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
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.
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
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.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: January 12, 1965 Cover: April 1965 12 cents Written by Marvel’s inimitable Stan Lee! Drawn by Marvel’s unmatchable Jack Kirby! Inked by Marvel’s impeccable Chic Stone! Lettered by Marvel’s unbearable Artie Simek! 20 pages
We haven’t seen a cover quite like this one yet. The FF are far in the background, their drawings somewhat ill-defined. They appear to be on an alien planet, stepping out of a landing module. Closer to the foreground are two ominous, perhaps alien, figures. We only see the lower part of their bodies from the back. So they’re the focus but not the focus. The actual foreground is some type of rock wall, and we’re just viewing the action through a hole in that rock. The rock becomes a background to the issue’s title logo; the artwork up to this point has almost entirely avoided interfering with that logo. And we have a cool title, with a very classical sci/fi feel. “Behold! A Distant Star!”
Wedding preparations are continually running through the background of these stories now. Two issues back, Sue and Reed got engaged. Last issue was the engagement party. Now it’s time for the rehearsal dinner. In typical FF style, they’ll just make a quick jaunt to the far side of the galaxy.
Ben and Johnny are trying on their tuxedos. Reed’s new invention accidentally destroys Johnny’s tuxedo. Presumably it’s cheaper to buy two tuxedos than to try to make one from unstable molecules.
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
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.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: December 10, 1964 Cover: March 1965 12 cents Proudly produced by: Smilin’ Stan Lee and Jolly Jack Kirby Inked by: Chic Stone Lettered by: Artie Simek 21 pages
The main credits are shared between Stan and Jack without specifying who did what.
Fantastic Four has been one of the best of these Marvel superhero titles since the start, but it’s regarded as one of the best comic series ever, which hasn’t yet been obvious. The series gets better at some point. It can be hard to pinpoint the exact point of transition. We noted issue 29 when Kirby started using photo collages as a step toward greatness. The introduction of the Frightful Four in this issue also suggests we are well down the path. Particularly the mysterious Madam Medusa.
Sue and Reed announced their engagement last issue. They’ve now made a public announcement, and the press is excited, underscoring their celebrity status. There will be a big engagement party this issue.
Also, I think Sue’s gotten a haircut. Her hair definitely seems shorter.
Featuring: Avengers Release: December 10, 1964 Cover: February 1965 12 cents Rather exceptional story by: Stan Lee Somewhat distinctive art by: Don Heck Fairly compelling inking by: Dick Ayers Moderately clear lettering by: Artie Simek 20 pages
The cover is pretty off for a Kirby composition. I’m pretty sure Count Nefaria is supposed to be manipulating the controls, but he looks passed out to me.
Solid opening splash page of the Avengers looking furtive near the wanted ad.
The story opens with Iron Man and Thor stopping a fur robbery. Honestly, that seems somewhat beneath them; I’d be more comfortable with such crimes being left to conventional authorities or more down-to-earth vigilantes.
Up to this point, there was no evidence the Avengers were proactively seeking out any types of crimes to stop. They responded to two global threats–the Lava Men and Kang. They occasionally seek out the Hulk to fight, but usually just wait for a villain to attack them. Villains in these stories tend to be much more proactive. But now we learn the Avengers have been actively fighting crime for a while now.
This story introduces the Maggia, an organized criminal organization, perhaps inspired by real-life Mafia.
Featuring: Human Torch and Thing Release: December 10, 1964 Cover: March 1965 12 cents Story by Swingin’ Stan Lee Art by Bouncin’ Bob Powell Inking by Chucklin’ Chic Stone Lettering by Sizzlin’ Sam Rosen 12 pages
Dr. Strange finally gets the cover almost to himself… but we won’t be reading his story. As we’ve discussed, the plan is to take a break from Dr. Strange, but keep reading the Human Torch/Thing stories. The Dr. Strange stories have mostly been happy to be single short episodes that fit in 10 pages. The only exception has been the 2-part battle against Dormammu. But even that epic was only 20 pages, the length of a normal Fantastic Four or Spider-Man story. Not one to make incremental change, Ditko decided he needs 170 pages and 17 months to tell the next story.
I’ve made no secret that I’ve found these last 30 issues of Human Torch stories to be almost entirely worthless. Putting Ben and Johnny in Beatles wigs is probably the single most worthwhile thing that has happened yet. Especially since Johnny is wearing the wig over his flaming head. The fact that it’s not burning means it must be made from unstable molecules.
Stan Lee made a big deal last issue and in recent letters’ pages about the exciting new artist for this series. That artist is Bob Powell. Powell will be the Human Torch/Thing artist for as long as this series has left. He will not be turning the quality of stories around. Powell is another returning artist from back when, having worked in comics since the 1930s, occasionally doing some Marvel work. He’ll also be taking over the Giant-Man title this month… and not turn the quality around on that one either. He’ll have the honor of putting Marvel’s two worst series to bed.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: November 10, 1964 Cover: February 1965 12 cents Adequate script: Stan Lee Satisfactory art: Jack Kirby Passable inking: Chic Stone Sufficient lettering: Artie Simek 20 pages
The page count in these books had been gradually dwindling. At first it was to make room for more letters pages or announcements, or the occasional pin-up. This is the third FF story in a row to clock in at 20 pages. Before that, they’d been 21 or 22; 23 pages even earlier. It doesn’t seem to be a fixed quantity. We still have the occasional 21-pager coming up, but 20 pages seems to be the new rule. Other titles have followed this pattern.
Comics have not gotten much more expensive over time. There were a dime in 1939 and a dime in 1961. In 1964, they’ve only increased to 12 cents. What’s changed is how many story pages you get for those pennies, often 70-80 pages for that dime in 1939. (These days Marvel comics tend to go for $3.99)
The comic returns us to State U, the alma mater of Reed and Ben. Reed is giving a guest lecture.
Where is State U? I assume it’s in New York somewhere. They seem to have brought a lot of luggage. They go galavanting all over the world and into space and into the depths of the ocean with far less.
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
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.
Featuring: Human Torch and Thing Release: October 8, 1964 Cover: January 1965 12 cents Monumental story by: Stan Lee Magnificent pencilling by: Dick Ayers Masterful inking by: Frank Ray Melancholy lettering by: Artie Simek 12 pages
I appreciate that Simek has come up with logos for Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Some wooshes over Quicksilver’s name. Some frayed edges for the Scarlet Witch.
Frank Giacoia
We see a new name in the credits. Frank Ray is the inker. Frank Ray is a pen name for Frank Giacoia. He wil become a frequent Marvel inker, initially under the name Frank Ray or Frankie Ray.
