Fantastic Four #12

Cover Date: March 1963

Plot Overview: The U.S. military mistakes the Thing for the Hulk and tries to capture him. A higher up calls off the attack and apologizes to the Thing. The Thing returns to the Baxter Building just in time for Thunderbolt Ross to arrive. Ross wants the Fantastic Four to take care of the military's Hulk problem. This leads to Reed, Johnny and the Thing dreaming up scenarios where they capture the Hulk.

The FF show off their new FantastiCar before heading to the desert with General Ross. Reed Richards and Bruce Banner meet as there's a big meeting. Banner's assistant Karl Kort has a run in with The Torch and Thing and quickly exits the scene. Banner swears that the Hulk isn't responsible for the recent damage. He believes it's a saboteur that he's dubbed the Wrecker.

The Torch and Thing grow tired of waiting and barge in and cause havoc as the meeting comes to a close. The Torch hands Rick Jones the wallet of Karl Kort and asks if he'd return it. Rick goes to find Kort and realizes that Kort is literally a card carrying Communist.

Back at the base, the FF have fixed up an experimental rocket sled and have the Thing ride it. The Thing hits a sabotaged piece of track and crashes. Banner approaches to ask for their help because Rick has been captured by the Wrecker. Banner doesn't want to reveal he's the Hulk so they ultimately don't believe him. Banner heads to his secret cave and becomes the Hulk. The Hulk comes upon the Fantastic Four and takes out the Thing with one punch and uses dirt to put out the Torch's flames. The Hulk smashes his way to the surface where he escapes Reed. He uses his sonic boom clap to take out Reed, Johnny and Sue. The Thing attacks and they battle until a mysterious ray takes out the Hulk.

The Thing follows the ray and smashes a giant robot he finds. This leads the Thing to a chamber where Karl Kort is. Kort tries to use a ray gun on the Thing but Sue disarms him. The FF have cleared the name of the Hulk. The Hulk watches as the FF return home at the end of the issue.

My Take: This was a great issue. It really felt like it clicked. The characters were really distinct and came across well developed. The story wasn't goofy or too wacky. They had an idea of having the Hulk fight the Thing and they executed on that idea. No silly pseudo-science, no bait and switch or anything like that.

The art was really great in this issue. All of the characters looked really good and the action scenes were good. I also enjoyed that there was some action in this issue. Marvel has been really hit and miss with giving us actual fights in the comics. And I always enjoy when they go through with a battle.

Other than Amazing Fantasy #15 this was probably the best comic I've read since doing this. I would hold this issue up against anything that's come out today and I feel it could hold it's own. It's still a little rough around the edges but the quality of a good story is in there.

I'd give this issue ****1/2 out of *****

Notes: This issue is the first time that Marvel characters have truly crossed over in the Silver Age. To this point there had been little references to other comics like someone reading a Hulk comic. But nothing like this. It even went so far as to have supporting cast interact with the heroes. This is really important as one of the huge innovations that Marvel did was having a shared universe.

Don't get me wrong. DC characters crossed over before this of course but Marvel really made it feel like any of the characters could turn the corner and just run into another Marvel character. That's where their real innovation in the shared universe department came from.

Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #41

Strange Tales #105

Cover Date: February 1963

Plot Overview: The Wizard becomes a model prisoner so that he can get access to the hospital wing. He uses several chemicals to eat a hole through his cell wall which allows him to escape. The Wizard challenges the Human Torch to a rematch.

Johnny Storm sees the challenge and gets ready to head off but Sue forbids it. So Johnny makes a fake version of himself to distract her long enough for him to escape. The Human Torch arrives on the scene and the Wizard uses a variety of attacks that the Torch foils. The Wizard figures out that Sue has entered his home and sneaks off and captures her after exposing her with a spray.

The Wizard tells the Torch that there's a bomb in the room but he will let the Torch enter if he turns off his flames. The Torch agrees. Sue and Johnny are now trapped with the bomb and the Wizard reveals that if the temperature rises the bomb will go off. Sue and Johnny can't reach the bomb so Johnny takes a gamble and uses his flame powers to disable the bomb before it can go off. Johnny becomes the Torch and launches the bomb into the sky where it explodes harmlessly. The Torch then uses his powers to escape the room. The Wizard tries to escape but the Torch sets off the sprinklers which causes the Wizard to slip. The Wizard has been captured. The issue ends with Sue throwing something at Johnny after he made a sarcastic comment about her help.

My Take: I enjoyed this issue quite a bit. It was essentially a direct continuation of the battle they were having last time. The Wizard was using his gadgets to try and best the Torch. The art felt a lot better this time as the Wizard didn't look quite as ugly as I remember. Overall, I found the story to be fun and it even developed the relationship between Johnny and Sue a little.

It was nice seeing other members of the Fantastic Four in the book. I like seeing their relationships develop and it's an added bonus that this book is mostly about how they interact with Johnny. I've been surprised that there haven't been more appearances by FF members so far but I guess Lee wanted the Torch to stand on his own a bit too.

I found this to be a fun story. It was mostly action and a death trap and that's just fine with me. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby really seem to pour a lot of attention into this book. Strange Tales just seems to have better overall stories and art than the other two anthology books have on a monthly basis. I'm guessing that's because it's a Fantastic Four spin-off and the cash cow for the company at the time. They probably put that extra bit of effort in so that it retains the same amount of quality as the FF book does. Where with a few of the other titles I feel like they just throw things together some months.

My main complaint with this book is that the prison people would even let the Wizard anywhere near the hospital wing. He might be a model prisoner but I would like to think that a competant staff would keep a guy like the Wizard away from chemicals just to be safe. Okay, so maybe a real prison would probably make the same mistake. Let's move on...

Good overall issue here. I'm really surprised by Strange Tales as I never thought a Johnny Storm solo title would entertain me. I'm glad to be wrong with this so far.

I'd give this ** out of *****

Notes: This is the second appearance of the Wizard. He last appeared in Strange Tales #102.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #12

Journey Into Mystery #89

Cover Date: February 1963

Plot Overview: Thug Thatcher escapes from the police after being arrested for selling faulty steel. During his escape, he is shot in the shoulder. Thatcher's henchmen abduct Don Blake to fix him up. Blake plays along and removes the bullet from Thatcher. With the help of Odin, he becomes Thor and makes short work of Thatcher's men.

Thatcher escapes and uses Jane Foster as a hostage until Thor can rescue her. Thatcher again escapes to a construction site where a faulty girder causes Thatcher to be captured.


My Take: This issue was not very good. The story was coherent but the art was just brutal in spots. It feels like Kirby drew a few panels and then handed it over to someone else for the rest of the issue. The panel with Odin in it is just brutal and looks like a 7 year old drew it. This is where you can see how Lee and Kirby doing everything has an adverse effect on the product. The story didn't feel well thought out and the art was really uneven.

And again we come to Thor's villains. I really hate Thor fighting mobsters and Communists. It's a bad match for the kind of hero he is. You end up with these contrived situations to keep Thor from just running over these guys like he should. That's why he needs super villains. Loki isn't a match for Thor physically but Loki can outsmart Thor in most situations. That's better than the constant hostage taking that puts Thor on the shelf briefly.

Also this issue is the second time where Blake has changed to Thor in front of people and none of the bad guys have really caught on that maybe Blake and Thor are the same guy. Thatcher noticed a bond between the two but that's as close as it's come.

Anyways, I really disliked this issue. The story wasn't interesting or fun. The art was average to bad. We're also like 7 issues into this series and the character development just isn't happening. I'm not really enjoying the Thor book too much at this point.

I'll give this * out of *****

Notes: There was nothing of note for this issue.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #105

Tales to Astonish #40

Cover Date: February 1963

Plot Overview: The Ant-Man is called in by a man named Howard Mitchell. Someone has been hijacking his armored truck shipments of money and he wants it to stop. Ant-Man tells him to announce another shipment. Ant-Man will go along with the shipment and catch the hijacker.

The day arrives but Ant-Man suddenly becomes ill. He leaves the scene to find a doctor so the truck goes on without him. They come across a broken down truck along their path when suddenly a giant magnet pulls them into the truck. Gas knocks them out and a man called the Hijacker appears.

Just then Ant-Man pops out and reveals he was faking the sickness. The Hijacker chases Ant-Man into the engine of the truck. Ant-Man manages to pull the mask off of the Hijacker and he falls victim to his own gas. The police arrive to find that Howard Mitchell is the Hijacker. He reveals that his company was losing money and that he came up with this scam to make it back. The issue ends with the police saying that even when the Ant-Man fails he still wins.

My Take: This was a pretty ridiculous issue and further showed why Ant-Man doesn't work by himself. The battle with the bad guy just felt contrived and I didn't realize the gas was still in play when Ant-Man pulled his mask off. I just did not care for this issue at all. The Hijacker as the name was silly. It wasn't original and reeked of one shot.

The art was really good for this issue though. That was the one redeeming quality to the whole thing. It was top notch for what I've seen in these issues so far. The amount of detail to the characters was really good. Kirby did a really great job on this issue.

I'd give this issue *1/2 out of *****

Notes: There was nothing of note with this issue.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #89

Fantastic Four #11

Cover Date: February 1963

Plot Overview: The Impossible Man from Poppup arrives on Earth. He asks a bunch of homeless guys if he can share their food and they inform him that he needs money. They also tell him that he needs to go to a bank. So the Impossible Man heads to a bank and helps himself to all the money he wants. The police try to stop him but he can change to whatever he wants. The police inform the Fantastic Four of the alien.

The FF arrive on the scene and find the Impossible Man is enjoying a meal. He explains that the people of Poppup can instantly evolve into whatever they want. He's come to Earth for a vacation because he grew bored with Poppup. The Thing has enough of talking and tries to strike the Impossible Man but gets a bunch of thorns in his fist. The FF attack but the Impossible Man easily evades them and heads out to the streets.

It dawns on the Impossible Man that he can do whatever he wants because he's the strongest creature on this planet. He proceeds to steal a cab. The FF manage to stop the car as the military arrives. The Impossible Man turns into a bomb and Reed tosses him into the atmosphere. Impossible Man explodes and flies back down to Earth. The Torch uses his flames to create a hypnotic pattern and causes the Impossible Man to crash to the Earth. The FF check on him and the Impossible Man is delighted to know that they really care about him. He plans to stay on the Earth forever.

Reed comes up with a final plan. He convinces everyone to just ignore the Impossible Man. Citizens are confused but listen and ignore various antics from the Impossible Man. He finally grows bored and leaves Earth looking for a new planet of fun.

The second story of the issue features the Fantastic Four answering fan mail. They recap Ben and Reed going through college and WWII together. They also recap the FF origin and the many contributions that Sue has made to the team. This story ends with a surprise party for Sue. The editors note explains that this story was a visual way for them to answer several fan questions.

My Take: This was much better than the last issue. The Impossible Man story was a typical heroes overcoming a trickster villain. It was a solid effort to the story. The second story was okay for what it was. It was a different take on addressing the fans but I would've rather just had a longer story with the Impossible Man or a second story with some action.

There were some nice bits of continuity in here though. Sue and Reed have a brief moment over Namor. Sue is unsure of who she's really in love with. They've brought that up numerous times over the first 11 issues and it's nice to see a character arc in this era of comics. Reading DC Comics around this time is like getting a giant reset button every issue.

The art was pretty good as always.

This issue was solid. My only real complaint with it was the second story just felt like filler and a waste. It did feature some character development. I'm just being picky I think. A much better effort than the last issue though. Issue 12 features the Hulk!

I'd give this *** out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Impossible Man and Willie Lumpkin. The Impossible Man will be a villain for the Fantastic Four into the modern day. He'll bother a variety of other heroes throughout the decades to. He's not a major villain or anything though. He's strictly a C lister that provides some fun issues here and there. I always look forward to and enjoy the Impossible Man showing up in a comic. Willie Lumpkin is the mailman for the Fantastic Four. He'll make appearances here and there over the years as a supporting character.

Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #40

Strange Tales #104

Cover Date: January 1963

Plot Overview: Johnny Storm is at the bank when Paste-Pot Pete enters the scene to rob the bank. Storm can't turn into the Human Torch because it will expose his secret identity. Pete makes his escape and Storm uses his flames to have a fake Human Torch chase him. Pete escapes on a motorcycle until Storm can finally become the Human Torch.

Pete arrives on a military base and uses his paste to subdue the guards. He steals a top secret missile and plots to sell it to the highest bidding nation. The Human Torch arrives and makes several failed attempts at stopping Pete's truck and the stolen missile. Storm flames expire and Pete glues him to a missile. The missile accidently fires with Storm still attached. Storm regains his flames and manages to escape the missile.

The Torch melts the truck around Pete and ruins his tank with his flames. Pete has one last shot and uses it to grab on to a plane. The Torch runs to the radio tower and warns the plane that Pete has attached himself to the wing. Pete bails out as the plane turns around.

Pete climbs aboard a getaway boat and escapes into the fog. The government thanks the Human Torch for his help and he wonders if Pete will return as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: Paste-Pot Pete as presented in this issue is completely ridiculous. He is the worst excesses of Silver Age super villain creation. I would actually have expected him to show up in a DC book the way he's presented. He comes across like a Batman villain from that era.

The art was really poor in this issue. It felt really rushed and there were no real backgrounds to speak of. Considering the art in some of the other issues from this month it was easily the worst issue to come out.

The story was typical for an anthology title. Quick paced and a lot of action. It works even if Pete is really lame as a villain. The Human Torch is actually working really well as a solo character. I have to admit that I'm surprised by that. I always thought that he needed the other members of the Fantastic Four to play off of to be interesting. I do hope that the Thing starts to show up a little more in this title though. I like the way the two interact with each other.

Back to the story. It was very typical of the early 60s. Bad guy wants to sell top secret military plans to the Communists and the hero foils him. I don't think Paste-Pot Pete was right for this story in that regard though. It was a little ridiculous seeing a guy break into a military base using only glue. They did sort of reference how ridiculous it seemed in the issue but it was still pretty ridiculous to me. Even with Pete's flaws it was still a fairly fun little read and I only rolled my eyes a handful of times.

I'd give this ** out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of Paste-Pot Pete. He'll eventually assume the identity of the Trapster and become an iconic C list super villain. Okay, I might be exaggerating there slightly. For me, the Trapster is the poster child for your C or D list Marvel villain. His primary targets as a villain are the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. He'll have a stint in the Frightful Four and the Sinister Six. He's also appeared on several of the Marvel cartoons.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #11

Incredible Hulk #5

Cover Date: January 1963

Plot Overview: The first story starts with Thunderbolt Ross showing footage of the Hulk to Bruce Banner and Rick Jones. It's up to Banner to rid the world of the Hulk menace. Betty secretly pines for Bruce after he leaves. The scene shifts to the underworld where Tryannus is plotting his revenge on the surface world. He was banished by Merlin but has stayed alive by using the Fountain of Youth that Ponce De Leon was searching for. He's also using the technology of an underground race of creatures that he's enslaved.

Bruce and Rick return to the Ross house to find that Betty is with Tyrannus. Tyrannus is claiming to be an archaeologist and has asked Betty to show him some nearby caves. Betty hopes this will make Bruce jealous. Tyrannus eventually takes Betty hostage and Bruce returns as the Hulk.

Tyrannus uses gas to capture the Hulk and Rick. Tyrannus then has the Hulk fight a giant robot in a gladiator style fight. Bruce loses control and goes on a rampage. He destroys the robot and goes after Tyrannus. Tyrannus uses Betty to delay the Hulk and then stuns him with a ray gun. Tyrannus makes the Hulk do many tasks in his service but grows bored with it. He decides to have the Hulk killed. Just then, Rick manages to rescue Betty and together they free the Hulk. The Hulk smashes the main pillars to Tyrannus's kingdom just like Sampson and Tyrannus is trapped in the underworld. The story ends with the Hulk thinking that humans should be scared of him.

The second story starts off with Thunderbolt Ross using a special missile to freeze the Hulk. The Hulk's body heat quickly melts the ice and he escapes. The Hulk becomes Banner again and he realizes that it's becoming harder to become Banner again. The scene shifts to Asia where General Fang is conquering many towns.

The news reaches Banner and Rick and Banner decides to intervene as the Hulk. They arrive after some issues on a plane and the Hulk disguises himself as the Abominable Snowman to scare the soldiers. He reeks havoc on the army of General Fang and news returns to Fang. He uses the 3D image of a dragon to lure Hulk into a cage. With the Hulk captured Fang decides to move on to the next town. Rick releases the Hulk from the prison and the Hulk makes short work of Fang's army. Fang tries to flee but the Hulk easily captures him. The Hulk drops Fang in enemy territory and then heads back to America. The Hulk mentions that he has no intention of going anywhere.

My Take: This is the first issue in awhile where they didn't try to shake things up and I think this issue was better for it. I like how Banner is slowly losing control of the Hulk in that form. It makes sense and you wonder every time he changes if this is the time where the Hulk takes over. The art has also gotten really good. The Hulk really stands out among the other characters for Marvel right now. Mostly because he's green but the art just feels different for this book.

I really liked the first story. It was a quick read and I thought Tyrannus was your typical Silver Age super villain. He had a fairly original history and he was a good foil for the Hulk. The second story I wasn't as fond of. They've gone the hero taking out a Communist army 3 or 4 times already and I get bored by it everytime. I would rather the hero struggle more like he did in the first story. I don't like the stories where they just roll over regular human beings as much.

As I mentioned earlier, the book seems to have a defined direction and it really helped the stories. It seemed like up until this point that I was getting a different direction every issue. It was really dragging down the quality of the stories.

I'm not a big Hulk fan. I've read some issues here and there but I've never really gone out of my way to read Hulk titles. With that said, the Hulk has the most well defined and developed cast of supporting characters and it's really made the book more enjoyable. He has a lot of regular people to play off of and I think that's really developed Bruce Banner as a character compared to Donald Blake or Henry Pym. I'll be kind of sad to see the book go after issue #6.

I'd give this **3/4 out of *****

Notes: This issue is the first appearance of Tryannus. He'll pop up here and there over the years to bother the Hulk or the Avengers. He never becomes a major villain or anything though. This is the second to last issue of the Hulk. The series is going to be cancelled with issue #6 in March.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #104

Journey Into Mystery #88

Cover Date: January 1963

Plot Overview: Loki wanders Asgard planning his revenge on Thor. Loki spies on Thor from afar and learns his secret identity of Don Blake. Loki sneaks to Earth and puts Jane Foster under a spell and then challenges Thor to a battle. They meet in Center Park to do battle. Thor throws his Hammer and just then Jane Foster arrives. Loki turns a tree into a tiger and Thor is forced to battle the tiger instead of grabbing the Hammer.

Loki puts a force field around the Hammer and Thor reverts back to Don Blake. Loki declares his victory and then wanders the world playing various pranks. He turns people blank and also turns a city into candy. Meanwhile, Don Blake devises a plan to get his Hammer back.

The newspapers declare that Thor vows to defeat Loki so Loki goes to check up on the Hammer. When he arrives, Thor is waiting for him. Loki drops the barrier and suddenly Blake grabs the Hammer. He reveals that it was just a dummy that he was hiding behind. Blake becomes Thor and Loki turns into a pigeon to try and escape. Thor grabs a bags of peanuts because if there's one thing pigeons love it's peanuts! Loki reveals himself and Thor captures him. Thor returns Loki to Asgard and Odin hopes that Loki never surpasses Thor in power as the issue ends.

My Take: This was a quick little read. I thought the overall concept was better than Loki's original appearance. You got to see him as more of a trickster and I feel like he outsmarted Thor in a more plausible way this time. The sad part is, I think Loki is now a more developed character than Thor is. Thor to me is still a bland one dimensional character.

I really liked the art to this issue. It seemed really colorful compared to some of the other books around it. There also seemed to be a ton of detail added to the backgrounds. Asgard is really a nice addition art wise as it's an excuse to add as much color as possible to the book. Asgard also really sets this book apart from the other Marvel titles.

I have to complain again though, the splash page is a real waste. This was a 13 page story and yet again an entire page was wasted on a splash teaser for the other 12 pages. I really wish they would make that page part of the story or just start with a standard page. I want more story.

I did enjoy this story a lot. I've said it a lot lately but it remains true. This wasn't an all-time classic or a game changer in anyway. It was just a fun little read that filled 10 minutes of my life. I enjoyed it for the fun little adventure that it was. Stan Lee really seems to be getting the pacing down for this shorter anthology stories at this point.

Overall I'd give this **1/2 out of *****

Notes: There wasn't anything too notable in this issue.

Next Issue: Incredible Hulk #5

Tales to Astonish #39

Cover Date: January 1963

Plot Overview: Henry Pym decides to investigate strange signals he's been receiving from the ants. He heads into the sewers and finds a large gathering of bugs. The Scarlet Beetle is making a speech about how bugs should conquer mankind. He's been effected by radiation and given human intelligence. Pym intervenes but is defeated by the sheer number of bugs. The Scarlet Beetle takes his enlarging gas and becomes the size of a human.

The Scarlet Beetle uses his army of bugs to reek havoc on the population of the city. Meanwhile the ants rescue Pym. Pym heads to the surface and uses his ants to defeat the bug army of the Scarlet Beetle. Pym and the Beetle face off and end up in a toy store. Pym used a toy lance to break the gas canisters on the Beetle and he returns to normal size. Pym then uses his scientific knowledge to rob the Beetle of his human intelligence. The issue ends with regular people wondering where Ant-Man was when they needed him.

My Take: I would say this issue was delightfully ridiculous. The Scarlet Beetle was a great villain for a one shot. His plot was great and the scenes really worked for some reason. The police being unable to use their guns due to a bee attack was great. This is the first issue where I felt that Ant-Man kind of worked as a solo concept. It felt like the Scarlet Beetle was a suitable villain for him. The situations presented were also unique to Ant-Man.

The art to this issue was pretty solid. The story was also a really quick read. This was a very nice issue to cleanse the palette after how awful Fantastic Four #10 was. Nothing in this issue was ground breaking but then who needed it? Sometimes a short little romp with no consequences can be fun especially in this anthology titles.

I'd give this *** out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Scarlet Beetle. I'm pretty sure he never appears again.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #88

Fantastic Four #10

Cover Date: January 1963

Plot Overview: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby make their Marvel Universe debut here. They're working on a story for the Fantastic Four when Dr. Doom makes his return. He forces them to call Reed Richards so that he can ambush him. Reed arrives and Doom successfully captures him.

Doom explains to Reed that after their last encounter he encountered a superior race of aliens. Doom shows off his newest trick and switches bodies with Reed. The rest of the FF arrive and Doom as Reed has the FF capture Reed as Doom. The Torch and Thing offer some ideas but Doom has the best idea. They put Reed in this tube prison. After the FF leave, Doom reveals that Reed will run out of oxygen in about an hour.

Back at the Baxter Building the other members of the FF discover zoo animals that have been shrunk to a tiny size. They confront Doom Reed about if he's the one that stole them from the zoo. Doom Reed explains that he wants to shrink the FF to increase their powers. The FF are excited by this idea and Doom Reed reveals that he's going to shrink them into nothingness.

Reed Doom manages to escape and arrives at the apartment of Alicia Masters. Sue also happens to be there and KOs Reed Doom. Alicia senses an inner good in Doom. The Torch and Thing arrive. Reed Doom pleads with them and Thing hesitates. They decide to take him back to Doom Reed. During the encounter the Torch and Thing sense something off about Doom Reed.

The Torch creates a mirage and Doom Reed reveals himself. He loses his mental control and they switch back to their real bodies. Doom tries to fight them off but wanders into the reducing ray. Doom shrinks into nothing. Reed finds it to be a fitting end as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: Boy, this issue was a real mess. Dr. Doom spent a whole page explaining this ridiculous idea to the other members of the Fantastic Four. And honestly, who would believe that? This is a case where the characters were dumbed down in order for the villain to get one over on them. Dr. Doom's idea wouldn't even make sense to a lay person as he said at the time. And you would think he could've just said they had to shrink down to go do something for the U.S. government or something like that.

I just didn't like this issue at all. It was too complicated, the logic gaps were hard to overlook and it just came off poorly. It was also a fairly boring issue as it felt like people sat around talking for the entire issue.

I can't really think of anything about this issue that I enjoyed. It took me forever to read because I kept getting bored with it. This was easily the least enjoyable issue I've read thus far during this project. On the bright side of things, the Impossible Man makes his first appearance in Fantastic Four #11. He's one of my favorite villains.

A quick side note to all of this, they really need to get some new villains in there. I think Dr. Doom and Namor combined have appeared in 5 out of the 10 issues so far. I know that they're the main bad guys but I get tired of seeing the same antagonists over and over again. Hopefully starting with issue #11 that starts to improve.

I'd give this 3/4* out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in a Marvel comic.

Next Issue: Tales To Astonish #39

Strange Tales #103

Cover Date: December 1962

Plot Overview: Johnny Storm investigates a series of houses sinking into a swamp. The houses are being built here because swamp land is cheap. An old man continually warns the workers about swamp demons. The Torch returns at night and sees the old man and two aliens use some device to make the house sink into the Earth.

The Torch confronts the old man and he reveals himself to be an alien himself. The alien uses a gun to put out his flames. The alien takes Johnny to his home world and takes him to see Zemu. Zemu orders that Johnny is locked up in a giant water tank to show how powerful he is.

A young woman Valeria and her father free Johnny from the water tank. Johnny once again becomes the Torch and destroys the army of Zemu. The Torch alerts the planets population and convinces them to revolt against their master. Zemu is captured and Valeria declares her love for the Torch. The Torch returns home and gets in trouble in class for day dreaming about Valeria.

My Take: This was one of those really outdated stories that just too naive to work today. The villains and supporting cast were all pretty forgettable. This was really similar to the Thor story that was in the last Journey Into Mystery so that's kind of annoying. Johnny Storm, as a character, doesn't work by himself. He needs other characters to bounce his personality off of. You can't be a wise guy if there's no one around to crack wise at. Unless you're Spider-Man and just talk for the sake of talking.

The art was pretty good in this issue. The splash of the futuristic city was really nice but it was really close to the futuristic city in Journey Into Mystery. You can look at that in two ways. You can look at it as lazy or look at it as being good continuity. I'm going to go with good continuity just this one time. There was a decent amount of action in this issue and it came off pretty well.

Overall, I found this story to be utterly forgettable and not that fun of a read. It was a quick read but there was nothing that made me want to keep going. I was kind of glad when it was over honestly.

I'd give this *1/2 out of *****

Notes: This is the first and only appearance of Zemu and this unnamed race of people.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #10

Journey Into Mystery #87

Cover Date: December 1962

Plot Overview: Several American scientists have shocked the world by defecting to the Communist side of the world. Dr. Don Blake reads about this in the newspaper and devises a plan. He approaches the U.S. government and proposes that he pretend to do a special project to lure the Communists out.
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Shortly a photographer arrives for Blake and uses a gas to hypnotize him. They take Blake to Russia where he meets the other scientists. They were all hypnotized and woke up here. Blake becomes Thor and works on escaping. Thor springs a trap and has to fight off man eating sharks.

The Russians blackmail Thor into surrendering and leave him tied up and without his hammer. Thor becomes Blake and easily escapes the now loose chains. He once again becomes Thor and frees the scientists. Thor then calls on a great storm to destroy the Communist base.

The issue ends with Jane talking about how dreamy Thor is and Blake secretly pining away for her.

My Take: This issue was a really quick read. The art was really good and the story had a nice crisp pace to it. I had fun with the issue as it felt like a lot happened in just 10 pages.

The splash teaser page is still bothering me though. This was a 10 page book and a page of that was lost to teasing the rest of the story. That really just burns me. You could add a whole page of character development or action instead.

Overall this was another one of those fun yet forgettable 10 pagers from an anthology title.

I'd give this ** out of *****

Notes: Nothing of note happened in this issue.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #103

Tales to Astonish #38

Cover Date: December 1962

Plot Overview: Several underworld types get together and complain that the Ant-Man has made the city unsafe for crime. They decide they need brains, not brawn to defeat the Ant-Man. As they chat the scene changes to a man named Egghead being fired by the government. They suspect that he's been selling secret atomic plans to foreign powers. The mobsters hear of this and hire Egghead to defeat the Ant-Man.

Egghead studies film of the Ant-Man and devises a plan. He will learn how to communicate with the ants and get them to betray Ant-Man. Egghead develops a device and goes to an anthill. He tells the ants to bring Ant-Man to the museum where he'll capture Ant-Man with flypaper. He promises to make Ant-Man their slave.

Later that night, Ant-Man arrives on the scene and falls into the trap. Suddenly, Ant-Man escapes the trap and makes short work of the criminals. The police arrive and capture the mobsters while Egghead has managed to escape. Ant-Man explains that the ants aren't motivated by greed and don't feel oppressed by him. So he came to the museum ready for the trap. The issue ends with Egghead hiding out and muttering to himself about ants.

My Take: Out of the 5 issues of Tales to Astonish I've read, this was probably the best. The story was a really quick read and it wasn't too riddled with Silver Age ridiculousness. Having a real super-villain in the story was a nice change. It felt more like a superhero story than a sci-fi story trying to be a superhero story.

There were some huge gaping logic holes on the part of Egghead. He just kind of assumed that the ants agreed with him. It made the outcome obvious but it didn't really bother me that much.

It wasn't a classic story or really a memorable story. It was just a nice story to sit down and read for 5-10 minutes and then move on to something else.

I'd give this **1/2 out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of Egghead. Egghead will be considered the main rival of Henry Pym for a long time but is never an A level villain in the Marvel Universe.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #87

Fantastic Four #9

Cover Date: December 1962

Plot Overview: The Fantastic Four are bankrupt. Reed Richards invested a vast amount of their money into the stock market but the market crashed. Reed has decided to sell all of their equipment to pay off their creditors. They get into a big argument and the Thing briefly leaves the group. While he's gone the rest of the FF get an offer to do a movie. The Thing returns after visiting Alicia Masters and they decide to do the movie. They're out of money so they have to hitchhike to Hollywood.

They arrive in Hollywood and it's revealed that Namor the Sub-Mariner is the one that offered them the movie roles. He wants to make a movie about one of his battles with the FF and is offering a million dollars if they agree to do it. The FF agree.

Namor tricks the FF and sets a trap for Reed, Johnny and Thing. He sets Reed down on an island with a Cyclops. He puts Johnny on an island with natives that have an anti-fire potion. And finally he battles the Thing on a random beach. Reed and Johnny manage to escape their traps with clever thinking. Namor and the Thing have a great battle. The Thing figures out that he can only beat Namor if he gets him out of the water. So Thing drags Namor to the shore and holds him until he starts to wear down. Suddenly, a lightning bolt hits the Thing and turns him back to Ben Grimm. Namor easily defeats Ben Grimm.

Namor returns to Sue and explains what he's done. He explains that with them out of the way he wants Sue to be his bride. Sue refuses and says that Namor will have to defeat her too. Namor uses various powers to find her but Sue manages to elude him. Reed, Johnny and the Thing arrive and attack Namor. Sue breaks up the fight and explains that they signed a contract. Namor agrees and pays them the money and returns to the sea. The movie ends up becoming a giant hit and the FF's financial troubles are over.

My Take: This was another one of those ridiculous Silver Age plots in action. Usually for a plot like this to work the characters have to be written as stupid to fall for the plot. But Stan Lee actually had a solid approach. The FF never really trusted Namor, they just were desperate for money. So at least the characters had a motivation to look the other way for this one.

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. The Thing and Namor duked it out for about 3 pages and that's been a rarity in these early Marvel titles. It was nice to get a taste of some real action. The art was great again and the plot worked despite being a product of the Silver Age. This issue really shows why Marvel was so revolutionary at the time though. It took a ridiculous Silver Age plot and made it workable by motivating the characters instead of bending the characters to the plot.

I'd give this *** out of *****

Notes: There were several celebrity cameos in this issue. I vaguely recognize them but the only one that was said by name was Jackie Gleason. Alicia Masters made a brief appearance in this issue so it looks like she was meant to become a regular cast member. Her primary role here seems to be humanizing the Thing. She sees his inner beauty and relates that to him on a regular basis. That's about it for this issue. I think this is appearance number 3 for Namor as he's the main antagonist for the team at this point. Sorry for brief layoff, I was busy with life for the last week.

Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #38

Strange Tales #102

Cover Date: November 1962

Plot Overview: The Wizard watches a newsreel of the Human Torch defeating the Destroyer from the previous issue. He decides that he's going to use his powers to defeat the Human Torch. He uses a machine and pretends to be captured and draws the Human Torch out to save him. The Wizard brings the Torch to his house as a thank you.

He shows the Torch many of his inventions and uses one to douse the Torch's flames. The Wizard locks him up and uses a costume to disguise himself as the Torch. Disguised as the Torch he runs amok around the city.

The Torch regains his flames and escapes his prison. He confronts the Wizard and the Wizard challenges him to face him tonight. The Torch says that he'll defeat the Wizard with a phone call. The Torch arrives and the Wizard has a challenge for him. He has photos that prove the Torch's innocence. The Torch has to either kill the Wizard with his flames or flame off and fight him like a man. If the Torch does nothing then the Wizard will throw the pictures into the fire.

The Torch says he has a hidden power, the power to move things. The pictures leave the hands of the Wizard and into the hands of the Torch. The Wizard gives himself up. After the Wizard is taken away, Sue Richards reveals herself. They talk about how smart the Wizard was but he couldn't think of everything.

My Take: This issue was a really fun read. The art was good and the pacing was really fun. This is one of the first of the anthology stories that I've read that really seemed to work. It was 13 pages but it was fast paced and is leaving the character development to the Fantastic Four title. The story was really simple and had a logical conclusion.

This wasn't an all-time classic or anything. This was like that 80s action movie that you really enjoyed and watched 10 times but isn't highly thought of in a critical sense. Some of these issues can be a real chore to get through but this one was a real pleasure. I had my doubt about reading Human Torch stories but this gives me hope that it will be a solid read every month.

I'd give this ***1/4 out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Wizard. The Wizard becomes a fairly regular antagonist of the Fantastic Four over the decades. He'll eventually become a member of the Frightful Four. This is also one of the first books where the events of the last issue directly impacted the events of this book. The Wizard watched the Human Torch on a newsreel and then decided to challenge him.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #9

Incredible Hulk #4

Cover Date: November 1962

Plot Overview: Betty Ross details how she met Bruce Banner and how he was involved in the gamma bomb explosion. She recounts how the Hulk first showed up around then too. She realizes that there's a connection between Rick Jones and both Banner and the Hulk. She goes to her father and asks him to find Rick Jones.

Rick Jones sends the Hulk away before the military captures him. The Hulk wanders about until Rick Jones summons him back to rescue him from the military. Rick takes the Hulk to a secret lab where he uses a gamma ray device to turn the Hulk back into Bruce Banner. Banner has devised a way to turn himself into the Hulk and retain his mind.

Banner becomes the Hulk and saves a family in a burning cabin. He flees the scene when the sheriff opens fire on him. The new Hulk/Banner combo seems to be getting more wild and savage. The Hulk returns to the lab and turns himself back into Banner. Banner retires to bed worrying about if he can continue to control the Hulk.

In the second story an alien named Mongu arrives on Earth. He challenges the mightiest creature on Earth to face him in a battle. Banner changes into the Hulk and arrives to face Mongu. Mongu reveals himself to be a trap set by the Communists. They want to capture him so that their scientists can study him. Hulk defeats the Communists with relative ease. Meanwhile, the general public blames the Hulk for the Mongu hoax as the issue ends.

My Take: This book has really been in a tailspin the last 2 issues. Stan Lee seems to be in panic mode as he's now changed the direction of the book in a serious way yet again. He seems to be throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks to save the book. I know Marvel was really new at this point but they probably could've given the book a couple of years and give audiences a chance to attach to the book. Not everything can grab enough of an audience long enough to survive.

So with those frustrations aside let's get down to a review. The art was a little weaker than last issue. It seemed a little more rushed and they seemed a little lost as to where to take the Hulk in this issue. So they threw us a reboot and a second story where he fights some bad guys. I personally don't like this direction for the Hulk. I feel the combination of the two personalities runs counter to what Stan Lee was going for in the first place. Banner is still struggling with the monster within, just in a less direct way. I kind of liked the nocturnal Hulk.

The stories themselves were solid enough. It was nice to see the Hulk in action again this issue. The second story was mostly action and was enjoyable. Regular people are nice for really showing off how powerful the Hulk is supposed to be.

This book historically is in a lot of trouble at this point and gets cancelled with issue 6. The book really reeks of the desperation to keep it afloat right now and that's hurting the overall product.

I'd give this issue **1/4 out of *****

Notes: There was nothing of note in this issue.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #102

Journey Into Mystery #86

Cover Date: November 1962

Plot Overview: The future was become a peaceful place except for one man. He is a scientist named Zarrko. He's built a time machine and heads back to the past to find a destructive weapon to conquer the future with. Meanwhile in 1962, Thor is helping the U.S. military test a new weapon called a cobalt bomb. Zarrko appears, grabs the bomb and heads back to the future.

Thor calls upon Odin for help. Odin instructs Thor to tape a piece of Zarrko's time machine to the hammer and swing it really hard and he'll appear in the future. Thor makes his way to the future and learns that Zarrko has become a dictator in the future. Zarrko spies his arrival and sends his security to apprehend Thor. Thor makes short work of the guards and makes his way to Zarrko. Zarrko springs a trap but Thor reveals that it was an imposter Thor that came in first.

Zarrko fails to send Thor to another dimension and then sends an army of robots after him. The robots grab the Hammer and it's a race against time. Thor pulls out a water pipe and floods the room to disable the robots. Thor regains the Hammer as Zarrko makes his escape in a ship. Thor summons up a great storm and Zarrko loses control of the ship.

Thor grabs the bombs as Zarrko's ship crashes. The authorities arrive and Zarrko has lost his memory. The doctors mention that he'll never regain his memories. Thor returns to the present and hands the bomb over to the U.S. military. The issue ends with Jane Foster wishing Blake wasn't so boring and Blake comments that some people read about the news while others make it.

My Take: I'm going to shake things up a bit here and go with the bad stuff first. For starters I hate when these 13 page titles have a splash preview page. I understand why they do it but a page is valuable real estate in an anthology feature. Some of these stories feel really rushed and a page would help to flesh it out more.

The story of this issue was really annoying too. Zarrko is a scientist in the future, he can build a time machine and he needs to go 300 years into the past to get a weapon? Really? He can't build his own bomb and take over the future? That is a picture perfect example of the ridiculous stories that would pop up in Silver Age titles like this.

Speaking of that. This issue really shows the dichotomy that Marvel is at this point in their history. On one hand you have groundbreaking things going on like all of the character development in the Fantastic Four and a teenage hero in Spider-Man. On the other hand you have books with ridiculous plots like this one and the whole Tales To Astonish Ant-Man stuff. In fairness to Marvel, they've been doing superheroes for exactly a year at this point. It's understandable that they haven't quite found their voice yet.

Onto the positives of this issue. It was a quick read and it was a fun read despite the plot holes. Keeping Asgard as a constant for Thor is a real positive too as it distinguishes the book from everyone else. This issue showed that Thor isn't just a dumb ox, he can be clever and strategic when he wants to be. I feel they really developed the Thor side of the equation this time. Hopefully he starts acting more like an Asgardian soon and drops Don Blake's personality being in control as Thor.

I'd give this issue ** out of *****

Notes: This issue is the first appearance of Zarrko. Zarrko pops up from time to time to bother Thor and sometimes the Fantastic Four. I would qualify him as a C list villain in the Marvel Universe though.

Next Issue: Incredible Hulk #4

Tales to Astonish #37

Cover Date: November 1962

Plot Overview: Ant-Man responds to a police call. He arrives at a local jeweler and learns that a man calling himself the Protector has been shaking down the local jewelers. He has a disintegration ray that he'll use to destroy the jewels and maybe even the jewelers themselves. Ant-Man has his ants stake out the local jewelry stores until the Protector arrives. Ant-Man confronts the Protector and has the ants trip him up with a necklace. They head outside and the Protector uses a water gun to wash Ant-Man away. Ant-Man saves himself with a straw.

Ant-Man decides to rent out a local jewelry store and waits for the Protector as Henry Pym. The Protector eventually arrives and makes his demands for protection money. Pym agrees and then becomes the Ant-Man after the Protector leaves. Ant-Man follows the Protector to an apartment.

Inside the Protector catches Ant-Man with a vacuum cleaner but Ant-Man uses his strength to punch out of the bag. Ant-Man uses a fan to blow the contents of the vacuum cleaner bag into the face of the Protector. The cops thank Ant-Man as the story ends.

My Take: The art was pretty good in this issue. They seem to have figured out how to make the action look fairly decent in the book. I'm glad he's not just riding ants around.

As far as the as the story. Henry Pym does not work as a solo character if you ask me. He at least needs the Wasp but I'd argue he needs the Avengers. His powers aren't that interesting. He has no supporting cast. The villains have all been one shots so far. The book really just needs a lot of development. I am not a fan of the Tales to Astonish stories so far.

I'd give this *1/2 out of *****

Notes: There was nothing of note in this issue. The Protector is a one shot villain as far as I know.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #86

Fantastic Four #8

Cover Date: November 1962

Plot Overview: The Thing decides to leave the Fantastic Four after Reed won't let him into the lab. Sue follows him and tries to convince him to return. As they're talking they see a man climbing the bridge and preparing to jump. Reed and the Torch save the day.

The scene shifts to a man called the Puppet Master and his daughter Alicia. He found radioactive clay that allows him to control people if he makes a clay puppet of him. He decides to target the FF after they interfered with his plans. He makes a puppet of the Thing and summons him to his home.

The Thing obeys and Sue follows. As they arrive Alicia, who is blind, reveals that Sue is also there. The Puppet Master quickly uses ether to capture Sue. He then disguises Alicia as Sue and sends her off with the Thing. The Puppet Master then takes control of the warden to the local prison.

The Thing attacks Reed and the Torch and Reed tricks Thing into striking a certain experiment. The chemicals turn the Thing back into Ben Grimm. Reed explains that he didn't let Thing into the lab because he didn't want to reveal the experiment before it worked. Ben turns back into the Thing and Alicia seems to have taken a liking to him.

Sue awakens and tries to escape the Puppet Master and ultimately fails. She does manage to alert the FF and they arrive on the scene. They fight a giant robot and the Puppet Master makes his escape. The FF then thwart the prison riot that the Puppet Master had created.

The book ends as the Puppet Master reveals his plans for world domination to Alicia and ultimately slips on a puppet of himself and falls out the window.

My Take: The art to this issue was really good. This book had a decent amount of action in it considering the Puppet Master really has no powers. It was a fairly quick and light read as well. I enjoyed the story quite a bit and I'm not really a Puppet Master fan. The issue wasn't a classic or anything like that. It was just a fun read.

There wasn't a lot of character development in this issue. The Thing got the bulk of it as his future love interest in Alicia was brought in. The books at this point seem to take one character per issue and focus on developing them in some way. I didn't see that in this book and I felt it suffered a little because of that. All four characters need some work and fleshing out. They're a lot more developed than their contemporaries at DC but still lacking pieces that you know and love about the characters.

I'd give this issue **1/2 out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Puppet Master and Alicia Masters. The Puppet Master will become a fairly big villain for the Fantastic Four over the years. He's never on the level of a Dr. Doom but he's a solid secondary threat. Alicia Masters will become a love interest for the Thing. The Thing also is starting to crack wise a little more. He's still mostly about the tantrums and tirades but the jokes are slowly creeping in.

Next Issue: Tales To Astonish #37

Strange Tales #101

Cover Date: October 1962

Plot Overview: A local amusement park has received several threats in the mail by a man calling himself the Destroyer. Several attempts at sabotage are made but the Human Torch makes the save each and every time.

The Destroyer finally challenges the Human Torch to a battle. The Torch arrives but falls into a trap laid by the Destroyer. The Torch is saved by several teenagers arriving on the scene. The Torch heads back to the park to see what the Destroyer is after.

The Torch finds a submarine and uses his powers to force them to surface. The police arrive and with the help of the Torch they capture the crew and the Destroyer. It's revealed that the Destroyer is the owner of the paper that was receiving the threats. The Torch reveals that they're Communists and that the park was interfering with the Destroyer's ability to pass on information.

My Take: This was a fairly throwaway issue. It felt more like one of those one shot backups you'd find in the back of an Annual or something like that. This also didn't feel much like the Human Torch. They're pushing the secret identity part really hard and that doesn't seem to be a factor in the Fantastic Four books.

The story itself was a quick read and generic. You could've stuck almost any character in here and gotten the same story. It wasn't badly written, it just wasn't original. The art was a little rough around the edges. It felt a little rushed and looked more like earlier in the year when they were still trying to figure the characters out.

I'd give this issue * out of *****

Notes: The Human Torch becomes a regular feature in Strange Tales. He'll keep the top billing in this comic until Nick Fury and SHIELD take over several years later in issue 135. This is also the first and only appearance of the Destroyer in the Marvel Universe. This story also establishes that the Human Torch has a secret identity that he's operating under.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #8

Journey Into Mystery #85

Cover Date: October 1962

Plot Overview: Loki manages to escape his imprisonment in a tree on Asgard and comes to Earth in search of Thor. Loki arrives on Earth and uses his magic to draw Thor out of hiding. Loki challenges him to a battle in the air.

As Thor follows, Loki uses his magic to hypnotize Thor. Loki sees this as a good opportunity for mischief and heads back towards the ground. Loki decides to separate Thor from the Hammer and makes several unsuccessful attempts at it. Loki finally gets Thor to let go of the Hammer and they head off. Loki is distracted by several people trying to pick the Hammer up and doesn't notice Thor change back to Dr. Don Blake.

Blake grabs the Hammer and becomes Thor once again. Thor chases Loki for the rest of the issue before finally knocking him into the water with a big steel pipe. Loki's powers are rendered useless in the water so Thor uses this chance to use the Hammer as a way to return Loki to Asgard.

The issue ends with Blake and Foster talking about the battle that just happened between Thor and Loki.

My Take: This issue was a pretty quick and light read. It's an important issue as it introduced one of Thor's main villains and introduced Asgard. It yet again featured pretty good art. I also really like that this issue turned Thor into a much more unique superhero. He really felt generic in the first two issues and after this issue it feels like he has a different flavor than anything else out there.

The story was pretty forgettable unfortunately. Most of it is Thor chasing Loki and Loki hypnotizing Thor. There wasn't any character development for Don Blake or Jane Foster which I didn't like. Blake is a very bland character right now and Stan Lee doesn't seem that interested in doing anything with him. Overall I'd call this an important issue that is completely forgettable story wise.

I'd give this **1/4 out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of Loki, Heimdall and Asgard. Odin is also credited as appearing in this comic but I don't recall him being directly referred to as Odin. This issue starts adding the more fantasy and Norse elements to the Thor comics. I would argue that Thor survived past this because of Asgard and all of the Norse stuff. It made him unique and different vs. being a blonde haired Superman. Loki, of course, becomes one of the big name Thor villains for years to come. That's really it for this issue.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #101

Tales to Astonish #36

Cover Date: October 1962

Plot Overview: The Communists have called upon Comrade X to capture Ant-Man so that they can learn the secrets of his ability to shrink. They want to use it so they can invade other countries undetected.

Meanwhile in the United States a woman has arrived at the police station. She must see Ant-Man immediately. The police tell her that Ant-Man just arrives when he's needed most. Some nearby ants overhear the conversation and it eventually gets to Henry Pym. Pym becomes Ant-Man and arrives at the police station. He hides in the woman's purse.

Ant-Man reveals himself to her at her hotel. She explains that she's out for revenge against against Comrade X and tells Ant-Man what X's plans are. Later that night Ant-Man heads to the pier but Comrade X captures him.

Ant-Man uses his electronic helmet to summon more ants. They help release him and together they take out most of Comrade X's men. Ant-Man confronts X but X has a atomizer full of DDT. The ants cover the lights and Ant-Man trips up X. The ants pull a mask off Comrade X to reveal it was the woman from earlier. Ant-Man reveals that he rode around in her purse and found the mask. The police arrive to arrest X and her men as the issue comes to an end.

My Take: I don't have a lot to say about this issue. Ant-Man takes out a spy and that's really it. He's not getting any real significant development and he doesn't have a supporting cast to interact with. This title needs a lot of work to be interesting. This was a really forgettable issue.

I give this *1/2 out of *****

Notes: Henry Pym changed the serum into a gas form so that it was easier to carry around in this issue. That's about all.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #85

Fantastic Four #7

Cover Date: October 1962

Plot Overview: Planet X is being menaced by a runaway asteroid. Kurrgo sends one of the only two rockets they have to Earth to fetch the Fantastic Four. Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four are arguing about attending a very important dinner in D.C. Sue, Johnny and Thing all seem hesitant to go and have their reasons for it. Reed finally convinces them and as they head to the dinner the spaceship lands.

The robot of Kurrgo uses an aggression ray to turn the population of Earth against the Fantastic Four. The robot later confronts the FF and offers them a chance to come to Planet X. He explains that they'll eventually be captured if they stay on Earth and Planet X is safe for them.

They arrive on Planet X and Kurrgo explains the situation. He also explains that the FF will die with his planet if they don't figure something out. Johnny and the Thing attack the robot but Sue ultimately breaks up the fight. Reed gets to work and develops a reducing gas. With this gas they can shrink the entire population of Planet X so that they can fit on one spaceship. They can find a new planet and start over.

The asteroid approaches and Kurrgo releases them to escape in the other ship. The FF have to escape through a planet that is breaking apart at the seams but eventually make it to their ship.

Meanwhile the population of Planet X shrinks down and begins to enter the ship. Kurrgo dreams of using the antidote on just himself and being a thousand times larger than everyone else on Planet X. Kurrgo lags behind and drops the antidote as the planet breaks apart. Kurrgo tries to pick it up and then realizes the ship has taken off without him.

As the FF head back to Earth, Reed reveals that there was no antidote. He says that size is relative and it won't really matter for the people of Planet X anyways.

My Take: This issue felt like filler more than anything. There was no real significant character development in this issue. It showed off Reed's scientific prowess and I guess this is the first issue that really focused on him. He's still the least developed of the three. He's smart leader guy right now and that's about it. Johnny, Sue and Thing are much more well rounded as characters.

The art was good this issue. I love old 1950s and 60s style robots and this issue had the perfect example of one.

The plot was a little ridiculous though. This is a perfect example of an over thought Silver Age comics solution to a problem. I also didn't see the point of the double cross on Reed's part. The aliens really didn't have any other option so why offer a fake antidote. They would've gone along either way. I didn't really care for this issue that much. The last couple of issues really had a definite direction to it with Namor and Dr. Doom and this issue really felt out of place to me. It felt like this issue was a victim of the title going monthly. I wouldn't be surprised if this was in the vault or something and the issue that they meant to do wasn't ready yet.

I'd give this issue *1/2 out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of Kurrgo. This is also the first time that the Fantastic Four have traveled to another planet. That's really it for this issue.

Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #36

Incredible Hulk #3

Cover Date: September 1962

Plot Overview: The issue begins with Hulk locked in the secret cave room that they discovered previously. Rick heads off to get some sleep but gets picked up by the military. General Ross meets with Rick and tells him that they need the Hulk to test a rocket. Rick mulls it over and decides that it's his civic duty to help the United States.

Rick releases the Hulk and leads him into the cockpit of the rocket. The rocket blasts off and General Ross reveals that the rocket is to make sure the Hulk never returns to Earth. Rick overhears this conversation and looks for ways to get Banner back to Earth.

Meanwhile in space the Hulk reverts to Bruce Banner and the ship heads into a radiation field. Banner is once again bathed in radiation. At the same time Rick hits the button to make the rocket return to Earth. Rick gets a shot of the radiation and it creates a link between him and the Hulk.

The rocket crashes back to Earth and the Hulk emerges and chases Rick. Rick begs him to stop and the Hulk does. Rick realizes that the Hulk has to follow his mental commands now. Rick and the Hulk head to Banner's cottage and Rick decides to sleep. When he wakes up he realizes the Hulk is gone. The Hulk has begun rampaging in a local town and the local state troopers can't stop him. Rick arrives on the scene and gets the Hulk back under control.

Rick takes the Hulk back to the cave so he can get some sleep. While the Hulk is locked up Rick goes over the origin of the Hulk in his head.

The scene shifts as two FBI agents arrive at a small town. All of the inhabitants are frozen like statues and the agents comment that several towns have suffered similar fates. One agent finds a poster for the circus. The scene changes to the circus as the Ringmaster hypnotizes the crowd and has his minions loot the entire town.

Rick wakes up and takes the Hulk to the town where his Aunt Polly is. Rick stops in to wash up and get some food before hitting the town. Rick sees the circus and decides to attend. The Ringmaster begins to hypnotize the crowd but Rick manages to call for the Hulk. The Hulk arrives and knocks the Human Cannonball out of the tent. He approaches the Ringmaster but several minions use a fire hose to stun the Hulk. They lock the Hulk up and since Rick is hypnotized the Hulk can do nothing. The Ringmaster muses to himself about turning the Hulk into a special attraction when Rick and the FBI agents arrive. The Hulk springs to life and captures the Ringmaster. The military arrives and Rick has the Hulk grab him and make his escape. Thunderbolt Ross vows to capture the Hulk as the issue comes to an end.

My Take: Finally, some action in the Hulk. I had been waiting for two issues to see the Hulk battle some bad guys. The battles were pretty short in this book but at least I got to see the Hulk in action. The art was really good in this issue. The best art for the series so far. The story felt more like two stories tied together but I liked both stories for the most part. I've always had a soft spot for the Circus of Crime. They are lame as villains but I find them to be fun.

I'm not sure about how I feel towards the end development that Rick can mentally control the Hulk. I don't like it because it defeats the purpose of the Hulk but at the same time it's interesting. One thing that is starting to bother me is the constant retelling of origins. I know why they're doing it but it just gets old. I understand that they had a lot of new people checking out the books so they needed to do this. I hope that they slow down on that as 1963 hits and the books start taking off more.

I'd give this issue *** out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Silver Age Ringmaster and the Circus of Crime. A Ringmaster appeared in Captain America #5 as a Nazi agent and this Ringmaster is supposed to be his son. The extra dose of radiation has made it so that the Hulk is always the Hulk. Rick Jones also has mental control over the Hulk. Betty Ross was absent from this issue. There really wasn't a place to fit her in.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #7

Journey Into Mystery #84

Cover Date: September 1962

Plot Overview: We start off with a recap of the last issue. The Kronans actually appear red in this issue instead of the greenish yellow they actually were. We come to present day as Dr. Don Blake and his nurse Jane Foster are making rounds. Blake is in love with Foster but dares not tell her due to his disability. Foster is also in love with Blake but feels he is not interested due to how he acts. They hear from a newspaper boy that revolution has broken out in a country called San Diablo.

A few weeks later Blake and Foster volunteer to take a trip to San Diablo for a medical relief visit. The ruler of San Diablo is the Executioner and he doesn't want the doctors arriving because he wants the citizens to stay sick and weak. The Executioner's army tries to stop the doctors numerous times but Blake manages to change into Thor and fight them off.

During one encounter they manage to capture Jane and Thor is forced to retreat. He becomes Blake again and turns himself over to the Executioner. The Executioner has become smitten with Jane and says he'll let Blake live if she marries him. Blake mouths off to the Executioner and then uses his cane to change into Thor.

Thor uses the Hammer to grab a tent and then wrap up most of the army with it. Then Thor makes a local volcano erupt and the military gives up. The Executioner tries to flee but is gunned down by his own people. Afterwards Blake explains his disappearance by climbing he fled to safety. The issue ends with Jane wishing that Blake was as brave as Thor.

My Take: This was a very old school comic. The superhero taking out the dictator of a small Communist country was a very cliche Silver Age storyline. I don't really know what to say about this issue honestly. The art was good and the story wasn't bad.

It just wasn't that interesting to me. I don't care for the small country dictator villain and seeing the superhero beat up on an army. I prefer super-villains or mobsters as my antagonists.

As I said, the issue wasn't bad. It just hit on a situation that doesn't interest me that much. It was still a solid effort from Marvel. There was some character development for Don Blake and Jane is decently developed.

I'd give this ** out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of Jane Foster. She's still around the Marvel Universe today. The Executioner is not the same as the Executioner that hangs out with the Enchantress. Thor is still talking as Dr. Blake and it's still referred to as the Hammer of Thor.

The love situation between Blake and Foster is also a pretty popular plot device in the early days of Marvel. You'll see the same storyline pop up in the Incredible Hulk and later with Daredevil. The Fantastic Four has a similar situation going on with Namor and Sue Storm too.

Next Issue: Incredible Hulk #3

Tales to Astonish #35

Cover Date: September 1962

Plot Overview: We start with a recap of the events of Tales to Astonish #27. Then we join Pym in the present as he decides to remake the formula. He feels that maybe one day mankind will be ready for the serum. He also makes an electronic helmet to communicate with ants and a red suit for protection.

The U.S. government decides to have Pym work on an anti-radiation serum. Word eventually reaches the Communist side of the world and they dispatch men to steal the formula. They take over Pym's laboratory and begin a search for the anti-radiation formula. Pym decides to use his serum and suit to try and save the formula and his assistants.

Pym escapes and heads to the local ant hill. One of the ants attacks and Pym discovers that he's retained his normal strength even while small. Pym defeats the ant and gets the other ants to follow him. They encounter a beetle on the surface but Pym uses his strength to bury the Bettle in the ground.

Back at the lab Pym unties his assistants and has his ants attack the Communist members. The ants disable their guns and the assistants take it from there. Pym rejoins his assistants and wonders if he'll ever need to be Ant-Man in the future.

My Take: This wasn't a terrible issue. The art was pretty good and the story was pretty well written. I don't know, the book just doesn't work. The ant stuff is ridiculous and he just seems useless for beating villains when he's small. There are uses to being small but he needs other heroes or the ability to become Giant-Man to really be viable to me.

Henry Pym is still pretty bland right now. He also lacks a supporting cast. This book needs a lot of developing done.

I'd give this issue a ** out of *****

Notes: Henry Pym's original story sold pretty well so they later decided to retool him as a superhero. That's why there was an 8 month gap between his first appearance and his second appearance. Pym will be a main feature in Tales to Astonish for a few years until Namor and the Hulk take over the book. Another interesting note, this is the only solo title that will ever be attempted for Henry Pym.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #84

Fantastic Four #6

Cover Date: September 1962

Plot Overview: Sue arrives at the Baxter Building and finds the other members of the FF. There's been no sign of Dr. Doom since they battled him last issue. They go through some fan mail and then the scene shifts to the sea. Namor is out swimming with the fish of the ocean.

Dr. Doom spots Namor and approaches him in peace. Doom wants to team up with Namor because he feels that is the only way to beat the FF. Namor is hesitant because he doesn't want to injure Sue and it's obvious that he's in love with her. Doom convinces Namor that he should resume his mission of revenge. Doom shows Namor his invention the magnetic grabber. He gives it to Namor as part of his plan.

Namor comes to the surface and walks through the streets of New York. Meanwhile Johnny finds a picture of Namor and confronts Sue about it. They argue and as Reed and the Thing arrive so does Namor. Namor approaches them as a friend. Reed and Johnny don't believe him and search the building for possible traps. Just then the building begins to shake and lifts off of the ground.

Namor reveals that he planted the trap but Dr. Doom has double crossed him. The building lifts into space where Dr. Doom has a giant spaceship. He plans to hurl the Baxter Building into the sun. Reed and Johnny make failed attempts at stopping Doom. Namor finally decides it's up to him. After jumping into a tank of water he hurls himself into space. He breaks into Doom's ship but is shocked when he tries to open the hatch. Namor channels the electricity and uses it to blow up the cockpit. Doom is hurled into space and grabs onto an asteroid.

Back on Earth the FF find the device but can't remove it. Suddenly the device takes off on it's own. It returns to Doom's ship right before Namor crashes it into the sea. Namor returns to the sea as the issue ends.

My Take: This was another really good issue. This was primarily a Sue issue and she's being built on her crush on Namor. I find it interesting that her engagement to Reed has only been mentioned in passing but the Namor stuff has gotten a decent amount of screen time in two issues so far. I thought Dr. Doom was written a lot better in this issue. He was much more of a master schemer that used Namor and the FF as chess pieces to eliminate his biggest threats in the world.

There were a lot of little things to like. Reed explains how his suit stretches and I found that to be a nice touch. It was also interesting that Namor had built some comfort under the sea and it had eaten away at his desire for revenge against the human race. That was really an interesting concept to explore with that type of character.

The art in this issue was also really good. It's probably the best Fantastic Four issue to date as far as the art goes. My only complaint is that the FF have stopped appearing in civilian clothes. They just seem to wear the uniform around the Baxter Building. I kind of miss them having regular people clothes on.

Notes: This is the first time that the FF HQ was referred to as the Baxter Building. This issue also marks the first mention of the Yancy Street Gang. The Thing acted like he had heard of the gang but never had any dealings with them. Later on, it will be revealed that the Thing was a former leader of the gang. The Yancy Street Gang also eventually develop into a comedic foil for the Thing. Dr. Doom also saw a redesign in this issue. He looks more like his well known form. Last issue he had an outfit that you would expect to see on an elf or something.

Also a very important note. The Fantastic Four title becomes a monthly title with this issue.

Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #35