Tag: russ heath

PRELUDE: Young Men #24

The Return of… The Human Torch

Featuring: Human Torch
Release: September 11, 1953
Cover: December 1953
10 cents
9 pages

PreviousNext
Marvel Mystery Comics #92PRELUDEHuman Torch #38, Story D
Fantastic Four #56Reading orderFantastic Four Annual 4

…And that’s why I came here… from my grave!

The Human Torch returns!

Carl Burgos is on hand for the cover and draws the figure of the Human Torch on the opening page, but Russ Heath does most of the art for the issue. Notice Heath gives the Torch eyes and a mouth. Roy Thomas speculates that Heath had drawn the Torch on the first page, but an editor, perhaps Stan Lee, wasn’t happy and covered it with a Burgos drawing.

You can definitely see the difference as Heath gives the Human Torch weird eyes and a creepy smile instead of the blank face.

Burgos will return for the next 3 appearances of Human Torch in the pages of Young Men.

Young Men, there’s no need to feel down…

The GCD credits the script to Hank Chapman.

Continue reading “PRELUDE: Young Men #24”

PRELUDE: Marvel Boy #1

Marvel Boy and the Lost World

Featuring: Marvel Boy
Release: August 24, 1950
Cover: December 1950
10 cents
Credits: Russ Heath
12 pages

No credits are given in the issue. The art is generally recognized as being by Russ Heath.

I was thinking of waiting a long time to introduce Marvel Boy. He’ll show up in the Marvel Age in the pages of What If…? in 1978. The following year, a new hero named Quasar will be introduced, a character modeled partly after Marvel Boy. But it’s going to be a long time before I get to those comics. We’re still in 1963, after all.

And Marvel Boy is a significant superhero. Introduced in 1950 at a time when the company was starting to shy away from superheroes. Plus, his very name will have some significance to the company. Marvel Boy.

So let’s read his origin now, on the pretense that we’ve just been introduced to Marvel Girl.

The origin is a pretty good one, though if you squint a bit, you’ll see some resemblance to Superman’s origin. Marvel Boy’s father, Professor Matthew Grayson, was an early atomic scientist, able to build an atomic rocket in 1934. (Hey… maybe this allows us to add 5 years to Xavier’s age if people were experimenting with atomic power as early as 1934). When his wife and daughter are killed by Nazis, he retreats to space with his son, ending up on the planet Uranus, and discovering an advanced utopian society.

Continue reading “PRELUDE: Marvel Boy #1”