Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: August 2, 1966 Cover: November, 1966 25 cents Conceived and created by: Stan Lee (scenarist) & Jack Kirby (illustrator) Inked and lettered by: Joe Sinnott (Delineator) & Sam Rosen (Calligrapher) Recited and ignited by: Irving Forbush (part-time non-entity) 19 pages
The Original Human Torch! Reborn– only to die again!
We began our Marvel reading with Fantastic Four #1, released in August 1961. But Marvel had 22 years of history predating that comic. What is the relationship between those older comics and the modern 1960s ones? We’ve seen some impacts.
Featuring: Iron Man Release: September 9, 1965 Cover: December 1965 12 cents Writer: Stan Lee Penciller: Don Heck Inker: Mickey Demeo Letterer: Artie Simek 12 pages
The nation asks– no, it demands to know the true identity of one of its greatest heroes! We must learn– Who is Iron Man?
Let’s start with a bit of an apology to Iron Man. His character was introduced in Tales of Suspense #39, released December 10, 1962. So we just passed his 60th birthday and failed to mark the occasion with appropriate fanfare. Happy belated 60th, Iron Man.
Iron Man returns to America and cheering crowds, having triumphed over Titanium Man. But the victory was costly, as Happy now hovers on the edge of death.
Reporters seem eager to get the scoop on Iron Man’s true identity. I don’t really think it’s that hard if you want to do any amount of investigating.
Nobody ever seems concerned how casually Iron Man walks into Stark’s office and makes himself at home.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: July 1, 1965 Cover: 1965 25 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inked by: Vince Colletta Lettered by: Artie Simek 23 pages
I now pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss your bride!
It’s the wedding of the century. Today’s the day. Half the Marvels have been invited! And the rest of them are turning up anyway!
This issue represents by far the largest gathering of heroes and villains yet, forever binding these disparate characters into a universe.
This issue represents the idea that there is no status quo, that these characters are at their best when they change and grow. Forward momentum is an essential ingredient to storytelling. Genuine, non-illusionary, change.
This is the most significant moment in the early Marvel Universe.
I think I’d have come up with a better title than “Bedlam at the Baxter Building”.
I wish Chic Stone or Joe Sinnott had been the inker. A few months too late to have Stone and one month too early to have Sinnott. Also, Colletta is uniquely suited to a long special issue with many characters because he’s famously expedient.
I appreciate that the headline takes for granted the public knows who Reed and Sue are without the need for surnames or superhero identities. The cover does the same for its audience.
Pretty cool this worked out to be the 400th story in our reading order. Currently on track to also have the 500th story be a particularly special issue of Fantastic Four as well. When we read Avengers #1, it was the 100th story, but then I went and retroactively mucked with the ordering.
Featuring: Human Torch and Thing Release: January 12, 1965 Cover: April 1965 12 cents Story by: Stan (Prolific) Lee Illustrations by: Bob (Terrific) Powell Delineation by: Dick (Specific) Ayers Lettering by: S. (Hieroglyphic) Rosen 12 pages
Continuing through the Human Torch stories in Strange Tales while saving the Dr. Strange stories for much later.
Why is the story titled the “Bouncing Ball of Doom”? Because the Thinker’s plan involves a bouncing ball.
Huh.
How many Human Torch stories do we still have to read?
I must emphasize that the Dr. Strange story is one of the single greatest Marvel stories of all time, yet the Bouncing Ball of Doom is what gets spotlighted on the cover.
Featuring: Human Torch and Thing Release: August 11, 1964 Cover: November 1964 12 cents Stan Lee is our inspired writer Dick Ayers is our admired penciller Paul Reinman is our desired inker S. Rosen is our tired letterer 13 pages
Mad Thinker and Puppet Master team up to destroy the Fantastic Four; the plan is to use puppets to manipulate Thing and Human Torch into fighting.
I swear we’ve already read this story. Maybe I’m thinking of Strange Tales #116 where Puppet Master used puppets to manipulate Thing and Human Torch into fighting. Or Fantastic Four #28 where the Mad Thinker and Puppet Master teamed up to destroy the Fantastic Four.
Stan refers to the alliance of the Puppet Master and Mad Thinker as the “Deadly Duo”. That’s what Stan called the alliance of Dr. Doom and Namor in Fantastic Four #6. I guess there are so many alliterative appellations for abhorrent alliances.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: April 9, 1964 Cover: July 1964 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee (The leader!) Drawn by: Jack Kirby (The king!) Inked by: Chic Stone (The master!) Lettered by: Art Simek (The letterer!) 22 pages
Stan’s been doing “clever credits” for a while now, giving all sorts of nicknames to the creators. This one happens to be Kirby’s most famous nickname. He is generally known today as Jack “King” Kirby. This is the first time we’ve seen the “king” nickname in our reading. Can’t confirm whether it’s been used anywhere else before. This project began 20 years into Jack’s rather prolific career.
We turn now to the story, where the Fantastic Four and X-Men meet for the first time. (Well, Human Torch and Iceman had already met…)
We begin with a statue of Thing that has been sculpted by the brilliant Alicia, working by touch alone.
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.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: March 12, 1963 Cover: June 1963 12 cents Script: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 20 pages
I read this story in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1
In general, the desire to be king of the city’s gangs is an uninteresting motivation. The FF villains are better when they think bigger than the Thinker seems to be thinking here. The lack of a good supervillain plot cheapens the new villain out of the box. Nonetheless, the Thinker (sometimes called the Mad Thinker) will become a major FF adversary.
