STRANGE TALES 147
cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers
Synopsis:
On returning from their latest mission, Fury catches hell from the military brass, but brushes it off and gives everyone a 10-day furlough-- except Jasper, who only seems happy when he's being "worked to death". Count Royale continues bad-mouthing Fury to SHIELD's board of directors. A general, irritated by SHIELD's seemingly-excessive security measures, explains to Fury how A.I.M. has technology they desperately need, but refuse to do business as long as Fury's in charge. This, of course, only confirms Fury's earlier suspicions that A.I.M. is not on the up-and-up as they claim! Sure enough, Royale has returned to an A.I.M. observation post, and watches as a squad invades the SHIELD barber shop. Fury, Dum Dum & Jasper save the day, the rescued manicure girl miffed as Jasper's overt shyness. Royale, meanwhile, feels Fury's rash actions have put the last nail in his coffin...
Indexer notes:
Part 3 of 5. Nick Caputo, via the GCD Error List (24 July 2005), believes Dick Ayers to be the inker and that the printed credit for Mike Esposito (as Mickey Demeo) is in error. Henry Kujawa confirms (7 August 2007).
(8-7-2007)
"THE ENEMY WITHIN"
While NICK FURY & his SHIELD boys mop up the underwater android factory, Count Bornag Royale of A.I.M. continues to bad-mouth Fury's reputation, hoping to convince the Feds to replace Fury if they want to deal with his organization as a supplier for advanced weaponry. But Fury gets wise to it, and realizes Royale is working for "Them"-- which means A.I.M. is part of "Them", too! But can he convince a Senate Investigation committee of this in time?
JACK KIRBY supplies story & layouts, ye "editor" does dialogue, DON HECK is squeezed in supplying pencils while Dick Ayers does the inks. It looks UGLY, which is a shame, as it reads so good, it deseved better.
(3-25-2014)
"FROM THE NAMELESS NOWHERE COMES... KALUU!"
Synopsis:
For the first time in months, Strange walks around Greenwich Village running household errands, while carelessly forgetting to cast a spell to hide his magician's robes. After stopping a common robbery, he returns home to find his bills are unpaid, his bank account is empty, and a city building inspector gives him 6 months to bring his house up to code via painting and sealing up "moldy trap doors and hidden passageways". He instructs Wong to sell some jewels to pay the bills, checks up on Baron Mordo, thinks back on recent events, and then contacts a theatrical agent, Hiram Barney, about a possible nightclub gig. But he's told magic is "out"-- rock bands are "in"! Just then he's contacted by The Ancient One, who tells him of a most dire menace in the offing, named Kaluu...
Indexer notes:
Part 1 of 22. Unusually light-hearted "break" between 2 very long storylines. While the next 2 years of the series can be broken down into sections, each runs into the next so much into the next it's effectively one single long epic.
(8-7-2007)
"FROM THE NAMELESS NOWHERE COMES... KALUU!"
This begins an entire new era of DR. STRANGE, MASTER OF THE MYSTIC ARTS, as Bill Everett steps in as writer & illustrator! Unfortunately, not only does the "editor" STEAL credit & pay for the story, but Denny "drag 'em thru the mud" O'Neil does dialogue which comes close to totally MURDERING Everett's efforts! The best part of this episode is the decision to take a break after the 17-part epic that concluded the month before, and bring Doc back down to earth... before he sets off on what, unknowingly, wound up becoming a long, long, ramble that went on for 22 episodes without a break!!
(3-25-2014)
FANTASTIC FOUR 53
cover by Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott
This details the "origin" of THE BLACK PANTHER, how his father was murdered by a greedy adventurer named "Klaw", who had developed a sonic weapon that could create nearly-indestructible solid objects out of sound waves. By story's end, Klaw's sent packing, The Panther decides to put his wealth & power to the goal of helping others around the world, and Klaw, in a fit of insanity, jumps into his own sonic generator.
JACK KIRBY supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and JOE SINNOTT knocks everyone's eyes out with his inks. Oddly enough, when this story was reprinted in the 6th FF MASTERWORKS book in 2001, they were able to shoot brand-new stats of the art, so that, for the only time I've ever seen, the line reproduction in the reprint looked BETTER than the original comic.
(3-25-2014)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 38
cover by STEVE DITKO
TALES OF SUSPENSE 80
cover by Jack Kirby & Don Heck
IRON MAN spends half the story having the CRAP beaten out of him by an enraged, completely irrational SUB-MARINER. In flashback, we see how Namor tracked Warlord Krang to the surface, only to see him driven off at high speed by Shellhead, who he now blames for Krang having escaped. If this guy had any brains, he would have gotten Iron Man's help pursuing Krang, but, no, he's SO STUPID, he wastes time trying to beat a potential ally into the ground. Things turn around when Tony tricks Namor into hurling him into his lab, which Namor finds impossible to break into. Tony replaces damaged parts of his armor, then gives it a good charge, before going out to give it all back to Namor. Except, weak from being out of the water for too long, the guy has retreated to the ocean, to give himself a recharge. And now, the two are ready to face off AGAIN...
GENE COLAN supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and Jack Abel provides STUNNING inks. I first read this in IRON MAN ANNUAL #1, which was my first exposure to the visual wonders of Gene Colan. It looks much better in the original printing. Part 2 or 3.
"HE WHO HOLDS THE COSMIC CUBE!"
CAPTAIN AMERICA hot on the trail of The Red Skull, who has not only betrayed "Them", and hypnotized one of their number to STEAL their most powerful new weapon, but also betrayed his own loyal men who went thru so many years of suspended animation with him. WHAT A BASTARD! In some of the most astonishing action scenes ever recorded on paper, CAP tracks the Skull down to a remote island, but is too late to stop him from getting his hands on a device which can transform THOUGHTS into REALITY! HOLY-- S***!!!!!
JACK KIRBY supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and DON HECK fills in on inks. Part 3 of 4.
(3-25-2914)
"HE WHO HOLDS THE COSMIC CUBE"
Synopsis:
Cap rescues a pilot whose plane was shot out of the sky, only to discover he's a member of A.I.M., who tells Cap about their "supreme achievement"-- The Cosmic Cube-- which has been stolen by it's "keeper", who's taking it to his new master-- The Red Skull! Watching via remote camera, The Skull uses a "neuro brain-trap device" to brainwash his loyal follower, Wolfgang, into blowing his own brains out! Using an "experimental manned missile" from SHIELD, Cap catches up to The Keeper and leaps in mid-air onto his jet plane! As they battle, the hypnotized man hits the ejector switch, and the two parachute down to a remote island, in view of The Skull. The evil Nazi gains the advantage by telling Cap he was the one who gave the orders that resulted in Bucky's death back in 1945. Gaining the Cosmic Cube, which can "convert thought waves into material action"-- he wills The Keeper into another dimension. Cap realizes his foe has now become invincible!!
Indexer notes:
Part 2 of 3. The palm magnets Cap uses to latch onto the Keeper's jet were later used by Nick Fury in STRANGE TALES #166 (March 1968).
(2007)
TALES TO ASTONISH 82
cover by Gene Colan & Dick Ayers
I think this was one of the last episodes from the part of the run that I got my hands on. The 3rd part of the Iron Man-Sub-Mariner fight was the cover-feature for this issue. I hadn't been able to find it along with the earlier ones when I got a stack of them in the 80's, but sometime in the 90's I finally did, for a lot more, I'm pretty sure.
I swear, back in 1997-98, I worked for a company where the owner and his junior partner were DEAD RINGERS for Ross & Talbot. Made ME feel like Bruce Banner...
Gee, HOW MANY WORDS does this "great writer" feel he HAS to cram into so little space, anyway?
The part I can't figure is, he's called "Boomerang", but his big schtick is small discs that can slice weapons in half.
Okay, so what's the deal here... each member of "The Secret Empire" has a number in order of their ranking in the organization? Does this mean if one of them is "caught or killed", they advance numberically?
And WHO is "Number Nine"?
Wouldn't it be cool if somebody ever decided to adapt these VERBATIM as half-hour Saturday morning cartoons? They'd keep you coming back every week.
(12-6-2013)
"THE POWER OF IRON MAN!"
A fully-recharged SUB-MARINER tackles a fully-recharged IRON MAN on the beach outside of Tony Stark's factory, while an overwhelmed squad of police watch from the sidelines. This picks up right where this month's SUSPENSE leaves off! It's one of the most exciting fight scenes in all of Marvel history, and it comes from an unexpected creative line-up.
GENE COLAN started out on story & art, but 2 pages in, fell sick with the flu. Stepping in at very short notice, JACK KIRBY provided the last 10 pages of story & art, in the process doing quite possibly the MOST EXCITING fight scene of his entire career! WOW!!! Although the "editor" stole credit & pay for the story, we know it's a lie. He didn't even stick around for the dialogue this time, going on vacation and having Roy Thomas fill in-- his FIRST work ever on SUB-MARINER. Incredibly, as bad, as awful, as awkward and annoying as Roy's dialogue tends to be, in THIS case, he actually did FANTASTIC work-- probably his best dialogue in all of the 60's. I guess Jack Kirby inspired him!
"Away, spineless humans! How DARE you approach the royal presence with your PUNY weapons?" Great stuff.
Regular inker at this point, Dick Ayers, does the finishes. This 3-parter was the first time they did a crossover involving 2 different titles (if you don't count what went on with the Hulk in AVENGERS and FANTASTIC FOUR), and in the 70's it was reprinted 3 times-- in IRON MAN ANNUAL #1, in MARVEL SUPER-HEROES, and the tpb, MARVEL'S GREATEST SUPER-HERO BATTLES. I was so thrilled when I finally tracked down the original issue, which, of course, has the sharpest line reproduction.
(3-25-2014)
Thinking about this story again yesterday, I suddenly pictured how it might have gone, if this had been a super-powered version of WALKER, TEXAS RANGER.
Iron Man would have handed Namor his head. The IDIOT would find himself waking up in a specially-made inescapable holding cell designed just for super-strong types. And as he would start to yell and rave about "How dare they..." etc., Iron Man would show up, tell him, "SHUT UP!" And then TOSS the unconscious Warlord Krang, who he had single-handedly tracked down, fought, defeated and captured, into the cell.
"HERE! You two can settle your differences. But if I were you, I'd behave. Your girlfriend's setting up bail money."
"She means NOTHING to me! A disloyal, duplicitous deceiver who betrayed the one who gave her his heart..."
"Yeah, well, if not for HER you'd have a one-way ticket to a life stretch by now."
(4-26-2014)
THOR 131
cover by Jack Kirby & Vince Colletta
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Tana Nile stakes a claim on Earth. Thor starts to fight towards Rigel to rescue Earth."
The NERVE of some aliens! Show up, and declare that THEY'RE in charge now. Who do they think they are, Earthmen? (Which I suspect is exactly the commentary the writer was making here.) And the only one who can put things right is a NORSE god that nobody on Earth "believes" in anymore. What wonders the universe holds...
JACK KIRBY supplies mind-blowing story & eye-popping art; ye "editor" does dialogue; and Vince "HOLY S***!!!" Colletta does inks. Nice, but this is one place where Joe "science-fiction guy" Sinnott would have REALLY been handy. Part 1 of 3.
"THE WARLOCK'S EYE"
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Thor impersonates Harokin in order to get the Warlock's Eye."
It's "The Prisoner Of Zenda" bit, with our hero discovering he bears an uncanny resemblance to someone else, and deciding to impersonate them in order to save the day.
JACK KIRBY supplies story & art for this latest installment of "Tales Of Asgard"; ye "editor" does dialogue, and Vince "I just don't get this stuff" Colletta does inks. Part 3 of 5. Boy. Remember when a comic used to contain complete stories?
(3-23-2014)
THE AVENGERS 31
cover by DON HECK
Somewhere in the Andes, GOLIATH and the rest of the team take on a bunch of fanatics who threaten to destroy the world. Jack Kirby supplied the story idea, DON HECK supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and for the last time, Frank Giacoia does inks. I really liked this run. I wish it had gone on longer.
(3-25-2014 / revised 7-31-2018)
SGT. FURY & HIS HOWLING G.I.S 33
cover by DICK AYERS
"THE GRANDEUR THAT WAS GREECE!"
DICK AYERS supplies story & art, Roy Thomas does dialogue, and John Tartaglione does inks. This book's creative line-up had become so stable at this point, you'd almost mistake it for a DC title.
(3-25-2014)
DAREDEVIL 19
cover by John Romita & Frank Giacoia
DD fights the mob, while Gladiator & The Masked Marauder (if memory serves) lurk on the sidelines. JOHN ROMITA supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and Frank Giacoia does inks.
(3-25-2014)
X-MEN 23
cover by Werner Roth & Dick Ayers
Our heroes are forced to play messenger boys to deliver Count Nefaria's ransom, or everyone in Washington, DC, which has been encased in an impregnable, airtight energy shield, will die. Naturally, the Feds think the heroes have "gone bad". To make matters worse, Nefaria's squad of 3rd-rate baddies decied to go into business for themselves, grab the money from the good guys, and split-- consequences to innocent people be damned.
Roy Thomas supplied the story & dialogue, WERNER ROTH fleshed it out with his pencils, and Dick Ayers did the inks. I first read this in X-MEN ANNUAL #2, so it's probably my favorite X-MEN story of the 60's. As strange as it may sound, to me, Thomas-Roth-Ayers were the "definitive" team on this book. Part 2 of 2.
X-MEN ANNUAL 2
cover by Marie Severin & John Romita (November 1971)
(3-25-2014)
(Continued in September 1966)
All Text (C) Henry R. Kujawa
Artwork (C) Marvel Comics
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa
No comments:
Post a Comment