larry lieber – Page 2 – Coke & Comics

Tales to Astonish #55, Story B

The Gypsy’s Secret!

Featuring: Wasp
Release: February 4, 1964
Cover: May 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script and art: Larry Lieber
Inking: George Bell
Lettering: Sherigail
5 pages

This is the first lettering we’ve seen attributed to “Sherigail”, a pseudonym for Morrie Kuramoto. The name is a combination of both his wife and daughter’s names.

I originally attributed the lettering to Ray Holloway. Thanks to Nel Yomtov for the correction.

I recognize that “gypsy” is an outdated and offensive word, but it’s in the title of the comic, and it’s how the comic describes the strange alien visitor.

Though the era of weird tales is ending, through the Wasp’s stories we get two more in this title.

Tales to Astonish #54, Story C

Conquest!

Featuring: Wasp
Release: January 3, 1964
Cover: April 1964
12 cents
Dreamed up by: Stan Lee
Scribbled + sketched by: Larry Lieber
Finished in India ink by: Sol Brodsky
Lettered + bordered by: At Simek
5 pages

Last issue, Porcupine seemed very interested in trying to learn Giant-Man’s secret identity. But Wasp’s mask has never covered her face and she doesn’t seem that concerned about her secret identity.

In fact, here we see her babysitting a friend’s child in costume. He refers to her as “Aunt Jan”. Maybe Porcupine wasn’t the genius he thought he was. It’s like thinking people somehow knew Sue was Invisible Girl but not that Johnny was Human Torch.

Tales of Suspense #51, Story C

The Primitive!

Featuring: Watcher
Release: December 9, 1963
Cover: March 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script and art: Larry Lieber
Inking: G. Bell
Lettering: S. Rosen
5 pages

In general, these science fiction tales are a poor fit for the Marvel Universe. They do better as standalone stories. Within the context of the Marvel Universe, a scientist wouldn’t be desperately trying to prove there are advanced alien civilizations out there… we already know that because dozens have invaded Earth.

We know the Watcher is part of the Marvel Universe, and he claims to be telling us a story of the future. But perhaps it is not the future of our Marvel heroes. Perhaps it is another future, maybe even our own. It is set in the far-off 21st century.

Tales to Astonish #53, Story B

When Wakes the Colossus!

Featuring: Wasp
Release: December 2, 1963
Cover: March 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script + Art: L.D. Lieber
Inking: D. Heck
Lettering: R. Holloway
5 pages

Once again, we get a Wasp story where she narrates another story. This time, she tells her story to Hank before heading to the Veterans hospital.

It concerns a warlord named Mingo (perhaps inspired by Ming from Flash Gordon). An atheistic conqueror, he takes advantage of his targets’ religious beliefs, easily defeating a people who don’t believe in fighting at night and another who can’t fight soldiers wearing sacred animal garb.

Tales of Suspense #50, Story C

Journey’s End!

Featuring: Watcher
Release: November 12, 1963
Cover: February 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script + art: Larry Lieber
Inking: S. Brodsky
Lettering: Art Simek
5 pages

The Watcher tells a tale of the distant future, the 21st century.

Wilbur Weems is a shy space pilot, teased by everybody for his general wimpiness. Having no friends or family or much of anything, he volunteers for an apparent suicide mission to investigate a cosmic dust cloud.

Tales to Astonish #52, Story B

Not What They Seem!

Featuring: Wasp
Release: November 6, 1963
Cover: February 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script and art: Larry Lieber
Inking: G. Bell
5 pages

Wasp visits an orphanage to tell another sci/fi tale. The main plot about prisoners pursued by the Space Patrol doesn’t have too much going for it. But along the way, one convict lists some weird planets he was aware of. And those planets all represent some cool sci/fi ideas.

Tales of Suspense #49, Story B

The Saga of the Sneepers!

Featuring: The Watcher
Release: October 8, 1963
Cover: January 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script and art: Larry Lieber
Inking: G. Bell
5 pages

“The Saga of the Sneepers” is the type of story that’s occupied this title since before Iron Man showed up, and has continued to exist in the form of backups to the main Iron Man stories. The difference between this and the ones we’ve opted not to read is that the Watcher is narrating it. That is the format of the first of these “Tales of the Watcher” stories.

The same format showed up this month in Tales to Astonish with “The Wonderful Wasp Tells a Tale“. The Watcher seems a more natural narrator of science fiction tales than the Wasp. The Wasp seems like she should be living adventures. The Watcher is forbidden to interfere in events, so narrating the events he observes is a more sensible use for the character than what he’s done in his two Fantastic Four appearances: interfering in events.

A notable difference between the two is that Wasp was presumably spinning a fictional story about the future to entertain, whereas the Watcher is narrating actual events. So the Sneepers are an actual alien race within the Marvel Universe; the Wobbows likely are not.

Tales to Astonish #51, Story C

Somewhere Waits a Wobbow!

Featuring: Wasp
Release: October 1, 1963
Cover: January 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script and art: Larry Lieber
Inking: G. Bell
5 pages

Wasp finally gets her own solo adventures… the first female character to do so. And she’ll spend the series… reading science fiction stories to sick children.

Huh. Not exactly where I thought her character arc was going.

So far, she has shown an interest in men, makeup, and fashion. At least her interest in science fiction is less stereotypical.

Really, this is the same type of story that has been appearing in this series after the Ant-Man tales all along. Weird little science fiction shorts. We’ve been skipping most of them. But now they’re part of our superhero reading because the Wasp is narrating them.

INTERLUDE: Journey Into Mystery #96, Story B

Call her… Medusa!

Featuring: Medusa
Release: July 2, 1963
Cover: September 1963
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script + Art: Larry Lieber
Inking: Paul Reinman
5 pages

Wet met Medusa in Tales to Astonish #32. As with all these mythological characters, it is unclear if all the stories that appear are supposed to connect. The CMRO includes many Medusa appearances in its order, including several appearances that predate where we started our reading. I hope to cover USA Comics #6 eventually in a “prelude” post, but after we first meet Captain America in the present stories.

For example, this comic notes Medusa was slain by Perseus, suggesting she is not the same character we met in the modern day. On the other hand, the Perseus story was related by a teacher, who is perhaps just wrong about Medusa’s fate.

Either way, we learn Medusa is a member of an alien race called the Gorgons, who are now ready to invade earth once again.

Tales to Astonish #43

The Mad Master of Time!

Featuring: Ant-Man
Release: February 5, 1963
Cover: May 1963
12 cents
Plot: Stan Lee
Script: Larry Lieber
Art: Don Heck
13 pages

I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man/Giant-Man vol. 1.

As with the Thor comic released the same day, this issue sports the spiffy new logo box with a picture of the lead character, the price, and the phrase “Marvel Comics Group”.

One of my gateways into the world of superheroes as a child was Batman: The Animated Series. A frequent feature of the show was villain origins that cast them in a sympathetic light. Often they were fired or otherwise screwed over by a corporate bigshot. Riddler, Clock King, Mr. Freeze… all were given origins where you could at least see why they were upset, even if supervillainy is rarely justified.

Professor Weems has such an origin. Fired based solely on his age. With the twist that he had been so excited to show his grandson his lab and his work. Not sure that would even be legal today. They’d at least need some better official story.