Featuring: Avengers Release: January 12, 1965 Cover: March 1965 12 cents Plot and editing by: Stan Lee Script by: Paul Laiken and Larry Lieber Layouts by: Jack Kirby Pencils by: Don Heck Inking by: Chic Stone Lettering by: S. Rosen 20 pages
That’s quite the credits listing. Sounds like they were running out of time to get this done and called in every hand they could to meet a deadline. That’s also how this story reads.
Larry Lieber had long since left superheroes behind to focus on comics like Rawhide Kid, but he pitches in.
Paul Laiken is a new name to us. This is the only superhero story he’ll ever be involved in writing. I literally think they recruited everybody in the building at the time to help get this one done. It seems like he’ll be best known for his work on the Marvel humor magazine which is totally not a Mad rip-off, Crazy.
Featuring: Watcher Release: June 9, 1964 Cover: September 1964 12 cents Story plot by: Stan Lee Script + Art by: Larry Lieber Inking by: Geo. Bell Lettering by: Art Simek 5 pages
Larry Lieber celebrated his birthday last week. 89 years young. I think he is the only still-living creator we have encountered thus far. The Marvel superheroes of this era have become a cornerstore of our culture, but we have few remaining connections to those who helped make them. The most notable of those connections is Larry Lieber, younger brother of the late Stan Lieber, better known as Stan Lee.
Space pirates set to attack a world run afoul of the Watcher. Like the last would-be attacker to do so, they think the Watcher won’t be a problem, due to his oath. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t read the fine print of the oath.
Featuring: Watcher Release: May 12, 1964 Cover: August 1964 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script + art: Larry Lieber Inking: Geo. Bell Lettering: Art Simek 5 pages
This story makes me cringe a bit.
There have always been off-color jokes made about the character of the Watcher, suggesting a certain voyeurism to his character. After all, he watches. There seem to be no limits to what we can or will watch. Personal privacy is not a particular concern of his.
I have always taken such comments as jest and not a serious critique of the character of the Watcher, who, after all, is an impossibly advanced cosmic being, indistinguishable to us from a god.
But then we come to this story. Where he falls in love with a woman he is watching.
Featuring: Wasp Release: May 5, 1964 Cover: August 1964 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script and art: Larry Lieber Lettering: S. Rosen 7 pages
The Magician escaped prison, so Wasp has to take his picture off her weird trophy wall of super-villains she has defeated. Considering the rate at which these villains seem to get out of prison, she must have to update that wall a lot.
Do we recognize all the villains on the wall? I see: Egghead, Black Knight, Magician, Human Top, the Creature from Kosmos, Porcupine. There are two pictures we can’t see. The wall is missing Cyclops, Trago, Living Eraser, El Toro, and Colossus. It’s possible we just can’t see the entire wall and those photos are off to the side. It’s also possible she was unable to get a picture of some of them. The Living Eraser lives in another dimension, so getting a photo may be hard.
Concerned for her safety, Hank phones Wasp to suggest she go to the lab. The lab is publicly known to be the headquarters of Giant-Man. I would argue that is the least safe place. What about his house in New Jersey? He apparently somehow has a secret identity.
Wasp refuses, as there is a new line of Wasp-themed fashion debuting at Benson’s department store.
Featuring: Watcher Release: April 9, 1964 Cover: July 1964 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script + Art: Larry Lieber Lettering: Art Simek 5 pages
The Watcher’s emotional state in the previous issue led me to conclude it was an ancient story of the Watcher’s youth. This story is clearly taking place closer to modern times, though still in the past. The Watcher has already set up shop on our moon, which he describes as his temporary domain; he will finally leave this home in Fantastic Four #13. The continents of Earth seem to be in their current position. He must already be an ancient being.
An alien plans to steal Earth’s sun to save his own world. The Watcher distracts him long enough to thwart his plans.
Featuring: Watcher Release: March 10, 1964 Cover: June 1964 12 cents Story plot by: Stan Lee Script + Art by: Larry Lieber Inking: Chic Stone Lettering: Art Simek 5 pages
As I mentioned in the last post, this is the first comic in our reading I actually own an original copy of. This story is the reason I have it. I had the Iron Man story already in the Essential Iron Man and Iron Man Omnibus. But at the time, nearly 20 years ago, I couldn’t find the Watcher story anywhere else. So I tracked down the original comic, shelling out several dollars for it, maybe as much as 7 or 8. Definitely more than the 12 cents it should have cost.
The Watcher is unusually passionate at the moment. I think of him as more reserved. Here, he plans to stick to his oath, but it torments him.
That makes me think this tale is set in very ancient times. The modern Watcher is a little more accepting of his role, and this tale takes place in his youth, when he struggled a bit more with his oath.
As I’ve expressed before, the Watcher’s conclusions about morality are wrong. It’s better to act. That said, they fascinate me. Especially stories like this that attempt to explore the morality of his oath.
Featuring: Wasp Release: April 2, 1964 Cover: July 1964 12 cents Ring-a-ding story plot by: Stan Lee Jazzy script and art by: Larry Lieber Like wow, man! inking by: Chic Stone Far-out lettering by: S. Rosen 7 pages
Pretty significant issue here. As we’ve mentioned, Wasp is the only female superhero to have a solo series this entire decade. But the series wasn’t really about her. She was always the narrator for another story. Until now.
Starting with this issue, Wasp’s solo adventures actually star the Wasp, as she goes on her own adventures. I feel like this is the real beginning of Wasp’s solo series.
It will last 2 issues.
These comics treat Wasp as though she is not very powerful. And, well, she’s not. However, she’s more powerful than Ant-Man ever was. She’s got his abilities, plus she has a stinger and can fly. And the comics talked about him like he was some unbeatable warrior. Citizens and police praised his prowess while criminals cowered.
This story puts Wasp up against a single crook. Not a supervillain, just an ordinary jewelry thief. And the artists seem at a loss at to how she might fight this guy.
Featuring: Wasp Release: March 3, 1964 Cover: June 1964 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script + art: Larry Lieber Inking: Paul Reinman 5 pages
Giant-Man is humiliated that Hulk is stronger than he. Humiliated. At some point we have to address that Hank has some pretty severe issues.
Wasp tells Hank a story of a far-off planet and three suitors competing for the hand of a princess guarded by the Bog Beast. The Bog Beast overcomes those who seem to be the most powerful suitors, but the peasant Lorenzo will win the princess’ hand.
Featuring: Watcher Release: February 11, 1964 Cover: May 1964 12 cents Story plot by: Stan Lee Script + art by: Larry Lieber Inking by: Paul Reinman Lettering by: Art Simek 5 pages
I learned this series existed relatively late in my Marvel reading. I’d gotten it into my head that I wanted every Marvel comic some 20 years ago and got to work. But it took time to even develop a good catalogue of what that meant. I had read the old Iron Man and Silver stories in the Essentialvolumes Marvel put out, but didn’t realize at the time about the Watcher backups not reprinted in those volumes.
As the internet took shape, and comic experts put forth their knowledge, I could borrow from that work to get a sense of the complete list. I meticulously studied the UHBMCC and MCP to find every Marvel Universe comic there was, including the oddities, like this short-lived series of Watcher tales.
My enthusiasm went through a bit of a roller coaster ride. I’d always loved the Watcher from his appearances in What If…? and was excited to learn he had solo adventures. Enthusiasm high. Then I learned the solo adventures were just a light wrapper around other stories he would narrate. Enthusiasm waned. Then I learned some of these stories were reprints of older stories with the Watcher parts added in. Further waning. But then I learned there were a few stories (like this one) which did feature the Watcher in his own adventures. Enthusiasm rising. And then I learned that we would learn the origin of the Watchers. Enthusiasm at its height.
What tragedy at the dawn of time caused this ancient race of immortals to take such a dark vow, to spend eternity observing the events of the cosmos without interference? I was excited to find out.
Then I read it. Enthusiasm has reached equilibrium. It doesn’t help to read so many of these Watcher stories and similar sci/fi tales in close proximity. A very large number of them have the moral that we should end the threat of nuclear war. While I agree, and appreciate that it was on people’s minds a lot back then, it really is overdone in these pages. And then to learn that’s the origin of the Watchers…
We begin with the Watcher making the choice he always makes, to watch a dying patient die and choose not to help, even though he could save the man’s life. He proceeds to explain why.
The Watcher refers to us as “lesser beings”. No offense taken.
His people once shared nuclear secrets with another race, who did with the knowledge what humanity has done and set on a path toward self-destruction.
Featuring: Watcher Release: January 10, 1964 Cover: April 1964 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script + art: L.D. Lieber Inking: P. Reinman Lettering: S. Rosen 5 pages
With this story, we finally finish all the January comics, after some jumping around in time. We’d already ready some February books, but now we have officially reached February in our reading.
The Watcher has another tale for us, concerning the one man on Earth who was seen as a failure because he refused to pursue success in business. He and his lady end up rulers of a galactic empire. The Watcher asks: “Can any of us ever really know who is a failure and who is not?”
