sam rosen – Page 12 – Coke & Comics

Amazing Spider-Man #20

The Coming of the Scorpion!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: October 8, 1964
Cover: January 1965
12 cents
Illustrated by: Steve Ditko
Written by: Stan Lee
Lettered by: S. Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#282	Next
Tales to Astonish #63	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #13
Amazing Spider-Man #19	Amazing Spider-Man	Amazing Spider-Man #21

I find the credits interesting. I know that eventually Stan and Steve will fall out over a number of problems, including Stan not giving Steve proper credit for his role in the book. I don’t know where they are at this moment in time. Not long ago, we read the Amazing Spider-Man Annual in which Ditko illustrated a story that poked fun at their working relationship. It seemed in good humor and implied to me a mostly positive working relationship.

The credits for this issue also seem to be in good humor. But Ditko has no involvement with the credits. They’d be added after he turns in the art. They are all Stan and Sam. Perhaps Steve appreciated the humor… or perhaps he did not. I have no way of knowing.

“Many readers have asked why Stan’s name is always first on the credits! And so, big-hearted Lee agreed to put Stevey’s name first this time! How about that?!!”

“…But we still have a feeling that sneaky Stan put something over on us!”

In a similar vein, the letters page notes that Steve is drawing 40 pages a month and “still finds time to argue with Stan for a few hours each week”. Again, seems good-humored on Stan’s part, at least.

Tales to Astonish #63

The Gangsters and the Giant!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: October 1, 1964
Cover: January 1965
12 cents
Sensationally superb story by: Stan Lee
Absolutely adorable art by: Carl Burgos
Incredibly imaginative inking by: Chic Stone
Logically lovable lettering by: S. Rosen
12 pages

Previous	#281	Next
Daredevil #5	Reading order	Amazing Spider-Man #20
Tales to Astonish #62, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #63, Story B

Giant-Man was the clumsiest superhero, but he’s been working really hard to improve that image, learning to shrink and grow really fast while practicing gymnastics.

Daredevil #5

The Mysterious Masked Matador!

Featuring: Daredevil
Release: October 1, 1964
Cover: December 1964
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Illustrator: Wallace Wood
20 pages

Previous	#280	Next
Journey Into Mystery #111, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #63
Daredevil #4	Daredevil	Daredevil #6

The covers have rarely (never?) mentioned the creative team, yet this one is quite proud to have the already legendary Wally Wood on the team. Joe Orlando had done the last 3 issues of Daredevil, but has now left Marvel forever. The narration takes the time to thank the creators that helped start this series: Everett, Orlando, Colletta.

Wally Wood will be on board for 6 issues of Daredevil.

The letterer, presumably Sam Rosen, goes uncredited.

Daredevil gets a new logo. Rather than the boring “D” on his chest, it’s the slightly more interesting “DD”. The first notable change that Wally Wood will bring to the character of Daredevil. Still not the best logo, but one that will basically endure.

Tales of Suspense #60

Suspected of murder!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: September 8, 1864
Cover: December 1964
12 cents
Written by the king of comi-drama: Stan Lee
Illustrated by the master of panoramic spectacle: Don Heck
Inked by the prince of line design: Dick Ayers
Lettered by the sultan of shaky borders: Sam Rosen
13 pages

Previous	#273	Next
Fantastic Four #33	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #60, Story B
Tales of Suspense #59, Story B	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #60, Story B

Iron Man is suspected of murdering Anthony Stark! But how can that be when Iron Man and Stark are the same person!

The art team is Heck and Ayers. We recently saw their work on Avengers #9 and will soon see it on Avengers #10. I was not impressed with their Avengers work. They acquit themselves much better here, even when rendering the Avengers. The faces are clear and distinct. The lines are clean.

Here’s where we were. Iron Man’s heart problems have accelerated. He needs the constant flow of power from his suit to his heart. He cannot remove his suit even for a minute, lest he risk his heart giving out. This means he cannot appear as Tony Stark. He made some excuses as Iron Man for Tony’s disappearance, but Pepper and Happy are suspicious.

This story seems to take place pretty soon after the ending of last issue. Pepper and Happy are searching for Mr. Stark. We saw that Avengers #9 explicitly took place in the middle of all this, with Iron Man reflecting on Stark’s disappearance and Pepper and Happy’s suspicions.

Avengers #10

The Avengers Break Up!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: September 8, 1964
Cover: November 1964
12 cents
Story superbly written by: Stan Lee
Art adorably drawn by: Don Heck
Inked by darlin’ Dick Ayers
Lettered by stalwart Sam Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#275	Next
Tales of Suspense #60, Story B	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #110
Avengers #9	Avengers	Avengers #11

The issue’s title is “The Avengers Break Up”. Yet, at no point in the issue do the Avengers appear to break up. Instead, characters go to great lengths repeatedly to explain the title via the dialogue. “Now that Thor’s over there and Iron Man’s across the room, it’s basically like they’ve broken up.”

The Heck/Ayers art looks much as it did last issue, which I see as a negative. I’ll give them credit for a couple nice panels. A trippy one of Immortus and an easy-on-the-eyes Enchantress.

We get a weirdly sexist moment in an era filled with weirdly sexist moments. I don’t know if I’m ready to claim it’s the worst, but it’s up there. Iron Man recommends giving Rick Jones a uniform and making him an official Avenger. “…why don’t we make his membership in the Avengers official, as the Wasp’s is…”

Sgt. Fury #12

When a Howler Turns Traitor!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: September 8, 1964
Cover: November 1964
12 cents
Possibly the most dramatic battle thriller ever written by: Sgt. Stan Lee
Perhaps the finest example yet of the artistic skill of: Cpl. Dick Ayers
A new inking triumph by: Geo. Bell
Another lettering victory by: S. Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#271	Next
X-Men #8	Reading order	Fantastic Four #33
Sgt. Fury #11	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #13

The Howlers are in an English pub. Axis Sally is on the radio. She is broadcasting Nazi propaganda from Berlin, calling on all Americans of German or Italian descent to turn against America and side with their own people. Of course, Dino Manelli is the Italian-American member of the Commandos, and has already had to deal with prejudice within the ranks.

Dino reminds us it’s possible to love his heritage and still want to fight against tyranny.

X-Men #8

Unus, the Untouchable

Featuring: X-Men
Release: September 1, 1964
Cover: November 1964
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Inker: Chic Stone
Letter: S. Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#270	Next
Fantastic Four #32	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #12
X-Men #7	X-Men	X-Men #9

The X-Men are no longer students, but the status quo hasn’t changed much. They now train for missions; their training sessions look very similar to the classes they used to take. Professor X is still away and Cyclops is in charge; so he is running the training session. Hence, he is in a suit rather than a uniform. So you know he’s in charge.

Iceman practices making his body icier. As he does, some of the smoothness fades, allowing defined corners within his now icy body. These are the first hints of a new look forming. Iceman’s visual evolution is similar to Thing’s, going from a softer ill-defined look to lots of defining lines and corners.

It’s weird that Iceman is described as transparent and compared to the Invisible Girl. I usually think of the ice as a layer around him; they seem to be suggesting his insides are turning to ice as well, though the art indicates nothing of the kind.

Fantastic Four #32

Death of a Hero!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: August 11, 1964
Cover: November 1964
12 cents
Story by: Stan Lee who has never been more dramatic!
Illustrations by: Jack Kirby who has never been more thrilling!
Inking by: Chic Stone who has never been more realistic!
Lettering by: S. Rosen who has never been more than an hour late!
21 pages

Previous	#269	Next
Tales to Astonish #62, Story B	Reading order	X-Men #8
Fantastic Four #31	Fantastic Four	Fantastic Four #33

Kirby continues his experimental depictions of outer space, using a collage of art and photos.

That’s not a great reprint. Let’s see the cleaned-up digital version:

Tales to Astonish #62, Story B

Enter… The Chameleon!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: September 1, 1964
Cover: December 1964
12 cents
Sensationally scripted by: Stan Lee
Dynamically drawn by: Steve Ditko
Impeccably inked by: George Bell
Lovingly lettered by: Sam Rosen
10 pages

Previous	#268	Next
Tales to Astonish #62	Reading order	Fantastic Four #32
Tales to Astonish #62	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #63

Even if he escapes this mess, the status quo is unsustainable. If Hulk might revert to Banner at any moment and has no control… he can’t keep that identity a secret.

In a recent issue of Amazing Spider-Man, we remarked the Enforcers were distinguished from other super-villains in that they were content to be lackeys, serving a major super-villain. Most of the super-villains are to arrogant to serve anybody, a plot point whenever two try to team up. The other “lackey” villains we’ve met are Dr. Doom’s Terrible Trio and Magneto’s Evil Mutants. The Terrible Trio tried to make the leap from lackeys to being their own bosses with limited success. Magneto’s mutants only serve him, while the Enforcers are clearly for-hire.

Chameleon is the first villain we see make the leap from super-villain to lackey. He’d teamed up twice with Kraven, but those seemed more like partnerships. Now, he works for the Leader. Chameleon has been getting around. Originally a Spider-Man foe, he recently fought the Avengers, and now faces off against Hulk.

More than the major crossovers, I like the cameos. I like that Captain America can just show up for a panel if the story calls for it. Makes the universe feel cohesive.

I’m loathe to call this the introduction of the Leader since we don’t see his face. I suspect Ditko hadn’t even finished designing him yet.

Tales to Astonish #61, Story B

Captured At Last!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: August 4, 1964
Cover: November 1964
12 cents
Author: The incomparable Stan Lee
Illustrator: The inimitable Steve Ditko
Inker: The indescribable George Bell
Letterer: The inevitable S. Rosen
10 pages

Previous	#266	Next
Tales to Astonish #61	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #62
Tales to Astonish #61	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #62

Last issue, Bruce Banner built a robot. (They call it a robot, but it’s more like Iron Man’s armor, since somebody needs to be inside to pilot it.) An unnamed spy stole it. Hulk fought the “robot” to a stalemate. The robot escaped. Since the story didn’t end there, it might have been nice to read this next chapter immediately. Except… this Hulk story will basically never end. So we take the breaks where we can.

The robot has now found Hulk’s secret cave laboratory. Ditko really likes the shot of Hulk’s visage standing over Bruce’s shoulder.

Meanwhile, we meet Major Glen Talbot. He’s in charge of security now and suspects Bruce Banner is a traitor due to a pattern of suspicious behavior General Ross had noted. The Pentagon agrees with Ross’ assessment that Banner should be investigated.