FANTASTIC FOUR 24
cover by Jack Kirby & George Roussos
Jack Kirby story & art, "ye editor" dialogue, "George Bell" inks. UGH.
(2-7-2014)
TALES TO ASTONISH 53
cover by Jack Kirby & George Roussos
(2-7-2014)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 10
cover by STEVE DITKO and Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY 102
cover by Jack Kirby & George Roussos
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Thor helps Zarrko conquer the 23rd century world, but then turns on him and defeats him, winning back Odin's favour."
JACK KIRBY concludes the 2nd-ever THOR 2-parter. Something I had never noticed before yesterday, while doing research for this thread, was that CHIC STONE made his Marvel debut as inker THIS MONTH!! I was long under the impression that "George Bell" inked for a certain period, than was replaced by Stone. NO! They BOTH worked for "ye editor" around the same time. "Bell" made his debut on THOR the previous month, and continued to BUTCHER Kirby (and several other pencillers) for months to come, but Stone got on THOR after only one month of such devastatingly-awful finishes. (And I'm sure many fans, looking back, dearly WISH Stone had come onboard a month earlier.)
As usual-- the "editor" did the dialogue-- and STOLE full CREDIT & PAY for the story.
"DEATH" COMES TO THOR!"
[The Boyhood of Thor! Part 3 (At the Age of Eighteen!)]
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Thor rescues Sif from Hela, goddess of Death, and earns the right to carry the Hammer of Odin."
What some boys won't do to impress a girl.
"Indexer Notes: Sif looks nothing like her later and more familiar Marvel appearance, but more like her traditional description."
Hmm.
JACK KIRBY continues the wonderment of "TALES OF ASGARD", supplying story & art, Paul Reinman returns for inks, and the usual joker does the dialogue while grabbing credit AND PAY for much more.
(2-7-2014)
STRANGE TALES 118
cover by Jack Kirby & George Roussos
Yet ANOTHER grudge match with that certifiable sociopath, The Wizard. DICK AYER supplies story & full art, "ye editor", dialogue.
(2-7-2014)
"THE MAN WHO BECAME THE TORCH!"
Synopsis:
The Wizard breaks jail, and begins pulling crimes using a new anti-gravity flying device he's invented. Via trickery & disguise, he captures Johnny, then Sue, and begins impersonating Johnny, while planning bigger and bolder crimes to use his anti-gravity device with. With the help of Reed & Ben, Sue & Johnny escape, and Johnny goes after The Wizard-- who attempts to escape by flying higher and higher with his anti-grav disc. But it malfunctions-- and, unable to control it, he just keeps going higher and higher...
Indexer notes:
4th appearance of The Wizard; previous app. in STRANGE TALES #110 (July 1963). The Wizard was eventually rescued by Paste-Pot Pete & The Sandman, as shown in FANTASTIC FOUR #36 (March 1965). The time-frame is a bit "off", as they broke jail sometime after Pete fought Johnny in STRANGE TALES #124 (September 1964), and most or all of the remaining Torch solo stories up to STRANGE TALES #134 (July 1965) took place before the formation of the Frightful Four! (How long was he up there in the atmosphere?)
(8-17-2007)
"THE POSSESSED!"
Synopsis:
Using his "Earthly Scanner", in which is a small replica of the planet, Strange senses evil somewhere in Bavaria. In a remote village, he finds the townspeople the victims of some strange form of possession, and believes a supernatural force is at work. But he soon discovers it's really the work of aliens from another dimension. He sends them packing, and seals off the dimensional doorway forever.
Indexer notes:
Episode #7. 1st appearance of The Orb Of Agamotto. The dimensional doorway which changes appearance to that of a large rock resembles the alien house in THE OUTER LIMITS episode, "The Guests".
(8-17-2007)
TALES OF SUSPENSE 51
cover by Jack Kirby & George Roussos
(2-7-2014)
SGT. FURY & HIS KAMIKAZE COMMANDOS #6 (more or less, heehee)
"THE FANGS OF THE FOX"
JACK KIRBY supplies story & art, "ye editor" on dialogue, and "George Bell" continues to murder the finishes.
(2-7-2014)
X-MEN 4
cover by Jack Kirby & George Roussos
THE AVENGERS 4
cover by Jack Kirby & George Roussos
"CAPTAIN AMERICA JOINS THE AVENGERS!"
Wow!!! One of the all-time GREAT masterpieces of the era, with JACK KIRBY bringing back his hero from WW2, supplying story & art, while "ye editor" does dialogue & George Roussos performs his usual artistic form of MURDER, uncredited this time. If ever there was a book that deserved to be re-inked, it was this one.
(2-7-2014)
"CAPTAIN AMERICA JOINS... THE AVENGERS!"
Synopsis:
At the end of their battle, Sub-Mariner escapes the clutches of "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", enraged & volwing revenge. He comes across eskimos worshipping a figure frozen in ice, and goes berzerk, even more angry that he should be reduced to taking out his rage on such as they. En route by submarine to NYC, The Avengers happen across the frozen figure Namor hurled into the ocean. To their amazement, it's the long-missing Captain America-- and he's ALIVE! After "proving" himself, he tells of how, at the end of WW2, he & his partner Bucky tried to stop the theft of a robot drone plane-- which turned out to be booby-trapped. Bucky was killed, and Cap somehow got frozen in suspended animation. On their return to NYC, there's a mysterious flash of light-- and Cap finds what appears to be statues of The Avengers on the dock. Wandering the city, he comes across a policeman who once saw him during the war. Later, in a nearby hotel, he ponders if there's any place for him in this strange new world. For a moment, he thinks he sees Bucky-- but it's really Rick Jones-- who turns out to be a dead ringer for his late partner. Rick is searching for the missing Avengers, and brushes aside Cap's emotional outburst as delusional rantings. But Cap pulls himself together, and the two (with help from Rick's Teen Brigade friends) begin a search for clues as to the whereabouts of the missing Avengers. The trail leads to an alien, trapped on Earth, who used a raygun to turn them temporarily into stone statues, because Namor promised to help him. Cap gets the alien to restore his new friends, and they set about freeing his ship from the bottom of the sea, where it's been trapped for millenia. Namor, pissed, runs across his royal guard, and together they attack The Avengers in force! A battle of epic proportions breaks out, which Cap watches from the sidelines-- until Namor threatens Rick. Before Cap and Namor can engage more fully, a seeming Earthquake erupts and Namor & his men flee the scene. In reality, it's the alien's ship, blasting off for his home planet. The Avengers invite Cap to join their team-- while Cap invites Rick to be his new partner, leaving him wondering what The Hulk will think about it.
Indexer notes:
1st modern-day appearance of the real Captain America (following an imposter who turned up in STRANGE TALES #114 / November 1963). Last appearances in CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #78 (September 1954) and MEN'S ADVENTURES #28 (July 1954), though years later this turned out to be another character other than Steve Rogers who replaced him, since his "return" describes him as having disappeared back in 1945! The Hulk would go after Rick for "betraying" him with Cap the very next month in FANTASTIC FOUR #25 (April 1964). Sub-Mariner (with his royal guard) would turn up next in FANTASTIC FOUR #27 (June 1964). The alien in this story would have his homeworld destroyed in X-MEN #135 (July 1980).
(2007)
(Continued in April 1964)
All Text (C) Henry R. Kujawa
Artwork (C) Marvel Comics
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa
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