Tales to Astonish #35

September 1962
Writers: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber
Artist: Jack Kirby

"The Return of the Ant Man"

With this issue, we have the return of Dr. Henry Pym.  The title of the story is a bit misleading as there was no 'Ant Man' previously.  Pym's only previous appearance in this title (#27) was in a nightmarish fantasy story.  Stan and Jack revisit the character here and bring him into the ever-growing catalog of superhero characters at Marvel Comics. 

The story begins with Pym deciding that his size-changing potion is a discovery that must not go to waste (a departure from his view at the end of #27); he recreates the powerful serum.

We learn that since we last saw Pym he has grown fascinated with ants.  His brief time amongst them left an indelible impression.  Pym devises a device (in the form of a helmet) which will allow him to communicate with the creatures.  After this device is explained to the reader, the villains of the piece make their presence known.  Communist spies break into Pym's lab demanding some anti-radiation formula (something completely unrelated to ants, by the way).  Pym refuses to help and the spies lock him in his office while they search the lab.

To escape his prison, Pym dons a red costume and the helmet and he retrieves his powerful potion.  Pym drinks the formula and promptly uses a rubber band to fling himself to the window sill where he sneaks out through a crack.  Pym heads out to the nearest ant hill and gathers himself an army.  He and the ants return to the lab and through a series of hilarious (intentional or not) feats, they defeat the communist spies.

Items of note:
1. The concept of Pym particles does not exist at this time.  I know there is an evolution of Pym's serum over time and I'm interested to go along on that journey.
2. I love Jack Kirby, but the size of the ants that he draws are not all that much in proportion with reality.
3. This issue features the first time that Pym rides an ant - an image with I find quite funny.
4. This issue also has the first instance of a pile of ant's breaking Pym's fall.  This is something that Pym will use frequently in issues to come.
5. Communists are a common villain at this time in Marvel Comics.

A fun story.  Ultimately forgettable but a well told introduction for the superhero Ant Man.

Journey Into Mystery #83

August 1962
Writers: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber
Artist: Jack Kirby

"The Stone Men from Saturn"

The creative team of Stan Lee, Larry Lieber (Stan's brother), and Jack Kirby unite again to bring us another new character: the Mighty Thor.  Well, maybe not a new character, but a new interpretation of a norse mythological god.

It was interesting to read this issue following Incredible Hulk 2, which also featured men from space as the villains. 

This introduction to Thor begins with the adventures of Dr. Donald Blake in Norway.  The hapless Blake accidentally discovers a small group of the Stone Men who are planning an invasion from space.  Blake flees from this group when found.  He seeks shelter in a cave where he finds a wooden cane.  Quite by accident, Blake learns that when the cane is struck upon the ground, he is instantly transformed into the Mighty Thor.

And here my questions begin.  These early issues do not detail anything about the god Thor, only the mortal Donald Blake.  There is no mention of whether or not Blake is truly Thor or only becomes Thor when the cane is struck.  Does Thor exist when Blake is human?  The creative team offers no insight and it's likely best to not think about, I suppose.  I should say that these are not questions that struck me at first, but in future issues when we visit Asgard, the background starts to fall apart.

We learn a few other interesting bits in this story:
1. If Thor and Mjolnir are separated for 60 seconds, he reverts to Blake
2. If the handle of Mjolnir is wrapped twice upon the ground, a storm appears which Thor can command.
3. Stamp the handle three times to end the storm.
4. If Mjolnir is thrown, it will return.
5. A single strike of the handle will change Thor back into Blake.

The Thor story in this issue is 13 pages long.  It was fun and action-packed.  The team of Lee and Kirby really excel on this title.  Of these first four comics that I have read on this Avengers journey, this was my favorite.

Oh, Thor defeats the Stone Men from Saturn.

Incredible Hulk #2

July 1962
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

"The Terror of the Toad Men"

Our story begins with a rampaging hulk who is calmed by Rick Jones (something that may reoccur once or twice in the ensuing decades).

The villains of this piece are (you guessed it) Toad Men.  And they will not be the last villains from outer space that Hulk battles in this six-issue series.  In fact, the majority of the Hulk opponents in this series would not be described as super-villains.  It's my opinion that Stan and Jack were intent to keep the Hulk away from anything resembling a hero.  As such, his adversaries were not typical super-villains.  For those, look to Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and the X-Men.

This issue also introduces the underground prison for the Hulk.  This prison was designed by Banner and, every night, he would lock himself inside in order to keep the Hulk from wreaking havoc when he emerged at night.  Unfortunately, before he can lock himself inside, the Toad Men arrive to capture the brilliant Banner, whom they refer to as the "greatest mind on Earth".  Their plans go awry when their space ship passes from sunlight to darkness and the Hulk is unleashed.

The Hulk, displaying intelligence, decides to take control of the ship and vent his frustrations at the US army.  Before he can accomplish this task, the army shoots him down.  Banner himself emerges from the ship (back to daylight after all) and is taken into custody.

The remainder of the Toad armada arrives at roughly the moment of dusk.  Hulk breaks free from the prison and seeks out his enemy General Thunderbolt Ross, instead finding his lovely daughter Betty.   After a brief battle with some troops, Rick helps calm things down (naturally).  The following day, the brilliant scientist Dr. Banner devises a way to defeat the Toad Men.  Unfortunately, this does little to help Banner in the eyes of General Ross, who alternately thinks Banner a weakling or a communist spy.

Similar to last issue, this was a fun lengthy read with dynamic pencils from Jack Kirby.

The teetering between hero-book and fantasy-book is one that Stan continues throughout this series.  I have to admit, I think I would prefer one or the other.

Incredible Hulk #1

May 1962
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

"The Coming of the Hulk"

The book billed as a companion title to Lee and Kirby's Fantastic Four is not a traditional superhero story.  This is a common theme for the titles from Marvel in the early 1960's.  Similar to Tales to Astonish and the other titles of the time, this book would more accurately be described as fantasy or science fiction than superhero.  The 'hero' books from Marvel were certainly not the Batman or Superman books that the competition was publishing.

The origin story of the Hulk presented here is the one that everyone knows: Dr. Bruce Banner is testing a gamma bomb for the US government, a teenager (spelled teen-ager in these issues) blunders onto the site, Banner rushes out to save him and Banner is caught in the blast (thanks to the soviet spy/scientist Igor who does not delay the blast).  The gray-skinned angry Hulk is born.

As we progress further into this six issue run, I'll delve more into the ever-changing scope of Banner's relationship with the Hulk.  In this issue, it is established that the Hulk emerges when the sun goes down, with Banner returning at dawn.  Throughout these issues, the circumstances of the 'change' evolve rapidly.

In addition to the Hulk fighting the US government in this issue, he also battles the Gargoyle (Igor's red superior behind the iron curtain).

Jack Kirby deliver dynamic pencils and Stan Lee scripts a fun story.

I'll also mention this - which goes for all six issues - these are not quick stories.  This issue is 24 pages and even with the beautiful full-page spreads which open each chapter, the comic takes time to read.  It's a different experience from modern comics.  I've also noticed that there are times when I want to read modern story-telling and there are times when I love these comics from the 60s.

Tales to Astonish #27

January 1962
Writer: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber
Artist: Jack Kirby

"The Man in the Ant Hill"
With this seven page story, we are introduced to Dr. Henry Pym, a scientist whose newest invention is a serum which shrinks any object.  In the true fashion of 1960's horror/fantasy, Dr. Pym decides to test the serum out on a living object... himself!  Things go quickly wrong, when Pym realizes that he left the antidote out of reach.  He panics, runs from and then attacks ants, and eventually tricks an ant into helping him retrieve the antidote serum.  Upon returning to normal, Pym destroys the serum, deciding that his potion was far too dangerous.

This story is decidedly not a superhero story.  There is no Ant-Man, just Henry Pym the scientist.

The art is fantastic and perfectly captures the horror/fantasy genre.

Year of the Avengers

This year, I started a long process of catching up with the Avengers. From the beginning.

This is something that I dabbled with a few years ago with the Fantastic Four. In 2011, I read the FF from issue 1 to issue 600. I cut things a little bit close by finishing issue 600 on December 30. In 2012, I started the Year of Spider-Man with Amazing Fantasy 15. That adventure ended up being a lot more disjointed and became a bit of a mess when my reading timeline entered the 90s.

And this is the Year of the Avengers. Honestly, it will likely end up being a multi-year trek.

I started the year off with Journey Into Mystery, Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense and the Incredible Hulk. I added the Hulk because he's a founding member (of sorts) and his first series was only six issues.

I've largely been using the new Marvel Epic Collection line of trade paperbacks. Side note: I absolutely love this line.

So far, I am up to March 1965.

I will be posting my thoughts on every issue on this blog with brief thoughts on Twitter.
 

The Return of Rabbitt Stew

Maybe. I'm exploring some options on how or if I want to resurrect the Stew. For now, I'll be using Twitter and this blog for comic-related thoughts. You can find me on twitter @rabbitt_stew (surprisingly and sadly, the handle @rabbittstew was taken). Stay tuned.