Featuring: X-Men Release: June 2, 1966 Cover: August 1966 12 cents Edited in ecstacy by Stan Lee Written in rapture by Roy Thomas Drawn in delight by Werner Roth Delineated in depth by Dick Ayers Lettered in a lawn-chair by Artie Simek 20 pages
It is only in this form, in which I have no solid substance, that I can know anything like the thrill of walking again!
Werner Roth had been referring to himself as “Jay Gavin” these last several issues. But now he’s ready to use his real name in the credits.
We pick up where last issue left off, with the X-Men prisoners of Count Nefaria and the new Maggia, with lieutenants picked from an assortment of titles.
Now Nefaria executes his plan, holding Washington DC hostage, blackmailing America, and framing the X-Men.
Featuring: X-Men Release: May 3, 1966 Cover: July 1966 12 cents Editor emeritus: Stan Lee Script by: Roy Thomas Art by: Jay Gavin Inking by: Dick Ayers Lettering by: Artie Simek Colosso by: Irving Forbush Robotics, Inc. 20 pages
And, we did it as a team! No one of us could have done it alone!
The cover shows quite the assemblage of super-villains, with the X-Men reduced to floating heads.
As noted before (such as in the last X-Men arc), I find it interesting when super-villains treated as major threats upon their debut get relegated to henchman status. This starts to get them categorized as miscellaneous villains, but at least keeps them from being forgotten.
The story begins in the Danger Room, the most common place for an X-Men story to begin, then as now. Professor X has created a robot named Colosso for the X-Men to fight. And the robot was created to teach a very particular lesson. He can counter all the powers of the individual X-Men, but they can beat him as a team.
Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes Release: April 12, 1966 Cover: June 1966 12 cents Written by: Roy Thomas Illustrated by: Dick Ayers Inked by: J. Tartaglione Lettered by: Sam Rosen 20 pages
I guess these big bad nazis plain scared me so much I couldn’t remember a thing!
This is an above-average Sgt. Fury story. It’s got a more intricate plot than usual with some clear stakes. Captain Sawyer gets a larger role, allowing his character to be fleshed out some. And it’s notable for introducing us finally to General Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander. I like that guy.
We saw in last issue’s text box that D-Day was approaching. We see the Howlers training underwater for that mission, dubbed Operation Overlord.
Featuring: X-Men Release: March 3, 1966 Cover: May 1966 12 cents Expertly edited by: Stan Lee Skillfully scripted by: Roy Thomas Perfectly penciled by: Jay Gavin Ideally inked by: Dick Ayers Laxly lettered by: Artie Simek 20 pages
With this issue, Roy Thomas takes over as regular writer on The X-Men, a position he will hold for the next two years. Some sources suggest Stan gave a writing assist on this and the next issue, but Stan is only credited as Editor. (Of course, even as editor, Stan’s credit goes first.)
It begins with fake X-Men, villains seeking to ruin their reputation.
As Mark had previously noted in comments, you can spot the villains by the smoking of cigarettes.
Featuring: Dr. Strange Release: February 10, 1966 Cover: May 1966 12 cents Edited with percipacity by: Stan Lee Written with precocity by: Roy Thomas Plotted and illustrated with profundity by: Steve Ditko Lettered with the windows closed by: Artie Simek 10 pages
How dare you make a request of the great Tazza! In the name of Satannish the Supreme, you shall join the other unmoving forms in my hallowed halls…
We are in what I see as the spinning-the-wheels phase. We had an extremely tense and fast-paced adventure that took us from issues 130-141. Then it slowed down. Mordo was defeated. Dormammu was humbled. Loose plot threads included servants of Mordo’s to deal with, and this woman who had helped Strange, who was now a prisoner of Dormammu. We’ve spent the last couple issues dealing with Mordo’s servants and now we’ll go look for this unnamed woman.
Dormammu was beaten with yet another vow to not move against Strange. But there’s a loophole if you read the fine print. Dormammu agreed not to attack Strange on Earth. But if the good Doctor travels to another dimension…
Featuring: Dr. Strange Release: January 11, 1966 Cover: April 1966 12 cents Edited and rehashed by: Stan Lee Written and rewritten by: Roy Thomas Plotted and drawn by: Steve Ditko Lettered and blotted by: Artie Simek 10 pages
And just like that, Stan Lee is not writing this series any more. He’s been the credited writer since the beginning, and isn’t quite done as the regular writer. But he’s off for the next half dozen issues or so. Last issue was his final collaboration with Ditko on the character of Dr. Strange. Maybe for the best as they no longer get along by this point.
Roy Thomas is Marvel’s young writer that Lee will increasingly be leaning on to take the burden of scripting some of these titles. He’s now the regular scripter on Sgt. Fury, but is only on Dr. Strange for the next two issues.
Either way, this is really Ditko’s comic. Whoever is scripting is just there for finishing touches.
We’re kind of maybe still in the middle of the Eternity Saga. Mordo defeated. Dormammu humbled. That woman missing. The Ancient One off searching for her. Mordo’s minions causing trouble. Dr. Strange with his hands and face bound, and his amulet and cloak stolen.
In this issue, Strange defeats the disciples and recovers his amulet and cloak.
Notably, we still don’t get the name for either disciple. The man will eventually be named Kaecilius, and he’ll be the main villain in the first Dr. Strange film, played by Mads Mikkelsen.
The woman will be known as Adria. It will be 16 years before either shows up again.
Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Release: February 10, 1966 Cover: April 1966 12 cents Explosive editing by: Stan Lee Seething script by: Roy Thomas Pulsating pencils by: Dick Ayers Invigorating inking by: John Tartaglione Lacksadaisal lettering by Sam Rosen 20 pages
Armageddon… that the day when good and evil are supposed ta lock horns for the last time… with the good guys comin’ out on top! ‘Course, I know we went through that ‘war to end war’ jazz before! Still, a guy can’t help hopin’–! Yeah, every once in a while, I get ta thinkin’… mebbe this one will be the last war! Mebbe—
We met Roy Thomas in his first Marvel story featuring Millie the Model. He’s since done other work for Millie and for Kid Colt Outlaw. He has a couple other credits out there because he’d submitted some story ideas to other companies before landing the Marvel gig, and they’re now seeing print. We saw him a second time on a confusingly credited issue of Iron Man that seemed like they’d recruited everybody around.
This will be his first ongoing series. He’ll script the next 12 issues of Sgt. Fury. And the first time any of these Marvel titles have seen Stan Lee take a break of longer than a couple issues. Stan Lee has penned his last Sgt. Fury script. Without much fanfare.
Of course, Stan Lee still gets his name first in the credits. He is indeed the editor for this and all the titles.
It’s worth noting that right away Thomas will start referencing the continuity of earlier issues.
Thomas picks up where Lee left off with a tense face-off between Fury and his archnemesis, Baron Strucker. Strucker has a switch which will blow up the entire city; Fury a trigger to blow the building they are both in.
Except Fury is bluffing. His explosives aren’t wired yet.
Featuring: Iron Man Release: October 12, 1965 Cover: January 1966 12 cents Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Adam Austin, Gary Michaels, Sol Brodsky, Flo Steinberg, and Merrie Ol’ Marie Severin! 12 pages
Now look, Avenger– No one takes the law into his own hands– not even you!
Stan seems to be crediting an unusual amount of people, but it’s really people who are always involved. Lee always credits himself, this time presumably in an editing role. Roy Thomas is the scripter, Adam Austin (aka Gene Colan) the penciller, Gary Michaels (aka Jack Abel) the inker. The other names show up less commonly in credits. Sol Brodsky is the production manager, and usually is, though uncredited. Marie Severin is the colorist, and frequently is, though uncredited. (Unfortunately we won’t see any of Severin’s coloring in my images, as I’ve only found the digital version online, which is entirely recolored, and that’s likely Stan Goldberg coloring the cover above.) What’s interesting here is Flo Steinberg, who’s been behind the scenes since the beginning, handling the office work for Marvel. She gets her name here apparently because she assisted Roy with the plot.
Weirdly, for all that crediting, they forgot to mention the letterer. Apparently this time normal letter Artie Simek is joined by Ben Oda.
Speaking of Roy Thomas, that’s the new guy we first met on Modeling with Millie, which was released one week earlier. This is his first superhero work. Wonder if he’ll do any more.
Jack Abel is also new to us in our modern reading, though we read an old Captain America story he’d likely contributed to. He’d worked for Marvel back in the 1950s, often inking Bill Benulis or Bob Forgione, but lately has been focused on DC’s war comics. It’s probably why he uses a pseudonym here, so DC won’t know he’s doing side-work. He’ll eventually move on to DC’s superhero line and become the main inker on Superman stories. Here’s a sampling of his artwork.
Journey Into Mystery #20, Marvel, 1954
Our Fighting Forces #50, DC, 1959
Sea-Devils #14, DC, 1963
And a sampling of his finishing work.
Western Outlaws and Sheriffs #72, Marvel, 1952, pencils by Warren Broderick
Adventures into Terror #11, Marvel, 1952, pencils by Bill Benulis
Combat Casey #11, Marvel, 1953, pencils by Bill Benulis
All-American Men of War #25, DC, 1955, pencils by Bob Forgione
Wyatt Earp #1, Marvel, 1955, pencils by Bob Forgione
Turok, Son of Stone #3, Dell, 1956, pencils by Bob Correa
As a complete aside, the plot of that Adventures into Terror story amused me to no end. Lots of these stories about somebody murdering a partner for ambition. But in this case, they were a two-man horse act, and the guy who played the end of the horse wanted to play the horse’s head. Talk about ambition!
Someday I’m gonna marry this adorable gal… but I’ve got to wait until she gets this career idea out of her system!
No credits are given. This was a production error as the title usually includes credits. Pencils are by Stan Goldberg with inks by Frank Giacoia and Joe Giella. The script is by a young man named Roy Thomas.
It seems like Millie’s dreams have come true when she, Tony, and Chili are sent to Paris by Mr. Hanover to model for Jacques D’eau, the most famous fashion designer in the world.
Prisoners of Doctor Doom!/Back to the Past!/On the Trail of Blackbeard/Battle!/The Vengeance of Doctor Doom! Release: April 10, 1962 Cover: July 1962 12 cents Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Inker: Joe Sinnot (uncredited) 23 pages
I read this comic in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby signed the issue. The omnibus credits Joe Sinnot as the inker in the table of contents.
I am of two minds about this comic. Let me tell you of both of them.
One the one hand, the premise of the series is that this team gets into fantastic adventures. Travelling back in time to battle pirates qualifies as such an adventure. And as stories about the FF travelling back in time to battle pirates go, this one is pretty solid.
On the other hand, this issue introduces Dr. Doom. Dr. Doom is perhaps my favorite super-villain ever, and this issue just doesn’t quite capture the Dr. Doom that I first met. Whatever I envisioned about the first encounter between our heroes and their arch-nemesis, it wasn’t this.
