Featuring: Hulk Release: June 30, 1966 Cover: October 1966 10 pages Script… Stan (The Man) Lee Art… Almost the whole blamed bullpen Lettering… Artie (Smarty) Simek Therapy… Honest Irving Forbush 10 pages
Can a green-skinned introvert, with anti-social tendencies, find happiness and fulfillment in a modern materialistic society?
I leave it to your eagle eyes to determine who drew what in this issue. Some artwork may or may not be due to Bill Everett, Jerry Grandenetti, Gene Colan, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, John Tartaglione, Mike Esposito, Sol Brodsky, or others.
Can a green-skinned introvert, with anti-social tendencies, find happiness and fulfillment in a modern materialistic society?
We’d seen a similar question posed at the beginning of Hulk’s current series in issue 60.
Can a man with green skin and a petulant personality find true happiness in today’s status-seeking society?
In this issue’s Namor story, we learned Hulk was in the city. And this story is conveniently titled “Rampage in the City”.
Hulk thinks saving Betty from Boomerang means people won’t hate him anymore. Good luck with that.
Hulk used to be an Avenger, so he goes to New York to ask them to help him find Betty.
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!
Featuring: Wasp Release: January 3, 1964 Cover: April 1964 12 cents Dreamed up by: Stan Lee Scribbled + sketched by: Larry Lieber Finished in India ink by: Sol Brodsky Lettered + bordered by: At Simek 5 pages
Last issue, Porcupine seemed very interested in trying to learn Giant-Man’s secret identity. But Wasp’s mask has never covered her face and she doesn’t seem that concerned about her secret identity.
In fact, here we see her babysitting a friend’s child in costume. He refers to her as “Aunt Jan”. Maybe Porcupine wasn’t the genius he thought he was. It’s like thinking people somehow knew Sue was Invisible Girl but not that Johnny was Human Torch.
Featuring: Watcher Release: November 12, 1963 Cover: February 1964 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script + art: Larry Lieber Inking: S. Brodsky Lettering: Art Simek 5 pages
The Watcher tells a tale of the distant future, the 21st century.
Wilbur Weems is a shy space pilot, teased by everybody for his general wimpiness. Having no friends or family or much of anything, he volunteers for an apparent suicide mission to investigate a cosmic dust cloud.
The Day that Ant-Man failed! Featuring: Ant-Man Release: November 8, 1962 Cover: February 1963 12 cents Plot: Stan Lee Script: L.D. Lieber Art: Jack Kirby Inking: Sol Brodsky 11 pages
We’re 6 issues in to these Ant-Man stories, and it’s time to state the obvious conclusion: they’re not very good. Now, the first story in issue 35 was good. It was a clever story about a scientist quickly having to put his inventions to work to stop some Commies. But it then falls apart. Somewhere between issue 35 and 36.
In issue 35, Ant-Man is forced to be born by circumstance– he has hostages to rescue. The issue ends with him musing whether he will ever be forced to become Ant-Man again. Issue 36 begins some time later. Ant-Man is now a regular crimefighter, internationally famous, beloved by people and law enforcement, who has specially constructed an ant-sized headquarters in his home, and who uses his network of ant friends to help him find crime to battle.
That’s a pretty big leap. It’s possible there’s some interesting character development there– but we don’t see it. In that first story, Dr. Pym had lab assistants. We’ve since met nobody else in his life: no friends, no colleagues, no love interest. The entire story in each issue is devoted to the mission. We learn nothing about his inner life, nothing about his personal life, and get no good sense of why he is Ant-Man. He just battles boring villain after boring villain (plus one giant beetle— that was cool.)
The Coming of… Sub-Mariner On the Trail of the Torch/Enter the Sub-Mariner/Let the World Beware!/Sub-Mariner’s Revenge! Release: February 8, 1962 Cover: May 1962 12 cents Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Inks: Sol Brodsky (uncredited) 23 pages
Famously, Human Torch meets a random amnesiac hobo and decides without permission to burn the hobo’s beard off his face. The hobo looks like a character Torch read about in a comic, which convinces him to toss the hobo into the ocean. I would argue this behavior on the part of the Torch is inappropriate. But nobody on the team is setting a better example.
The Menace of the Miracle Man/The Monster Lives!/The Flame that Died!/In the Shadow of defeat!/The Final Challenge! Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: December 12, 1961 Cover: March, 1962 12 cents Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Inks: Sol Brodsky (uncredited) 23 pages
I read this comic in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1. The issue has signatures for Stan and Jack. The Table of Contents for the Omnibus credits Sol with inks.
The price of the comic has jumped up from 10 to 12 cents. Not sure we’ll be able to afford to continue this series at this rate.
The Fantastic Four battle Miracle Man, a largely forgotten villain. We see he can: fly; become a giant; change into water, metal, or gas; control elements, storms, thunder, and lightning; slice a tree trunk in half with his finger; withstand the Thing’s strongest blow; etcetera. How can the FF defeat such a villain? Well, there’s a twist I’ll let you read for yourselves.
