Fantastic Four #17

Cover Date: August 1963

Plot Overview: The FF return from the events of last issue and almost immediately start up a search for the at large Dr. Doom. He is nowhere to be found so the FF head to an unnamed social event. They get mobbed by the crowd and a janitor helps them escape. The janitor reveals himself to be Dr. Doom after the fact and he placed a device on each member of the FF.

Doom unleashes what looks like inflatable balloons and they hone in on the devices. Each member of the FF get harassed by one of the balloons and head back to the Baxter Building. Reed discovers the devices planted on them and the balloons disappear as soon as he removes the devices. Doom has been watching the whole time and reveals that was just phase 1. Phase 2 sees him abduct Alicia Masters and uses her abduction to keep the FF at bay. Doom then demands a spot in the President's cabinet.

When that is denied, Doom unleashes havoc on the world. Reed reveals that he has a plan to battle Doom. He shows a scouting report of Doom's ship. Doom has disintegrator rays attuned to their atomic structure so Reed devises a formula to turn the Thing to Be Grimm.

Grimm flies up to Doom's ship and breaks in. The FF quickly join him and split up. They each face a deathtrap set up by Doom but each escape quickly. They confront Doom and reveal that what Doom was watching were doubles created by the Human Torch.

Doom flees to try and get to Alicia Masters but he finds that she's been replaced by Sue Storm. Sue gets the better of Doom in hand to hand combat until Doom pulls a gun. Just then the rest of the FF hit the scene and Doom jumps out of the plane and disappears into the clouds. The Thing is thrilled to see Alicia Masters and the Torch wishes he had jumped out of the ship due to all the mushy stuff too. We're promised a villain with the powers of every member of the Fantastic Four for the next issue.

The Ridiculous: Reed creates a radar device that has a specialized search for steel on flesh.

My Take: This issue was really clunky. A lot happened in 22 pages and it really felt like they were trying to do too much with the story. To me, a manhunt for Dr. Doom, followed by the deathtraps, followed by the showdown would've worked better than the couple of pages with the inflatable balloons. The panic that each member went through, minus Reed, kind of bothered me. 17 issues in and the FF seem to be fairly seasoned super heroes. I don't feel like each of them would've acted so irrationally when presented with an enemy they couldn't hurt. I really disliked this part of the story.

The rest of the story was okay though. I liked that this issue picked right up where issue 16 left off. I liked that they finally let Sue cut loose a little bit and get a little physical in a fight. I liked when they got to the deathtrap and showdown parts. I liked a lot of parts of this issue. That first part with the balloons really just took the book in a weird direction.

It really feels like they haven't figured out Dr. Doom yet. He seems kind of like a generic mad scientist type right now. And his tantrum about being ugly and not understanding people felt like a shallow attempt to try and develop him more. Doom without Latveria just doesn't work. He's interesting as a ruler that is evil but wants what's best for his people.

The art was good as always for this book. You can almost never complain about the job that Jack Kirby does on this book every month.

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

Notes: This issue features a cameo appearance by then President John F. Kennedy. This issue marks the first of many appearances by U.S. Presidents in Marvel Comics.

Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #46

Strange Tales #110

Cover Date: July 1963

Plot Overview: The story opens with the Torch trying to study and ultimately going over old cases. He remembers his battle with the Wizard and his battle with Paste-Pot Pete and how both men came close to beating him. The scene shifts as Paste-Pot Pete has returned and he's out for revenge against the Human Torch. He's decided to break the Wizard out of prison so that their combined power can defeat their common foe.

They manage to escape prison and things start to go south almost immediately as the Wizard bosses Pete around much to Pete's disgust. The Wizard wants to discredit the Torch before they defeat him and has just the plan. Stories of the Torch committing crimes starts to hit the papers and public sentiment slowly turns against him.

Finally the Torch decides it's time to strike. He poses as a rich man and when the Wizard and Pete show up, he springs the trap. The bad guys flee to their house with the Torch close on their heels. The Wizard was ready and traps the Torch in a house of mirrors. The Torch unsuccessfully tries to escape until the Wizard and Pete appear. The Wizard explains that he's going to flood the area with a liquid that evaporates oxygen. Pete pastes the Torch to the floor and they head off to prepare the Wizard's liquid.

The Torch makes a double of himself and then burns his flames as hot as they'll go and melts through a mirror. The Wizard and Pete flood the chamber and at the last moment realize it's a fake. The Torch reveals himself and traps the two men with his flames. Johnny ends the issue upset that he now has to stay up all night doing homework.

A man is troubled by the same nightmare on a nightly basis and visits Dr. Strange for help. Strange agrees to enter the man's dreams to help him out. Strange enters the dreams and it is revealed to him that the man he is helping has committed crimes. Just then he is confronted by the creature Nightmare. Nightmare threatens to kill Strange. The man wakes up and decides to kill Strange because of what he's learned. Strange reaches out to his Master who hypnotizes the man from afar. This allows Strange to leave the dream and disarm the man. The man admits his crimes as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: The Human Torch part of this issue was absolutely ridiculous. I liked the idea of his former enemies teaming up to take him down but the rest of the stuff was just unnecessary. Why did they need to try and frame him for crimes? It didn't really add anything to the story. It really felt like it was tacked on for the sake of it. This issue would've been a lot better if they had just committed a bunch of crimes and had their face off with the Torch at the end. Honestly, Pete didn't even really play into this issue much. The Wizard could've easily done all of this on his own. Also the liquid that evaporates oxygen? Really? Wouldn't flooding the room with water have gotten you the same result as some special liquid?

I think they overthought this issue and got too cute with the story. A much more simple story would've been more enjoyable. Despite, the gaping huge flaws with the story, it wasn't actually a terrible read. It wasn't boring and it wasn't a tedious read. It was pretty quick and light which I always find to be a good quality with Silver Age books. I hate when you feel like you're just crawling through pages of text instead of enjoying the story.

The art was pretty good for the Human Torch part. I didn't like the look of the Wizard as much in this issue as I did in Strange Tales #102. He just seemed too normal looking here while I remember him being a little more troll like in the previous issue. But that's really a minor complaint. The art was rock solid for this issue.

I'd give the Human Torch story * out of *****

The Dr. Strange story was a 5 page backup in this issue. A lot happened in those 5 pages. It was a fun little tale of magic and a different feel from the other Marvel books. The art was pretty solid, though they quickly change th7e appearance of Strange in the coming issues. This wasn't a bad start for a new character. It was interesting, left a touch of mystery and left you wanting to see more of him.

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

Notes: This issue has the first appearance of Dr. Strange who really needs no introduction. He carves out his own little niche in the Marvel Universe. He'll be a key member of the Defenders in the 70s and he'll have his own title pretty consistently well into the 90s. This issue also has the first appearance of Wong. Though he only appears in one panel and is not named. When Dr. Strange appears, Wong won't be far behind. This issue also has the first appearance of Nightmare who is a recurring villain over the years but I wouldn't call him an A list guy or anything.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #17

Journey Into Mystery #94

Cover Date: July 1963

Plot Overview: A missile goes off course and the world sends out a call for Thor. Doctor Donald Blake heeds the call and becomes Thor. He throws his Hammer and blows the missile up. Meanwhile, Loki is trapped on Asgard and uses his magic to create an illusion. Thor looks away and the Hammer hits him in the head. Loki plotted this so the Hammer would hit Thor's Chromosomatic Gland and change his personality.

Thor suddenly sees Loki as his friend and flies to Asgard and frees Loki. Loki and Thor exchange threats with Odin and then head to Earth. They use their vast powers to torment the people of Earth until the U.N. approaches them to surrender. They convince Loki and Thor to come to the U.N. Headquarters for their official surrender.

Loki and Thor come to the U.N. and a trap door catches Thor by surprise. Magic takes control of the Hammer and hits Thor on the head, reverting him to normal. Odin and several of the Asgardians reveal themselves. Odin says that they discovered how Loki gained control of Thor and used this ruse to free him from Loki's control. Loki is captured and the issue ends with Odin assuring Thor that a champion will always rise up to defeat evil.

My Take: This issue was absolutely ridiculous. Loki taking control of Thor again and in a really silly manner. The Hammer hitting Thor's Chromosomatic Gland was eye rolling. Thor, for the most part had been invulnerable up until this point. Plus, it's not really been set up that he misses catching his Hammer. The premise was really hard to buy and it went downhill from there.

The bulk of the issue was Loki giving this absolutely ridiculous monologue about what they were going to do. The dialogue was horrible and the conclusion to the story wasn't really fulfilling. Thor got no measure of victory here, he was just kind of a silent passenger to the entire story.

The art, on the other hand, was really good. I believe a new artist took over with this issue and I really liked the change. I like the way Joe Sinnott draws Loki and I like that Thor looks more like he's wearing armor than just a superhero uniform. I hope he stays on consistently because I like the way he approaches things.

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

Notes: There was nothing of note to this issue. The gods of Asgard were more than bit players for the first time since appearing. Odin in particular had a huge role in this comic.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #110

Amazing Spider-Man #3

Cover Date: July 1963

Plot Overview: Spider-Man captures some thugs as the issue opens. He wishes that for once he'd face a real challenge. The scene shifts to a Dr. Octavius who has developed a special rig with four arms to aid in his nuclear research. There's an explosion and he's gravely injured. The doctors explain that he has suffered some form of brain damage and that the arm rig is fused to his body in some fashion. Dr. Octopus awakes and has been warped by the explosion. He proceeds to take over the hospital.

We shift scenes and J.J.J. has hired Peter Parker to get pictures of Dr. Octopus for the Daily Bugle. Peter changes into Spider-Man and stumbles upon the situation at the hospital. Spider-Man swings into action but Dr. Octopus proves to be very formidable and defeats Spider-Man easily.

Peter Parker thinks it might be the end of his superhero career while at the same time Dr. Octopus takes over a local nuclear power plant. Peter spends the next day sulking over his defeat when he hears that the Human Torch is speaking at a school assembly. The Torch talks about how the Fantastic Four never give up, even when they suffer defeat. His speech changes Peter's attitude and he realizes that he has to go back and fight Dr. Octopus again.

Spider-Man sneaks into the plant and avoids several traps left by Dr. Octopus. He sneaks into a lab and creates a chemical that he ties to cables. He confronts Dr. Octopus and the battle is on. He uses the chemicals to fuse two of Doc's arms together. Doc gets Spider-Man tangled up pretty good and Spider-Man webs his face. Spider-Man out of desperation punches Dr. Octopus as hard as possible and knocks him out. Spider-Man notes that a punch to the jaw was what brought down the most dangerous foe he's ever faced.

Spider-Man pays a brief visit to the Torch and thanks him for all his help with capturing Dr. Octopus. Spider-Man swings away as a confused Human Torch wonders what he did.

My Take: I have to admit a personal bias right away with this issue. This is perhaps one of my favorite Spider-Man stories ever. Doctor Octopus is one of my favorite villains and this issue really establishes the never say die attitude of Spider-Man. When you look at the character today, this issue is a key part of developing who he is.

For the time, this issue was just a different animal. The good guy had to dig deep and fight against the odds and somehow managed to come out on top. Spider-Man didn't outsmart the bad guy, he wasn't better. He lashed out in desperation and luckily it was enough to win. You leave this issue wondering if Spider-Man could beat Doctor Octopus in a rematch and honestly, you want to see him come back.

It's really amazing to see just how quickly the Spider-Man mythos was established. We're only 4 issues into Spider-Man comics and most of his supporting cast are in place, his character is well developed and two of his long term villains have been introduced. This title has consistently been the best book put out by Marvel to this point. It's just well written with great art in it. This early, it's easy to see why Spider-Man becomes the unofficial mascot for Marvel as a company.

I give this **** out of *****.

Notes: This issue is the first appearance for Doctor Octopus. I think it goes without saying that Doctor Octopus goes on to be one of the most iconic Spider-Man villains of all time. He is the antagonist to some of the classic Spider-Man stories. He starred in Spider-Man 2 and he's been in just about every Spider-Man game that you can think of.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #94

Tales of Suspense #43

Cover Date: July 1963

Plot Overview: An experimental fan goes haywire at Stark Industries and Iron Man saves the day. Tony Stark later arrives to check on things. Random men start disappearing until Stark himself becomes enclosed and sinks to the center of the Earth. He's greeted by Kala, Ruler of the Netherworld. She announces her intentions to invade the surface world with the superior technology of the Netherworld. But she needs energy to do that and that's why she kidnapped Tony Stark.

Stark agrees to the dismay of his co-workers. He gives Kala a list of the supplies he'll need and gets to work. Stark talks with Baxu, who disagrees with the invasion. Stark works secretly and creates a new suit of Iron Man armor.

Iron Man attacks and makes short work of Baxu and then goes after Kala. Kala uses many weapons of the Netherworld but Iron Man successfully defeats each weapon. IM drags Kala to the surface where she grows old. Her invasion would never work because her army would grow old and weak when they got to the surface. Kala can't stand the idea of being old and ugly and begs IM to take her back to the Netherworld.

Kala's beauty is restored in the Netherworld and she vows never to invade the surface. IM suggests that Kala and Baxu get married for the good of the Netherworld before returning to the surface.

My Take: I have a bit of a soft spot for this particular book. I remember in my early comic book days that this was one of the wall comics at Comic Town for my early visits. For that reason this cover always catches my attention.

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. It was a well paced read compared to the Tales to Astonish issue I read right before. There wasn't too much text, the story moved pretty well and the villains had goo motivation for a Silver Age story.

I like how Iron Man wasn't so gimmicky as a hero. He used a few gadgets but it felt like he mostly won the day with his brains and his strength. Some of the other issues feel like the 60s Batman show where he was a device for everything. It's also noteworthy to mention that his heart condition didn't come up once in this issue. I felt like this was overall a good change of pace from the previous Tales of Suspense issues.

The art was good for this issue. The Netherworld looked interesting and the people living there were colorful. The Iron Man suit also didn't do the weird unnatural bending like it had in previous issues.

I really like how Tales of Suspense is shaping up as a book. They seem to have developed the Iron Man character really well in a short period of time. I look forward to seeing some of his regular villains showing up and meeting some of his supporting cast.

I give this *** out of *****

Notes: This is the first appearance of Kala. She becomes a minor annoyance to several Marvel characters throughout the years. She's what I would call a D list villain. I'm pretty sure she hasn't appeared in a Marvel title in a really long time. But she'll be back and obviously up to no good. You just can't trust those Netherworld people I tell you.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #3

Tales to Astonish #45

Cover Date: July 1963

Plot Overview: We catch up with Egghead who has taken refuge in a flop house since his last battle with the Ant-Man. We get a brief recap of Tales to Astonish #38. Egghead overhears two thugs who were foiled recently by Ant-Man. Egghead recruits them so that he can plot his revenge against Ant-Man.

Egghead decides that the easiest way to lure out Ant-Man is to trap the Wasp. To do this he takes on the identity of Professor Carl Striker. He designs a zoo exhibit for wasps to lure the Wasp in. They then steal a valuable gem so and place it so that the Wasp will decide to investigate.

Janet Van Dyne visits the exhibit and sees the gem. She decides to go it alone so that she can prove herself to Ant-Man. She returns as the Wasp and is caught in Egghead's trap. She sends a signal to Ant-Man who arrives on the scene shortly afterwards.

Egghead traps Ant-Man in a glass case and has him battle an iguana. Ant-Man makes short work of the reptile and asks the cage. Egghead then releases an ant-eater. Ant-Man uses his steel rope and tosses the ant-eater into Egghead and his men. Egghead and his men try to use gas on Ant-Man but the Wasp uses a long nail as a stinger and disarms all the men. The day is won but Egghead has managed to escape. Henry Pym scolds Janet about going off on her own. He says that they're a team and they need to work as a team. Janet of course thinks to herself about how in love with Henry she is. Egghead vows revenge as the story comes to a close.

My Take: This might be the best splash page of all time but sadly the promise of ant-eater mayhem was only a few panels worth of this comic. Really, this whole issue was kind of a plodding affair. This book was just stuffed full of text and it really felt more like reading a novel at times than it does reading a comic.

Granted, I love the Silver Age logic at work in this issue. Janet Van Dyne has the identity of the Wasp so she would obviously be interested in everything Wasp. I just love how that somehow makes sense to people in the Marvel Universe at the time.

Other than that bit of cheese the rest of the story was pretty boring. I was looking forward to Henry Pym being developed more with Janet around but they were barely in this issue. On top of that, Egghead is kind of a boring villain. His plot was kind of ridiculous but what can you really do with a superhero that shrinks as his power.

Really, this is the only title that's not working right now. The concept just doesn't work on a month to month basis. I do like Henry Pym and Janet Van Dyne as characters a lot but I like them in the Avengers but as characters carrying their own book. This book just feels tedious most of the time.

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

Notes: There was nothing to note about this issue. Though the super-hero stories have started expanding to 13 page stories instead of 10 page stories.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #43

Fantastic Four #16

Cover Date: July 1963

Plot Overview: The Human Torch returns to the Baxter Building during a blackout and finds that his teammates have been shrunk and are being sucked into a vent. The Torch acts quickly and welds the vent shut. The others return to their normal size. Each member admits that they've randomly shrunk in size previously and were ashamed to admit it to their teammates. They each relate their story and decide to call upon Ant-Man.

Ant-Man hear about their problems and travels to the Baxter Building. He gives Reed a sample of his formula in the hopes it might slow the process down next time they shrink.

Time passes and one day the various members hear a woman warning them of Dr. Doom. They gather together and suddenly shrink into the Microverse. They're immediately confronted by Dr. Doom who has become the ruler of this world. The Thing tries to attack Doom but he shrinks them to an even smaller size. The FF try to put up a fight but Doom and his minions manage to capture them.

The FF are sent to a prison in a pool of acid. They meet the king and Princess Pearla. She mentions that Dr. Doom is planning to sell all of them to an alien race called the Tok. Reed tries to think of ways to escape. Meanwhile, the Ant-Man comes searching for the FF and realizes they've been shrunk and follows them to the Microverse. Ant-Man fights the guards of Doom but gets taken out and captured.

Meanwhile, in the prison. Reed figures out that the Walls can block the acid. They manage to pull parts of the walls off and make a capsule to escape. They float to the surface and enlarge themselves upon leaving the capsule. Sue helps Ant-Man escape and then steals the gun of Dr. Doom as the heroes win the day. Doom flees and heads back to the normal sized world. The FF and Ant-Man follow him back. The FF plan to hunt down Doom as the issue comes to an end.

My Take: This was a really fun issue from start to finish. The characters have really been fleshed out now and you're getting good interaction every issue. You can really see how Marvel had become a different entity with characterization and heroes that were easier to relate to by this point.

The art was really good for this issue. Probably one of the strongest issues of Fantastic Four from an art perspective so far. Doom has been tweaked and looks more like the Doom you see in the books today.

I was getting kind of tired of Namor and Doom trading off as the bad guys but they gave him a break for several issues so he seemed fresh here. I liked how Dr. Doom was in the same situation he was left at the last time we saw him. That was a nice bit of continuity. Ant-Man also was a fun guest in this issue. He made sense and added to the story.

Dr. Doom trying to sell them to aliens was kind of ridiculous sub-plot though. It seemed to be tacked on and mostly filler to flesh out the 22 pages of comic here. It wasn't bad, it just felt like an unneeded layer of story. I don't feel like Dr. Doom needed that for motivation. Just capturing the Fantastic Four and having them as prisoners would seem to be enough for him. The story was a fun read but I think this part was kind of a big flaw to it.

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

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Microverse. It's a fairly minor part of the Marvel Universe but versions of it will pop up over the years. The last several months have also seen the characters starting to appear in each other's books more. The Marvel Universe is feeling more like a working single universe instead of just titles loosely existing in the same space.

Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #45

Strange Tales #109

Cover Date: June 1963

Plot Overview: The Human Torch runs across a man known as the Sorcerer running kids off of his property with dogs. The Torch uses his flames to stop the Sorcerer and he vows revenge for the Torch's interference. The Sorcerer reveals that he has the legendary Pandora's Box. He has learned how to use it and he's going to use it to gain revenge against the Torch.

Later, the Sorcerer enters a bank and uses the Imps of Hatred and Forgetfulness to rob the bank of $120,000. The Torch later arrives on the scene and figures out who the culprit really was. The Torch confronts the Sorcerer and has his flames washed away when the Sorcerer calls forth a flood. Johnny asks if he may choose his own death and the Sorcerer agrees. Johnny picks fire and then uses the Imp to recharge his powers. The Sorcerer goes to call for Fear but the Torch grabs the box and welds it shut for all time. The Sorcerer was permanently affected by the Fear Imp and the Torch says he'll never bother anyone again.

My Take: What to say about this story. It was throwaway filler for the most part. Nothing really important happened. I read through it and a month from now, I would probably have to reference this post to tell you what happened in this issue.

With that said, it was a decent read. It was paced well, the villain had a good enough gimmick and I didn't find myself bored by any of it. The art was pretty solid as well.

My biggest beef with this was the fact that the Torch was essentially tormenting the bad guy in the early parts. Sure, he was chasing the kids with dogs but they were trespassing to begin with. The Sorcerer was wrong but the Torch was kind of wrong too and he was being a bit of a bully. I know that Golden and Silver Age heroes tend to be that way but it really struck me more with this issue than with others. I think it was because the Sorcerer was really introduces as more of an eccentric than a bad guy at first. I'm probably putting too much thought into a one off villain though.

To go back to my thoughts on this issue. Nothing important happened but it was a fun little read for the time period.

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

Notes: There was nothing noteworthy about this issue.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #16