paul reinman – Page 3 – Coke & Comics

Tales of Suspense #49

The New Iron Man Meets The Angel!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: October 8, 1963
Cover: January 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Illustrated by: Steve Ditko
Inked by: P. Reinman
18 pages

Paul Reinman on inks. It’s not often Ditko gets an inker. He usually does his own finishes. His first Iron Man story had Don Heck doing “refinement”. I think that’s the only other time we’ve seen anybody else finishing Ditko. Paul Reinman has been inking the X-Men comics, so he may be here to help keep their faces on-model.

Once again, that weird note at the beginning; we’ve seen something similar in every crossover. Stan thanks the editors of X-Men for letting the characters appear. You are the editor, Stan. But there may be legal reasons for this. Martin Goodman played all types of crazy games with shell companies and such to save a buck here and there.

The idea is it’s all one continuity, one universe. That’s why we read these comics together. But we don’t know that any character is part of that continuity until they cross over. At first, crossovers were sparse. It was a while before there was any hint Iron Man and Thor might be in this world. Crossovers have become increasingly common. After only two issues of X-Men, we learn they are a part of this world. The main story is a battle between Iron Man and Angel, but all the X-Men and Avengers will also show up.

The Avengers #2

The Space Phantom

Featuring: Avengers
Release: September 3, 1963
Cover: November 1963
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inking: Paul Reinman
22 pages

Cover box of the second issue matches the first. Wasp is still left out. Ant-Man has not yet been updated to Giant-Man.

Now that Ant-Man is Giant-Man, his strength is at least vaguely in the same class as the rest of his male teammates. The giant-formula has not been shared with his partner, the Wasp. And will not be any time soon.

Thor comments on Hulk’s outfit. We saw a similar exchange in Avengers #1½.

Notice Hulk clearly has 3 toes on each foot.

The X-Men #2

No One Can Stop the Vanisher!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: September 3, 1963
Cover: November 1963
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: Paul Reinman
22 pages

For the second issue in a row, the cover reads, “In the sensational Fantastic Four style”. They are really trying to hype the tenuous similarity to Fantastic Four. The cover box also matches the previous issue, so it seems like the standard one. Odd that they chose an image which only highlights 3 of the X-Men. At least they don’t fit in everybody but the one woman, like the Avengers cover box.

Professor X has warned the X-Men that people will distrust them. But when I look at the last couple issues, evidence of that is lacking. The military seemed very grateful to the X-Men last issue. This issue, a gaggle of girls want to kiss Angel; Jean needs to shove them away. The construction workers seem grateful to Cyclops and Iceman for saving them. Xavier has contacts at the FBI, who are willing to lend him a special jet and seemingly clear the White House lawn to allow the X-Men to tackle this new threat their way. It’s weird.

What is a mutant? There are lots of super-powered beings running around now. I’ve already lost count. Very few have been described as mutants. Just Tad, Merlin, Namor, the X-Men, and Magneto. Xavier suspects the Vanisher is a mutant, but is not sure. It’s obvious that the Vanisher has “X-tra” powers. Professor X adds a bit of clarity to the question. He suggests that mutants are people born with their extra powers. So people who gain their powers from cosmic rays, gamma bombs, or radioactive spider bites would not be mutants.

The X-Men #1

X-Men

Featuring: X-Men
Release: July 2, 1963
Cover September 1963
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: Paul Reinman
23 pages

Paul Reinman is not a name we’ve seen a lot. The internet tells me we’ve seen him ink Kirby once before in our reading, on Incredible Hulk #1, but he was not credited in that issue. That issue relied heavily on the mood created by night and shadow, so it needed a good inker. This issue requires an entirely different feel, but Reinman again delivers.

So, anyways, hey! It’s the X-Men! That’s a good new addition to our growing cast. They were really big when I started reading comics in the early ’90s. And they’ve had a whole bunch of movies now. So this is pretty exciting. We get to see how it all began.

And did you know the X-Men and the Avengers debuted on the very same day? How wild is that? We’ll cover Avengers #1 shortly.

We learn the X-Men are a team of mutants, really the students at a school for mutants, which also acts as a haven. Professor X is the teacher. He trains his students to use their powers to benefit mankind, and to fight evil mutants, like Magneto.

The word “mutant” is important, but pretty new to us. It’s worth reflecting back on Amazing Adult Fantasy #14, where we first encountered the word in our reading. I’m not sure what Marvel comic was the first to ever use the word, but I know who to ask. In that story, Tad Carter is revealed to be a mutant with telepathic and telekinetic powers, because his father had been exposed to radiation before he was conceived. He receives a telepathic summons and goes to join a secret society of self-described mutants with a variety of powers, who wait in hiding until humanity is ready to accept them, when they can usher in a new golden age.

We heard the word again in two other comics published this very day, July 2, 1963. Namor, the offspring of a human and a Sub-Mariner, with powers beyond either race, self-described as a mutant. And Merlin, wizard of King Arthur’s court, explained his seeming wizardry was actually because he was a mutant with powers of telepathy, teleportation, and levitation.

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.

Incredible Hulk #1

The Coming of the Hulk/The Hulk Strikes!/The Search for the Hulk/Enter… The Gargoyle!/The Hulk Triumphant!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: March 1, 1962
Cover: May 1962
12 cents
Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Inks: Paul Reinman (uncredited)
24 pages

I read this issue in Incredible Hulk Omnibus vol. 1. Stan and Jack signed the issue. The omnibus’ table of contents notes Paul Reinman is the inker.

Now it seems like we’re getting somewhere. I began with a promise of reading this shared Marvel Universe starting with Fantastic Four #1. But it’s been a week and you might be asking, “Where’s the universe?” We’ve read 4 issues of Fantastic Four, a few random sci-fi/horror comics from the period, and you’ve read a handful of comics from BEFORE Fantastic Four #1. All fair points. Where are the other Marvel heroes?

We have covered in the last week about 6 months worth of ground. We started in August of 1961 and have found our way to March of 1962. Finally, we meet our next recognizable hero.