Tales of Suspense #49

Cover Date: January 1964

Plot Overview: Angel is flying back to Xavier's school when he comes across Iron Man. Iron Man tries to warn him about an upcoming nuclear blast but doesn't make it in time. The blast catches Angel and turns him evil. Iron Man tries to catch up to the Angel as he flies off but his thrusters run out of power. Iron Man saves himself from the brunt of the fall with his repeller but suffers some damage. He sets about repairing the damage to his armor.

The Angel returns to the school and quits the X-Men. He says he'll be joining the evil Mutants and then escapes when the other X-Men try to restrain him. Professor X returns and mentally tries to talk sense into the departed Angel. After failing to reach Angel, X begins to doubt his mission.

The X-Men decide to call for the Avengers and Iron Man is the only one to answer. He heads out to find the Angel. Meanwhile, the Angel steals some TNT and sets it off above town to try and draw attention to himself. The police are aiming to shoot him down but Iron Man convinces him to wait. Iron Man chases the Angel through one of his hangers and tries to trap him in there. The Angel outsmarts him and tries to lock him in. Iron Man easily escapes and decides he has one chance to try and turn the Angel good again.

Iron Man grabs Angel and flies really high into the air until his thrusters give out. He begins to fall to the earth and the Angel snaps out of it and saves him at the last minute. Iron Man and the Angel return to the Xavier School and they thank Iron Man for helping the Angel. As Iron Man leaves, Professor X mentally tells him that he'll repay this act one day.

The Watcher appears in a backup and tells a tale of an alien race that follows the progress of mankind. They begin to worry that humans may one day rival them. But the humans discover nuclear power and the Cold War begins. The aliens relax and figure the humans will destroy themselves. The tale ends with the Watcher warning humanity to not let this alien race take over the galaxy.

My Take: This issue was a rough one to get through. For starters the dialogue was really bad. I mean, brutally bad. I know they had to show Angel was evil but he probably said "evil mutants" 20 times in an 18 page story. Having him say Magneto instead would have been a lot better and not so fake sounding. Also, when the nuclear blast he had an awful inner monologue that I'm adding a picture of here.

On top of the poor dialogue, Iron Man's plan to make Angel a good guy again was asinine on multiple levels. For starters, what if the Angel wasn't strong enough to stop his fall. Iron Man is a guy in a suit of armor and Angel is a mutant with wings that can fly. There's no indication that he had the strength to pull that off. And what if it hadn't snapped Angel out of it. Iron Man didn't have a plan B to save himself. It just wasn't a well conceived idea.

On top of those problems. There was a typo as they refer to Tony Stark as Anthony Blake early in the issue. There might have been another one but I don't recall it now. Not a huge deal, just thought I would point it out.

The art was good though. The Iron Man armor looked better than in the last issue. It seemed more refined and just overall better designed. As I said last issue, this newer armor will prevent some of the wonky contortions that some artists had him doing in the old tank armor. I think that will be a giant plus in the long run.

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

Notes: There was nothing of note in this issue.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #8

Avengers #3

Cover Date: January 1964

Plot Overview: The Avengers decide that the Hulk can't be left to roam freely. Iron Man unveils one of Tony Stark's inventions, an image projector. He uses the image projector to visit the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and the X-Men. The FF and X-Men are too busy with their own affairs and Spider-Man was just Spider-Man about it. The Avengers remember Rick Jones and decide to contact him.  Jones sets out and finds the Hulk in New Mexico. He contacts the Avengers and they all head to New Mexico in their unique ways.

Iron Man is the first there and gets ambushed by the Hulk. The Hulk uses the needles of a cactus as deadly projectiles. Iron Man blocks the attack but the needles cause some problems for Giant-Man, ant sized at the moment, and the Wasp. They head to a nearby ant hill and use the ants to cause the ground to collapse to try and catch the Hulk. The Hulk avoids the trap and takes to the air as he continues to battle Iron Man. Iron Man uses his magnetic repulsers to spin the Hulk until Thor arrives.  The Hulk tries to flee and hitches a ride on a nearby train. He fends off the Avengers before using flour in the smoke stack of the train. He uses the resulting confusion to escape from the Avengers.

The Hulk hides in a truck load of gravel and then takes to the ocean after it gets dumped. He gets picked up by a ship and is pretty worn out. Meanwhile, Namor has been watching the Hulk the entire time. When the Hulk decides to leave the boat and head to a secluded island he is greeted by Namor. They have a short battle where Namor gets the upper hand in the water. Afterwards, they decide to team up to get their revenge upon humanity. They head off to begin their conquest while planning to destroy each other afterwards.

The Avengers are challenged to battle them at Gibralter. They arrive on the scene and Namor fires an old WWII cannon at them. Iron Man repels the shell and Namor uses a pellet with emery dust to disable Iron Man. Giant-Man and the Wasp find oxygen equipment and set about cleaning Iron Man up while Thor keeps Namor and the Hulk busy with his Hammer. Namor and the Hulk make a temporary retreat.

The battle continues on and just as things are starting to look good for Namor and the Hulk, the Hulk reverts back to Bruce Banner. Banner flees from the scene of the battle. The Avengers easily capture the abandoned Namor as he grows weaker without water. Namor manages to crack a wall and the water revives him. He makes his escape and  Thor says that he's earned his escape today. The issue ends promising us some big surprises for the next issue.

My Take: I wanted to start this issue off by saying the Avengers really came off like jerks in the first part of the story They were essentially telling the Hulk he was a menace to society that shouldn't be allowed to roam free and then getting mad that he didn't want to reason things out with them. Yes, because antagonizing someone is a great way to get them to see your point of view!

Iron Man also makes a mental note that no one knows that he's really Tony Stark about 3 times in this issue. It was overkill and I think I literally rolled my eyes the last time it randomly was mentioned in this issue. We get it, you're Tony Stark and no one knows! With all of that hand wringing on his part, he makes a slip of the tongue early on in the issue. He goes on at length about Tony Stark's image projector and then after using it he calls it HIS image projector. No one really reacted so I think that was more of a writing error than anything else.

These first 10 issues of Avengers are burned into my brain from being a teenager. I was lucky enough to get about 4 of the Marvel Masterworks when I was a teenager and this was one of them. I remember not liking this issue much from those days. As an adult, it wasn't so bad. There were a lot of interesting aspects to this issue. For starters, everyone in the Marvel Universe showed up in this issue. The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and X-Men all made appearances here. They all blew Iron Man off, Reed picked an experiment over fighting the Hulk, and that was really interesting. You would expect for all the heroes to jump at the chance to fight a bad guy. But they all kind of shrugged it off as an Avengers issue and weren't terribly interested. It humanizes the Marvel characters in a very negative way. All of the characters have depth and it really shows that the Marvel heroes don't march to the same drum.

It's also really interesting to see how this book slides into continuity. I think a book like the Justice League of America ran away from trying to fit in with the heroes solo books but Stan Lee seems to really embrace it. The heroes costume changes appear in the Avengers even the same month that it happens. It mentions the upcoming Iron Man issue from the same month. And Stan Lee makes a point of reminding you when you last saw a character. The universe is really small right now but it's incredible to see the care that Stan is taking to fit it all together.

The art was really good in this issue. The Hulk looked great and there was some really good action going on in this issue. Most of the issue was just an all out brawl with the Avengers vs. the Hulk and the Avengers vs. Namor and the Hulk. Jack Kirby also did a good job of refining the look of the new Iron Man armor in this issue. It looked a little wonky and crappy in Tales of Suspense #48 but it looked better in this issue.

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

Notes: This issue features the first meeting of Hulk and Namor. Their relationship will be important in the 70s as they become two of the main members of the non-team the Defenders. Their relationship keeps a very similar dynamic to this issue throughout those issues.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #49

Journey Into Mystery #99

Cover Date: December 1963

Plot Overview: Thor heads off to Asgard in front of an astonished crowd. One member of the crowd isn't as impressed and that's Mr. Hyde. He plans to get revenge on Don Blake. Hyde thinks back to when he was Calvin Zabo. He tried to get a job with Blake, and rob him but Blake had heard of him. Zabo vowed revenge. He then researched and discovered the Hyde serum and became Mister Hyde.

Meanwhile, Thor again petitions Odin again to allow him to marry Jane Foster. Odin again denies his pleas because an immortal can not marry a mortal. Thor then asks for Odin to make Jane an immortal. Odin initially denies the idea but changes his mind and says that he would consider it if she proved herself worthy.

A hopeful Thor returns to Blake's office just as Mr. Hyde breaks in. Thor becomes Blake just as Hyde breaks in. Blake goes for his walking stick and Hyde throws him out of the window. Blake manages to tap his stick on the side of the building and once again becomes Thor. Thor returns to the office and finds Hyde gone. He tells Jane that he saved Blake and she thanks him.

The papers report that Blake was saved by Thor and this enrages Mr. Hyde. Hyde robs a bank disguised as Thor and the authorities start planning to capture Thor as the issue comes to an end. The end of the issue promises a face off between Thor and Mister Hyde in issue 100.

In the backup, Odin defeats the Trolls and then Surtur. Surtur's defeat creates the moon and Odin creates the rotation of the Earth to keep Surtur trapped in the core. Surtur sends Odin a winged horse as a gift to try and get released from the core of the Earth as the story comes to a close.

My Take: I enjoyed the Thor story quite a bit. There was no battle but it did a really good job of making you want to see Thor and Mister Hyde duke it out. It's also interesting to note that Marvel hadn't done any 2 part stories in the anthology books and did one in Tales to Astonish #50 and this issue this month. I hope it leads to some bigger stories being told and a greater sense of continuity.

It's interesting to note that Thor has been trying to convince Odin to allow him to marry Jane Foster. It's added some good tension between the two characters. Jane also is returning the feelings of Don Blake and now there's a chance they could be together. Jane will get a chance at some point to prove her worth but who knows if she'll be successful or not.

I usually don't mention much about the Asgard backup but they've been a fun little side story. It's a nice bit of history to read every month and those stories are always interesting. The writing style is also a little different. It's trying to mimic more of a mythology feel and I think it's largely successful at that.

I'm looking forward to the fight between Mister Hyde and Thor. Foes with great strength have been a little more rare as opponents for Thor. I'm hoping for a big huge issue long brawl in #100. It could be one of the better fights that Marvel has had in a book thus far.

The art was surprisingly good in this issue. Don Heck brought his A game this issue and it looked great. Mister Hyde was ugly and sinister looking. You really got a creepy feeling everytime you saw him and that's the perfect way to approach him. Heck can be a little hit and miss on these issues but he really hit the ball out of the park on this one.

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

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of Mister Hyde. Mister Hyde later becomes a member of the Masters of Evil and plays a big role in one of the more memorable Avengers tales ever told. He's a solid C list villain who's had some big moments in the Marvel Universe. He will continue to be a factor, though minor most of the time, until the current stuff.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #115

Journey Into Mystery #98

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: Thor trashes the office of Don Blake out of rage over his situation with Jane Foster as the issue opens. Odin calls Thor to Asgard and advises that Thor forget the mortal Jane Foster and Thor says that is not possible. Blake decides to travel to distant lands after his visit to Asgard.

Meanwhile in India, a Professor Shecktor and his assistant Klaus Voorhees are working on a cure for all snake bites. Klaus decides he wants the credit for the discovery. He devises a plan where he'll allow a cobra to bite both of them and then use the cure on only himself.

Blake happens to choose India and overhears the locals discussing the fact that his old teacher Professor Shecktor is dying from a snake bite. Blake becomes Thor and finds the dying Professor. The Professor tells him what happens and warns that the cobra was radioactive. His assistant now has the powers of a cobra and is now a threat to the world. Thor leaves the Professor vowing to destroy the Cobra.

Back in New York, the Cobra attacks a chemical lab so that he can create more creatures like himself. Thor arrives on the scene and the Cobra has some gadgets that he uses on Thor. Thor dodges the poison tip darts and the poison gas has little effect but the Cobra traps him with an unbreakable line. Thor drops the Hammer and tricks the Cobra into throwing him out the window before he turns in Blake. The much smaller Blake escapes the rope and enters the building as the Cobra exits to find Thor. Blake once again becomes Thor and confronts the Cobra. The Cobra opens a valve and unleashes a chemical and uses the confusion to escape Thor.

The Cobra breaks into the office of Dr. Andrews' and his new assistant Jane Foster. The Cobra threatens to kill them unless they hand over the chemicals he wants. Andrews complies and Jane realizes what a coward he is. She sees Thor flying by and throws a beaker through the window to draw his attention. Thor enters the office and the Cobra takes Jane hostage. He'll hurt Jane unless Thor lets him escape.

Thor allows the Cobra to escape and sneaks around the building. He catches the Cobra by surprise and manages to save Jane. The Cobra escapes and Thor says that he'll deal with the Cobra in the future. Jane decides to leave Dr. Andrews and asks Don Blake for her job back. Blake thinks that maybe Odin took pity on him and brought her back to him. The issue closes with the Cobra recovering on the shore of a river.

The back up tale details how Odin defeated Ymir and the Frost Giants.

My Take: This issue really was a ridiculous mess. A radioactive cobra bite? Really? I know Marvel used radiation a lot in the 60s because that was popular in sci-fi at the time but this one really takes the cake. First of all, this was a rip off of Spider-Man's origin. And second, the guy didn't even really show cobra powers. He said he had the cunning of a cobra with the smarts of a human being. The rest of his "powers" were devices that he created that imitated snake powers.

This issue was a tough read. The writing seemed really clunky compared to some of the other books that came out in this time frame. The idea behind the Cobra was really ridiculous and I found it hard to understand why Thor would struggle with such a C lister. Seriously, a battle between the Cobra and Thor should be over pretty quickly. The Cobra was notable for dodging the Hammer but that doesn't seem like the biggest deal. Thor has powers beyond that.

This issue really felt like those early issues of Fantastic Four. Just super clunky reads where it feels like you're crawling through mountains of text to explain the situations going on in the book. It felt like it took forever to read this book and that's a bad thing when you're reading a 13 page story.

I did like the character growth of Jane Foster in this issue. She realized that Don Blake has flaws and may not be perfect but deep down he has a certain fortitude that maybe she was taking for granted. In that regard, I will be interested to see how that effects future issues of Journey Into Mystery in regards to her character.

The artists on Thor has been a revolving door lately. Don Heck took up the duties for this issue and it was okay. I liked the Kirby and Sinnott more than Heck as their styles seemed to fit the book a lot better. Heck didn't do a bad job here though.

I give this *1/2 out of *****.

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of the Cobra. He eventually joins the Serpent Society and becomes a foe for the Avengers. He's a minor villain throughout the 60s and into the 70s.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #114

Avengers #2

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: Thor and Hulk argue until Giant-Man and the Wasp arrive to start their meeting. Meanwhile, the Space Phantom lands from outer space. He plans to defeat the Avengers so the other Space Phantoms can invade and take over the Earth. He's been observing the  Avengers for awhile and knows that they're meeting in Tony Stark's mansion.

The Phantom switches places with a guy on the street, casting him into limbo, and walks into the mansion. The Avengers are watching the intruder from a tv and the Hulk decides to go confront him. The Phantom switches places with the Hulk and then starts a fight with Iron Man. The Hulk is in a certain limbo while the Phantom has his form. The Phantom escapes the mansion and meets up with Rick Jones.

Rick Jones quickly figures out that this isn't the real Hulk and the Phantom decides to brag about his plans and reveals himself to Rick. The Hulk reappears but disappears again as the Phantom takes on his form again. The Phantom goes to a Stark plant and destroys a special missile project. This draws out Iron Man and the battle is on. Iron Man grabs the Phantom and gives him a little shock. The Phantom, lacking the pain tolerance of the actual Hulk, freaks out and takes off running.

The Phantom changes places with a wasp and the real Hulk returns. Iron Man continues his attack and fights with the real Hulk. Meanwhile, Rick Jones calls Giant-Man and the Wasp for help. They arrive on the scene quickly and breaks up the fight. The Wasp senses an evil presence and then is attacked by the Phantom, as a wasp. Giant-Man senses the Wasp is in danger and gets Hulk and Iron Man to follow him to Stark's plant.

Giant-Man makes the save but the Phantom trades places with him. The Phantom attacks the Hulk but quickly realizes that the Hulk is far stronger. The Phantom tries to crush the Hulk with an experimental tank but the Hulk kicks it away. The tank hurtles towards an unsuspecting Iron Man but he uses the suit to protect himself. The Phantom switches places with Iron Man.

The Wasp decides to get Thor and heads to the offices of Dr. Don Blake. Blake says that he'll summon Thor for her. Blake sends her out of the room and becomes Thor. Thor heads to the fight to find that the Phantom as Iron Man is getting the best of the Hulk and Giant-Man. The Phantom tries to switch places with Thor and instead is cast into limbo. Thor says that this happened because he is not a human, he is the god of thunder.

The conventional wisdom seems to be that the Space Phantom is trapped there forever because no one can take his place. The Hulk takes this moment to quit the Avengers. He says he never realized how much they all hated him and will do things along like he always does. The Avengers worry about how dangerous the Hulk will become as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: This issue has a deep and lasting impact on the Marvel Universe. Even as recently as the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover has this issue played it's part. Let that sink in a little bit for how important the Hulk quitting the Avengers was that it gets a little nod in a story 49 years later.

This was a pretty fun issue. The Space Phantom was a really fun villain for this issue and he was used well throughout the issue. I liked getting to see the various Avengers fight with each other throughout the issue. The Iron Man vs. Hulk match up was intriguing but hasn't gotten a lot of time in the first 2 issues.

The Hulk leaving in issue 2 was huge, HUGE! That event right there sets a tone that the Avengers keep throughout their entire history. This roster is about change and change happens a lot as the years progress. The roster is almost always in some state of flux and you can see that it started at the very beginning. I just have to write that again, we're at issue 2 and one of the founding members have quit the team already. That was just unheard of in this time period.

The art was really good in this issue. It was one of the stronger books that I've read art wise so far. Jack Kirby has really been doing some good issues recently. The Phantom Stranger was weird looking and fairly unique. I would also add memorable. The fight scenes also looked pretty good throughout.

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

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Space Phantom. He is a C list villain that gets a lot of appearances through re-tellings of this particular story. I would say that he's probably one of the most memorable C list villains in the Marvel Universe because of how important and retold this story is. He makes some other appearances over the years but I don't think I've read any of those other ones.

The Hulk leaves the Avengers in this issue.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #47

Journey Into Mystery #97

Cover Date: October 1963

Plot Overview: Thor saves a pilot from a plane as the issue opens. The media swarms him after the daring rescue and Thor takes off. Thor muses that he must not let anyone near him for they might find out his secret identity as Dr. Don Blake.

Thor once again becomes Don Blake while on the streets a rumor of a Lava Man are being reported. Blake enters his office and tells Jane Foster that he has something to tell her. Blake changes his mind and Foster bemoans the fact that Blake is such a coward.

After Jane leaves, Blake becomes Thor and asks Odin's permission to marry Jane. Odin denies his claim. Thor sulks as rumors spread further of a Lava Man sighting. Loki is also watching from above realizes that he's the one that created the Lava Man.

Jane tells Don  Blake the next day that she is taking a job with another doctor. She reveals that she knows Blake's feelings for her but she can't marry such a coward. Blake cannot stop her due to Odin's decree and Jane Foster walks out of his office.

The Lava Man enters the city and claims it for his people. Thor appears on the scene and declares that his heart is ready for battle. The Lava Man goes underground and starts creating small eruptions but Thor throws his hammer under ground and forces the Lava Man back to the surface. The Lava Man traps Thor in a pillar of dried lava but Thor manages to break free. The Lava Man turns himself into a giant rock but Thor creates a giant whirlwind and uses it to throw the Lava Man back into the volcano. Thor seals off the volcano and ends the threat for this issue.

Don Blake returns to his office and finds Jane Foster and her new employer Dr. Bruce Andrews there. Blake makes a final plea but Jane rejects his offer and leaves. Dr. Don Blake and Thor stand defeated as the issue comes to a close.

This issue also features an Asgard backup. It briefly tells of the Frost Giants and how Odin's family came about. It promises to tell more stories of Asgard in future issues.

My Take: What can I say, this was a great issue of Journey Into Mystery. It felt like they finally figured out how to make the character interesting in his own right. They really played up the duality of being a human and a god of Asgard in this issue and it really worked. They also went and made a major change in the dynamic by having Jane Foster quit and they stuck with that change at the end of the issue. It was really interesting to read something from the Silver Age and see a big status quo shift like that.

This issue did read very different from the previous issues of Journey Into Mystery. Thor and Blake have distinct personalities from each other for the first time. When Thor is out, he talks more like Thor now. Before, he always sounded like Don Blake. Both Thor and Blake seem to have better embraced their ties to Asgard in this issue. Before, there always seemed to be some level of distance between the two. Jane Foster also felt to be written a little differently in this. Before, I would say she had maybe a passing interesting in Blake but she seemed to share his feelings in this issue. I know they did that for dramatic tension so it isn't a huge deal.

These older comics tend to be a clunky read but you really felt for Blake/Thor in this issue. They really communicated his feelings of hopelessness and helplessness in this issue. He goes out and defeats a super powerful foe and then a few minutes later can't stop the woman he loves from walking out of his life. There have been some solid issues in these early Marvel tales but I really feel like Stan Lee captured a brief moment of magic with this issue. There was just an emotional power to this issue that made it something more than most of it's counter-parts from this era.

The Thor comics haven't been my favorite of this project so far. I feel like I've gone through the motions with some of them. This one really caught me by surprise in a good way. It's the first time since Journey Into Mystery #83 that I've been eager to get to the next issue and see what happens next. I really want to see where they go next with the Blake/Foster relationship.

Jack Kirby also made his return for this issue and the art looked really good. Molto the Lava Man was really cool looking and the battle with Thor was nicely drawn as well. His art really added to the emotion of the various scenes throughout the book as well.

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

Notes: There were a lot of first appearances in this issue thanks to the Asgard backup. The most important introduction in this issue is Surtur. He'll be a villain for Thor as the years progress and a nasty one by the looks of him. This issue also features the first appearance of Molto the Lava Man. He's not an important character moving forward. I know he appears in Avengers down the road and he might make a handful of future appearances in Thor. But I'm pretty sure he'll be done as a recurring character as the 70s open up. This book also featured the first appearance of Asgardians Bor, Buri, Ve and Vili. None of them are very important characters. The Frost Giant Ymir also makes his debut here and he's also not very important going forward.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #113

Journey Into Mystery #96

Cover Date: September 1963

Plot Overview: Thor returns to the office and becomes Dr. Don Blake to start things off. Jane Foster is upset because Blake again disappeared and all of his patients gave up and went home. She thinks that Blake needs to be more responsible while Blake wonders what she would think if she knew he was Thor. There's a brief flashback of Thor saving a bus that had fallen into the river.

We switch scenes as the casket of Merlin has been discovered and brought to New York. Scientists open the casket and leave. Merlin immediately revives as he had used a spell on himself centuries ago. Merlin reflects on his days in Camelot and how his powers came from within himself, not the potions he used. He makes an interesting comment about being a mutant. Extremely interesting since the X-Men make their debut around the same time as this issue. Merlin decides that he will find the ruler in this time and become their adviser as well.

Merlin decides to show off his powers and knocks a rocket off course. Thor springs into action and rights the rocket. Thor suspects Loki to be involved and seeks him out on Asgard. Loki claims innocence and shows Thor that Merlin is the one responsible.

Back on Earth, Merlin entered the White House in search of the President. He passes JFK but assumes he is too young to be the President. Thor confronts Merlin and the battle begins.

Merlin hypnotizes Thor and throws the Washington Monument at him. The spell breaks and Thor rights the Monument with relative ease. Merlin then tries to bury Thor under the Pentagon but Thor escapes as well. Merlin finally tries the Lincoln Memorial but Thor uses his Hammer to defeat that as well. Thor decides to gamble and becomes Don Blake. He claims to be a great magician that can take many forms and threatens to destroy Merlin if he continues. Merlin begs for mercy and Blake has him cast a second spell to go back to sleep.

My Take: This was an okay issue. It was a quick read and had a decent fight. The dialogue was also solid enough. I would classify this issue as mostly average. Nothing great or memorable but it wasn't overtly bad either.

The art was a solid effort yet again but I've said that ever since Joe Sinnott took over the art duties on this book.

Ultimately, nothing of importance happened in this issue. I would call it a total status quo issue. Thor meets a threat and defeats it. This issue was solid, very solid, there's probably just better stuff to read from this time period.

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

Notes: This is the first appearance of Merlin. I looked him up and he appears a handful of times over the years.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #112

Avengers #1

Cover Date: September 1963

Plot Overview: Loki is looking to cause some mischief to draw out Thor for another battle. He comes across the Hulk and tricks him with a mental projection of TNT on a train track. The Hulk smashes the tracks by mistake and has to quickly save an oncoming train. People mistake his actions and think the Hulk was in fact trying to destroy the train.

Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade try to contact the Fantastic Four for help but Loki intercepts their radio transmissions and sends them to a band that Thor listens to. Thor picks up the transmission as well as Ant-Man, the Wasp and Iron Man. They all head to the southwest independently. Meanwhile, the Teen Brigade finally contacts the FF and Reed says they're busy but that he thinks other people should be able to help them.

Just then, Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp all arrive on the scene. Rick Jones explains the situation to them and asks that they help the Hulk if he is indeed innocent. Loki is not amused by the appearance of other heroes and uses his mental powers to trick Thor into leaving the group with an image of the Hulk. Thor realizes it's just a mental projection and that Loki must be behind it.

Thor heads to Asgard as the scene changes to a circus. The Hulk is posing as a robotic act named Mechano. An ant on the scene relays the info to Ant-Man and the remaining heroes head off to face off with the Hulk.

The ants chew up the ground and the Hulk falls into a giant hole. Ant-Man tries to reason with the Hulk but the Hulk just wants to leave. The ants drop a giant steel drum onto the Hulk which enrages him. The Hulk escapes the drum as Ant-Man has the Wasp try to lure him under a net. The Hulk takes out the Wasp with a bellows and captures her. Iron Man arrives on the scene and the Hulk forgets about the Wasp. The Hulk breaks through the net that Ant-Man had used and Iron Man pursues. The Hulk manages to damage Iron Man's power source and he's forced to break off the chase.

Meanwhile on Asgard, Thor has received permission to travel to the Isle of Silence to confront Loki. Thor arrives at the Isle to be greeted by a volcanic eruption created by Loki. The volcano spews these bubbles that can drain a god of his powers so Thor swims for it. Loki greets Thor on land and tricks him into getting attacked by a troll. The troll tries to pull Thor under ground but he blinds it with lightning from his hammer. Loki makes multiple images of himself but Thor blows them away by swinging his hammer. Thor captures Loki and returns to Earth with him.

Back on Earth, Iron Man and the Hulk continue to battle one another. Thor arrives and explains that Loki framed the Hulk. Loki becomes radioactive suddenly and commands Hulk and Iron Man to leave so that he and Thor continue their battle. Just then, a group of ants release a trap door and Loki falls into a lead lined tank. Thor explains that Loki won't be radioactive for very long and then he can return him to Asgard for punishment.

Ant-Man and Wasp stop everyone from leaving. Ant-Man thinks they should continue teaming up due to how powerful they are together. Everyone agrees and the Wasp comes up with the name the Avengers on the spot. The issue ends with them proclaiming that no one will be able to stop the Avengers.

My Take: This book is historic for a lot of reasons. There have been some crossovers before this issue but pretty much the entire Marvel Universe appeared in this issue. Spider-Man was really the only hero that was absent during this book. It feels like the Marvel Universe has suddenly come together in a huge way for this book and it makes a good deal of sense.

The story is kind of a mixed bag here. A lot happens in the 22 pages of story and that's a good thing and a bad thing. I really like how they brought the team together in this issue. There's something very realistic about the Teen Brigade wanting the Fantastic Four and circumstances bringing them a different group of heroes. I also liked the battle between Iron Man and the Hulk in this issue. Loki also made sense as being the first antagonist for the Avengers to face. I don't think say, Namor would've worked as well in this issue. I also really like the team of the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp. I think it's a good mix of personalities and powers and you want to check out the next issue to see how the Hulk is going to work within the confines of a team.

What I didn't like was the Asgard portion of the story. It felt needless and it really secluded Thor from the other heroes in this book. It was really good when they all stormed into the Teen Brigade HQ but the book splits them up almost immediately. I wanted to see them working together, not all wandering off and doing their own thing. It also made the story drag a bit at that point. It just felt like you were reading one book and kind of wandered into a different book.

The art was good in this issue. Everyone looked good. Iron Man wasn't doing any of his weird contortions in his gold armor. It's a Jack Kirby drawn book. So what can you really say bad about it?

This book had it's ups and downs but ultimately I enjoyed it. It was an easy read, I wasn't page counting like I do with some of the weaker books I've read for this. And that's always a sign that I'm into what I'm reading. It has a lot of historical value as well.

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

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Avengers as a team. The Avengers will be a consistent top team in the Marvel Universe from here on out. A huge number of Marvel super-heroes will have stints with the team over the years. Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp all become the founding members of the Avengers in this issue.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #45

Journey Into Mystery #95

Cover Date: August 1963

Plot Overview: The issue opens with Thor using his Hammer to create a storm to end a drought on Asgard. He heads back to Earth to take part in a demonstration of an android that Dr. Don Blake has invented. The demonstration is being led by a Professor
Zaxton. The android is an impressive creation but Zaxton accidently twists too many dials and the android is about to explode. Thor saves the day by removing it from the building.

Thor returns to being Don Blake after showing annoyance with Zaxton's screw up. Zaxton is in his office and reveals his invention, a duplicator. He wants to duplicate humans and wants Blake's help. Blake refuses at first but Zaxton has kidnapped Jane Foster to ensure his cooperation.

Blake helps Zaxton and while Zaxton is testing the improved duplicator he becomes Thor. Zaxton sees the transformation and then duplicates Thor with the machine. He also gives Demon Duplicate Thor a second hammer. The battle is on as Thor and his Duplicate battle it out. Zaxton uses the duplicator to give his Duplicate an advantage. Zaxton manages to trap Thor between a bunch of planes and the Duplicate. The Duplicate throws his Hammers but they have no effect on Thor. He realizes that the Duplicate isn't worthy of the Hammer and had nothing to fear from the start.

Thor easily dispatches the Duplicate and goes to capture Zaxton. Zaxton duplicates himself but falls off an overpass and dies. Thor decides that the Duplicate will be able to serve mankind since it will lack the evil of the original. Thor frees Jane Foster and revisits Asgard as the issue comes to a close.

The Ridiculous: The duplicator created duplicates with the opposite personality of whoever was being duplicated. The duplicates were also under the mental control of Professor Zaxton.

My Take: I really enjoyed this issue. It was a very straight forward story and it had a really good pace. Thor and Blake seemed to also be showing some real personality this time around and I found them to actually be fairly interesting as characters this time around. It feels like they're starting to "get" what they can do with the Thor character.

The Thor character is starting to have a bit of a split personality though. In the early issues, he was just Dr. Don Blake. Now, he says things that seem more like Thor. I wouldn't see the earlier Thor taking about how he loved Asgard so much because it was just Blake's personality. I'm kind of interested to see how they go about phasing out Don Blake as the book continues to progress.

I was a little sad to see Professor Zaxton die at the end of the book. He was mostly a generic mad scientist but he felt like an interesting antagonist for Thor. But these things happen.

I really liked the art on this issue. Joe Sinnott really seems like a great fit for the Thor comic. The characters all have a really good level of detail and it just feels like a Thor comic when he's drawing it. I hope he stays on the book for awhile.

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

Notes: Professor Zaxton makes his first and only appearance in this issue.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #111

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

Journey Into Mystery #93

Cover Date: June 1963

Plot Overview: The issue starts with Thor thwarting a Chinese attack on a group of Hindu people. The Chinese plot how they can defeat Thor and crush the morale of the West. A man named Chen Lu boasts that all of the Chinese scientists won't rest until they find a way to defeat Thor.

Chen Lu has discovered that if he blasts someone with enough radiation that they will gain superpowers. He doesn't see the need to give such power to another so he tests it on himself. Chen Lu becomes the Radioactive Man and shows his powers to the Chinese government. They send him to America to destroy Thor.

The Radioactive Man arrives in New York and issues his challenge to Thor. Thor arrives shortly afterwards and the battle begins. Thor quickly finds that none of his powers work on the Radioactive Man. RM takes the advantage and hypnotizes Thor. RM has Thor throw his hammer and to his dismay Thor throws it further than he expected. RM leaves the scene and Thor changes back to Don Blake. RM can't find the hammer and confronts Blake about where Thor went. Blake sends him on a wild goose chase.

Blake arrives at his lab and develops a machine to find the hammer. Blake then retrieves the hammer and reappears as Thor. He creates a giant cyclone and tosses the Radioactive Man back to China. The Radioactive Man explodes on impact as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: This issue was okay. I like the concept of the Radioactive Man but giving Thor a weakness to radiation is a little silly. It just felt really cliche to have the typical "hero has a weakness and is totally helpless" deal in this book.

The pacing was also really bad. They build up was really great and you wanted to see Thor and the Radioactive Man square off and then you literally got 2 pages of action. I was really hoping for an all out brawl and just got skirmishes. It was frustrating and disappointing.

I do like the idea of Radioactive Man though. He's a cool villain that has powers that writers can get creative with and he's easy to make a threat. I think he's been one of the better villains that Marvel has come up with by this point in it's publishing history.

This month has been pretty Communist heavy as Iron Man was involved with the Communists in the last thing I read. I really don't like it for Thor. Thor battling Communists just seems to not fit the character and the concept at all. Thor should be fighting cosmic threats and super-villains. Iron Man, on the other hand, works better with the Communist threat considering Tony Stark's roll in the world.

The art was pretty good here. Some of these early Thor's have looked absolutely awful but this one was a solid effort. Not that a big green guy is hard to draw or anything.

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

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of the Radioactive Man. That name is probably best known for the superhero comic that Bart Simpson reads on the Simpson. RM becomes essentially a B villain in the Marvel Universe. He joins the Masters of Evil at one point and gets involved with the Thunderbolts years later.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #109

Journey Into Mystery #92

Cover Date: May 1963

Plot Overview: The issue starts with Neri approaching Heimdall at the Bifrost. Heimdall stops her in case she may be Loki. Neri points to Loki chained to a tree and Heimdall lets her pass. Loki sulks and promises he'll show everyone why he's the god of evil.

We switch scenes to three gangsters. One has been shot and they storm into Dr. Don Blake's office. They tell him to perform surgery on their boss or they'll shoot him. Blake does as he's told and then tricks them so he can become Thor. Thor ties them to the bed and flings them so they land at the local hospital.

We change scenes to a later date where Thor has agreed to help a movie maker with the special effects for a Thor movie. Thor uses his powers for various scenes and the chained Loki watches with great interest. Thor throws his hammer for the final scene and Loki uses his magic to have the hammer come and break his chains. Thor calls upon Odin who brings him to Asgard. The gods cannot help Thor but they wish him luck on his quest.

Loki sends a pack of trees to attack Thor but he fights them off with a wooden hammer he pieces together. Loki burns the hammer and Thor realizes that magic is at work here. He heads to the Bifrost to check on Loki. Loki conjures a dragon to attack Thor and this time Thor creates a hammer out of stone and defeats the dragon with it. Thor then realizes that the stone is actually uru which his hammer is made of. He throws his new hammer and it falls next to his old hammer. Thor heads back to Earth while Loki is captured to close out the issue.

My Take: I want to start with the art here. It was amazing for this issue. The Journey Into Mystery stuff has tended to look slapped together and generally not very good. This issue looked great and it really felt like they found an art style for the Thor comics. It really made the issue more enjoyable to have good art matched up with it.

The story itself was a little slow. I don't like when these 13 page comics take till page 10 to really get to the point. You have 13 pages to work with and trying to wrap up a plot in the last couple of pages really isn't good pacing. I know I've complained about that before and I will continue to do so as long as they do the 13 page anthology stories.

Despite the pacing, it was an enjoyable enough read. Showing off Thor's powers in the context of a movie was an innovative way to remind readers of what Thor is supposed to be able to do. I also think when Asgard is the central focus that Thor works a lot better as a concept. I'm really hoping this is where they start to focus on Asgard a little more.

Loki was the villain again. Thankfully, he usually provides the better stories so I'll overlook that this is his fourth appearance in ten issues of Thor.

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

Notes: This is the first appearance of Neri. She may never reappear in the series for all I know. This issue also marks the first time Thor went to Asgard I believe.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #108

Journey Into Mystery #91

Cover Date: April 1963

Plot Overview: Thor tries to thwart a bank robbery but the bank suddenly disappears. The people inside the bank reappear but can't remember anything that happened. Thor suspects Loki but is informed by Odin that Loki is in Asgard being punished for his last caper on Earth. Loki steals some money to amuse himself.

We take a look into the past as Dr. Don Blake and Jane Foster are at a carnival. They come across a mind reader named Sandu and he predicts that Blake loves a woman with the initials J.F. Blake successfully plays it off and Jane is actually disappointed that he doesn't love her. Loki watches Sandu from Asgard and decides to strengthen Sandu's power 1000 times.

Sandu quickly realizes this and steals one of the audiences wallet. Sandu decides that his powers call for greater feats. Sandu was the one levitating the bank and then teleported it away. He made the customers forget what happened as well.

Sandu steals a palace for himself and visits the U.N. afterwards. He tells the delegates to turn over their countries to him or he'll levitate them into space and kill them. Thor arrives on the scene and saves the delegates. Sandu throws some steel beams at Thor and knocks him out. Sandu chains Thor and then levitates a building onto him.

Thor is too weak to escape and Odin appears and gives him the belt of strength. Thor is stronger than ever and escapes his prison. Loki mentally contacts Sandu and tells him to steal Thor's hammer to defeat him.

Sandu manages to separate Thor from the Hammer and teleports it into another dimension. Sandu becomes arrogant and decides that he should wield Thor's Hammer. Sandu can't lift it so he tries to use his powers. He spends more and more energy until he burns his powers out. Thor hands the now powerless Sandu over to the police.

Odin tells Thor to call upon the belt of strength if he's ever in need as the issue ends.

My Take: Journey Into Mystery has been a fairly rough read for this project. It's really just been lacking in a few areas. It really feels like he's a Superman analogue with some Norse mythology tacked on. The Thor concept is just growing kind of slow and that's frustrating when concepts like Spider-Man and Iron Man take off almost immediately.

With that said, I enjoyed this issue. The Loki issues always seem to be a fairly fun read. I think that's because it's more grounded in Asgard. Asgard makes this comic interesting but when it's just superhero stuff it tends to be boring. Sandu was fairly interesting as a villain. He was generic but he made for a fun antagonist for Thor. He had a wide range of powers and it felt like he was a match for Thor. Most of the villains to this point have been overmatched and usually just find some contrived method to get the Hammer. It was nice seeing someone who had the power to go toe to toe with Thor in his own way.

I didn't like the Jane Foster bit early in the comic. The first 2 issues maybe, they teased her maybe being interested in Don Blake but they had really gone away from that idea. It seemed she only had eyes for Thor and now we're back to the love triangle idea. The silver lining to this is that it added some much needed character development for Blake and Foster.

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

Notes: This is the first appearance of Sandu and the Belt of Strength. I've never really been a Thor reader so I can't tell you if either ever really appears again in a Thor comic. I'm guessing the Belt of Strength does and that Sandu probably does not. Sandu really strikes me as one of those early Marvel villains that never get used again.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #107

Journey Into Mystery #90

Cover Date: March 1963

Plot Overview: The Xartans depart to conquer Earth as the issue opens. Meanwhile, Dr. Don Blake struggles over revealing himself to Jane Foster. As he's about to finally reveal himself as Thor, Odin shows up and tells him not to. Blake heads out into the city and finds that people are acting more and more crazy as he walks about. He returns to the office and Jane is also acting crazy. Blake leaves and becomes Thor. He visits the mayor to realize that, he too, is acting different.

Thor thinks back to his younger days and the teachings of Odin. Odin tells him that the simplest answer however impossible is probably the right answer since nothing is impossible. Thor decides that the people must be imposters if they aren't acting themselves.

Thor finds a spaceship but the ship traps him and he drops the hammer. Thor becomes Blake again and he's captured by the aliens. They take him into the ship and the mayor and Jane are inside. Blake agrees to take the aliens to attack Thor if they let him go. The mayor and Jane are outraged as Blake leaves the ship with the aliens. Blake sends the aliens into the brush so he can grab the hammer and once again become Thor.

Thor bests the son of the head Xartan in one on one battle and then easily defeats the head alien. The other Xartans surrender and Thor makes them turn into trees. Thor reveals that the Xartan people take on all the qualities of what they turn into. As trees, they can no longer think and turn themselves back. Thor tells the mayor and Jane to go easy on Blake, he was only helping him get the drop on the aliens. Jane and the mayor are confused by the explanation but ultimately accept it.

My Take: I hated this issue. Lee didn't write it and the artist was new. So the art was bad and the script was really weak. The story was just absolutely ridiculous. I really don't know what to say about this issue. I really didn't like it.

Thor is kind of lagging behind some of the other books. You have the Thor/Blake/Foster love triangle and really nothing else. Being in love with Foster is really the only personality he has as a character.

This title in general is really up and down. When they do Asgard stuff, it's really interesting and stand apart from the other titles out there. When he's more Earth bound, he comes across like a Marvel imitation of Superman. Hopefully they start focusing more on Asgard soon.

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

Notes: This is a rare early Marvel story that Lee didn't write. He's credited with the plot but a different writer is credited with the script.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #106

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

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

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.
urns
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

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

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

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