vince colletta – Page 4

Tales of Suspense #69

If I Must Die, Let It Be With Honor!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: June 8, 1965
Cover: September 1965
12 cents
Story by: Stan Lee, the idol of Millions!
Art by: Don Heck, the toast of two continents!
Inking by: V. Colletta, the pride of the bullpen!
Lettering by: Sam Rosen, the last angry letterer!
12 pages

Previous	#404	Next
X-Men #16	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #69, Story B
Tales of Suspense #68, Story B	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #69, Story B

But, Iron Man must accept the challenge! It’s a matter of national pride… of prestige!

There are many stories I consider iconic. And, usually, who knows how this impression forms. Decades of reading comics and talking about comics has given me a sense of some stories that stand out.

I think of this as an iconic story and I know exactly why I think that. Very early in my Marvel reading, I also collected Marvel cards. The 1990 set had a set of famous battles. This was one of the chosen battles.

We’ve seen one famous battle (per that card deck) before, the Hulk/Thing fight from Fantastic Four #25–26. And are currently in the middle of another, the “Nick Fury vs. Hydra” battle begun in Strange Tales #135.

Of course, Titanium Man has one other claim to fame. Paul McCartney selected him alongside Magneto as villains to write a song about. (He also references Crimson Dynamo.)

The MCP wants Iron Man to attend the wedding in the middle of the events of this issue. I don’t see why it can’t just be before this issue. Maybe I’m missing some subtlety. As the issue opens, he’s spent weeks working on this sub-miniature reverser. He could have taken a brief break to attend a wedding.

Continuity does get complicated here though. Avengers #20 is concurrent to Tales of Suspense #70. Avengers #19 takes place in the middle of the Hydra Saga, yet Tony Stark’s life gets complicated starting now, so issue 69 or before is the best chance for his appearances in Strange Tales, including his appearances after the Hydra saga. And of course Iron Man shares a comic with Cap. As Nick Fury does with Dr. Strange, the latter of which we are months behind on reading.

For a reading order, we’ll read the Iron Man/Cap stories, then the Avengers stories, then the Dr. Strange/Nick Fury stories. But we’ll talk about what must be concurrent and what must fit where as we go.

Titanium Man is the Soviet answer to Iron Man. He issues a public challenge to prove Soviet superiority. Titanium is more powerful than Iron, so his armor is more powerful, but also slower and bulkier.

X-Men #14

Among Us Stalks.. The Sentinels!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: September 2, 1965
Cover: November 1965
12 cents
Stan Lee, D.S. (Doctor of Story)
Jack Kirby, D.L. (Dean of Layout)
Jay Gavin, M.A. (Master of Art)
V. Colletta, B.I. (Bachelor of Inking)
Artie Simek, T.O.L. (Tired of Lettering)
20 pages

Previous	#401	Next
Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1	Postlude
Fantastic Four Annual 3	Reading order	X-Men #15
X-Men #13	X-Men	X-Men #15

The world must be shocked! The danger was never greater! We’ve been so busy worrying about cold wars, hot wars, atom bombs and the like, that we’ve overlooked the greatest menace of all! Mutants walk among us! Hidden! Unknown! Waiting–! –Waiting for their moment to strike! They are mankind’s most deadly enemy! For only they have the actual power to conquer the human race! Even as we speak, they are out there– scheming, plotting, planning– thinking we don’t suspect! But– there is still time to smash them! If we strike now!

We just read the wedding of Reed and Sue, followed by a retelling of the story form 1996. The retelling focused on a child named Mark caught up in the chaos. A child wearing a Fantastic Four t-shirt who idolized the superheroes, but was afraid of the X-Men, because they were mutants.

We’ll soon read Marvels #2, which will focus on this central dichotomy. The inspiration for Marvels #2 came from Kurt Busiek looking at the same continuity we are now. The X-Men attended a wedding, all seeming in good shape. But we know that the X-Men battled the Stranger and Juggernaut in a single day, and then were badly injured for a period of time. We further know, because Human Torch helped the X-Men battle Juggernaut, that the wedding had not yet occurred. As we read the coming issues, we will see the X-Men’s adventures leave them little space for a wedding after this issue.

The X-Men must attend the wedding within the pages of this issue. This issue affords them only a space of a couple days between getting their bandages removed and getting captured by the Sentinels. Thus we know very tightly when the wedding occurred.

The wedding was a big media circus. Celebrities like Tony Stark and Millie the Model were in attendance. The Fantastic Four fan club was outside cheering. It was front page news.

The Fantastic Four are celebrities and people love them.

On the days surrounding the wedding, Trask would go on the radio to talk about the mutant menace. And the public listened and took him seriously, and was sympathetic with his plan to create mutant-hunting robots to destroy the mutant scourge.

It’s a very strange dichotomy. The Fantastic Four gained their powers through cosmic accident. The X-Men were born with theirs, perhaps because their parents had been exposed to nuclear radiation. The “Children of the Atom”. That difference seems so insignificant, and yet, this is exactly how bigotry works.

We’ll explore this dichotomy further when we get to Marvels #2.

These continuity considerations and thematic contrast are why we’re reading this X-Men arc now, two months early. The FF wedding issue was released the same day as X-Men #13, which noted the wedding was “soon”. X-Men has been published bi-monthly, which doesn’t help. But we see on the cover that X-Men is now monthly, so we’ll have less alignment trouble in the future.

The issue opens with the X-Men recovering from the injuries left by the Juggernaut.

We see Professor X remind Beast not to think of “normal” humans as inferior. Probably they should find better language than to refer to one group of people as “normal”.

Fantastic Four Annual 3

Bedlam at the Baxter Building!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: July 1, 1965
Cover: 1965
25 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: Vince Colletta
Lettered by: Artie Simek
23 pages

Previous	#400!	Next
	POSTLUDE	Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1
Journey Into Mystery #123, Story B	Reading order	X-Men #14
Fantastic Four Annual 2, Story C	Fantastic Four Annual	Fantastic Four Annual 4

I now pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss your bride!

It’s the wedding of the century. Today’s the day. Half the Marvels have been invited! And the rest of them are turning up anyway!

This issue represents by far the largest gathering of heroes and villains yet, forever binding these disparate characters into a universe.

This issue represents the idea that there is no status quo, that these characters are at their best when they change and grow. Forward momentum is an essential ingredient to storytelling. Genuine, non-illusionary, change.

This is the most significant moment in the early Marvel Universe.

I think I’d have come up with a better title than “Bedlam at the Baxter Building”.

I wish Chic Stone or Joe Sinnott had been the inker. A few months too late to have Stone and one month too early to have Sinnott. Also, Colletta is uniquely suited to a long special issue with many characters because he’s famously expedient.

I appreciate that the headline takes for granted the public knows who Reed and Sue are without the need for surnames or superhero identities. The cover does the same for its audience.

Pretty cool this worked out to be the 400th story in our reading order. Currently on track to also have the 500th story be a particularly special issue of Fantastic Four as well. When we read Avengers #1, it was the 100th story, but then I went and retroactively mucked with the ordering.

Journey Into Mystery #123, Story B

The Jaws of the Dragon!

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: October 5, 1965
Cover: December 1965
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciller: JacK Kirby
Inker: Vince Colletta
Letterer: Artie Simek
5 pages

Previous	#399	Next
Journey Into Mystery #123	Reading order	Fantastic Four Annual 3
Journey Into Mystery #123	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #124

I’ve lost track of how many issues we’ve been caught in this storm headed for these deadly Pillars, which turn out to be the claws of the Utgard Dragon. But we finally seem to resolve that.

Journey Into Mystery #123

While a Universe Trembles!

Featuring: Thor
Release: October 5, 1965
Cover: December 1965
12 cents
Fantasy to dazzle thy senses, written by: Stan Lee
Drama to quicken thy pulse, illustrated by: Jack Kirby
Beauty to nourish thine eyes, embellished by: Vince Colletta
Balloons to compound thy confusion, lettered by: Artie Simek
16 pages

Previous	#398	Next
Journey Into Mystery #122, Story B	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #123, Story B
Journey Into Mystery #122, Story B	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #123, Story B

…It’s like being in the center of the universe! Like being part of– eternity!

Notice the credits use “thy” and “thine” everywhere, words Thor is today famous for using, but that Stan is only slowly starting to pepper into his speech. On this very page, he refers to Hobbs as “you” and not “thee”.

Where did we leave off? Harris Hobbs kidnapped Jane to get a picture proving Thor was Donald Blake. Thor seems to have forgiven Hobbs and agreed to take him to visit Asgard. Meanwhile, Loki and the Absorbing Man have declared war on Asgard. When we left off, the Absorbing Man was confronting Odin with his own power.

Journey Into Mystery #122, Story B

The Grim Specter of Mutiny!

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: September 2, 1965
Cover: November 1965
12 cents
A Stan Lee story spectacular!
A Jack Kirby pencilling panorama!
A Vince Colletta delineation drama!
An Artie Simek lettering landmark!
5 pages

Previous	#397	Next
Journey Into Mystery #122	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #123
Journey Into Mystery #122	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #123

Last issue, Balder was about to blow a horn. This issue, he blows the horn. Maybe next issue we’ll find out why.

Last issue opened and ended as they were approaching the dreaded Pillars of Utgard. This issue they are… even closer to the dreaded Pillars.

…

Journey Into Mystery #122

Where Mortals Fear to Tread!

Featuring: Thor
Release: September 2, 1965
Cover: November 1965
12 cents
Written with compassion by: Stan Lee
Drawn with comprehension by: Jack Kirby
Inked with competence by: Vince Colletta
Lettered for compensation by: Artie Simek
16 pages

Previous	#396	Next
Journey Into Mystery #121, Story B	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #122, Story B
Journey Into Mystery #121, Story B	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #122, Story B

I gave him strength to challenge a god– but even Loki could not give him valor to match that of Thor!

Odin gets the center stage on a pretty awesome cover.

Thor had been merely stunned at the end of last issue. Absorbing Man really seems unable to best Thor, so Loki brings him to Asgard.

It is of course against the law of Odin to bring mortals to Asgard.

Three basic dangling plot threads: Absorbing Man; Jane’s kidnapping; the lost Norn Stone. Plus the general overarching plot that Loki is probably scheming. We won’t check in on the Norn Stone this issue. After all, it’s a rock. It’s just sitting there where Thor dropped it. We’ll resolve the Jane subplot.

Let’s look to that now. We saw Jane’s kidnapper last issue in a hood, his identity unrevealed.

Journey Into Mystery #121, Story B

Maelstrom!

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: August 3, 1965
Cover: October 1965
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Illustrator: Jack Kirby
Delineated by: Vince Colletta
Lettered by: Artie Simek
5 pages

Previous	#395	Next
Journey Into Mystery #121	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #122
Journey Into Mystery #121	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #122

According to the legends, the Pillars are merely the feet of the Utgard Dragon! Beneath the waves his jaws lie open, waiting for every ship that passes!

It’s not obvious to me how this ship knows where it’s going. All we’ve been told is they are searching for some hidden evil. Not much of a clue. Undeterred by his own ignorance, Thor decides the “Sea of Fear” is as good a place to start as any.

I expect better of the Asgardians, but maybe the Sea of Fear has some effect on people.

After 5 issues of waiting for the ship to set sail, now it has. The issue opens with the ship caught in a storm headed toward these deadly Pillars, and ends… with the ship caught in a storm headed toward these deadly Pillars.

Journey Into Mystery #121

The Power! The Passion! The Pride!

Featuring: Thor
Release: August 3, 1965
Cover: October 1965
12 cents
Another towering triumph for Stan Lee, writer!
Another fabulous feat for Jack Kirby, illustrator!
Another amazing achievement for Vince Colletta, delineator!
Another day, another dollar for Artie Simek, letterer!
16 pages

Previous	#394	Next
Journey Into Mystery #120, Story B	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #121, Story B
Journey Into Mystery #120, Story B	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #121, Story B

But, no matter how awesome the odds may be, I am son of Odin, Prince of Asgard! I would ever choose the eternal sleep, rather than a moment’s cowardice!

Kirby’s taken some artistic license with that cover. He metaphorically depicts Thor as gigantic compared to the city and bystanders caught in their battle. Absorbing Man is literally gigantic. But Thor is not, and I don’t think forced perspective is enough to justify Thor’s apparent size compared to those buildings.

As the length of stories is expanding, so is the length of action scenes. We pointed out that Fantastic Four #42 was entirely action start to finish, with the set-up and wrap-up in surrounding issues. This isn’t entirely that, as there are some interludes. We need to check on Jane. And Loki. And that lost Norn Stone. But most of the page count is just Thor battling Absorbing Man.

Journey Into Mystery #120, Story B

Set Sail!

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: July 1, 1965
Cover: September 1965
12 cents
Told by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: Vince Colletta
Lettered by: Artie Simek
5 pages

Previous	#393	Next
Journey Into Mystery #120	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #121
Journey Into Mystery #120	Journey Into Mystery	Journey Into Mystery #121

“What madness is this, Volstagg!!? I thought thou feared neither man nor beast!!”
“In truth, I do not–!! But that is neither man nor beast– It is– my wife!!”

This is the fourth chapter of the Odinsword Saga. Let’s recap. The Odinsword was cracked by a mysterious enemy, so Thor is embarking on a quest to discover who is responsible. They are almost ready to leave.