STRANGE TALES 149
cover by Jack Kirby & Don Heck
NICK FURY out-foxes the bad guys, and SHIELD manages to take down the minions of Advanced Idea Mechanics, while proving to the government higher-ups that FURY is the ONLY man for the job. Count Bornag Royale returns to A.I.M.'s hide-out, only to have it blown up with him in it by his own boss. And while this is going on, some red-robed members of The Secret Empire, on the run from their own troubles, hitch a ride from one of their own-- who turns out to be the long-missing Gabe Jones, UNDERCOVER, who's been BUMPING OFF bad guys systematically! On returning to SHIELD HQ, notes are exchanged, and Fury feels it's not a coincidence that several different secret spy outfits are running around at the SAME time. Before long, an explosion only confirms what Fury suspected-- both A.I.M. and The Secret Empire were parts of "Them", and "Them" are really HYDRA-- who were not really defeated as earlier believed.
JACK KIRBY supplies story & layouts; Denny O'Neil fills in on dialogue; and OGDEN WHITNEY fills in on pencils & inks. It's part 4 of 4-- but it's really the end of the 2ND ACT of a 3-ACT epic. And the really big showdown is about to begin soon!!!
"IF KALUU SHOULD TRIUMPH"
BILL EVERETT supplying story & full art while Denny O'Neil almost kills it with his dialogue. Part 3 of this 22-part DR. STRANGE epic.
(4-10-2014)
FANTASTIC FOUR 55
cover by Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott
Our newbie board-ridin' alien has circled the globe, getting his bearings on his new home. He's not sure he likes what he's found. He seeks out the person who first helped him gain insight into mankind having real potential... Alicia. Just at the point where her steady, Ben, tired of watching his pal Reed and his still-new wife Sue get all googoo-eyed at each other, has decided to split to go spend time with his own sweetie. Natcherly, on seeing her with "ANOTHER MAN", he comes to the wrong conclusion. Result? BIG fight, LOTS of property destruction, and the like.
While this is going on, Johnny & Wyatt, somewhere in Tibet, find an entire tribe of natives fleeing from some "monster", and while camping out, it approaches them in the darkness...
JACK KIRBY supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and JOE SINNOTT does the cleanest, slickest inks ever seen this side of the galaxy!!!
(4-10-2014)
TALES TO ASTONISH 84
cover by Gene Colan & Dick Ayers
Number One of The Secret Empire, which has collapsed partly due to the efforts of Gabe Jones, has found the amnesia-suffering SUB-MARINER and set him out to find and kill The Hulk-- who happens to be in NYC. Namor, wearing an overcoat so as not to attract attention (heh) slips into a movie theatre to try and clear his head. Someone happens to notice he's not wearing shoes-- or pants-- and Namor FLEES the theatre. While in flight, he's spotted by the still-at-large Warlord Krang, who shoots him with a ray-blast, inadvertently restoring Namor's memory! GENE COLAN supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and Dick Ayers does inks.
"RAMPAGE IN THE CITY!"
The HULK decides he's had enough of being on the run, and decides to go in search of The Avengers, in NYC. While there, he realizes he's too conspicious, and so steals a hat & coat from a "big men's" clothing store. He then sneaks into a movie theatre to get away from the cops (hey, haven't we seen this before), and witnesses a disturbance, as some other guy in an overcoat is running out the side door. Whatta ya know-- all this build-up to a SUB-MARINER/HULK fight, and Namor misses the guy he's looking for without even knowing it. Next, he sees a newsreel of the army's VERY-recent battle against Boomerang (who was working for The Secret Empire). Soon, cops chase Hulk into the subway, where he trips, falls, then winds up saving a speeding train from crashing. He escapes, but wonders-- what's next?
A very good question, as this was JACK KIRBY's final episode of the series, supplying story & layouts, and seems to be playing his swan song at least partly for laughs. Ye "editor" did the dialogue (MUCH funnier than usual, to go with the story). Bill Everett pencilled the first 2 pages, Jerry Grandenetti the rest, while Mike Esposito, Sol Brodsky & John Tartaglione did the inks. Oh, and while they were at it, one page from the SUB-MARINER story was repeated, with different dialogue, by Colan & Ayers. Doesn't this look like it was a last-minute desperate race to beat a deadline?
(4-10-2014)
Earlier comments:
"The Secret Empire" story spills over into the SUB-MARINER series. This means there were 5 SEPARATE series where the events were inter-connected, all due to Jack Kirby's writing. What a guy! (Kirby filled in on 2 consecutive episodes of SUB-MARINER, during which he introduced "Number One"-- seen here.)
Following the 3-part "T-Gun" story, THIS was the next episode of THE HULK I ever read. As it happens, this was the FINAL episode written by JACK KIRBY.
It was also in the tradition of a few comics Marvel did in the early 40's, where they had MULTIPLE artists working on different pages. I'm not sure if Bill Everett did anything on this, but apparently a big chunk of it was one of the FEW jobs ever done for Marvel by JERRY GRANDENETTI (who started out as an assistant to Will Eisner on THE SPIRIT, then developed a VERY bizarre style of his own). Also in the mix is ONE page by Gene Colan & Dick Ayers, actually copied from the SUB-MARINER episode earlier in the same issue, only with the dialogue & narration changed!
This is one of my favorite HULK episodes, mainly because it's so FUNNY! The "dumb" HULK was in full swing here, but for once, "ye editor" got it right by playing the whole damned thing FOR LAUGHS.
If you note the credits, not only does the "editor" AS USUAL make it look like HE wrote it, he actually manages to AVOID crediting ANY of the artists involved at all!!!
Further, this is IN NO WAY "Beginning a new chapter". The fact is, the "big story" started by Jack Kirby back in HULK #1, continued by Steve Ditko when the series resumed in ASTONISH, and then picked up again by Kirby after the 8 Ditko episodes, would finally reach its CLIMAX only 3 more episodes down the line.
My vote for the FUNNIEST Hulk page from the actual series (as opposed to a NBE parody). Anybody else would smash the plate-glass window... but not our boy genius, here!
Screwy thing about this issue... here's the back-story.
Warlord Krang kidnapped Lady Dorma, trying to force he into becoming his bride. Namor, pig-headed idiot he was, felt she had "betrayed" him, and went on a rampage against his own people. Then he chased after Krang, who, trying to "impress" Dorma by committing murder, attacked Iron Man. IM sent Krang running... Namor, who was on the verge of catching Krang, got SO pissed off at what he saw, he spent 3 ENTIRE episodes trying to beat the crap out of Iron Man. (Somebody needs to teach that idiot a lesson.) The last part of that 3-part sequence was written by JACK KIRBY (with dialogue by Roy Thomas, who did MUCH better than he did on ANY other comic he wrote in the whole of the 60's-- I guess Kirby inspired him.)
So Kirby did a 2nd episode, in which Namor fought Krang, but wound up with amnesia at the end. Number One took advantage of it, saying he was Namor's friend, and sent him out to find-- AND KILL-- The Hulk. (This idea of the villain convincing a hero with amnesia that they're friends would later be reused by John Romita in ASM #55-56.)
So, HULK and SUBBY are both in ASTONISH, they're both in NYC, it looks like we're gonna see a big fight... NOPE.
Instead, Hulk sneaks into a movie theatre, watches a newsreel about what went on at Ross' base in the southwest (showing events not seen elsewhere in the story). And there's a disturbance, because SUBBY was hiding in the theatre, watching the same newsreel, until someone spotted him, and he fled... NEVER knowing his target was in the same theatre. So, big build-up... but no fight. Readers would have to wait for ASTONISH #100 (2 years later) for that.
(12-8-13)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL 3
cover by John Romita & Mike Esposito
The springboard for this situation MAY well have come from the "editor". (As I said-- "for no damn reason". That sounds like "ye editor" to me!) The story itself was WRITTEN by John Romita, with art by Don Heck & Mike Esposito.
(12-8-13)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 41
cover by John Romita & Mike Esposito
TALES OF SUSPENSE 82
cover by Jack Kirby & Frank Giacoia
IRON MAN battles the Titanium Man in the nation's capitol! It's neck-and-neck, until the Commie BASTARD sees Pepper in the watching crowd, and threatens her LIFE if Shellhead doesn't surrender. GENE COLAN supplies story and AWESOME art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and Frank Giacoia begins his run on the series as inker. It was absolutely unforgivable when this was reprinted in IRON MAN ANNUAL #2, and the book ended on a cliffhanger! Part 2 of 3.
"THE MADDENING MYSTERY OF THE INCONCEIVABLE ADAPTOID!"
CAPTAIN AMERICA finds himself suffering from some inexplicable hallucinations. Meanwhile, a SHIELD mop-up team finds Count Bornag Royale still just barely alive in the wreckage of A.I.M.'s mountain hideout, rambling about some "secret weapon" that's been unleashed. In Avengers' Mansion, CAP succumbs to sleep, while the A.I.M. android who's been causing him visions changes form and takes on his image! JACK KIRBY supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue (and, I suspect, came up with the overly-wordy title), and Frank Giacoia does inks. Part 1 of 3.
(4-10-2014)
THOR 133
cover by Jack Kirby & Vince Colletta
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Thor wins over Ego, the Living Planet and gets Earth's freedom from the colonizers. Jane wanders into the New Men and is offered a job as a teacher in Wundagore."
One wild, eye-popping story. The thing I mainly remember this for was that the inks were MUCH better, far more impressive-looking, than usual. In light of the army of assistants that Vince Colletta used over the years, this brings up the question... WHO inked this? Vince, on a better day than usual, or one of his assistants, who gave more of a damn than he did himself? It also appears the story MAY have been cut short rather abruptly at the end, as if it was originally intended to go on longer than it did. Hmm... (Part 3 of 3.)
JACK KIRBY supplies mind-blowing story & retinal-shattering visages; ye "editor" fills word balloons; and Vince "This S***just keeps getting crazier by the issue!" Colletta does inks.
"VALHALLA!"
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Harokin rides the Black Stallion of Doom to Valhalla."
We don't get to see much of Valhalla so much as the last ride heading toward it. Oh well. JACK KIRBY supplies story & art on this latest installment of "Tales Of Asgard". Ye "editor" does dialogue, while Vince "pall bearer" Colletta does inks. (Part 5 of 5.)
(4-10-14)
THE AVENGERS 33
cover by DON HECK
The team takes down The Sons Of The Serpent. DON HECK supplies story & FULL art, ye "editor" does dialogue. It's not bad, but, really, a sharper, slicker, cleaner inker would have done wonders for this thing.
(4-10-2014)
SGT. FURY & HIS HOWLING KRAUT-KILLERS 35
cover by Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott
"BERLIN BREAKOUT!"
DICK AYERS supplies story & art, Roy Thomas does dialogue & John Tartaglione does inks.
(4-10-2014)
DAREDEVIL 21
cover by Gene Colan & Frank Giacoia
The Owl has it out with Hornhead in his volcanic island retreat. Essentially an issue-long free-for all. GENE COLAN supplies story & art, ye "editor" does dialogue, and in an obvious case of a BLOWN deadline (hey, that's two in the same month!) , Frank Giacoia, Bill Everett & Dick Ayers all do inks, the latter 2 no doubt picking up the slack for the former. I guess taking on IRON MAN was just too much for Giacoia? Anyway, it may not read so good, but at least with Gene it LOOKS nice.
(4-10-2014)
X-MEN 25
cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers
The team face a baddie named "El Tigre" who's into South American archeology & mythology, who turns into a figure called "Kukulcan". There's seems some confusion about this on the cover, as the original Werner Roth cover with El Tigre was replaced with a Jack Kirby cover with Kukulcan, yet, the cover caption still reads "El Tigre". Hmm. It would seem that Jack Kirby came up with this issue's villain. Roy Thomas supplies story & dialogue, Werner Toth the pencils, and Dick Ayers the inks. Part 1 of 2.
(Continued in November 1966)
All Text (C) Henry R. Kujawa
Artwork (C) Marvel Comics
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa
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