AVENGERS #14

“Even Avengers Can Die!”
Plot: Stan Lee
Script: Paul Laiken & Larry Lieber
Layouts: Jack Kirby
Pencils: Don Heck
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Sam Rosen

IN A NUTSHELL
The Avengers discover the only doctor who can save Wasp has been replaced by a Kallusian, a race of aliens stranded on Earth. They locate the aliens’ arctic base, and order the aliens to leave Earth. When their arch-enemies the Yirbek arrive, at the prospect of fighting both the Avengers & the Yirbek, the Kallusians agree to leave. The Avengers return to the hospital with the doctor, and he saves Jan.

WHAT’S HOT
PACKED. You’ll notice a lot of “Nots” listed below, but there I’m mostly nit-picking. I don’t want to give the impression that I didn’t enjoy this story, because I did, immensely. It was packed with action, soap opera, aliens, travel to strange worlds, and even the Watcher makes an appearance! What more could you possibly ask from a Marvel Comic? I’ll gladly put up with a few nit-picky details to get a story that delivers on so many huge, significant levels.

GO, TEAM! Time and again the Avengers teamwork gets the job done—whether it’s searching the globe for Svenson, fighting the aliens, or all pitching in to lift the spirits of the inconsolable Giant-Man.

THE POWER OF PRAYER. The Watcher names prayer as the greatest power ever known. The story gets very spiritual in the end, but that’s entirely appropriate for a tale dealing with Life or Death.

WHAT’S NOT
OVERPLAYED. On the splash, the narrator suggests the death of Wasp could mean the end of the Avengers. I disagree. The Avengers is a repertory company. If anyone leaves, the rest will be fine.

PRIORITIES. Thor immediately excuses Dr. Blake from assisting Wasp by deciding she needs “a surgeon of far greater skill.” Shortly after, he is almost tricked into revealing his alter ego when the attending doctor asks, “Have you ever had medical training??” Putting aside for a moment how unlikely it is that a doctor would ever ask the anxious friends and family if they have medical training (has that ever happened to you, or anyone you know?), Thor breathes a sigh of relief when he realizes he almost gave away his mortal identity. I’m sorry, but there are some situations where this secret identity business goes too far. I’m almost getting the impression that Thor would have let Wasp die rather than lift a finger to help her as Dr. Blake, if it meant his secret would be revealed. Bad form!

FROZEN. So apparently there is such a thing as Anti-Freeze Pills in the Marvel Universe. First question: are there potential terrible side effects? And if not, why hasn’t Tony Stark made this miracle drug available to hikers, mountain climbers and Arctic explorers? Maybe he has? But that’s not the impression I’m getting as they all swallow their pills in the refrigerated trap.

AS SEEN ON TV. The Kallusians think they know everything there is to know about Earth because they have been listening to the radio and watching TV. Ha! If that’s the case, instead of kidnapping Dr. Svenson, why didn’t they send out a team to capture Jeannie or Samantha Stevens to blink or nose-wiggle their problems away?

THE MEREST WHIM OF CHANCE. Ah, Literary Convenience, the writer’s best friend! The Kallusian’s enemies find them at the exact split second that the Avengers and the Kallusians are arguing about Dr. Svenson. Same way that in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the once every 500-year cataclysmic event is next going to take place…tomorrow night! Or, in a New York drama, a single parking space is available…right in front of the building the hero needs to enter!

TICKING CLOCK. 48 hours is constantly referred to as an absolute, when in fact, it is not. Much drama is added, but to some degree, it’s false drama. In real life, at 47 and a half hours, Wasp would be just as likely to be fully recovered, as she would be likely to have died. A half-hour this way or that is not really likely to make that much of a difference.

WHAT THE WELL-DRESSED HOSPITAL PATIENT IS WEARING THIS SEASON. Even by the time Dr. Svenson finally gets to Jan, she is still dressed in her Wasp uniform, not a hospital gown. I wonder if she kept the uniform on for the duration of her life-saving surgery. I also wonder if Giant-Man insisted on it, so that while saving her life, her real-life alter ego would not be revealed. (See PRIORITES, above.)

NOTE
I read this story in the middle of the George Floyd protests, and was struck by the recurring theme: I can’t breathe. Wasp can’t breath because her lung is punctured, and the Kallusians can’t breath the air of this foreign planet. I’m in no way comparing the horror of a man’s death at the hands of police brutality to a silly comic book story…I’m just saying, the timing seemed something between coincidental and significant. Maybe being able to breathe is something we shouldn’t take for granted.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #22

“The Clown, and His Masters of Menace!”
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Steve Ditko
Letters: Artie Simek

IN A NUTSHELL
After replacing the Ringmaster with the Clown as their leader, the Circus of Crimes stages a heist at an art exhibit, but Peter happens to be present, with Betty & JJJ. Jameson is injured during the theft and is sent to the hospital. Spidey tracks down the Ringmaster and discovers their hideout location. He arrives at their warehouse and battles them. After defeating the villains, Peter arrives at the Bugle just as Jameson returns from the hospital. Later, at home, May is dismayed that Peter is keeping secrets from her.

WHAT’S HOT
ANDY WARHOL, WHERE ARE YOU? At Jameson’s “art show,” we glimpse Study of a Bandaged Finger, and The Pastoral Holy Sock. It makes me wonder how Steve Ditko really felt about “Modern Art.”

I’M WITH THE BAND. Everybody at one point in their lives dreams of being in a band. (C’mon! Admit it!) And the best parts of this daydream is figuring out what you’re going to name your band. I get the same sense of glee from the circus criminals as they toss around ideas and finally land on “The Masters of Menace”! (Hey! Isn’t there a heavy metal band already called that?)

ACHILLES IN HEELS. When Spidey meets up with Princess Python, he finds he can’t hit a girl and tries to play nice. The Princess turns on the charm, but when that doesn’t work, she feeds Spidey to her snake. When the cops finally come in to drag the villainess off to jail, our hero is relieved. And I’m left wondering if this new Achilles Heel is going to figure into the future adventures of the teenaged superhero.

SOPHIA! In last month’s Amazing Spider-Man, I featured a photo of Sophia Loren, which comically illustrated the trope of a woman waiting by the phone for her man to call. Now, I have no idea if that’s what’s actually happening in this 1964 movie, Marriage Italian Style, since I’ve never seen it, and it won’t be on our radar for many months yet, as Russ and I continue our long chronological trek through The Cinema. (We began several years ago with Wings, the Academy Award winner of 1929, and are just now watching the best movies of 1960.) I tie this all back to Amazing Spider-Man #22 because Spidey makes a Sophia Loren reference, while trying to stave off the advances of Princess Python. How apropos, that Spider-Man drops Sophia Loren into the Marvel Universe, at the same time that she drops into our ambitious cinematic enterprise.

WHAT’S NOT
GIZMO. Spidey attaches a GPS device to the Ringmaster’s hat, but he calls it a “gizmo.” I know the concept of GPS did not yet exist in 1965, but calling it simply a “gizmo” strikes me as lazy writing. At the very least, they could have called it what it is: a Technological Whatchamacallit.

THE BIG DEAL ABOUT THE BIG TOP. Stan, your circus fixation is showing! In the same way that people today in other countries watching American TV shows must surely think every US city is overrun with thugs and mobsters, the 1960’s Marvel comic book readers from other countries probably believed circus tents dotted every other street corner (as Starbucks and Walgreens do today).

POOR LITTLE JAMESON. When Jameson is in the hospital, no one comes to visit him but employee Betty Brant. While I feel sorry for him not having any friends or family who care enough about him to visit him in the hospital, at the same time I wonder if this is karma coming home to roost.

FANTASTIC FOUR #36

“The Frightful Four!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Artie Simek

IN A NUTSHELL
While Reed & Sue host an engagement party, the Wizard gathers fellow villains Sandman & Paste-Pot Pete to meet the mysterious Madame Medusa, who has total control over her hair. Together, they form the Frightful Four and attack and capture Reed, Sue, Ben & Alicia at the Baxter Building. Wizard uses his anti-grav devices to send the good guys into space, but Torch arrives and forces Wizard to help him rescue his friends. The FF return to Earth, but the Frightful Four escape.

INTRODUCING…
This is the first time I’m meeting Medusa in Marvel Comics, though I have already met her in the Inhumans TV show which ran on ABC in Fall 2017. In the show, Medusa spent most of the time with practically no hair, so I really didn’t get the full experience of what her superpower is all about. The few shots of her “unconquerable hair” in action looked less than convincing—which is probably why the producers decided to so quickly abandon her shtick. Oddly, this static early comic gives a much better portrait of what she can do. One question, though…why is she a villainess? It’s sometimes disconcerting how easily super-powered characters slide back and forth along the spectrum of Good and Evil!

WHAT’S HOT
THE GANG’S ALL HERE! Every Marvel superhero shows up for Reed and Sue’s engagement party…except Spider-Man. But he still manages to swipe a slice of cake when no one is looking.

LOVERS. Now that Reed and Sue are engaged, they are the picture of bliss.

IMPRESSIVE! When Paste Pot Pete and Sandman first meet Medusa, even before they see her superpower in action, they are so impressed merely by the length of her hair…and well, probably by her voluptuous figure as well. These two probably don’t have a lot of experience with women, so it doesn’t take much to impress them. And Medusa is indeed impressive, nicely drawn and, shall we say… statuesque.

SLEEP SPRAY. The fact that Paste Pot Pete now possesses a “sleep spray” moves him up from the very bottom rung of the supervillain hierarchy. This is so much better than (wait for it…) PASTE.

WHAT’S NOT
QUIBBLING. When SandMan tells Reed they are “The Frightful Four,” even while he’s on the verge of suffocation by sand, Reed objects, “But there’s only three of you!” (Monk, is that you???)

HEY DUDE, ACT LIKE YOU’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE. When the Frightful Four manage to subdue three of the Fantastic Four, Paste Pot Pete “can’t get over it!” He’s amazed, ready to throw a ticker-tape parade to celebrate their victory. (The Wizard has to reel his enthusiasm back in.)

NEW DUDS. How does Johnny recognize the Wizard? This super-villain has undergone a complete makeover, wearing “new duds,” and his face is almost completely covered. What is it about the Wizard’s appearance that causes Johnny to instantly recognize him? Is that another one of his superpowers? Or am I simply quibbling here?

JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #114

“The Stronger I Am, The Sooner I Die!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Sam Rosen

IN A NUTSHELL
In an effort to defeat Thor, Loki casts a spell on convict Crusher Creel, giving him the power to turn into any material he touches. When the Absorbing Man escapes from prison, Thor sets out to recapture him. The super-powered adversaries are so evenly matched, they can only battle to a draw. Suddenly Balder transports Thor to Asgard. Thor is at first enraged, but quickly forgets Absorbing Man when Balder reports that Loki has captured Jane. Meanwhile, on Earth, Creel plots his next move.

INTRODUCING…
Absorbing Man makes his first appearance here, and his superpower is quite impressive, instantly leveling the battlefield. We watched the entire Agents of SHIELD series, and he plays a part in one of the earlier seasons. I hate to admit it, but some of these SHIELD episodes were so highly plotted, esoteric and confusing (“Ohh! So you mean, that guy is with them!”) that he didn’t make an impression on me. So many fantastic things were happening left and right, this was just one more to add to the heap. I prefer this character here in the comics, where his background and motivations are clear, and the story is easier for my simple brain to follow.

WHAT’S HOT
SCHEMING. Loki doesn’t have “thoughts” or “ideas,” he dreams up “schemes.” What an evil connotation! And what else would you expect from the God of Mischief?

SARCASM? Hobbs, the reporter, tells Dr. Blake that he broke his arm by slipping on a banana peel while running to catch a train. Really? Is this guy some kind of a wisecracker, or is he hiding something more sinister behind a veil of “fake news”?

BUTTON NOSE. When Don Blake calls Jane Foster the endearing nickname of “Button Nose,” that’s when I knew…things are starting to get serious between these two.

LOVE CONQUERS ALL. Stan writes himself into a corner by having Thor fight someone of equal strength. How will this ever end? It only ends when Thor gives up the fight, to rush off to save Jane.

WHAT’S NOT
POOR JANE. She thinks she’s going out to dinner with her boyfriend, but instead she gets whisked off to an enchanted land, a pawn in an epic battle of sibling rivalry. Suddenly, staying home to wash your hair and read a good book doesn’t sound quite so bad…

THY LANGUAGE CONFUSETH ME. Thor’s language is becoming increasingly archaic. For example: “It can be employed to give him pause,” rather than “This’ll slow him down!” And, “To horse, then! Loki shall rue the day!” Don Blake would never talk like this! So why does Thor? Is it a natural phenomenon, like how your regional accent becomes much more pronounced when you go home to visit your family? Or in the case of Blake/Thor, do we have to start with the deeper question of who exactly is inhabiting this body? Is Thor who Blake is when granted superpowers? Or, are Blake and Thor two separate personalities, inhabiting one body? I don’t have the answers to these questions. Yet. Maybe as I read further I’ll get some more clarity on this issue. But in the meantime, I’m guessing I’m going to hear a lot more thee’s and thou’s, as time goes on.

“The Golden Apples!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Vince Colletta
Letters: Artie Simek

IN A NUTSHELL
The wolf god Fenris disguises himself as a frail traveler, seeking to steal Iduna’s golden apples of immortality, before she can deliver them to Asgard. Without the apples, the Asgardians will grow old and die. Iduna sees through his deceit, though, and Fenris drops his disguise. Haakun the Hunter arrives and uses his enchanted battle-axe to send Fenris back to Varinheim.

WHAT’S HOT
GIVING THE STORY ROOM TO BREATHE. I enjoy the four-panel per page layout of these little Asgardian tales. It allows for detail, moves the story along quickly, and the word balloons don’t seem quite as oppressive as they do in the longer, more tightly-packed stories.

WHAT’S NOT
THE CLUELESS GODDESS. If Iduna is a goddess, why isn’t she smart? “Iduna’s confidence is greater than her wisdom” would work much better for me if she was a simple courier, or perhaps a little girl skipping through the woods towards Grandma’s house.

TALES TO ASTONISH #65

“The New Giant-Man”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Bob Powell
Inks: Don Heck
Letters: Sherigail

IN A NUTSHELL
While Jan designs a new costume for Giant-Man, Hank develops a new cybernetic helmet, which allows him to control the size of other living things. When his experiment on their cat Tabby backfires, he returns to the drawing board. Later, after trying on his new costume, he hears Jan scream. An accidental exposure to Hank’s size serum has enlarged a spider to gigantic size. Together, Giant-Man and Wasp battle the spider. Giant-Man recovers his new helmet and uses it to shrink the spider to bug size.

WHAT’S HOT
THROWBACK. With so many animals gone wild, I’m reminded of the very first Ant-Man comic, when our diminutive hero had to deal with so many oversized threats. Ah…those were the good ol’ days!

THAT’S BLEEDIN’ GOOD ART! On page four, as Pym applies a growth device to Tabby, the artist dares to think outside the box and depict the progress across three panels, then repeats the trick at the top of page five. In this month’s Captain America feature, I bemoaned the standard stagnant six panel style of so much of the 1960’s comic book layout. But here I must commend illustrator Bob Powell for inserting a bit of pizazz.

BUTTON NOSE, PART 2. This month, in Journey Into Mystery, Blake calls Jane Foster “Button Nose” and I thought it was oh, so cute. And now, here’s Pym, applying the same endearing nickname to Jan! What gives? Same writer? No… So all I can imagine is that during the last Avenger’s meeting…no wait, not really…Oh, I’ve got it! A scientist and a doctor walk into a bar, and the doctor says…hmmmm…well, maybe this past week, everybody in the country saw Tony Nelson call Jeannie “Button Nose,” and now it’s part of pop culture. Go figure.

WHAT’S NOT
HOW TO GET A MAN’S ATTENTION… In the first three pages, Pym keeps going in and out of his scientific dream world, and Jan has to literally fly around his head to get his attention. I understand wanting to highlight Pym’s scientific dedication, but we should always be careful when it comes at the expense of personal relationships. We’ve all seen too many mad scientist movies to know that never ends well.

THE CLUMSY SCIENTIST. This time around, Pym spills a size-changing activation fluid, which leads to chaos. Previously, his carelessness caused an explosion in his lab which led to Second-Story Sam discovering his secret identity. Maybe the Scientists’ Union does need to investigate and shut him down!

“On the Rampage Against the Reds!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Steve Ditko
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: Sam Rosen

IN A NUTSHELL
Hulk battles the Leader’s humanoid horde, while a marine task force prepares to attack. During the fight, Hulk falls into the sea, and swims away. He eventually transforms into Bruce Banner and is captured by a Soviet submarine. When Talbot learns of this, he assumes that Banner is a spy who has defected to the Reds. Meanwhile, at an Eastern European weapons center, Banner intentionally turns into the Hulk to escape, but the center’s director calls on reinforcements from the Soviet army.

WHAT’S HOT
ZING! Meek, mild scientist Bruce Banner is surprisingly bold when he tells the Commie leader to “just hold your breath while you’re waiting for me to say yes.” Oh yes! I guess there are some things even meek, mild scientists won’t put up with!

PROTEST TOO MUCH. It struck me as extremely funny that even as Hulk is flatly refusing offers of friendship and food from the grateful scientist he just saved, insisting ”Don’t need NOTHING! I’m the HULK!” he’s stuffing his face with coffee and doughnuts.

WHAT’S NOT
CONNECT THE DOTS, MAN! Both Maj. Talbot and The Leader seem poised on the precipice of discovering the connection between Banner and the Hulk, but aren’t able to connect the final dots. Are they really not that bright, or is it that they can’t or won’t accept what they have to know in their heart of hearts is true?

ONLY HUMAN? What on earth makes the Commies describe the Hulk as “he’s still only human”? Really? Unless the Commies have similar beings that they currently identify as “human,” this seems a bridge too far.

WHAZZAT? When Hulk claps his hands together with a resounding B***aroom!, the resulting art looks like some strange cactus, or perhaps a prehistoric deep sea anemone, never seen by the light of day.

X-MEN #10

“The Coming of…Ka-Zar!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Sam Rosen

IN A NUTSHELL
The X-Men fly to Antarctica to investigate reports of a loin-clothed man and his sabretooth tiger. They discover a tropical jungle inhabited by prehistoric monsters, and Angel flies off to scout the land. After a tribe of primitive savages attacks the X-Men and captures Jean, Ka-Zar arrives with Zabu. Due to a misunderstanding, Ka-Zar and the X-Men fight. Meanwhile, Angel is also captured by the savages. The X-Men and Ka-Zar team up to defeat the tribe, and rescue Jean and Warren.

WHAT’S HOT
HOT. Ka-Zar is unquestionably buff in his furry loincloth. And he hangs out with Zabu, the coolest cat ever. Together they are quite a striking image; you have to give them that.

WHAT’S NOT
QUESTIONABLE. However, all that being said, I question the cover’s claim that Ka-Zar is “unquestionably the most SPECTACULAR new character of the year!” Basically, he’s Tarzan, a strong man of the jungle, the adventure hero of a Saturday Matinee. We’ve seen this before. For Marvel to hold him up as “the most SPECTACULAR” does an injustice to all the other great characters they’re creating in “this, the Silver Age of Marvel Comics!”

AWKWARD. In previous issues we’ve seen first Scott, and then Jean, secretly pining for each other in melodramatic thought bubbles. Here they at least synchronize their thought bubbles in the same panel, but in the middle of this simple adventure story, the soap opera seems forced and out of place.