sam rosen – Page 10 – Coke & Comics

X-Men #13

Where Walks the Juggernaut!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: July 1, 1965
Cover: September 1965
12 cents
Story by smilin’ Stan Lee
Layouts by jolly Jack Kirby
Penciling by Jay Gavin
Inking by Joe Sinnott
Lettering by Swingin’ Sam Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#331	Next
X-Men #12	Reading order	Fantastic Four #38
X-Men #12	X-Men	X-Men #14

We are jumping a bit ahead with X-Men, as issues 11-13 all take place the same day, but the comic is bi-monthly. In general, we are still in March 1965, which is when X-Men #11 was released.

Last issue sort of introduced the Juggernaut. We mostly saw him in shadow and marveled at how easily he broke through the X-Men’s defenses. He was revealed in the last panel. Most of the issue had been about Xavier’s youth. Now, we meet Juggernaut properly.

We also had the legendary Alex Toth on art, as Kirby is moving off X-Men. Kirby has often been the go-to guy for getting series started, but then usually soon handed off the reins. Fantastic Four is the only series he’s really stuck with so far. Though he’ll do a decent stretch on Captain America, and his recent return to Thor is for the long haul.

Let’s look at the credits. Jay Gavin is a new name, and not even a real one. Jay and Gavin are the names of the sons of Werner Roth, our new artist. Werner Roth is not quite the legend that Alex Toth is. He is probably most notable for this stint on X-Men, where he is unfortunately stuck being “the guy that followed Kirby”. He got started in comics later than many peers, already 30 or so before working regularly. He’s already 44 at this point as he takes the reins on X-Men. He died tragically young at the age of 52, never quite having set the world of comics on fire.

X-Men #12

The Origin of Professor X!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: May 4, 1965
Cover: July 1965
12 cents
Stupifying story by: Stan Lee
Spectacular layouts by: Jack Kirby
Slam-bang pencilling by: Alex Toth
Sensational inking by: Vince Colletta
The usual lettering by: Sam Rosen
Kibitzing by: the whole blamed bullpen!
20 pages

Previous	#330	Next
X-Men #11	Reading order	X-Men #13
X-Men #11	X-Men	X-Men #13

Happy Labor Day. Thanks to all the workers, past and present, for all they have done to shape this nation by the fruits of their labors.

We just read X-Men #11. And by just, I mean over 2 weeks ago. Sorry, life stuff got in the way of my comic reading priorities. That issue ended with alarms warning the X-Men of what Xavier called the most deadly danger they had ever faced approaching. Seeming to ignore the fact that they’d just faced a godlike alien being.

I’ve left us hanging with that cliffhanger for 2 weeks now. But it’s better than kids in the 60s had it. They had to wait 2 months to meet this new menace, and then perhaps be disappointed to learn we don’t actually glimpse him until the very final panel.

Before we get to the story, we must ask questions about the credits: Why are there so many artists? And who is this Alex Toth? What’s this bullpen?

This is the second time Stan has referred to the “bullpen” in the credits, and the second time he has credited them with kibitzing.

Strange Tales #133

The Terrible Toys!

Featuring: Human Torch and Thing
Release: March 11, 1965
Cover: June 1965
12 cents
Written in the magnificent Stan Lee tradition!
Illustrated in the majestic Bob Powell manner!
Inked in the magiloquent Mick Demeo style!
Lettered in the mortgaged Sam Rosen home!
12 pages

Previous		Next
Strange Tales #132	Reading order	Strange Tales #134
Strange Tales #132, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #133, Story B

Due to the tightness of forthcoming FF chronology, we are reading ahead a bit in these Human Torch stories. Since Dr. Strange is still involved in a big saga, we are still holding off on reading Dr. Strange stories.

Dr. Strange at last gets half of the cover, but Kirby’s work here doesn’t quite do justice to the tale Ditko is spinning inside.

Stan notes the story will start in the middle. That is unusual for one of these stories, but it’s a classical storytelling technique, en media res.

This issue promises a surprise twist, an old villain in a new guise. I don’t want to spoil the big surprise.

Strange Tales #132

The Sinister Space Trap!

Featuring: Human Torch and Thing
Release: February 11, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
Edited with reckless abandon by: Stan Lee
Written with daring bravado by: Larry Ivie
Drawn with brash impetuosity by: Bob Powell
Inked with reckless vigor by: M. Demeo
Lettered with a soggy penpoint by: S. Rosen
12 pages

Previous		Next
Amazing Spider-Man #24	Reading order	Strange Tales #133
Strange Tales #131, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #132, Story B

Dr. Strange gets a small box on the cover to acknowledge his story.

Yesterday was the 60th anniversary of the publication of Fantastic Four #1. Wish I could have timed my posts to have something better than this Human/Torch Thing story to celebrate with. So it goes. Happy birthday, Foursome!

Art by Alex Ross, inspired by Jack Kirby.

Lots to unpack from the credits page.

We’ve already met Mr. Demeo (Mike Esposito), as he also picked up inking on Iron Man this month.

Larry Ivie is a new name to us. He is an occasional comics writer and artist, and perhaps best known as a comics fan.

The blog, Professor H’s Wayback Machine, recently did a tribute series to Ivie’s work on his self-published fanzine, Heroes & Monsters.

This is the last we’ll see of Ivie for some time, but he’ll do occasional Marvel work here and there over the next couple decades.

Also unusual in the credits is a comic Stan Lee takes no writing credit on. This isn’t the first time, but it’s been a rare occurrence, and will become less rare. Stan still gets his name first in the credits somehow.

What we would today call editing is certainly a contribution that Stan makes to every one of these books, and not one to be taken lightly. The issues arise on the comics where he worked as an editor but credited himself as a writer.

Things are heating up in the Fantastic Four book, and there won’t be much space for solo adventures. So far, with only a few exceptions, Fantastic Four adventures have fit into a single issue, where one could easily imagine these Human Torch stories fitting in between the issues. But, as is the general trend these titles are taking, Fantastic Four stories are going to get more involved, with cliffhanger endings which lead us right into the next issue.

To that end, we’re going to knock out the next few Human Torch/Thing stories presently, getting us a little ahead with them. We’ll eventually revisit all these comics and read the Dr. Strange stories.

Thus subjecting myself and you to three of these in a row.

But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel…

Amazing Spider-Man #24

Spider-Man Goes Mad!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: February 11, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
Mighty script by: Stan Lee
Powerful art by: Steve Ditko
A lotta lettering by: S. Rosen
20 pages

Previous		Next
Tales of Suspense #65, Story B	Reading order	Strange Tales #132
Amazing Spider-Man #23	Amazing Spider-Man	Amazing Spider-Man #25

I declared last month’s cover the best we’ve yet seen. Two months earlier, I’d declared it that cover. I really don’t want to keep doing that, but man, look at that crazy cover. It brings to mind Ditko’s roots in weird horror tales, and captures some of the madness of his Dr. Strange work.

The comic more than lives up to the cover.

The opening splash is also excellent. It shows Spider-Man haunted by the same ghost images of his villains, but makes it clear that’s a psychiatrist’s office, and it’s Spidey in the chair. And from the look on the doctor’s face, not about to receive a favorable diagnosis regarding his mental stability.

Aunt May is still struggling with the bills, and Peter plans to make more money taking pictures of Spider-Man to help out. Remember the theme of responsibility. Most often, it’s assumed his responsibility is to do good as Spider-Man, but he also has a responsibility to his aunt.

Tales of Suspense #65, Story B

The Red Skull Strikes!

Featuring: Captain America
Release: February 12, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
By: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Inking: Chic Stone
Lettering: S. Rosen
10 pages

Previous		Next
Tales of Suspense #65	Reading order	Amazing Spider-Man #24
Tales of Suspense #65	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #66

As with the last two issues, this is closely based on a story from Captain America Comics #1. As with the last two issues, Joe Simon is not credited.

We at this point are well versed in the Red Skull stories of the 1940s and 50s. We are now primed to see the modern take on the Red Skull, beginning with this retelling of his first adventure.

There are significant changes, many with the effect to sanitize the story, make it less violent and more kid-friendly. For example, in this version the Red Skull is not a killer. The plot of the original was all about him murdering people.

I’ll note the shared story beats common to the stories.

The story begins with Private Rogers and Mascot Barnes escorting Major Croy. They warn him it’s not safe to be alone, but he dismisses them any way.
The Red Skull attacks Major Croy.
Red Skull’s henchmen loot a bank.
Captain America and Bucky track down the Red Skull, but the Skull escapes them.
Mr. Maxon is observing a test of his new plane. Private Rogers is present. When the plane crashes, likely due to sabotage, Maxon expresses concern, but not for the lives lost, which upsets Rogers.
Red Skull attacks a General, and then is revealed to be Mr. Maxon.

With that corresponding outline, there are heavy differences.

Tales of Suspense #65

When Titans Clash!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: February 11, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
Story by Marvel’s merriest marcher: Stan Lee
Art by Marvel’s most amiable artist: Don Heck
Inking by Marvel’s dizziest delineator: Mickey Demeo
Lettering by Marvel’s persnippiest pen-pusher: Sam Rosen
12 pages

Previous		Next
Young Men #27, Story B	Prelude
Sgt. Fury #16	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #65, Story B
Tales of Suspense #64, Story B	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #65, Story B

We just spent several weeks reading Red Skull stories to prepare for this, and it’s an Iron Man story. What gives.

But I see Red Skull on the cover. Ah, flipping ahead, there are two stories in this comic. The second story is about Captain America and the Red Skull. Maybe we’ll get there tomorrow.

There’s a new name in the credits. Who is Mickey Demeo? Well, his real Name is Mike Esposito. He’s been working in comics since leaving the army in the late 1940s, and is best known for his decades of collaboration with Ross Andru. I know him best as an inker, but he was often the main penciller on his earlier work. He and Ross Andru started small publishers together in the 1950s, including Mikeross Publications, and MR Publications, which published Mr. Universe. Esposito and Ross had a decade-long collaboration on the character of Wonder Woman, which helped give a definitive and iconic look to the character. Together with writer Bob Kanigher, they co-created the original Suicide Squad and the Metal Men. Esposito will become a significant inker on Amazing Spider-Man, for a time in collaboration with Andru.

Why the alias? He probably doesn’t want DC to know he’s doing Marvel work. And it’s not just this title. He’s also inking this month’s Human Torch and Avengers adventures.

Here is a sampling of some early pencil work by Esposito.

Men’s Adventures #6 (Marvel, 1951)
Weird Adventures #3 (PL Publishing, 1951)
Girl Comics #8 (Marvel, 1951)
Blazing Sixguns #15 (Super Comics, 1963)

And here is some of his inking work in collaboration with Ross Andru.

Mr. Universe #2 (MR Publications, 1951)
All-American Men of War #6 (DC, 1953)
Get Lost #1 (Mikeross Publications, 1954)
Wonder Woman #58 (DC, 1958)
Brave and the Bold #25 (DC, 1959)
Showcase #37 (DC, 1962)

On to Iron Man. In this issue, Iron Man fights Iron Man!

Really, the new Iron man fights the old Iron Man.

That is, somebody steals Tony Stark’s new armor. So Tony has to put on his old armor to fight him.

Strange Tales #131

The Bouncing Ball of Doom!

Featuring: Human Torch and Thing
Release: January 12, 1965
Cover: April 1965
12 cents
Story by: Stan (Prolific) Lee
Illustrations by: Bob (Terrific) Powell
Delineation by: Dick (Specific) Ayers
Lettering by: S. (Hieroglyphic) Rosen
12 pages

Previous	#318	Next
Tales of Suspense #64, Story B	Reading order	Fantastic Four #37
Strange Tales #130, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #131, Story B
Captain America Comics #1, Story C	Prelude

Continuing through the Human Torch stories in Strange Tales while saving the Dr. Strange stories for much later.

Why is the story titled the “Bouncing Ball of Doom”? Because the Thinker’s plan involves a bouncing ball.

Huh.

How many Human Torch stories do we still have to read?

I must emphasize that the Dr. Strange story is one of the single greatest Marvel stories of all time, yet the Bouncing Ball of Doom is what gets spotlighted on the cover.

Tales of Suspense #64, Story B

Among Us, Wreckers Dwell!

Featuring: Captain America
Release: January 12, 1965
Cover: April 1965
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Illustrator: Jack Kirby
Delineator: Frank Ray
Letterer: S. Rosen
10 pages

Previous	#317	Next
	Prelude	Captain America Comics #1, Story C
Tales of Suspense #64	Reading order	Strange Tales #131
Tales of Suspense #64	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #65

This is an extremely close retelling of the second story from Captain America Comics #1, which we covered back when Captain America first returned in Avengers #4.

The original story is most notable for being Captain America’s first case and for introducing Betty Ross.

I see I didn’t go into great detail on the plot in that post, writing this:

The story of the comic doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. I can’t begin to try to explain it and I’m not sure it’s worth considering all the many ways in which it makes no sense. Suffice it to say they stop the bad guys.

We’ll delve deeper here.

Last issue was a close retelling of the first story from Captain America Comics #1, which was the story of Captain America’s origin. Next issue will be a retelling of Captain America’s first battle against Red Skull from the same issue. It makes sense why one might want to revisit those two stories. And then there’s this one.

The original stories are by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Joe Simon’s name should probably have been in the credits of this comic, as it’s based so closely on his original story. The plot owes more to Simon than many of the comics Stan Lee claims “plot” credit on owe to Stan.

My issue with the original is that I didn’t really understand what Sando and Omar brought to the scheme. There were Nazi saboteurs in America successfully blowing things up. Why have a member of your crew go onstage and warn people about the attacks in advance by pretending to be psychic? The comic didn’t really try to explain.

Let’s compare the new one to the original. The first thing we will notice is the new one fits into very regular grid patterns that make it easy to crop out groups of panels. The original felt bound by no such structure, so the croppings will all be imperfect.

Looking to the opening splash pages, the crystal ball image is very close. The changes fit Kirby’s more dramatized style and generally make a more modern splash page. Omar is a little less freakish in the new one. The biggest loss is Sando, whose fingers had an unusual positioning in the original, almost suggesting his role as puppeteer. Kirby opted for a more standard-for-Kirby dramatized positioning.

The modern comic claims to be “introducing” Sando and Omar. This seems blatantly false, as they were obviously introduced 25 years earlier.

Tales of Suspense #64

Hawkeye and the New Black Widow Strike Again!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: January 12, 1965
Cover: April 1965
12 cents
Powerful script by: Stan Lee
Poignant art by: Don Heck
Punchy inking by: Chic Stone
Polite lettering by: Sam Rosen
Plenty of kibitzing by: The Bullpen Gang!
12 pages

Previous	#316	Next
X-Men #10	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #64, Story B
Tales of Suspense #63, Story B	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #64, Story B

What is this “Bullpen” they refer to?

We just met the “new” Giant-Man. It was really just Giant-Man with a new outfit and gizmo. Similarly, the “new” Black Widow is just the Black Widow with some new gimmicks.

These gimmicks make her more formidable, but still no match for Iron Man.

She can now climb walls and fire a line of suction-tipped nylon, a web of sorts. She is a spider-themed heroine, so it makes sense her gimmicks will have hints of Spider-Man.

We also see the first hints of a possible road to redemption for Black Widow. She has decided she wishes to stop being evil and tells Khrushchev this to his face. He shows her that her parents are his prisoners, and they will be killed unless she cooperates. That Khrushchev is a villain, indeed.