FANTASTIC FOUR 7
cover by JACK KIRBY
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY 85
cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Loki escapes from his prison in Asgard and comes to Earth to get revenge on Thor. The trickster hypnotizes him to help make mischief, but Thor’s transformation into Donald Blake frees him from hypnosis, allowing him to defeat Loki and return him to Asgard."
Indexer Notes: "This is the first appearance of Asgard. Heimdall looks nothing like his later appearances. Odin's name is mentioned for the first time."
JACK KIRBY plows on with Larry Lieber on dialogue & Dick Ayers on inks. 5-page stories by Don Heck and a Steve Ditko fill out the issue. After one sci-fi story and one story involving Communists, Kirby introduces what would slowly become an increasingly-important part of the series, mainly Thor's ties with Norse mythology.
This came out right in the middle of a whole slew of "sword and sandals" films involving Hercules and other miscellaneous muscle-bound heroes with mythological ties or not. Amid all the Greco-Roman stuff, a Norse must have stood out some.
Some comments from a friend of mine in Wales...
"Well, I guess Thor is one of the few superheroes who could legitimately be expected to be able to best Superman. With Superman's vulnerability to magic, one thump with the hammer should put him out.
The identity switching seems more like Captain Marvel. A magic trick that turns anyone into a superhero. No origin required. It's just fantasy. Any reader can imagine if they had found the 'stick' they could be thor. Of course the whole identity switch thing was also intriguing on a more adult level. Where did Blake go when he was Thor? Where did Thor go when he was Blake? That fascinated me. We even got an explanation much later on. The magical aspects of the identity change got around the way every other superhero is an expert tailor and can knock up their own threads in no time. They are also all quick change artists. Superman and the Flash are naturals but the others?
From a non-American point of view, both Superman and Thor are non-American. They are both alien. Not even human. Reminds me of Manhunter from Mars. He also had an identity switch going on didn't he? John Jones and Jon Jonzz or some such. I liked him too.
I know some people didn't like Thor's archaic speech but I felt it made him special. Above the rest. It made it clear he wasn't any old superhero. They could hardly give him a Danish or Swedish accent could they?
It's a fascinating idea that it was Blake and not Thor that was 'imaginary'. The myth was real and the doctor was a creation to serve a purpose. It takes a fantasy into the realms of science fiction. I suppose if Thor had been the 'real thing' right from the start, then it would not have been a super hero comic in the accepted sense of the time. There had to be an all American guy who changes into tights. A comic featuring the adventures of a Norse God would have been a bit too adventurous perhaps.
Thor's time as Blake would naturally give Thor a much better understanding of mortals and leads to him being far more 'human' than he was before his 'lesson'. As a friend of human kind he can be a super hero and fit into the comicbook slot.
I grew up with these comics, though there were huge gaps as distrubution over here was a bit hit and miss and I lost chuncks of story. I did pick up on them again when Marvel started doing reprints in black and white in the late sixties/early seventies.
I agree about a slow build up. And coming in with the Daleks right away would have been a big mistake. We needed to get to know the Doctor first. As with getting to know Blake. He's our link between humans and gods as he's both.
I guess as Marvel readers were probably on the whole pretty bright, lots of questions about Blake/Thor needed an answer. So they came up with the explanation. which I think was brilliant, whoever thought of it.
I'm thinking that this was not the original idea. But the writing grew with the character. He became more and more real so demanded a proper pre-explanation.
I would guess it was Kirby and not Lee that came up with this - or possibly the readers did. But it made Thor much more believeable."
(1-21-2014)
TALES TO ASTONISH 36
cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers
STRANGE TALES 101
cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers
Synopsis:
In Glenville, Johnny lives with his sister Sue. While she's known as a member of the Fantastic Four, he tries to keep a low profile. We get to see the house, much of which is chemically fire-resistent, and equipped with various crime-fighting equipment. But even in the suburbs danger lurks, as someone called The Destroyer is hell-bent on wrecking a local amusement park nearing completion.
Indexer notes:
Part 1 of 2. Contains diagram & Sue & Johnny's house & very brief recap of the Fantastic Four's origin. Spin-off series no doubt the result of publisher Martin Goodman feeling that "The Human Torch" has been good luck for him, dating all the way back to MARVEL COMICS #1 (October 1939).
"THE FLAMING FURY STRIKES BACK!!"
Synopsis:
Ben shows up, but Johnny refuses help, saying it's his fight. After another encounter with The Destoyer, Johnny gets a hunch when he realizes the targets so far have been the roller coaster and the parachute jump. Atop the coaster, he looks out to sea and spots a Commie sub! The Destroyer turns out to be Charles Stanton, publisher of the town's newspaper, who'd been smuggling info to the Reds until the building of the amusement park increased the risk that the submarine might been seen.
Indexer notes:
Part 2 of 2. Destroyer no relation to the character from MYSTIC COMICS #6 (October 1941), the Jack Kirby character from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #118 (July 1965) or the Jim Starlin character from IRON MAN #55 (February 1973). Plot about spies trying to scare townsfolk away from where a submarine is docking may have served as the inspiration for the 1967 SPIDER-MAN cartoon, "Return Of The Flying Dutchman".
(2007)
(Continued in November 1962)
All Text (C) Henry R. Kujawa
Artwork (C) Marvel Comics
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa
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