MISSION: MARVEL ENTRY #49

Tales To Astonish #43, May 1963, written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, penciled by Don Heck, Larry Lieber (backup) and Steve Ditko (backup)

MISSION MARVEL ENTRY #47

Tales of Suspense #40, April 1963, written by Robert Bernstein, Stan Lee and Larry Lieber (backup), penciled by Jack Kirby, Don Heck (backup) and Steve Ditko (backup)

1st Appearance:

• Iron Man paints his armor gold, so he doesn’t freak people out with his dull gray armor.

Interior panel from Tales to Astonish #42, by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Don Heck

Basically if Ron Swanson had hypno-voice powers.

MISSION: MARVEL ENTRY #45

Tales To Astonish #42, April 1963, written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, penciled by Don Heck (lead), Joe Sinnott (backup) and Steve Ditko (backup)

Ant-Man fights Jason Cragg, a former radio DJ with a radiated hypnotic voice who turns all the citizens of Ant-Man’s town (New York, right? Isn’t it?) against him. Ant-Man, in true kooky fashion, gives Cragg laryngitis by covering a microphone with germs. Cragg just assumes that his voice, once rid of sickness, will be powerless. And he leaves town.

Yep. Oddly enough, this was enjoyable and…kinda…fun. The origin story for Cragg involves him announcing a dog food commercial over the radio, and listeners going to buy dog food; if they don’t have a dog, they declare they will eat the dog food themselves! It’s silly but fun. Don Heck returns on art, giving us a much more handsome Dr. Pym.

1st Appearance:

• Jason Cragg (later known as, of course, Voice; he goes from wearing a top hat and suit in this issue to looking like this in issues of West Coast Avengers and Captain America in the late ’80s/early ’90s)

My Score: 6.8

Interior panel from Tales of Suspense #39, by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Don Heck

First appearance of Iron Man.

MISSION: MARVEL ENTRY #40

Tales of Suspense #39, March 1963, written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, penciled by Don Heck (lead), Gene Colan (back-up) and Steve Ditko (back-up)

Great…except for the insanely racist depictions of the Vietnamese. As in, 1940s bad. As in yellow-as-Tweety Bird-bad. I guess I was just surprised to see awful Asian stereotypes persisting almost twenty years after World War II, but I guess I’m also underestimating the 1960s.

The story itself is really good and shockingly close to the Iron Man film. Lee and Lieber create a character unlike any in the Marvel Universe up to this point: he’s a fabulous skirt-chasing playboy, a Don Draper with more wit than brooding. They also establish him as a genius weapons manufacturer so that when the defining moment (him being kidnapped by a Vietnamese leader) comes, it’s totally plausible and believable even by ’60s standards. This origin even works better in the ’60s because there’s no technology realistically available to help with surveillance. The movie had to come up with reasons why the terrorists couldn’t tell what Stark was building on their numerous cameras; here Stark’s just left in an unmonitored room. 

The story ends with Iron Man stuck in his armor, his heart only able to keep beating as long as the suit keeps the shrapnel form entering his heart. I’m curious to find out when he realizes he can get out of the iron man suit.

1st Appearances:

• Iron Man/Tony Stark
• Wong-Chu (kidnaps Tony Stark in Vietnam; reappears five years later in Iron Man #1)
• Professor Ho Yinsen (fellow captive who works with Stark to create Iron Man armor before sacrificing himself to aid in Iron Man’s escape; makes seemingly frequent appearances for the next 50 years despite being dead)

My Score: 8

Interior panels from Tales To Astonish #41, by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Don Heck

Don Heck’s big debut as a Marvel Architect (to use a 2011 term with 1963 creators).

MISSION: MARVEL ENTRY #37

Tales To Astonish #41, March 1963, written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, penciled by Don Heck (lead), Joe Sinnott (back-up) and Steve Ditko (back-up)

The plot is basically the exact same as Journey Into Mystery #87: foreign menace captures scientists to build weapon, hero gets caught and usurps from within. Yep. That’s it. Oh, except instead of Russians, it’s aliens from another planet. They are treated with the same amount of menace.

The BIG deal is that this is the first artist switch Marvel Comics has gone through. After 36 issues of Marvel Comics, Jack Kirby is replaced by Don Heck (who also gets his first shot at a lead feature) with this issue. Don Heck will go on to pencil other Marvel titles, notably X-Men. With Heck’s promotion to the minor leagues, Joe Sinnott makes his debut as a back-up penciler. He will go on to work on a ton of Marvel Comics over the next few decades, including Thor. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the back-up artists to get some spotlight time, and I’m surprised that Don Heck is the first. Well, he’s the first to replace Jack Kirby (something that’s going to start happening a lot I imagine; dude draws everything). Steve Ditko already drew the lead in Amazing Fantasy #15, and I think he has some big work ahead…

My Score: 5.3

MISSION: MARVEL ENTRY #35

Strange Tales #105, February 1963, written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, penciled by Jack Kirby (lead), Don Heck (back-up) and Steve Ditko (back-up)

The Wizard makes his second appearance, making him the third repeat Marvel villain (after Dr. Doom and the Sub-Mariner) and the first to non-Fantastic Four one (of course, the entire FF does appear in this issue). What more can I say? The Wizard breaks out of jail and uses an elaborate set-up (one that he just has laying in wait) to lure the Torch into a trap. He gets caught and then sorta-rescued by the Invisible Girl, who really just botches the job and has to get rescued by the Torch. 

Also, the Human Torch can create catapults and saws out of fire. Out. Of. Fire.

Still no explanation as to how the Human Torch has a secret identity while on Long Island and is a public figure in New York City. Might not ever get resolved.

Seriously, at this point I am chugging through all these 12-page stories just trying to get to Amazing Spider-Man #1.

My Score: 4.1

MISSION: MARVEL ENTRY #34

Tales To Astonish #40, February 1963, written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, penciled by Jack Kirby (lead), Don Heck (back-up) and Steve Ditko (back-up)

All Silver Age comics can be summed up with the phrase “Magnets! How do they work?!” Cause no creator in the 1960s had a clue.

This is like the third time in the last five comics I’ve read where magnets play a role. And they are ALWAYS giant U-shaped magnets. I wonder if Stan has finally moved on from everything being transistor powered (“Transistors! What is up with them?!”). And who is MAKING these giant U-shaped magnets? Where do all the bad guys get them? Questions…for another time.

This is another comic book where Ant-Man launches himself out of a catapult, uses ants who miraculously know English as spies and fights a forgettable villain. Oh, in this one, he also fakes appendicitis. This is still the nuttiest title in the Marvel line, and this issue’s scoring fares better now that I’m not taking the brain-farting back-up strips into account.

1st Appearance:

• Hijacker/Howard Mitchell (who is so forgettable that his next appearance comes 14 years later in Marvel Two-In-One #24 in a story titled “Does Anyone Remember…The Hijacker!?” Odds were, no.)

My Score: 6.1