Making Marvel Mine: Marvel Masterworks Sgt. Fury Vol. 1 ( Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1-13)

Okay, I know I don't usually start like this, but right off the bat, I want you to know, I LOVE this book. Straight up, this is my favorite book I've done a Making Marvel Mine of that wasn't about Spider-Man (to which, I admit, I am extremely biased). And I'm not a big War Story fan or anything. But this book is so far ahead of the curve, and has such an energy, that I don't know what else to call it but a thing of brilliance. Racism and bigotry are taken head on, the horrors of war are experienced, propaganda, concentration camps, and the blitzkrieg are all in there, and a major character gets killed off in a comic book that came out in 1963. That was simply NOT DONE, but there it was. This wasn't just another war comic (there were a lot of those in the sixties), this was a book where anyone could be lost, and the stakes were always high.

It's also a very personal book, at least by the standards of early sixties comics. All 13 issues in this volume were written by Stan Lee, and the art was by Jack Kirby (issues 1-7, 13) and (the often under-appreciated) Dick Ayers (issues 8-12), and all three had served in the U.S. Military during World War II. I don't want to suggest that they were basing the stories after their own memories, because I know that the war wasn't a particularly happy subject, especially for Kirby (he would have nightmares about it all of his life). But I do think they felt the need to express something about the war to younger generations, and this was one of the places they did that.

It's a peculiar thing; the book isn't exactly a glorification of the allied forces, but it is at times deliberately dishonest. I mean that in the best way possible- this is World War II as it happened in the Marvel Universe. The army is integrated, our heroes bust open a concentration camp like it’s nothing- but never once are the complexities and horrors of war undermined or completely ignored. It’s a very shrewd series.

The book opens with immediate fanfare- no time wasted on explaining an origin, simply an action splash page of the Howlers and then two pages to cover the biographiesof each member of the eclectic cast. Sgt. Nick Fury, the "steel-muscled, iron-nerved fighting man" is the leader of the Howlers. Fury is pretty much the biggest, most hardcore man's-man that ever lived, and it's easy to see how, over the years, he'd grow from being this shaggy soldier into the greatest spymaster the (fictional) world has ever seen. At his right hand is Corp. "Dum-Dum" Dugan, the bowler hat wearing, cigar smoking strongman who you might remember from the Captain America movie (Fury himself isn’t in the WWII scenes, for obvious reasons of movie continuity). The rest of the cast was easily the most diverse of it's time: Izzy Cohen, one of the first openly Jewish characters in comics, was a scrappy mechanic who could fix anything with a motor. Dino Manelli was an ex-movie star of Italian-American decent, who left Hollywood to join the army. "Rebel" Ralston was a jockey from Kentucky whose small size hid how deadly he could really be. Jonathan "Junior" Juniper had joined the army as soon as he graduated from an Ivy-League university. And Gabriel Jones was a bugle player who just happened to be African-American. Later on we meet characters like Captain "Happy Sam" Sawyer, Fury's hard-nosed C.O.; Pamela Hawley, a British nurse who falls in love with our brash hero; and Percival Pinkerton, a British soldier who's eventually assigned to the Howler's.

It's hard to talk about this book without spoiling all kinds of things and/or gushing about it, but I would like to talk about the brilliance of my favorite issue in this collection. Sgt. Fury #6, "The Fangs of the Desert Fox!", may be, and I am 100% serious when I write this, the SINGLE BEST COMIC OF THE SILVER AGE, PERIOD. I admit, I haven't read them all, but I've read more than most people, and it really is that good. It’s a complex tale of friendship, bigotry, and the place morality has even in war. It’s not exactly your typical 1964 funnybook.

The story revolves around the Howlers being sent on a mission to stop the unstoppable General Erwin Rommel, Hitler’s greatest general, and leader of the Afrika Korps. Now, if that sounds like a pretty meaty subject on its own, well, it is, but that’s just the frame work to tell a much more grounded story- the personal drama becoming far more important and interesting than the marching armies and grand explosions that surround them. As Fury and his men do exercises to prepare for the capture of Rommel, Dino Manelli is injured in a parachuting maneuver gone wrong, and so he is quickly replaced by the military brass with a soldier named George Stonewell.

It quickly becomes apparent that Stonewell, despite being quite a competent soldier and Red-Blooded ‘Merican, is also a Red-Blooded ‘Merican Racist. His general jerkwad behavior gets Fury right pissed off, and Fury makes it clear in no uncertain terms that Stonewell needs to get over himself right now, or Fury will personally hand his ass to him.

The mission gets started, and is almost immediantly screwed up by Stonewell continuing to act like a general all-purpose asshat. In the course of battle, the Howlers escape and even manage to capture a Nazi soldier. Now, the Nazi soldier sees that Stonewell is a big, strong, blond dude, possibly of Aryan descent. And the Nazi also sees that Stonewell doesn’t seem to particularly like working with Cohen or Jones, and offers Stonewell a secret deal. He tells Stonewell that if he helps the Nazi escape, he will make sure that Stonewell is not executed when Rommel comes in and wins the day for the Germans. Now, the easy-writing route would be to have Stonewell defect and join the Nazis here. But no, see, Stonewell may be a racist, but he’s also a proud American soldier (if a flawed one), and he steadfastly refuses to betray his country. He’s an intolerant dick, but he’s also on our side- a very mature concept, for a book originally aimed at young kids.

I won’t spoil the whole thing, but I will say that the book successfully walks a very tight line- talking about after-school special material without ever feeling like an after-school special. A lesson is sort of learned, but never once does it feel forced; Stonewell never has a ridiculous moment when he suddenly realizes “Hey, maybe I shouldn’t be a racist anymore!” It’s a very human and sympathetic portrayal, one that Stan Lee in the introduction calls his “most impassioned plea for an end to bigotry”. And then, at the end of the issue, you learn that General Rommel himself isn’t the monster he’s suggested to be, and that he was actively planning to assassinate Hitler- in affect, the entire issue is a series of enemies turning out to not be the enemies you thought they were. It’s spectacular.

By the way, pretty much everything in that issue that is about Rommel? It’s true. Not only was he one of the most brilliant Generals in World War II, but he deliberately refused orders to kill captured allied soldiers, Jews, and civilians. He really was a major part of a conspiracy to kill Hitler, and his death was directly because of that fact. In his book, “The Second World War,” Winston Churchill said of Rommel; “He also deserves our respect, because, although a loyal German soldier, he came to hate Hitler and all his works, and took part in the conspiracy to rescue Germany by displacing the maniac and tyrant. For this, he paid the forfeit of his life. In the sombre wars of modern democracy, there is little place for chivalry.”

While Rommel, Hitler, and the invasion of Normandy are all in this book (Normandy to a small degree, but still), not every villain in the series is historical, as this is still a Marvel Comic. The two biggest standouts are clear. Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, a skilled swordsman and scientific genius, is set up by issue 5 to to be Fury’s arch-nemesis, a role he still fills today. And in issue 8 we’re introduced to Dr. Heinrich Zemo, 12th Baron Zemo, and his death ray. He’s a brilliant scientist working for the Third Reich, and I’m sure we’ll see more of him (*cough*Essential Avengers is only two reviews away!*cough*).

Straight up: Sgt. Fury is great comics. It’s not much in the way of capes and cowls, but there are a few in there nonetheless. Captain America and Bucky are in issue 13, titled, appropriately enough, “Fighting Side-By-Side With...Captain America and Bucky!”, and heck, if you’re playing close attention, the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards even has a cameo in an issue! But even if they had never shown up, this would still definitely be a great piece of Marvel history, and seriously, just brilliant work from all the collaborators. This may well be Stan Lee at his very best (I’m hesitant to confirm that, because I have a lot more Lee-scripted Fantastic Four and Spider-Man to read yet), and the art is all top notch. Top marks all around on this book, I highly recommend it, not just to comic book fans, but everyone.

Editors Note: Full disclosure, I bought my copy of this book over a year ago, a hardcover Marvel Masterworks version. Unlike the Marvel Essentials books (which all the previous reviews have been), there are only about 10-15 issues in each Masterworks collection. The Masterworks are gorgeous, fully colored and on really, really nice paper. Essentials are uncolored, and on paper that's basically like the paper you find in a coloring book. That being said, Masterworks are $50 and up for half as many comics as the Essentials (which run $16-20), so I usually stick with the Essentials. When I bought this, though, there was no Essential Sgt. Fury, so this was my best option for the stories. However, a few weeks ago Marvel finally released an Essential Sgt. Fury, probably because the characters are so integral to the plots of the Captain America and Avengers movies. Anyway, I'll eventually get around to grabbing a copy, and you'll get a review of the stories in it that weren't in this volume. Just letting you know.

Making Marvel Mine: Essential Iron Man Vol. 1 (Tales of Suspense #39- 72)

Iron Man, Iron Man
Does whatever an iron can
Shots lasers, and he flies
Commie spies, them he fries
To him, life is a big old bang up
With girls who have no hang ups
Life’s sweet for Iron Man!

So.... Iron Man. Okay, I knew going into this that Iron Man, at least in the early years, was NOTHING like the Iron Man we all know and love now. This wasn’t an awesome anti-war robot stompathon like the movies, this was the big anti-communism book Marvel had in the sixties. But... wow, even knowing that before hand, I was totally not prepared for how much anti-communism this book is packed with. It is just riddled with anti-communism. It was a different time... But it’s cool. I actually liked it, especially towards the end, when the book figures itself out.

The best thing I can say about the first issue is that the cover is cool. “He lives! He walks! He conquers!” is a great tagline, though I get the sneaky suspicion that when the cover was made, no one actually working on it had read the book. But whatever, it looks cool. So, Tony Stark is an awesome dude who manufactures the best weapons in the world for the good ole’ USA. One day, he was demonstrating some boss new equipment to the generals in Vietnam, when the group is attacked by “red guerrillas”.

Stark is injured and kidnapped by the commie bastards. Pretty much everything happens here like it does in the beginning of the Iron Man movie, just replace “Afghanistan” with “Vietnam”. Stark is kept alive by chest-piece designed by a Doctor Yinsen, another brilliant scientist captured by evil commie Vietnam rebels. Together, Yinsen and Stark build a set of armor around the chest piece, Yinsen gets killed, Iron Man is born and overthrows the evil Commies. Democracy reigns supreme. Because ‘Merica, that’s why.

Really, I cannot stress to you how many commies are smashed in this comic book. Here’s some of the villains: The Red Barbarian, a feared and deformed general for COMMUNIST Russia! Jack Frost, a disgruntled Stark Industries employee who decides to sell secrets to COMMUNISTS! The Crimson Dynamo, a COMMIE scientist in a suit of electricity powered armor! Titanium Man, another feared COMMIE general, only this time he wears a green super awesome powered armor! The Melter! He... melts stuff. But also, COMMUNIST! Scarecrow! (No, not THAT Scarecrow) A stage magician turned evil who stole plans to sell to COMMUNISTS! The Black Widow! (Yes, THAT Black Widow) Who at this point in her career is still a COMMIE spy! Hawkeye! (Yes, again, THAT Hawkeye) Not actually a Communist, but a disgruntled circus star (really!) who fell in love with the Black Widow, and helped her in her schemes to hurt Stark Industries, and I’m pretty sure that at least makes him COMMUNIST BY ASSOCIATION!

Oh, also there’s your traditional early silver age appearances of evil alien conquerors and time travel trips to bone Cleopatra, but really, at this point, doesn’t that go without saying?

And then we have our most interesting villain, the Mandarin. The Mandarin sometimes gets a bad rap as a Fu Manchu rip off, and while there’s a little bit of that, I think that the character is a lot more interesting than that. For example, despite living in China, it’s stated early on that the Chinese government openly fears him (which is saying something). Not only that, but the Mandarin explicitly states that he isn’t a Communist at all, he’s merely using the Chinese government for his own ends (that’s code for world domination, everyone). He’s a skilled martial artist who can literally beat up Iron Man with karate. And, most famously, he’s the wearer of ten rings, rings of extraterrestrial origin. Each ring has a different power, and they’re pretty much all awesome. Clearly, he’s the ultimate enemy here.

As for the supporting cast, there isn’t one at first, which is bothersome. At first, it’s just Tony, and his bodyguard Iron Man, who, of course, is really just Tony in disguise. This doesn’t make for interesting character dynamics. Luckily, about a third of the way in, we’re introduced to Happy Hogan, Tony Stark’s driver and body guard, and Pepper Potts, Tony’s secretary/Gal Friday. There’s some traditional love triangle nonsense here, but since I know how it ends (because I’ve seen the future... in comics, anyway), I won’t spoil any of that. By the end of the book Happy has figured out Tony is Iron Man, so that should make book 2 more interesting.

Like I said, much like Hulk and Thor, this is a slow burner at first, but by the end it’s much improved, and I was really enjoying it by the end. I look forward to the second volume, now that all the main characters are established.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the Unicorn in my list of bad-guys. But the Unicorn wears an orange and green costume, and he’s kind of lame. And yes, before you ask, he’s also a COMMUNIST.

Making Marvel Mine: The Essential Spider-Man Vol. 1 (Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #1-20 and Annual #1)

Okay, confession time. First, I should have written this like three months ago, and I didn’t. Hopefully my Iron Man review will be more punctual (Iron Man is next guys, just so you know). Secondly, this review is not going to be nearly as fair and balanced as the others (however fair they may or may not be), because Spider-Man is straight up my favorite super-hero ever (closely followed by Batman). And I straight up love this book. How much? So much that instead of general review like all the others, I’m going to talk briefly on every singe issue in here. It won’t be as boring as it sounds, I promise.

This is the first of these reviews I’ve done where I had already read the book before I started reviewing them. My copy of Essential Spidey 1 is the first edition from 1996. I bought it around 6th or 7th grade, and to be honest I probably didn’t appreciate it nearly as much as I do now. Then again, I know a lot more about the Silver Age then I did when I was 12, so there you have it. And frankly, rereading this now after all the other books before it shows off just how good it is.

I’ve talked before about the “character learning curve”, how most comic books take some time to really hit their stride with the characters. Essential Thor gets drastically better about two-thirds in, Hulk had to take a two year hiatus to really figure out where it was going, et cetera. Spider-Man, however, is a lot more like Fantastic Four in that respect. Nearly everything is there from the beginning, and by issue 3 we have really hit the ground running. Stan the Man and artist Steve Ditko know just what they’re doing, from page 1. And nearly all the villains are in play IN THIS BOOK! It is pretty much amazing, just like the title says, but let me break it down for you more:

Amazing Fantasy #15: One of the most reprinted stories in comics, this is the awesome yet tragic origin of Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man. See Spider-Man the movie? Then you know how this goes. Haven’t? Don’t worry, they’re making a remake that has web-shooters (awesome) but also a terrible costume (ugh) that comes out next year, you can catch up then. This is also the first appearance and death of Peter’s Uncle Ben, one of the only people in comics to STAY DEAD (so far). Spider-Man is layered in tragedy, right from the start. Also, moping. Peter Parker does a lot of moping. Oh, and Aunt May, Flash Thompson, and Liz Allen appear too.

Amazing Spider-Man #1: Two stories in this one. First of all: First appearance of America’s Greatest Newspaper Man, J. Jonah Jameson (Take that, everyone working on Spider-Man 4 who say JJJ isn’t important to the Spider-Man mythos!). Also! First appearance of his son, astronaut John Jameson, first Spider-Man: Menace newspaper headline, and Spidey rescues his first rocket ship. Then in the second story, Spidey tries to join the Fantastic Four, which doesn’t go so great, and then it’s time for obligatory Silver Age Communist Spy time! Luckily, this particular spy is actually interesting, because he’s the Chameleon. Sweet.

Amazing Spidey 2 also has 2 stories, the first with the first Vulture appearance. Oh, and Peter sells his first photo to Jameson, and what may be the first Betty Brant is there (she isn’t named at this point). The second story brings us the first Tinker story, who is apparently working for aliens. My commie spy-to-alien invaders ratio theory remains unbeaten. I think this whole story is later retconed as being Mysterio’s fault or something, but this is my Essential reviewing, not current continuity reviewing, so whatever.

By issue 3, things have pretty much filled completely out, like I said. Spidey gets his ass handed to him by Dr. Octopus, complaining that he’s never lost before. Dude, it’s like your fourth fight ever. Chillax. Anyway, because it’s been a whole 2 issues, Johnny Storm makes an appearance, gives a speech, and Spidey feels better about himself and beats Doc Ock.

Issue 4 brings us Sandman! Betty and Peter are flirting! Oh, and the first Jessica Jones, if you’re a total Bendis-phile or something. She doesn’t say anything, but she’s there.

You know who’s awesome? Doctor Doom is awesome. And in issue 5 he fights Spider-Man. Flash pretends to be Spider-Man for the first time. And again, it’s been two issues, so the FF show up. Again. (Jeez.)

Issue 6 has us travel to Florida to fight the Lizard. We meet the whole Connors family, Curt, Martha, and son Billy. After Spidey turns the Lizard human again, Dr. Connors says “The nightmare has ended! At last... it’s over!” Yeah. Of course it is.

Issue 7 returns the Vulture, this time for a full issue! That’s... that’s pretty much it.

Issue 8, the “Tribute-to-Teen-Agers” issue. That’s a direct quote, by the way. A robot comes to school, because it’s 1964, and it might be able to deduce Peter’s identity. Peter and Flash box. Spider-Man shows up at Doris Evans(you remember her?)’ house to show her how he’d be a better boyfriend then the Human Torch. Yep, it’s another FF appearance in Spider-Man. Oy.

Issue 9 brings us Electro! Also, Aunt May in the hospital! This... this will happen a lot.

Issue 10 brings us the most underrated henchmen in Marvel Comics, Ox, Montana, and Fancy Dan- The Enforcers! Oh, and their boss, the Big Man. His identity is supposed to be a surprise, but this comic is 45 years old, so I’m just going to tell you he’s Frederick Foswell, ace Daily Bugle reporter. This will be the start of another trend.

Issue 11 is the first two-parter! Actually, after this, a lot of stories start taking longer form. Doc Ock returns, and he’s made some mob connections. Short version, Betty’s brother owes the mob, and in the fight between Spidey and Doc Ock, not only does Octavious get away, but Betty’s brother gets killed too. Wow, we really do pretty much set up every Spider-Man story cliche in this book, huh?

Issue 12, part 2, and an awesome Ditko cover with Octopus taking off Spider-Man’s mask in front of a bunch of on-lookers! And like the cover says, it’s not a dream, this really happens! Also, more Doc Ock, and zoo animals. How does Peter get out of it? Read it to find out.

Issue 13 brings us the first Mysterio. Unless, you know, that retcon in issue 2 isn’t something I just made up. Honestly, I don’t remember. It’s accurate for now, anyway.

Issue 14 is super important. The Enforcers reappear, the Hulk is there too, but most importantly it’s the first appearance of the Green Goblin! This may sound trivial now, but the Goblin’s identity was kept a secret until issue 39. That’s an over two year wait, and back in the 60’s that was comic book forever.

Issue 15 brings us Kraven the Hunter. I love Kraven the Hunter, and you should too. Also, we hint as the connection between Kraven and the Chameleon. More on that in 30 years. Anyway, the ad on the last page says that next up is #16 and Annual 1, but Annual 1 is at the back of my copy, so we’ll get there in 5 issues. Onward to-

Issue 16! Guest starring Daredevil, still in his yellow phase! The first Daredevil/Spider-Man team up is pretty great, even if they are against the hilariously awful Circus of Crime. Don’t get me wrong, I love these Hulk-reject villains, but they are just awful...

Issues 17-19 is a great three-parter. Guest starring the Human Torch (ten whole issues! wow!) The Goblin returns, kicks Spidey’s ass, the Torch’s too, and its all because Aunt May is in the hospital again. Trends, yes? So, Jonah has a field day about Spidey being a coward, and basically all his villains, and all the superheroes he’s ever met (and a few he hasn’t) wonder why he fled the battle. Peter spends an entire issue feeling bad, Flash tries to pretend to be Spider-Man again, just to get smacked around, and this plus Aunt May getting better convinces Peter to not quit after all. Spidey and the Torch team-up to beat the Sandman and the Enforcers (the Goblin is still MIA), and all is well, except that Jonah hires a detective to follow Peter, to find out how he keeps getting pictures of Spider-Man....

Issue 20 reveals that detective to be Mac Gargan. Gargan can’t catch Peter doing anything weird, though, thanks to Peter’s spider sense always warning him of danger. But Jonah says that’s no sweat, because he knows this scientist named Farley Stillwell, who can give Gargan superpowers. Gargan agrees, because he’s a moron. Thus, the Scorpion is born, and the transformation drives him crazy. So now he hates JJJ AND Spider-Man. Awesome. Oh, and the Scorpion sort of kills Stillwell, which is only important to continuity nerds. So... you know.... me....

Finally, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1! Sweet. Dr. Octopus, Sandman, Kraven, Mysterio, Electro, and the Vulture team up to form the original Sinister Six! It is pretty great. I’m not spoiling it any further. (Oh, and the FF, Avengers, X-Men, pretty much everyone cameos in here at some point or another. Just saying.)

Okay, this is already way too long, but see just how much is already here, in just the first 20 issues? Spider-Man, like Fantastic Four, was pretty much instantly popular, and it’s obvious why. So, if you like good comics, Spider-Man, or awesomeness, this one is for you!

(That being said, the Human Torch is in 8 out of 22 of these stroies. That’s 4/11ths. What the crap, Marvel?)

Making Marvel Mine: Essential Human Torch (Strange Tales #101-134 and Annual #2)

You remember all those bad things I had to say about Ant Man? How it should have been awesome, but it was actually just really, really boring? Well, forget all that nonsense, because things are way better this time! Given the Fantastic Four’s ever increasing popularity in the early 60’s, the folks at Marvel decided to do a spin off book. Since the Human Torch was the closest in age to their target readers (or something), he got to be the one with the solo book- though the rest of the team showed up almost every issue.

While the Human Torch solo adventures in Strange Tales don’t really have the “golly-gee-wilikers” feel that the Fantastic Four stories have, they’re certainly perfectly suitable and fun comics. Almost all of the stories are still scripted by Stan Lee, so Johnny Storm is still his hot tempered self, they just change the scenery from New York City to the suburb of Glenville, where Johnny and Susan Storm live in their civilian identities.

One of the great things this series allowed was an expansion of the Marvel Universe B-list villains, without taking up time in the larger books (Strange Tales was an anthology book, and all of the Human Torch stories in it were the first of a double feature). There are, of course, your obligatory appearances by evil communists and alien invaders. Namor and the Puppet Master show up. Sure, the Wizard is a pretty big time villain (for the FF, anyway), but the rest... well, they are AWESOME.... just NOT IN A GOOD WAY. Guys like the Eel and Plant Man aren’t all that much to write home about, but are kind of fun. This guy called the Acrobat shows up a couple of times and impersonates a certain star-spangled hero from the Golden Age (and is promptly never heard from ever again). The Mad Thinker and the Beetle would go on to be second tier villains for a variety of heroes. Then there are my two favorite new villains to the Merry Marvel Comics Group...

First up, the wonder glue wunderkind himself, Paste-Pot Pete. Now, I know Paste-Pot Pete grew up to become a slightly less lame villain called the Trapster, but frankly, I prefer him in his earliest appearances, before he attempted (and failed) to become serious. He’s a dude in a giant beret and green clown suit, who robs banks with a big glue gun. Seriously! How can you get more stupid and hilarious than that? And he’s surprisingly effective, too, which makes it even better. Pate-Pot Pete is all kinds of awesomesauce.

And then there’s the Asbestos Man. Just think about the name alone for a moment. The Asbestos Man. Whatever you’re imagining, I promise it’s ten times better. The Asbestos Man was a brilliant but greedy scientist, who decided to use his fabulous intelligence to make it as a master criminal. Only problem was, he was a spectacularly bad thief. After narrowly not getting caught robbing a safe, he decides to learn to be a criminal by joining the under world. This would be a good plan, accept that while attempting to “join the underworld” he learns that walking up to suspicious looking people and asking if they’re part of “the underworld” is really just a good way to piss them off. Thus, in order to prove himself to be a worthy ne’er-do-well, he makes himself a special full-body asbestos suit, grabs a net and an iron shield, and promises to take the Human Torch out once and for all!

The fact that the Asbestos Man has only appeared once in the entire history of comics is truly a crime.

Nearer to the end of the book, the Thing joins Johnny on all his adventures, and that’s pretty great too. This book’s got everything- there’s all kinds of Silver Age villains; there’s Doris Evans, the Torch’s rich and beautiful girlfriend who frankly isn’t convinced her boy-toy should be bursting into flame all the time; rocket ships; atomic explosions; spies; the Beatles (yes, really)- if you can’t find something to like about this book, then frankly you probably just don’t like comic books, in which case, why are you still reading this review?

One of my favorite stories is the very first one in the book. The story opens with Johnny racing an atomic missile, because.... well, that’s the type of stuff he does in his free time. After that, he goes home to Glenville, mentioning how popular the place has become, ever since the world learned his sister was the Invisible Girl (this is important later, promise). We get a tour of his bedroom, a quick refresher on how the Fantastic Four got their powers in case anyone missed it, and then it’s time to meet our mysterious villain, the Destroyer!

The Destroyer’s nefarious plot involves.... causing an accident on a roller coaster so that the bad publicity will close the amusement park down. Yes, really. Thankfully, Johnny Storm is there and notices the coaster has been sabotaged, except there are people around him and he can’t flame on without giving away his secret identity! Let me unpack that for you: Johnny Storm- a sixteen-year-old who builds and races hot rods, hitchhikes rides on-board illegal rocket ship test rides, and lives with his sister who is a PUBLICLY KNOWN superhero while SIMULTANEOUSLY being a superhero himself and being known for yelling out “Flame On!” whenever he wants attention (with little regard for the possibly of that statement being misinterpreted)- Johnny Storm is worried about subtlety while a bunch of people are about to fall to their messy deaths. That right there? Hilarious.

Luckily, through a clever use of someone else’ lighter, Johnny creates a distraction and is able to rescue everyone. I won’t give away the rest of the story (all of that’s by page 5), but suffice it to say that the Thing shows up, and the plot may revolve around Zodiac-esqe cryptic letters, a local newspaper editor, and those dirty commies. And you thought the Human Torch’s identity was public? It is. The explanation for Johnny trying to hide it so much comes a few issues later, and is almost as hilarious as Johnny freaking out about keeping his identity a secret in the first place.

This book is no FF, don’t get me wrong. But its fun, and light-hearted, and I enjoyed it. You could spend fifteen bucks on worse.

Making Marvel Mine: Essential Ant-Man (Tales to Astonish #27, 35-69)

Hank Pym is a dick.

There, I said it. With apologies to Scott Tipton over at Comics 101 (who really is pretty great, by the way), I can totally see why Ant-Man would eventually become known as “the superhero who beat his wife”. Hank Pym may be a genius scientist who not only developed technology to change the size of matter but also the ability to communicate with insects, but man… what a douche bag.

But hey, I’m getting ahead of myself. Hank Pym’s first adventure is in ToA #27, “The Man in the Ant Hill”, and it wasn’t a superhero story at all. This was right around the time the Fantastic Four were making it big, and all of Marvel’s other books were still mostly sci-fi and monster books. Hank Pym was a scientist scorned by his peers, mostly due to his (admittingly) crazy theories about changing the size of objects with a chemical process. None of it made any sense, but hey, it’s comics. Anyway, Pym’s formula’s worked (of course), but due to an accident Pym himself was shrunk (of course) and got stuck in an ant hill (hence the title). Hijinks ensued. A few months later, as Marvel was realizing it had struck upon a superhero goldmine, they decided to incorporate Dr. Pym as Ant-Man, the pint-sized hero who can talk to ants!

Now, none of this is all that crazy by 1962 Marvel standards, but I think that quickly became the issue. Ant-Man is a book that, in my opinion, never really quite got completely off the ground. I think it’s telling that of all the Marvel superhero launches between 1961 and 1963, only Ant-Man and Dr. Strange don’t currently regularly star in books today, and Dr. Strange lasted a heck of a lot longer than Ant-Man. You can see it even in the book itself- Pym’s costume changes from panel to panel in some occasions, mostly due to artistic and editorial neglect. Even by Silver Age standards of internal consistency, things… just kind of seem to happen.

By ToA #44, Marvel tried to spice up the book, by introducing socialite Janet Van Dyne as Pym’s assistant and sidekick, the Wasp. But in true Ant-Man fashion, this is done in the most convoluted way possible: We start with Pym flashing back to his never before mentioned wife, Maria. Maria and her father had been political dissidents in Hungary before defecting to America (the USSR occupied Hungary from 1945 to 1991, just so you know). However, upon marrying Dr. Pym, she convinces him that their honeymoon should be in her native land, because surely no one will remember her there. This level of obvious stupidity is pretty par for the course in Ant-Man, I should mention.

Pretty much upon arrival, those dirty commies capture and kill Maria, and Pym is forever emotionally scarred. Years later, Pym- now Ant-Man- meets Dr. Vernon Van Dyne, who wants to talk to him about communicating with aliens. Pym’s all set to brush off the old coot, until he meets Van Dyne’s daughter Janet, who NATURALLY looks EXACTLY like Maria. Then aliens kill Janet’s father (yes, really), and Pym decides that given her emotionally troubled state, this is the perfect time to graft wings onto the poor girl, shrink her down to an inch height, and make her his assistant. Remarkably, she seems pretty okay about all this.

Now, I know what you’re thinking- “This book sounds completely insane!” The kind of glorious, Silver Age insanity that I, the Amazing Justin Palm!, love. The kind where absolutely anything could happen because why the hell wouldn’t it happen like that? 60’s comics at their best!

But it’s not. I can’t really explain what it is about this book, but it’s just… tedious. Maybe Ant-Man really is just the red haired step-child of Marvel superheroes. I mean, they try so hard to keep it interesting, it just always falls flat. Either Pym or Wasp’s costume changes nearly every three issues. Pym goes from Ant-Man to Giant Man, then gets even taller as Goliath. (And that’s not even beginning to get into the gender issues of having a female character who can only get small, but a male character who gets bigger and bigger. The Shrinking Violet syndrome was alive and well in comics during the 60’s.) Maybe it’s for that very reason Pym’s popularity never rose to that of any other Marvel character. Iron Man may have changed his armor all the time, but he was always Iron Man. Pym on the other hand… his identity was just too fluid.

I could get into a whole thing about how later comics would use all this to suggest mental illness, that Pym’s own subconscious was splitting. And hey, to be honest, while reading this book, that angle totally works for me. But what I found much more… well, interesting isn’t the right word, but much more in the forefront is that Ant-Man and the Wasp generally seem to hate each other. They both talk about loving one another in theory and stuff, but in actual practice, they bicker and argue constantly about each other, and I really have no idea why they’re supposed to be attracted to each other. It’s like they’re just staying together because they both are deeply troubled, which is probably accurate. She’s sticking it out because he’s a substitute father figure who was there for her when she was weakest, at the death of her father. That being said, she knows nothing of science, and hero business is more of a hobby than anything else. Meanwhile, he’s an emotionally stunted (if understandably so) old stiff who fell in love with a girl for all the wrong reasons, and now he just wishes she’d stop talking because he has MAN WORK to do.

And maybe there’s a formula for drama in that, I don’t know. But reading it cover to cover, it just comes off as obvious and tedious. And the villains don’t help. Oh god, the villains…. Lets just say when your arch-fiends consist of Egghead (a fat, bald scientist with severe Luthor envy), the Human Top (later known as Whirlwind, he, uh, spins around real fast), and the Porcupine (seriously, whatever you’re picturing, its way worse, don’t even ask.), you’re flat out scrapping the bottom of the barrel. The villains are just plain boring, and when villains are boring, comics are boring, no matter how much “drama” you can draw out of the relationship bickering.

Honestly, I was originally going to add a description of a particular issue here- ToA #58, “The Coming of Colossus”- because it pretty much personally illustrates all of the problems with the series, but honestly, what’s the point? The central problem with Ant-Man was and is that he lacks a narrative focus. Spider-Man is about responsibility, Hulk is about rage and control, the Fantastic Four are all about wonder and possibility; what the hell is Ant-Man about? He’s just yet another scientist turned superhero, and those are a dime a dozen. And in trying to make the character more interesting then he actually was, the seeds of his eventual downfall 15 or 20 years later really are sewn here.

So, if you really like Hank Pym, or you really want to understand why he’d end up he jerk he became, read this I guess. But anyone else? Honestly, it’s not really worth your effort.

Sorry, Comics 101.

Making Marvel Mine: Essential Thor Vol. 1 (Journey Into Mystery #83-112)

With the Fantastic Four, Marvel had created a family of scientists that had turned into monsters, only to embrace their new destiny and become super awesome superheroes and win the hearts and minds of the world. Then came the Hulk, a Jeckel and Hyde-esque story of a brilliant scientist who would transform into a grotesque, violent, but ultimately misunderstood monster. So where was Marvel to go from there? Well, in what might be seen as an obvious move when creating a new mythology, they decided to go with an actual, literal god. Enter the Mighty Thor.

The story begins with Dr. Donald Blake, a physician with a bum leg, who also is a keen Norwegian enthusiast. While on vacation taking a hike through the mountains of Norway (despite his handicap it would seem), Dr. Blake stumbles upon an alien invasion by the Stone Men of Saturn! Don’t… don’t stop and think about it, just go with it okay? They’re yellow rock monsters from space. And they’re here to take all our… whatever we import from Norway.

Anyway! Naturally, the Stone Men hear Dr. Blake step on a twig while spying on them- because he’s a clumsy and has bum leg, remember- and start chasing after him. Dr. Blake tries to avoid them by ducking into an ancient cave, where he finds an old walking stick. Upon striking the stick into the ground, Blake is transformed into Thor, the literal God of Thunder, and proceeds to smack some space alien ass. The Stone Men run away, assuming that since this one human is so powerful, all humans must be, because alien invaders are dumb as hell. This a reoccurring theme in Silver Age Marvel comics, I’m noticing.

The Stone Men are all well and good, sure, but the obvious villain to talk about here is Loki, God of Mischief. Loki, as in mythology, was born the child of giants, but raised by Odin as his own son and brother to Thor. However, Loki was always a bit of a scheming, jealous asshole who had it out for Thor, so he grew up to be all evil and stuff. Other evil gods in Asgard include the Enchantress, who’s pretty much the epitome of “femme fatale” as a concept, and the Executioner, who’s a big guy who likes to kill things. In more Earthly battles, Thor faces some cool foes like the Radioactive Man- who’s pretty sweet even if his “radioactive hypnotism” powers make absolutely zero sense- and some less than astonishing enemies, like the Cobra. Trust me, Cobra is lame as hell. You’d think being bitten by a radioactive cobra would be like being bitten by a radioactive spider. Spoiler: Not really.

There’s also some internal conflict between Thor and his dad, Odin. You know, the omnipotent, all seeing head of the Norse pantheon. Odin is convinced that Thor shouldn’t be falling in love with Jane Foster, the nurse who works for him back in the guise of his secret identity, and that pisses Thor off. Now normally thinking that an omniscient father figure is wrong would seem foolish, however, I’ve got a back up Thor here. First off, this isn’t the first time where an omniscient father figure has royally screwed over his son (sorry about the whole crucifixion thing, J-man). And second of all, this is the same omniscient father who has no idea how crazy evil and powerful his adopted son Loki is. More on that in a minute.

The problem I have with this book, I’m afraid, is Thor’s very nature leads to the real problems story wise. Stories with Loki or the Enchantress are great fun, but when you start dealing with guys like Mr. Hyde? Friggin’ Power Pack could take down Mr. Hyde. I don’t care that he has “the strength of 12 men”, Thor’s the GOD OF THUNDER. Thor getting captured by Soviet spies? Yeah, I’m just not sure about the threat level here. And while the Grey Gargoyle is an awesome and highly underappreciated villain, again, Thor really shouldn’t have any problems beating him. The very nature of the character leads to stories fluctuating between being really, really good, or just mediocre.

But enough complaining. When it comes to stories that are really good, I have to say, Journey # 94 is freakin’ awesome. And by that, I of course mean it’s hilarious and completely insane, and thus I love it. The story starts off with a nuclear missile going off course, threatening to start World War III. The Pentagon naturally decides to summon Thor, by making a mass radio announcement complete with a secret extension for him to telephone- all, once again, on a mass radio alert heard around the world. The military wasn’t too bright in the 60’s folks. Luckily, this being comics, it works, and Thor is off to save the day.

It’s at this point we learn how the missile got off course, and naturally it’s all Loki’s fault. Even though he’s chained up in a dungeon in Asgard, not one of the gods thought to put a magical power dampener on him or something. Turns out, it was Loki arranged the missile to fly off course. Now, you’re probably thinking that it’s hard to get much more hardcore than causing mass global conflict and inciting world war. But the reason you’re thinking that is because you are a mere mortal, and not the God of Mischief. Oh no, his plan is waaaaay bigger than that. You see, Loki knows Thor will stop the missile, and he’ll do it by tossing his giant magic hammer (giggle). That’s just how Thor rolls, after all. But Loki uses the hammer’s return to Thor to his advantage, and just as the hammer returns, Loki makes an illusion of a giant dragon appear behind Thor, distracting him, so that Thor’s own hammer knocks him in the back of the head. And because, once again, this is comics, the blow to the head INSTANTLY TURNS THOR EVIL. And all this so far? We’re only on page 4 here, people.

So, first thing, Thor rushes off to Asgard to break Loki out of prison, because again, no one in Asgard is smart enough to realize that putting Loki in a jail cell doesn’t work for shit. Now free, Loki and his new sidekick Thor get all pissed off at Odin for a couple pages, before returning to Earth and destroying every landmark on the planet that would later be blown up in a Michael Bay film. Oh, and Loki makes some sea serpents and dinosaurs and stuff. Which is awesome too. After bringing the property value of the entire planet down to nothing, Loki and Thor demand to be made the overlords of the entire Earth. The United Nations is all about to accept their demands- but wait! What’s this? It’s not really the UN! It’s the Asgardians, posing as UN members, who then clock Thor in the brain again, turning him NOT EVIL, so they can capture Loki, rebuild the destroyed cities and erase the minds of the entire world to never remember that Thor was evil- all on the last page! And if that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is.

Also, the “Tales of Asgard” back-up features are all great. Jack Kirby at his finest, and if you’ve ever read his New Gods work, you can really see the foundation of that stuff in these stories. It’s Jack Kirby draws mythology- worth the price of admission alone. So if you like space god stuff, go buy this book!

Making Marvel Mine: Essential Hulk Vol. 1 (Incredible Hulk #1-6, Tales to Astonish #60-91)

A funny thing happened in the early days of the 1960’s.
You see, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Marvel’s premiere writer-artist team, hadn’t been having a good few years. They were barely making ends meet ever since the comics bust in the mid 50’s, and had basically planned to call it quits from the whole comic book industry. But before they quit, they were going to do one final comic, Fantastic Four #1. The book was a surprise hit, and its creators decided to keep in the business. With superheroes back in vogue, they decided to create more superheroes, and the “Marvel Age” of comic books began. And the next hero they created, well… wasn’t considered much of a hero by most of the characters in his book.

Before he had a TV show, a cartoon series or three, and two movies (one of which was awesome, and another that everyone thought was going to be awesome until it turned out that it was absolutely horse shit), the Incredible Hulk was just a comic book character. The character was sort of a positive spin on Jekyll and Hyde- while performing an experiment, a scientist is transformed into a hideous, misunderstood monster.

Bruce Banner, a brilliant physicist and weapon designer, is one of the US Army’s top scientists. But during a experimental test run of Dr. Banner’s new gamma bomb, he realizes that a teenage boy named Rick Jones has stumbled upon the base unwittingly. Banner rushes to get him to safety, only to be caught in the blast of the exploding gamma bomb. His body absorbs the radiation, and transforms him into the Hulk.

No one other than Rick Jones knows Banner’s terrible secret, and the ever loyal teenage boy is always there to help the Hulk or Banner when either get into a jam. And they both get in plenty of jams, between his boss General “Thunderbolt” Ross always chasing after the Hulk, and villains of one kind or another always trying to capture the General’s daughter (and Banner’s love interest), Betty.

The collection of early Hulk stories in this book is, well… it’s a little odd, really. At least at first. You see, it’s really two different books stapled together, and it’s really obvious where the split is. After issue 6, no one thought the Hulk magazine was making nearly enough money, and so the book was canceled (the book’s pending cancelation may have had something to do with the brilliant but distinctly un-Kirbyesqe Steve Ditko drawing the final issue of the series, but that’s pure speculation on my part). After the cancelation, the Hulk made several guest appearances, including stopping by the Fantastic Four and becoming a founding member of the Avengers (more on that in a few months). Over time, the Marvel editors decided to bring the Hulk back in the double feature book Tales to Astonish.

And, maybe I’m being rude, but I’m really glad they had the break. The Incredible Hulk vol. 1 was a bit… lost, as a series. Don’t get me wrong, the first issue is pretty good. A solid origin story, and a mostly pretty okay continuation with a deformed Russian spy- while it’s not quite Amazing Fantasy #15 (more on that in a few months too), it’s pretty good. But the next 5 issues…. Well, let’s just say that issue 2 stars the menacing might of… the Toad Men. They’re midgets with scaly skin from outer space. It’s not exactly A-List material, if you get my meaning, and it never gets much better.

But the year and a half between Hulk #6 and TtA #60 really seems to improve the narrative, like Stan Lee and the art department just needed more time to refocus on the series and really figure out what worked and what didn’t. They quickly improve the best storyline from the original, the military investigation of the Hulk, by adding Major Talbot to the cast. Talbot is the new head of security at the military base, working not only as a foe against the Hulk by helping General Ross, but as a foe for Bruce Banner too, as a possible usurper for Betty’s affections. Not only that, but the revamped Hulk series ultimately finalized what changed Bruce Banner into the Hulk- high stress and anger. It seemed almost every issue in the original series had a different way for Bruce to turn into the monster- nightfall, another blast of gamma radiation, a trip in space through what I once again assume to be the Van Allan belts (see last review) - but now the Hulk’s transformation was triggered by anger. The symbolism of anger transforming into mindless violence couldn’t be much more obvious.

The revamped series also starts including the classic Hulk villains such as the Leader and the Abomination. Both are gamma created monsters, like the Hulk himself, though vastly different in nature. For example, the Leader’s transformation caused him to become super intelligent rather than super strong. I have to say, I really liked the first Leader storyline, it starts a little under the radar, slowly building more and more until he’s clearly the primary antagonist for the final issues of his story arc. The Abomination is wonderful as a Soviet Anti-Hulk, and I’m sure I’ll see more of him later. We also encounter the Boomerang, a villain who luckily will get a much better costume in the future. He is actually an okay character, a disgraced athlete who turns his skills into something far more lucrative, but both the outfits he wears in this book are pretty much terrible, even by superhero standards. The Watcher stops by for a bit (well, actually Hulk stops by the Watcher’s pad for a bit, but whatever). There’s also this crazy story about the Hulk time travelling to the future and dealing with a certain evil Asgardian that we’ll see more of next review (no, not Loki, but close). I was kind of skeptical about that story at first, but it’s actually pretty fun. In fact, it’s during that storyline (in issue #77 in fact) that a major change in the status quo happens… but you’ll have to read it to find out what it is.

Essential Hulk Volume 1 doesn’t have the zany-anything-can-happen energy of those early Fantastic Four stories from last time. But I have to say, it grows on you as you read it. The book gets more and more interesting the more you read, and that’s something I wasn’t sure would happen at first. There’s this wonderful cold war paranoia permeating throughout the whole book, and by primarily being set on a missile base, spies and sabotage are all over the place. Honestly, the book being so different from Fantastic Four is a good thing, and speaks to the versatility of its creators. This isn’t the sci-fi pop art crazy series. Sci-fi is still there, but this is a series about violence, paranoia, and seeing traitors everywhere.

Alternatively, it’s a book about a big green monster that smashes shit when it pisses him off. You can read it like that too. That could be fun.

Making Marvel Mine: Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 1 (#1-20 and Annual #1)

It’s not exactly a secret that I’ve been into comic books basically forever. If you haven’t seen the collection, it takes up four bookcases and is in need of a fifth, and that’s just the stuff on display. I’ve always been a big Spider-Man and Batman fan, and I’ve dabbled in just about every major team or hero over the years. The Avengers, The JLA, X-Men, the Flash has the most fun group of villains outside Bats and Spidey- but I’ve never been a big FF fan. Oh, sure, I loved Grant Morrison’s “1234”, every comic book fan did, but a few particular FF stories aside… Meh. I didn’t really care. They were the Fantastic Four, they went on cosmic adventures and fought Dr. Doom, two things that SHOULD have been awesome, but somehow it always rang hollow for me. The FF was always a cooler idea then their actual stories were, it seemed.

But no one can argue about the historical importance of Fantastic Four #1, a book pretty much unanimously considered the beginning of the silver age renaissance of Marvel Comics. And so when I decided to start reading the Marvel Universe from the beginning on up- basically as an excuse to keep buying Essential Marvel trade paperbacks and to keep putting my favorite comic book storeowner’s children through college- I dutifully started with Essential Fantastic Four volume 1, promising to give it an honest go of it.

And holy crap, I get it now. The Lee-Kirby FF were friggin’ awesome! I wasn’t completely sure at first, but by the end of the third issue, I was sold. There’s an energy and enthusiasm even in these early stories that is often missing from comics today. One of the things I love about silver age comics is the pacing of the stories- it usually doesn’t feel rushed, but something is ALWAYS happening! (Screw you, comics decompression) And that’s definitely the case here. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s FF is part pop art, part science adventure, part soap opera- all without ever spending way too much time on any of it or getting boring.

All of this, and Ben Grimm hasn’t even called out “It’s clobberin’ time!” yet.

Obviously, the book begins with the creation of the Fantastic Four: Dr. Reed Richards, his girlfriend Sue Storm, his best friend and test pilot Ben Grimm, and Sue’s teenage brother, Johnny. The four of them board a secret untested rocket ship, clearly not with NASA’s blessing, and attempt to be the first humans in space, winning the space race for America! This was 1961, remember. But when the rocket enters what I assume to be the Van Allen radiation belt (Wikipedia it), it’s bombarded by strange cosmic rays- something Ben had warned Reed about, but hey, Reed’s got to impress his hot little blonde somehow, right? Luckily, instead of killing them outright or giving them all cancer, the cosmic radiation gives our team superpowers. Reed gains Plastic Man-like elastic skin, Johnny becomes able to control fire in all sorts of ways, Sue gains the ability to become invisible, and Ben gains super strength and invulnerability with a rocky exterior.

Along the way in this book, Lee and Kirby introduce a host of villains, many of whom are still around today, fifty years later. The Mole Man, the Silver Age rebirth of Namor, the shape changing Skrulls, the I-still-don’t-understand-how-his-powers-work-but-whatever Puppet Master, the time travelling dictator Rama Tut (and boy, what a back-story he’ll develop as I read more of these books), the all-powerful Molecule Man, and of course the greatest supervillain in the entire Marvel Universe: Dr. Doom.

It’s amazing to see how quickly refined this series became, especially since they were just making it up as they went. The only real complaints I have with the book all basically stem from the attitudes of the times it was written in. Having the only female character in the book given the ability to literally turn invisible… well, there’s a subtext to it that’s undeniable. I’m rather thankful that her powers have been expanded since these early days so that she can generate force fields and other semi-telekinetic powers, arguably making her the most powerful member of the team. But while lines like “I’ve never heard a dame go so long without talking” are undeniably sexist, at the same time it seems obvious that Lee and Kirby very much felt that Sue’s character was one of, perhaps the most important character in the book. In issue 11, the Fantastic Four read and respond to some fan mail they’ve seen, including letters asking why Sue’s even on the team. Reed and Ben become considerably upset, and remind readers how often the team has only won the day thanks to the Sue’s help.

Particular highlights of the book for me… Well, Fantastic Four #5 is awesome, but not because it’s the first appearance of Dr. Doom (though that’s cool too). After capturing Sue, Doom makes a demand of the other three members of the team- travel back in time and steal the pirate Blackbeard’s treasure for him, or the girl gets it. Over the course of the adventure (SPOILER ALERT), we discover that in the Marvel Universe, Blackbeard is Ben Grimm, thanks to the miracles of time travel! I totally want to see a comic now where Ben goes on a time travel vacation to have other adventures in the past as Blackbeard. (Dear Marvel Comics: If you like this brilliant idea and want more, feel free to call me and offer me a job any time)

Also, FF #10 has Dr. Doom visiting the Marvel offices and meeting Stan and Jack, which is great fun. Issue 13 introduces the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, they’re an evil Communist team that also gets its powers from the same cosmic rays as the FF, only three out of the four of them are monkeys! It’s a well known law of comic books that monkeys make any book better. Also in that issue, we meet the Watcher, a nigh-omniscient being who lives on the moon, and, well, watches the Earth. He never interferes with history, though… except for all the times he does. For an omniscient dude, you’d think he would have heard of the Observer Effect…

For me, though, my favorite issue in the book is issue 17, “Defeated by Doctor Doom”. More than any other story here, the team feels not like a group of misfits, but a real family. Admittingly, Dr. Doom’s plot involving floating Michelin Man lookalike robot things is, well, downright bizarre, but fuck it man, it gets results! Because those robot things allow Dr. Doom to trap the Fantastic Four in a… well, I won’t spoil this one for you. But the team really gels so well here, you really need to go out and read it for yourself.

So yeah, this book rocks, and I’m stoked that I’ve got another 82 issues of Lee and Kirby’s run to go (I think it’s 82. It might be a little more than that). So if you want some fun 60s comic books, go buy this. Its 15 bucks for 20 issues and an annual. How are you going to beat that?