least of him. He teamed up with Giant-Man and Wasp in Tales to Astonish #57; Wasp hated him because wasps and spiders are natural enemies. Spider-Man briefly ran into the individual Avengers in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1. They fought a Spider-Man robot created by Kang in Avengers #11. And they were all guests at the wedding of Reed and Sue.
For his part, Spider-Man has mostly been a loner, but at the start of his career, he tried to join the Fantastic Four, only to learn they don’t pay a salary. You sometimes find yourself asking if things might have been different. What if Spider-Man had joined the Fantastic Four?
But the Avengers are funded by Tony Stark. Maybe they can afford to pay Spider-Man?
I think this is a really good comic, if we forgive some nonsense in the premise. Which we’ll get to.
It even has great art. Heck is the credited artist, and Romita is just credited with layouts, but a lot of Romita shines through, perhaps due in part to Esposito’s finishes. Layouts have been Heck’s biggest weakness as an artist.
Where does this fit in in Spider-Man’s story. The most important thing to note to me is that Peter Parker has the motorcycle he acquired in Amazing Spider-Man #41, so it’s after that. I think Amazing Spider-Man #41-43 read well as a story, united by arcs for the Rhino, Mary Jane, and John Jameson. So I didn’t care to break that up. Hence we are reading it after #43. This is where a lot of collections place it, including the Essential, Omnibus and Epic Collection. The Masterworks weirdly places it after issue 50. But I think the thinking there was just to put it at the end of one of their volumes and not worry about where it “goes”. The MCP wants it before issue 42, and the CMRO agrees, but that seems unnecessary when there are so many unresolved plot threads from issue 41 to deal with first.
“We’ve studied that photo of Spider-Man long enough” says Cap. How much was there to study in one photo? Detail-oriented heroes, I guess.
In the funniest line of any of these comics we’ve read, Hawkeye describes Spider-Man as “a real swinger”.
Captain America, famous for his tact, notes Hawkeye identifies with Spider-Man because they’ve both been outlaws.
The question before them is: Should Spider-Man be offered membership in the Avengers.
Featuring: Hulk Release: June 30, 1966 Cover: October 1966 10 pages Script… Stan (The Man) Lee Art… Almost the whole blamed bullpen Lettering… Artie (Smarty) Simek Therapy… Honest Irving Forbush 10 pages
Can a green-skinned introvert, with anti-social tendencies, find happiness and fulfillment in a modern materialistic society?
I leave it to your eagle eyes to determine who drew what in this issue. Some artwork may or may not be due to Bill Everett, Jerry Grandenetti, Gene Colan, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, John Tartaglione, Mike Esposito, Sol Brodsky, or others.
Can a green-skinned introvert, with anti-social tendencies, find happiness and fulfillment in a modern materialistic society?
We’d seen a similar question posed at the beginning of Hulk’s current series in issue 60.
Can a man with green skin and a petulant personality find true happiness in today’s status-seeking society?
In this issue’s Namor story, we learned Hulk was in the city. And this story is conveniently titled “Rampage in the City”.
Hulk thinks saving Betty from Boomerang means people won’t hate him anymore. Good luck with that.
Hulk used to be an Avenger, so he goes to New York to ask them to help him find Betty.
Featuring: Hulk Release: June 2, 1966 Cover: September 1966 12 cents Script: Smilin’ Stan Lee Layouts: Jolly Jack Kirby Art: Wild Bill Everett Lettering: Whammy Sammy Rosen Applause: Honest Irving Forbush 10 pages
Featuring: Hulk Release: May 5, 1966 Cover: August 1966 12 cents Stan Lee, writer Jack Kirby, designer Bill Everett, illustrator Artie Simek, letterer A touch of the muse, inspirer 10 pages
Where were we? Namor tired of fighting Iron Man and continues his pursuit of Krang and Dorma. Tony Stark has made the decision to give in to Senator Byrd and turn over the secrets of Iron Man to the US Government.
Hulk has just made his way back to the surface from the subterranean realm where Mole Man and Tyrannus are at war. Tyrannus’ prisoners Talbot, Betty, and Rick, had also recently returned to the surface. They weren’t back long before Betty was captured by Boomerang, who was hired by the Secret Empire to steal some type of weapon.
“No one shoots Hulk! No one!” exclaims Hulk.
Actually, people shoot at Hulk all the time. They just never hurt him.
Ross blames Hulk for his daughter’s abduction. He blames the Hulk for most everything. Note he is talking about Betty’s previous abduction by Tyrannus. He doesn’t know she’s been abducted again since then.
Featuring: Hulk Release: April 5, 1966 Cover: July 1966 12 cents Hulkable script by: Stan Lee Hulksome layout by: Jack Kirby Hulkorious art by: Bill Everett Hulkated lettering by: Sam Rosen Costumes by Tibor of Transylvania! 10 pages
“His boomerang is causing a rock slide!” “It’s returning to him like an arrow!”
A lot happening in this issue. For Hulk, he’s finishing up his encounter with Tyrannus and Mole Man from last issue. But in the background, important villains are being introduced. They will set up a confusing mess of coming issues.
The secret empire known as Hydra has fallen. Nick Fury and Captain America have been having trouble with a new secret empire called Them, which may be connected to AIM. Now we meet a new secret empire, known as, er, the Secret Empire.
