X-Men #23

To Save a City

Featuring: X-Men
Release: June 2, 1966
Cover: August 1966
12 cents
Edited in ecstacy by Stan Lee
Written in rapture by Roy Thomas
Drawn in delight by Werner Roth
Delineated in depth by Dick Ayers
Lettered in a lawn-chair by Artie Simek
20 pages

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POSTLUDEMarvels #3
X-Men #22Reading orderDaredevil #18
X-Men #22X-MenX-Men #24

It is only in this form, in which I have no solid substance, that I can know anything like the thrill of walking again!

Werner Roth had been referring to himself as “Jay Gavin” these last several issues. But now he’s ready to use his real name in the credits.

We pick up where last issue left off, with the X-Men prisoners of Count Nefaria and the new Maggia, with lieutenants picked from an assortment of titles.

Now Nefaria executes his plan, holding Washington DC hostage, blackmailing America, and framing the X-Men.

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X-Men #22

Divided– We Fall!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: May 3, 1966
Cover: July 1966
12 cents
Editor emeritus: Stan Lee
Script by: Roy Thomas
Art by: Jay Gavin
Inking by: Dick Ayers
Lettering by: Artie Simek
Colosso by: Irving Forbush Robotics, Inc.
20 pages

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Sgt. Fury #31Reading orderX-Men #23
X-Men #21X-MenX-Men #23

And, we did it as a team! No one of us could have done it alone!

The cover shows quite the assemblage of super-villains, with the X-Men reduced to floating heads.

As noted before (such as in the last X-Men arc), I find it interesting when super-villains treated as major threats upon their debut get relegated to henchman status. This starts to get them categorized as miscellaneous villains, but at least keeps them from being forgotten.

The story begins in the Danger Room, the most common place for an X-Men story to begin, then as now. Professor X has created a robot named Colosso for the X-Men to fight. And the robot was created to teach a very particular lesson. He can counter all the powers of the individual X-Men, but they can beat him as a team.

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X-Men #21

From Whence Comes… Dominus?

Featuring: X-Men
Release: April 5, 1966
Cover: June 1966
12 cents
Exemplary editing by: Stan Lee
Extraordinary writing by: Roy Thomas
Exceptional art by: Jay Gavin
Exhilarating inking by: Dick Ayers
Exasperating lettering by: Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous#526Next
X-Men #20Reading orderSgt. Fury #31
X-Men #20X-MenX-Men #22

We are now preparing to engage the enemy in his own lair– and it is always there that he is most dangerous!

Porter Mack runs the local dude ranch and thinks there may be a reward if his men capture the X-Men.

They are outmatched.

This is an example of the anti-mutant sentiment, which would make a better focus for these stories than alien invasions.

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X-Men #20

I, Lucifer

Featuring: X-Men
Release: March 3, 1966
Cover: May 1966
12 cents
Expertly edited by: Stan Lee
Skillfully scripted by: Roy Thomas
Perfectly penciled by: Jay Gavin
Ideally inked by: Dick Ayers
Laxly lettered by: Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous#525Next
Sgt. Fury #30Reading orderX-Men #21
X-Men #19X-MenX-Men #21

As usual, a mob seldom makes the right decision!

With this issue, Roy Thomas takes over as regular writer on The X-Men, a position he will hold for the next two years. Some sources suggest Stan gave a writing assist on this and the next issue, but Stan is only credited as Editor. (Of course, even as editor, Stan’s credit goes first.)

It begins with fake X-Men, villains seeking to ruin their reputation.

As Mark had previously noted in comments, you can spot the villains by the smoking of cigarettes.

Heroes smoke pipes.

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X-Men #19

Lo! Now Shall Appear– The Mimic!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: February 3, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jay Gavin
Inking: Dick Ayers
Lettering: Artie Simek
(All that, and Forbush too!)
20 pages

Previous#475Next
Daredevil #15Reading orderAmazing Spider-Man #36
X-Men #18X-MenX-Men #20

The danger is clear– the task is yours– the moment is now!

This Irving Forbush fellow was mentioned in the last Daredevil post as well. What’s that about?

X-Men #10-18 took place over a very short span of time, with one adventure right after the other, likely knocking out of alignment with the other titles. There is now a big gap before this adventure, which hopefully brings us closer to alignment. The X-Men are healed from the battle against the Sentinels. Cerebro has been rebuilt.

Bobby and Zelda seem to be going steady now, so Zelda is setting Hank up with her friend Vera so they can have a double date. Prior to the blind date, Hank stops at the library and meets a woman… and they do not get along at all.

Guess who his date turns to be?

The already fraught romantic situation heats up when Calvin Rankin shows up. He’s basically a stalker who has been pressuring Vera to go out with him and refusing to take no for an answer. Well, he’s angry to find her out with another man and conflict ensues.

Continue reading “X-Men #19”

X-Men #18

If Iceman Should Fail–!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: January 4, 1966
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
A fair story by: Stan Lee
Adequate art by: Jay Gavin
Tolerable inking by: Dick Ayers
The world’s greatest lettering by: Artie Simek (Marvel’s birthday boy of the month)
20 pages

Previous#470Next
X-Men #17Reading orderAmazing Spider-Man #35
X-Men #17X-MenX-Men #19

The final X-Man– the youngest– and weakest of them all! He dares to challenge me!!!

The joke in the credits is a reversal. Usually, Artie is the punchline. Here, everyone else is.

Art Simek was born January 1916. He turned 50 the month this comic was released. He would unfortunately pass away too young at age 59.

The birthday note gives us a bit of insight into production. Stan knew when this comic would be released to give the birthday wish. The comic is cover-dated March 1966, and was likely prepared a few months prior to January 1966, but Stan knew it would go on sale in January.

As Lee brings in more and more new (to Marvel not the industry) artists, we see a similar pattern. At first he doesn’t trust their storytelling abilities, though he trusts their draftsmanship. So Kirby does layouts for the comic, and the artist fills in the art. That has happened with Werner Roth for the last several issues. Kirby laid out the story. Roth filled in the art. Now Stan is ready to give Roth a proper go, laying out the story himself. Stan is still the credited writer, so it’s at least plausible he’s giving Roth guidance on what the story is about.

Roth had the setup. Magneto had defeated the X-Men and put them unconscious in a balloon headed to space, where they would suffocate and die. Why not just kill them? This inefficient deathtrap is a villain cliché, but not all that common a one in these stories. It was common in the cliffhangers for serial films of the 1940s, including the superhero films. And it will be very common for the cliffhanger endings of a TV series which debuts this month.

Continue reading “X-Men #18”

X-Men #17

…And None Shall Survive!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: December 12, 1965
Cover: February 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Layouts: J. Kirby
Pencils: Jay Gavin
Inks: Dick Ayers
Lettering: A. Simek
20 pages

Previous#469Next
Sgt. Fury #27Reading orderX-Men #18
X-Men #16X-MenX-Men #18

Somehow, when I’m high in the sky this way, I feel there is no danger I cannot face– no problem I cannot solve– no enemy I cannot defeat!! Everything seems clean– and pure– and right! The way it ought to be! The way it must be one day, if man is ever to fulfill his promise– his glorious destiny!

I quite like the red glow of the cover. The cover warns me not to spoil the ending, but, well, I’m gonna do that anyway. Be warned.

Thoughts on the reading order. When books are published is a key factor, as is the order in which characters appear, as are story-arcs. What I’m not considering closely is the calendar date within the stories, as I don’t often know. We paused our X-Men reading because the Sentinels story ended and the next one was about to begin. This gave us a chance to catch up on other titles.

But this story begins the same day as the Sentinels story ended. Similarly, the X-Men had fought the Stranger and Juggernaut on the same day, with a short gap of time while the X-Men were injured between these momentous days.

In particular, it must now be within a couple days of Reed and Sue’s wedding, while most of our stories have jumped forward a bit more from that day.

While it’s been more than a year since the Stranger story was published, it’s only been a few weeks for the X-Men.

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X-Men #16

The Supreme Sacrifice!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: November 4, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Layouts: Jack Kirby
Pencilling: Jay Gavin
Delineation: Dick Ayers
Lettering: Art Simek
20 pages

Previous#403Next
X-Men #15Reading orderTales of Suspense #69
X-Men #15X-MenX-Men #17

In my ignorance, my fear, I created an evil far greater than the menace it was built to destroy!

They are still tweaking the tagline. “The most mysterious fighting team of all time!” Usually, they are “unusual” instead of “mysterious”.

This issue is about the redemption of Bolivar Trask. But we see in the pull quote above, that he still doesn’t quite get it. He figures out that the Sentinels are worse than mutants, but the lesson should be that he was wrong to hate and fear all mutants.

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X-Men #15

Prisoners of the Mysterious Master Mold!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: October 5, 1965
Cover: December 1965
12 cents
Writer: Smilin’ Stan Lee
Designer: Jolly Jack Kirby
Penciller: Jovial Jay Gavin
Inker: Darlin’ Dick Ayers
Letterer: Adorable Artie Simek
20 pages

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X-Men #14Reading orderX-Men #16
X-Men #14X-MenX-Men #16

We can only guard the human race by becoming its master! Humans are too weak, too foolish to govern themselves! Henceforth, we shall rule!!

We pick up with Trask a prisoner of the Sentinels he created to hunt mutants, with the X-Men laying futile siege to the Sentinels’ underground layer.

For a long while, the tagline had been “The most unusual teen-agers of all time!”. They’ve changed it, deemphasizing the youthful nature of the team, now referring to them as “the most unusual fighting team of all time!” This recalls the original tagline, “the strangest super-heroes of all time!” The regular tagline about teen-agers first appeared in issue 3.

The Beast is confused about Xavier’s capabilities, unsure where his confidence comes from.

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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#401Next
Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1Postlude
Fantastic Four Annual 3Reading orderX-Men #15
X-Men #13X-MenX-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”.

Continue reading “X-Men #14”