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.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: July 9, 1963 Cover: October 1963 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 22 pages
This bears some resemblance to the Iron Man story where he traveled to Ancient Egypt to battle a time-traveling Pharaoh (Pharoah?). Of course, this is much better.
Mr. Fantastic deduces from some museum hieroglyphs that blindness had once been cured in Ancient Egypt. So the Fantastic Four return to the castle where they first met Dr. Doom, where we find his time machine has just been sitting there this whole time. They use the machine to travel to a time when Egypt was ruled by Rama-Tut, who came from the future. Similar to Zarrko, Rama-Tut has been bored with the peace of his time and craved adventure.
I feel like you should have gone back for this equipment before now…
Attempting to reflect on what future comics will do with this story hurts my brain. There will be contradictions and explanations. Rama-Tut will be connected to several other time-traveling characters. And they’ll further explore this moment in history to learn Apocalypse, Dr. Strange, and the Avengers are lurking around behind the scenes. We’ll spend no more time on such reflections until we need to.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: July 9, 1963 Cover: October 1963 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Steve Ditko 21 pages
The opening page tells us the names of many characters, two named for the first time. We learned last issue that Peter’s blonde classmate was named Liz. We now get the full name: Liz Allan. Last issue, we met Jameson’s secretary Miss Brant. We learn on that first page her name is Betty.
We’ve now seen plenty of crossover amongst the heroes of the titles; now they’re starting to share villains. One week earlier, Thor brought his archfoe Loki along with him for Avengers #1. Now, the Fantastic Four will lend their favorite villain to Spider-Man. Of course, they’ll also be showing up to lend a hand.
Because they’re borrowing a villain, this is the first issue of Amazing Spider-Man where Ditko doesn’t create a timeless villain. He’ll get back to that practice next issue.
Perhaps for that reason or others, this is one of the weaker Spider-Man stories yet. Of course, a weak Spider-Man story is still on par with the best of the other titles.
They summarize Doom’s most recent appearance in Fantastic Four, showing tight continuity. Also taken from Doom’s previous appearance is his use of robot doubles.
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: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes Release: July 2, 1963 Cover: September 1963 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 22 pages
The scans below are taken from a reprint in Special Marvel Edition #5, from 1972.
The goal of this blog is to get at the large meta-story that is the Marvel Universe. What we are mostly reading is a collection of titles that don’t seem to be particularly related except for one piece of glue: the Fantastic Four. At this point, the Fantastic Four have met Spider-Man, Hulk, Namor, and Ant-Man. They have not yet met up with Iron Man or Thor, but we have here a more unlikely connection. The story of how Reed Richards met Sgt. Fury.
Of course, the bonds will be forming even stronger in another comic that premieres this very same day, one which really ties the universe together, just as a rug might do to a room.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: July 2, 1963 Cover: 1963 25 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inking: Steve Ditko 6 pages
This is a very odd story. Something of a remake. It takes pages 2-4 of the second story from Amazing Spider-Man #1 and redraws them, expanding the story to 6 pages. This time, drawn by Kirby and inked by Ditko.
I don’t know why. The opening editor’s note claims it’s because fans demanded it, but Stan Lee always claimed that fans demanded everything. In the original, each member takes one go at Spidey. This time, each gets two.
Sue has a different haircut and each artist renders her invisibility differently. Ditko makes her shape clearer. In contrast, it’s Kirby who more clearly renders Johnny’s outline when he’s aflame.
Rather than offer any commentary of possible general interest to a story we’ve already talked about, I’m going to focus on the academic, and just give a full comparison of the stories. Some dialogue is copied, some slightly changed, some original. Some panels are new, while others closely match original panels. All seem redrawn from scratch.
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: Human Torch Release: June 11, 1963 Cover: September 1963 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script: Joe Carter Art: Dick Ayers 13 pages
Script is by Joe Carter. Carter… Hmmm… I’ve read a lot of comics, but not sure I know the name. Let’s google. Ah, it’s a pen name. No biggie. So is “Stan Lee”. His real name is apparently Jerry Siegel. Ah, apparently he wrote some comics under his own name. Let’s check his bibliography and see if anything sounds familiar.
Wonder what this Joe Carter guy has worked on before? Probably something super.
This seems to be his first Marvel work, but he’d done some stuff for DC (and probably wants to hide that he’s freelancing for Marvel). Often collaborated with Joe Shuster. He co-created Dr. Occult. That’s cool. Oh, and Slam Bradley. I like Slam. And some new members for the Legion of Superheroes like Bouncing Boy and Matter-Eater Lad. That’s quite the resume for this “Jerry Siegel” fella. Almost seems like slumming to work on a lowly Human Torch story for a creator of Slam Bradley. You’d think he’d be rolling in dough from royalties for all the characters he helped create for DC. He created a bunch more characters too, but I think those are the most notable ones.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: June 11, 1963 Cover: September 1963 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 21 pages
It’s perhaps cheating that I’ve seen so many later renderings of Super-Skrull, but hindsight being the new year, that’s not a great image of Super-Skrull on the cover. It suggests only that he has Human Torch powers. No hint that he has the powers of the entire Fantastic Four (well, no visual hint. I guess the text tells you). He should be rocky and flaming and stretching and invisible. My two cents. Though he’s also never rocky in the issue, just strong. But he should be rocky.
At this point, the earth has been invaded by about a dozen alien races this year. All of whom have given up and withdrawn entire fleets at the slightest hint of possible resistance. The Skrulls are the first to return, to try again after their ignoble defeat.
Their plan is to make an agent powerful enough to stop the Fantastic Four, reasoning it was the FF who defeated them before. But the Fantastic Four did not defeat the Skrulls, at least not with their powers. The Skrulls were scared off by pictures of monsters in comic books. So really, they should make an agent powerful enough to fight all the monsters that scared them away.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: May 9, 1963 Cover: August 1963 12 cents Story: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 22 pages
I read this story in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1.
We see the first of an effect that will be used again on Fantastic Four covers. Four panels on the cover. One for each member of the team. Perhaps with a centerpiece for the villain.
Alicia gets herself kidnapped by Dr. Doom. The girlfriend being held hostage is an old superhero trope going back to Lois Lane. We’ve seen it in the Marvel Universe already with Jane Foster.
We get a little insight into Doom’s mindset. He relates to the Thing, as both are grotesque. Yet, Thing has found love. Rather than causing him to reflect that maybe it’s okay to remove his mask, Doom still believes nobody can love him and vows revenge on all humanity. Notice that the art is going out of its way to not show us Doom’s face.
