Tag: terrible trio

Strange Tales #129

The Terrible Trio!

Featuring: Human Torch and Thing
Release: November 10, 1964
Cover: February 1965
12 cents
Story by: Stan Lee (as if you didn’t know!)
Pencilling by: Dick Ayers (as if anyone cares!)
Inking by: Frankie Ray (as if it matters)
Lettering by: Art Simek (as if things aren’t bad enough!)
12 pages

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Dr. Doom’s loser henchmen return, and Lee is still convinced that’s more interesting to spotlight than whatever Dr. Strange is up to this issue. At least Stan acknowledges Dr. Strange’s existence with a caption on the cover.

The loser henchmen now have a name. They are the Terrible Trio. They even have a cool logo design, where their name appears to be shaking.

It will be 15 years before a writer thinks they’re worth bringing back.

Frank Giacoia returns as inker. We met him last issue, where he used the pen name “Frank Ray”. Now he’s settled into the more informal “Frankie Ray”, which he will be better known as.

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Strange Tales #122

3 Against the Torch!

Featuring: Human Torch
Release: April 9, 1964
Cover: July 1964
12 cents
Rapidly written by: Stan Lee
Speedily sketched by: Dick Ayers
Instantly inked by: Geo. Bell
Lazily lettered by: S. Rosen
14 pages

Move over, Johnny. Human Torch now has to share the corner box with Dr. Strange. Getting your face into the corner box is how you know you’ve made it.

And hey! I own this comic. That cover is scanned from my collection. I bought it not all that long ago for $15, which seemed a reasonable price. For those keeping count, this is #3 for comics I actually own in original form.

But now I want to return it. Because of blatant false advertising. The cover clearly says “Dr. Doom does not appear in this story.”

Yet, look here on page 1. Who is that? It’s Dr. Doom!

Turn the page, who do we see on page 3? Dr. Doom again!

In three different panels, no less!

Created with the help of Frinkiac

Now, these panels are all flashback sequences to the last battle with Dr. Doom. Since it ended with Dr. Doom falling into space, it’s obvious we’ll never actually see him again. Wait… but the note informs us he will return in Fantastic Four Annual 2. How can that possibly be?

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