Featuring: Avengers Release: November 5, 1963 Cover: February 1964 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Illustrated by: Jack Kirby Inked by: P. Reinman 25 pages
We see a new cover box. Acknowledges that Hank is now Giant-Man and that Wasp exists.
Welcome to a special Mothers Day post. What makes this a Mothers Day post? Well, today is Mothers Day. Also, my mother likes the Sub-Mariner, and this is the issue where the Avengers meet Sub-Mariner.
Sub-Mariner doesn’t show up until page 15, but still gets the issue titled after him. Good for him.
In the first issue, Loki tricked the Avengers into attacking the Hulk.
In the second issue, Space Phantom tricked the Avengers into attacking the Hulk.
This issue, the Avengers just decide to attack the Hulk.
Featuring: Iron Man Release: October 8, 1963 Cover: January 1964 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Illustrated by: Steve Ditko Inked by: P. Reinman 18 pages
Paul Reinman on inks. It’s not often Ditko gets an inker. He usually does his own finishes. His first Iron Man story had Don Heck doing “refinement”. I think that’s the only other time we’ve seen anybody else finishing Ditko. Paul Reinman has been inking the X-Men comics, so he may be here to help keep their faces on-model.
Once again, that weird note at the beginning; we’ve seen something similar in every crossover. Stan thanks the editors of X-Men for letting the characters appear. You are the editor, Stan. But there may be legal reasons for this. Martin Goodman played all types of crazy games with shell companies and such to save a buck here and there.
The idea is it’s all one continuity, one universe. That’s why we read these comics together. But we don’t know that any character is part of that continuity until they cross over. At first, crossovers were sparse. It was a while before there was any hint Iron Man and Thor might be in this world. Crossovers have become increasingly common. After only two issues of X-Men, we learn they are a part of this world. The main story is a battle between Iron Man and Angel, but all the X-Men and Avengers will also show up.
Featuring: Avengers Release: September 3, 1963 Cover: November 1963 Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inking: Paul Reinman 22 pages
Cover box of the second issue matches the first. Wasp is still left out. Ant-Man has not yet been updated to Giant-Man.
Now that Ant-Man is Giant-Man, his strength is at least vaguely in the same class as the rest of his male teammates. The giant-formula has not been shared with his partner, the Wasp. And will not be any time soon.
Thor comments on Hulk’s outfit. We saw a similar exchange in Avengers #1½.
Featuring: Avengers Release: September 29, 1999 Cover: October 1999 250 cents Written by: Roger Stern (filling in for Stan Lee) Art by: Bruce Timm (filling in for Jack Kirby) 24 pages
The cover promised us a mystery villain, but I feel like the opening page spoils the surprise a bit by putting his name in the title. Even if I missed that clue, the villain would be revealed by page 3. Spoiler: It’s Doctor Doom.
Sorry, Tom. Nobody can really replace Irving Forbush.
Roger Stern is a nerd who grew up reading and obsessing over these same comics we have been reading, so the comic of course slides perfectly neatly into our continuity. It references stories we’ve recently read, and has all the characters right where they should be in their various arcs.
We reach the 100th story in our Marvel reading. Quite the milestone. And what a story it is. Coincidentally, the 100th Marvel Universe story, by my count, is Avengers #1. Did I plan it that way? No. Well, at least not exactly. Six different comics came out this very same day, and it was mostly up to me what order to read them in. The 100th story could just as easily have been X-Men #1 if I’d wanted. But I made that #99. Because.
[Big asterisk on the last paragraph. I have since edited my own reading order to make this story an unexciting story #94. But it was #100 when I first posted it. Now that honor goes to Journey Into Mystery #97]
And what a day for comics. The first Fantastic Four annual had Namor find his people and declare war on the surface world. That’s cool. Sgt. Fury met Reed Richards for the first time. That’s cool. The X-Men were introduced! We read the worst story yet as Thor battled Merlin. That’s… less cool. But overall an exciting day.
Including this. Really, what it’s all been building up to. Why I’ve been intermixing Thor and Iron Man stories, acting like they’re somehow connected even though they clearly haven’t been. This is the heart of it all. Five heroes we’ve been reading about team up. Also, the Fantastic Four show up for good measure.
And, as we’ve discussed, my first comic ever was an Avengers comic. So I’m excited to have reached this milestone.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: July 2, 1963 Cover: 1963 25 cents <– whoa! Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 37 pages
We just read no less than 5 Sub-Mariner stories from the ’40s and ’50s to have some context for this giant-sized Fantastic Four/Sub-Mariner epic we are about to read. At 37 pages, this is the longest story we have yet read. And at 25 cents, this and the Strange Tales annual are the most expensive comics we’ve come across by a factor of 2.
When Sub-Mariner returned in Fantastic Four #4, he learned that his kingdom had been destroyed and his people were missing. He’s been searching for them ever since. Until now.
Is it the longest ever? Or might Stan be exaggerating?
Quite the opening couple pages. The bold imagination on display is Kirby at his best. But we haven’t seen that much of his true potential yet in these stories. He’s just been getting warmed up.
The Fantastic Four decide to take a vacation along with Alicia. Reed’s suggestion is to take a cruise to where some sea monsters have been sighted.
The Incredible Hulk vs The Metal Master Featuring: Hulk Release: January 3, 1963 Cover: March 1963 12 cents Story: Stan Lee Art: Steve Ditko 24 pages
I read this story in Incredible Hulk Omnibus vol. 1.
All good things must come to an end. Turns out things like this series also come to an end.
The great Steve Ditko takes over for Jack Kirby for the first full-length Hulk story since the second issue, and what is also the final issue of Incredible Hulk. Though no hint of that ending can be found in the cover or the letters pages. There simply isn’t an issue 7.
This Ditko guy draws a pretty good Hulk.
Perhaps it’s for the best. The first issue was one of the best comics we’ve read and showed so much potential. A dark psychological sci-fi drama, with elements of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. That potential was squandered on constant tweaks to the character, a series that had the feeling of throwing things at the wall until something stuck, then giving up when nothing stuck. It will take Steve Ditko to reshape the character into a more enduring form, but he won’t get a chance to do that now, as the series is being cancelled.
The Incredible Hulk/Mission: Stop the Hulk!/Who is the Wrecker?/The Hulk at Last! Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: December 10, 1962 Cover: March 1963 12 cents Script: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 23 pages
I read this comic in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1.
Let’s review the key dates so far.
August 8, 1961 — The Fantastic Four debut March 1, 1962 — The Incredible Hulk June 5, 1962 — The most important day in Marvel’s history thus far: introducing Spider-Man, Thor, and Ant-Man!
It’s now December 10, 1962.
Another hugely important date in Marvel’s history. Four milestones, which we’ll be covering over the next few posts: we’ll see the debut of another iconic superhero; a superhero we haven’t seen in 6 months makes his return in the debut of his solo title; and, most excitingly, the Marvel comics start to coalesce into a universe. On this day, we get not only our first crossover of the Marvel Age, but our first two crossovers! The Fantastic Four will encounter two iconic Marvel characters on this very date.
The Incredible Hulk vs The Hordes of General Fang! Featuring: Hulk Release: November 1, 1962 Cover: January 1963 12 cents Script: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 11 pages
I read this story in Incredible Hulk Omnibus vol. 1.
There are ways in which Stan and Jack are ahead of their time on social issues, and ways in which they are not. Their depictions of Asian people remain pretty racist. It will take a couple decades before Marvel is able to do much better. General Fang is an awful stereotype, and the story is more cold war propaganda, depicting the forces of Red China as strangely-drawn, yellow-skinned, and cartoonishly evil. Even the Asian people depicted as allies–including the citizens of Llhasa (Lhasa, Tibet) and the soldiers of Formosa (Taiwan)– have cringeworthy depictions.
Beauty and the Beast! Featuring: Hulk Release: November 1, 1962 Cover: January 1963 12 cents Script: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 11 pages
I read this story in Incredible Hulk Omnibus vol. 1.
In a twist from the usual, the titular “Beauty” in this story is likely a man: Tyrannus by name. At least, that’s my interpretation of the title, given how beautiful he is. Though I guess he’s more of the Gaston character in the story. So maybe Betty is the beauty. Hmm… well, let’s read on.
Who is the Beauty in the picture?
Dr. Banner is the top scientist on Ross’ staff, assigned to help capture the Hulk. Rick Jones is his assistant. But Rick is known to have connections to the Hulk: they have been seen together often; Rick has been seen riding on Hulk’s back; in fact, the military once asked Rick to bring the Hulk to them and he did; then, Rick took over the controls of a military rocket and helped Hulk escape. Ross is well aware of all this. And yet Rick is still part of the government team to help capture Hulk.
