FANTASTIC FOUR 43
cover by Jack Kirby & Vince Colletta
Reed finally turns the tables on The Wizard and his murderous crew. Part 3 of 3 (also, Part 6 of 6). JACK KIRBY supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and Vince Colletta murders again.
(2-28-2014)
FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL 3
cover by Jack Kirby & Mike Esposito
This story serves as the "big climax" and "celebration" for just about everything in the Marvel Universe since FF #1. REED & SUE get married! Dr. Doom, whose hands are still hurting after what Ben did to them (a detail the "editor" somehow COMPLETELY missed when he wrote the dialogue), uses a machine to influence the minds of villains from all over the place to gather and ATTACK the Baxter Building ALL AT ONCE!! It's the company-wide crossover to beat all company-wide crossovers, the blueprint for countless such stories done since, NONE of which, somehow, has EVER managed to be as FUN or as EXCITING as this one!!! I've read it and re-read it countless times, and it never gets old!!
My favorite moment in the entire story remains when DAREDEVIL-- one of the "weakest" of the heroes-- manages to single-handedly save New York City from not only a bomb explosion, BUT, an INVASION by Attuma and his undersea barbarian legions-- the latter, without even realizing it. HILARIOUS!
JACK KIRBY supplies story & art, ye "editor" makes with the words, and for once Vince Colletta DOESN'T murder the inks on this series.
My intro to the FF was the 1967 Hanna-Barbera cartoon show, in which Reed & Sue were already married. THIS was my very 1st Marvel Comic-- what a place to come in!!!-- and I somehow got ahold of it a couple months after the show debuted. It introduced me to countless characters, many of whom it took me years and years to find out who the heck they were.
It also has reprints in the back from FF #6 and 11. FF #6 was my intro to Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner, and to this day, I consider it the single best story to feature him in all of the 60's. You just don't know what to make of him in this one, as he's calmed down from his return, but he's still on the devious side. And yet, HE's the one who saves the day at the end. Hard to hate a guy like that.
(2-28-2014)
STRANGE TALES 137
cover by JOHN SEVERIN (and STEVE DITKO)
NICK FURY, AGENT OF SHIELD continues to battle Hydra, who plan to blackmail the entire planet into submission with an orbitting bomb. JACK KIRBY supplies story & layouts for this TENSE THRILLER, while ye "editor" does dialogue, and JOHN SEVERIN continues on pencils & inks. Part 3 of 7! (My best friend once complained you never got a complete story when you bought a Marvel Comic-- you can see that trend right here.)
(2-28-2014)
Synopsis:
Fury looks over the captured HYDRA saucer, pondering how no one has a clue who their top men are. With a million dollar price on his head, MP's keep a sharp eye on Fury's welfare. In Weapons Design, Fury's given a gadget-laden outfit, which includes a periscope hat, a self-destructing radio tie, a high-explosive shirt, and a bullet-proof suit made of flexible steel! Meanwhile, SHIELD agents race to get an important microfilm to HQ. The chase leads from a train station to a moving train to a speeding car which turns into a submarine, but in the end, the agents self-destruct to prevent falling into HYDRA hands. HYDRA has a gigantic "Betratron Bomb", with which they can hold the entire world to ransom, and the microfilm would have told SHIELD the location of its launch-site. Meanwhile, dictatorial Leslie Farrington accepts the chairmanship of Imperial Industries International, and tells his secretary Brown he wants info on every other board member. But someone on the board is in fact Imperial Hydra! Below the boardroom, in their secret chambers, their leader is approached by "Agent G", his daughter. She begs him to give up his mad plan, while he tries to explain that he wants only to give her "the world". The bomb launches without a hitch...
Indexer notes:
Part 3 of 7. 1st appearance of the SHIELD Communication Center. The chase sequence, from train to car-turned-submarine vs. frogmen is strikingly similar to the one in the film THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977). 1st modern appearance of Dum Dum & Gabe (regular cast members in SGT. FURY AND HIS HOLWING COMMANDOS). The relationship between Imperial Hydra & Agent G pays tribute to that of Doctor Fu Manchu & Fah Lo Suee, or The Yellow Claw and his niece, Suwan.
(8-3-2007)
"WHEN MEET THE MYSTIC MINDS!"
Synopsis:
Desperate to learn the secret of "Eternity", Dr. Strange probes into the unconscious mind of The Ancient One, meeting one deadly trap after another, until at last, he reaches the mind of his beloved Master, and convinces him of his identity and good intentions. After recovering, Strange departs, and high atop a Himalayan peak, recites "one of the most potent spells of all time". When he's finished, his amulet floats into the air, expands in size, and a doorway opens-- thru which Strange steps. Seconds after the amulet vanishes, Mordo appears, just barely too late to catch up with his mortal enemy.
Indexer notes:
Part 8 of 17.
(8-3-2007)
TALES TO ASTONISH 72
cover by Gene Colan & Vince Colletta (and Jack Kirby & Mike Esposito)
Part 3 of 7 of SUB-MARINER's quest for the trident of Neptune. GENE COLAN supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and Vince Colletta makes with the lines.
"WITHIN THE MONSTER DWELLS A MAN"
HULK's battle with The Leader continues on and on. JACK KIRBY supplies story & layouts, MIKE ESPOSITO does pencils and inks, and ye "editor" does dialogue.
(2-28-2014)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 29
cover by STEVE DITKO
TALES OF SUSPENSE 70
cover by Jack Kirby & Mike Esposito
IRON MAN's battle against the Titanium Man kicks into high gear. During a break between rounds, Tony finds Countess Stephanie (an old flame he never liked that much) has stolen the one gadget he needs to beat the Commie badguy, and Happy retrieves it. But the next round starts before he can deliver it, so he puts his life at risk to run onto the battlefield. Before it's done, it looks like Happy's a goner... but not before he reveals that he KNOWS Shellhead is really his boss. OHHHH boy. DON HECK supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and Mike Esposito continues moonlighting from DC. (Part 2 of 3!!!)
"IF THIS BE TREASON!"
CAP & BUCKY take on Nazis in a castle in Part 2 of this 3-parter. JACK KIRBY supplies story & layouts, ye "editor" does dialogue & GEORGE TUSKA steps in to do pencils & inks!
(2-28-2014)
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY 121
cover by Jack Kirby & Vince Colletta
No GCD sypnopsis again. In Part 8 of 11, Crusher Creel, The Absorbing Man, comes back for more. Tsk!
JACK KIRBY supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and Vince "I'm on my coffee break" Colletta does inks.
"MAELSTROM!"
from the GCD: "Indexer Notes: Odinsword Quest Part 4." Geez, aren't there ANY Thor fans at that site?
JACK KIRBY supplies story & art on this latest installment of "Tales Of Asgard", ye "editor" does dialogue & Vince "Has the hooker shown up yet?" Colletta does inks.
(2-28-2014)
THE AVENGERS 21
cover by Jack Kirby & Wally Wood
Jack Kirby introduces another long-running baddie, in the form of POWER MAN, who, like WONDER MAN, is a normal guy bestowed with super-strength via outside means. He's recruited by The Enchantress to ruin the team's rep, and by the end, CAP quits and hits the road. Good grief! DON HECK supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and WALLY WOOD does inks. Not too shabby. Part 1 of 2.
(2-28-2014)
SGT. FURY & HIS HOWLING G.I.'s 23
cover by DICK AYERS
"THE MAN WHO FAILED!"
DICK AYERS supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and Frank Giacoia does inks.
(2-28-2014)
DAREDEVIL 10
cover by Larry Ivie & Wally Wood
The first 2-parter in the book's run. WALLY WOOD supplies story, layouts, inks AND DIALOGUE, while BOB POWELL is edged in between doing pencils, because ye "editor" was trying to find him some work (or so he claims). He also gets VERY snide, sarcastic & insulting about Wood's writing skills, acting as if he was doing the guy a favor to "let" him write this one, while continuing to ignore the fact that Wood WROTE every episode of this book he worked on!!! Anyone really paying attention can tell, as the story style & structure in these is completely different from anything else being done at Marvel at the time. Wood introduces the "Ani-Men", a gang of crooks with specialties who all dress up in animal costumes-- Bird-Man, Ape-Man, Frog-Man & Cat-Man, along with "The Organizer", the mysterious brains of the outfit whose identity is a mystery for the entire issue.
As much as I enjoy seeing Wood inks just about anything, I wish he'd done full art on all of these, as, while it seems to me he'd dragging Powell UP, Powell is simultaneously dragging Wood DOWN. Truthfully, from what I've seen of Bob Powell's art, he would have been much better-served if he could have done FULL ART (pencils & inks)... but that would have required a "real" writer to supply scripts, and Marvel just didn't have any of those around this time!
(2-28-2014)
CREEPY 5
Cover by FRANK FRAZETTA (Warren / October 1965)
On-sale Date / 08-08-1965
Alright, here we go again. I don't have this issue (to this day, I have VERY FEW early Warrens, which believe me is frustrating at times). But, I do have some of the stories as reprints. It took me a bit to compile an index for this purpose, and I have to have my computer turned on to access that index, in order to then re-read the stories involved. So let's see how this goes...
"UNTIMELY TOMB" -- story by Archie Goodwin (story title by Anne Murphy-- anyone know anything about her?) and stunning art by ANGELO TORRES. Okay, folks. I'm now ready to declare Torres the SINGLE BEST artist working for Warren at this point. YES, I said it. It's a very close thing, but I do believe he blows Al Williamson, Gray Morrow, and Reed Crandall out of the water. NO EASY FEAT. This one looks and feels and reads very much like a POE story... but it isn't. I suppose one might say "inspired by". It's enough that, right now, I'm sorely tempted to scan it it and post it as part of my POE blog project, and suggest that it's inspired by "The Premature Burial". A doctor pronounces a woman dead, and she's buried in a family crypt, but the husband hears her faint cries. He and the doctor, who's protesting the whole way, go to check things out, and find that, YES, she was buried alive... but is certainly dead now. The doctor's reputation is ruined, and things spiral out of control from there. He winds up unintentionally killing the husband, but then he hears the man's cries from inside a mausoleum. I have to admit, the ending left certain things up in the air, open to interpretation. Was the doctor hallucinating, or was the husband, like his wife, buried alive, but eventually wind up dead inside the tomb? (I have this in CREEPY #142 / 1982.)
"SAND DOOM" -- Goodwin & Al Wiliamson tell a story of a gun-runner who sold faulty weapons to Arabs, and while escaping across the desert, first abandons his wounded partner, then encounters an underground cavern loaded with treasure... which is guarded by SUPERNATURAL forces. You know this won't turn out well. (I have this in CREEPY #137 / 1982.)
Well, that was easy to look up, and I could have guessed. Murphy was Archie Goodwin's wife. I just ran across an OBIT saying she passed away in 2020.
HERE's the part that bugs me, referring to Archie Goodwin: "former Marvel Comics editor in chief". Archie was Marvel's EIC for, what, 12 months? --before Jim Shooter took over. He was in charge of EPIC Comics a lot longer, if memory serves. And, he was editor at Warren FAR longer than that. I can't really say what if anything Archie did at Marvel that was all that outstanding, as either writer or editor. It's this G** D***** corporate B***S*** about "Marvel, Marvel, Marvel" that is so relentless. F*** Marvel!!! There were and are far-better comics out there.
(5-18-2021)
(Continued in November 1965)
All Text (C) Henry R. Kujawa
Artwork (C) Marvel Comics
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa
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