own – Coke & Comics

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: Iron Man
Release: March 10, 1964
Cover: June 1964
12 cents
Written (in his magic Marvel manner) by: Stan lee
Drawn (in his famous flashing fashion) by: Don Heck
Lettered (in his smooth subtle style) by: Art Simek
13 pages

We reach a personal milestone for me in this reading. Up to this point, every story I’ve read, I’ve used some form of reprint, often a collection from one of their reprint lines like Marvel Masterworks, sometimes a later comic that happens to reprint the old story.

This comic I own. Cover barely hanging on, brown at the edges, but this is mine. That cover? That’s a scan of my copy. Most of the other covers have been taken from the GCD.

So that’s pretty exciting.

Now for the bad news. The Mandarin returns. Iron Man’s lamest villain yet (despite some stiff competition) is back for round 2.

Iron Man gets a new helmet. The face mask no longer protrudes out, making his head a smoother shape, and there are visible bolts along the mask. I get the bolts along where the facemask meets the helmet, but not sure what the ones down the middle are doing. They won’t be around long. In fact, they’ll disappear mid-story suddenly without any plausible explanation.

It’s a pretty weird look, frankly. It will be better when that middle line of bolts goes away.

Tag: own

Tales of Suspense #54, Story C

Tales of Suspense #54