Overlooked Gems of the Golden Age (circa 1940) - Part Two

The King

The King wasn't DC's first master of disguise (Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise beat him by 4 years), but he is certainly the most interesting.  Created by Gardner Fox and William Fox, King Standish, aka The King was a master of disguise who when not impersonating someone was a opera cape and tuxedo-clad crimefighter.  His MO involved learning of a crime, waylaying or kidnapping someone involved with the enterprise and replacing them.  As far as I know, he never has revealed his real identity/face.  His most frequent foe is a femme fatale, the Witch.  It is the cat and mouse flirtation between the two that is the highlight of the series with her never realizing his presence until he reveals it.  The device of star-crossed adversaries isn't unique to this strip.  Espionage Agent X, Zatarra, the Spirit, and of course Batman have utilized it to varying degrees, but nowhere is the chemistry as strong as it is is between the King and the Witch, and it is the foundation of the strip.

Spider-Man vs. Beetle, The FF vs. the 1% !!

     We're back to the Silver Age of Marvel.  A few notes and some housekeeping before we dig into this post's offerings.  Some readers on Facebook have asked what I use for my reading order.  A big part of the endeavor/project for me is to view some of these things through a historical lens.  What is driving some of the themes and how are comics reflecting the world around them?  For that reason I try to read things in publishing date order using Mike's Amazing World of Comics website as a reference when things get confusing.  If there is an editorial note call-out like what recently happened between Avengers and Tales of Suspense, I'll break the order to keep story events in-line.  I've also been asked if I prefer the Silver Age Marvel since that's the majority of the posts.  I don't straight up prefer it, but I find the Golden Age material harder to write about because of the nature of the anthologies.  In 1941, most issues have 8-9 features, so its easier to me to due themed posts, character spotlights like last week, or weird and forgotten facts (see Golden Age Weirdness posts).  In an average week, I'm reading 20 or so current books, 3-5 Silver Age books, and 2-3 Golden Age books.  I might experiment with mixing that up, but the Silver Age posts get a big response.  One thing that will likely change  is that I will read from one publisher at a time for the Golden Age in one month chunks.  I'll try to do mix it up, because there are some great things from Quality, Timely, and Fawcett that deserve coverage.  The last question I am most frequently asked is why don't I do the DC Silver Age.  The honest answer is I don't know where to start it, and there isn't the clear break with DC and Marvel.  There are characters that I would like to think belong in Silver Age coverage like Captain Comet and Phantom Stranger but their first issues were being published concurrently with the last issues of JSA All-Star which in my mind is firmly Golden Age.  I'm open to suggestions.  With the Q&A out of the way , on with the show:

     Amazing Spider-Man #21 is a textbook case of the highs and lows that Peter Parker experiences for which most modern writers lack the right nuance.  Peter Parker wins and loses (most forget the wins) and the losses aren't all tragedy (which most writers also forget), but he can have a pretty crummy day.  Here Peter does one good deed, returning the lost wallet of Dorrie Evans, and triggers a series of events that leaves him feeling unappreciated.  This issue features the return of the Beetle, a character I have a lot of affection for.  I think he is the upper echelon of villain to come from Strange Tales and Lee and Ditko make good use of him.  Johnny is portrayed as his usual dim self, and the Torch/Spider-Man rivalry gets set on its ear.  Normally Spider-Man is jealous of the adulation received by the Torch, but here the impetus is Johnny being jealous of the more mature and "normal" Peter Parker which is a nice reversal.  There is a little exploration of the perils of a public identity as Dorrie is put in danger by the Beetle learning she is the girlfriend of the very public Johnny Storm.  It is within this issue and the Amazing Spider-Man annual that I think the Torch/Spider-Man relationship is cemented.  To quote Johnny at the end: "Sometimes I think he's a terrific guy...and other times I want to knock his block off!"

     In FF #34, industrialist Thomas Gideon bets he can destroy the FF in one week....and almost succeeds.  One of my favorite podcasts is The Fantasticast which is currently covering FF comics from the 70's.  They recently covered a set of issues featuring the return of Thomas Gideon and Steve Lacey mentioned that he quite liked Gideon's first appearance but wasn't sure why.  There is a lot of good here.  The nature of the antagonist was a good change from the cosmic and galactic threats the FF has been facing lately.  There are some nice meta moments with Gideon's son being a fan of the FF and an avid follower of there comic.  Kirby does some phenomenal work with Reed in this issue.  There is a lot of engulfing Ben in unique poses, a shot where he rebounds while being pulled by the police, and another where he becomes human trolley for Sue.  He doesn't fully morph like Plastic Man would, he forms wheels from his feet and slightly elongates his arms behind him while she holds, but stays very recognizably human.  There is a pathos in seeing Gideon and how he treats his family.  In a lot of ways he is a dark reflection of Reed.  There are a few weaknesses, Gideon making a 360 at the end doesn't ring true.  Yes he almost lost his son, and I can see him repenting from his ways and promising to spend more time with his family, but renouncing ALL wealth?!?  The way that Gideon turns the team against each other is mostly well-done except for Johnny.  Sue attacks Johnny because a scene has been staged to make Sue believe Johnny is an impostor.  Johnny assumes Sue must be under the thrall of the Puppet Master specifically, because she is attacking him.  He says it several times and makes a one time event in FF#8 sound like a common occurrence.   It would have worked better if Reed and Johnny were on the backfoot from an attacking Sue and Ben, but because they share the Strange Tales feature, Johnny and Ben are the attackers and Johnny's motivation which isn't shown gets restated -- repeatedly.
    Work is a little hectic this week, so this may be the only post.  Some things to look forward to: I plan on a Secret Wars post, a Darth Vader down post, and a Batman Super-Heavy post when those storylines conclude and I've read them.  I've been thinking about doing some posts on some of the current comic TV shows.  I'm really digging Flash and Suprgirl so at a minimum, they'll get some coverage.

Current Favorites: Darth Vader #12

     I told Mark Adams that today's post would be an "Overlooked Gems of the Golden Age" spotlighting the King, but then I read Darth Vader #12.  Man, the Star Wars line from Marvel has a whole has been top-notch, but this title has to be the best of the bunch.  Kieron Gillen does a great job laying duplicitous layer on top of duplicitous layer as we see the different political machinations at work within the Empire, and he does it by adding to the mythos instead of recycling it.  Also a highlight is Salvador Larocca's art.  Salvador brings his A-game here conveying Vader's emotions purely though his body language.  This issue did not fail to live up to the expectations.  This issue concludes the current story arc which sees Darth Vader in a precarious position.  Currently abused and out of favor with the Emperor, Vader has started to make moves to establish a separate power base which has included stealing several thousands of credits from the Empire which he has used to secretly acquire a droid factory and search for the mysterious young pilot who destroyed the Death Star.  The Emperor has seconded him to Moff Tagge, who has paired him with one of the Empire's lead investigators, Thanatos.  Now he and Thanatos are on the outskirts of a cloud nebula hiding the thief, who works for Vader.  How will Vader get out of this?  In a word?  Masterfully.  Since this is a rather recent comic, I won't say more, but if you like Star Wars comics and can only afford one to add to your pile make it this one. 

    I'll leave you with a brief blog update.  There more than likely won't be a post until Tuesday-Wednesday of next week. I'll be having a little downtime with the family over the weekend, and I want to also take a small break from the reading order (2-3 nights, maybe a week) to catch-up a little more on current comics based primarily on the Vader Down cross-over and the ending to the current Secret Wars. 

Scorpions, Spiders, and....Sumo?!?

     The highlight of my latest batch of reading is Amazing Spider-Man #20, introducing the Scorpion.  Jameson has hired a man to tail Peter to figure out how he gets his pics, but when he reads about a scientist who can imbue subjects with animal characteristics, he hires both to create a subject with abilities form an animal stronger than a spider -- a scorpion!!

    Ditko creates a taut atmosphere at the beginning of the book with Peter being harassed by the nameless stranger who we later learn is Mac Gargan.  As Scorpion, it is quickly established that the Scorpion is stronger than Spider-Man, and Spidey really gets put through the paces.  Some great characterization all around as we see the progression of Gargan's villainy as he realizes if he can beat Spider-Man, he can take what he want, and if Jameson knows his identity, Jameson has to go.  Jameson in turn goes from gloating to panic.  While he never questions the morality or legality in the experiment to create Scorpion, he is worried about the ramifications of creating a menace worse than Spider-Man.  Peter shows a maturation in his role of Spider-Man.  He gets defeated and knocked out by Scorpion, but unlike some of his earlier defeats, he doesn't let it dissuade him from tackling the Scorpion again or debate whether or not he should continue to be Spider-Man.  Compare this Peter Parker with the Peter Parker from Amazing Spider-Man #3.  The only weak point in the issue are the unnecessary plot point of Stilwell's experiment turning Gargan evil.  While we haven't seen any over acts of villainy, the way he is drawn and his language gives the impression of a shadier character.  His villain turn at the realization of his power and flush from beating Spidey, sold his turn to me.  It didn't need to be explained further.  There is also a bit where because Scorpion pincers are really strong and sharp, Scorpion can cut break Spider-Man's webbing.  I'm okay with him being strong enough to break the webbing, but the dialogue explaining it doesn't work, mainly because visually there's nothing to indicate Gargan's fingers having a similar property.
 

   Released the same month, Spider-Man also makes a guest appearance in Avengers #11.  Kang sends a Spider-Man robot from the future to fight the Avengers, best sums up the plot.  Its a really weird issue and isn't very exciting.  The art from Don Heck inked by Dick Ayers is good and together they do a passable Spider-Man.  It starts with a nice continuity beat with the Avengers granting Iron Man a leave of absence in absencia due to events in his title (see further down).  After that its a story mess. Kang build a Spider-Man robot and sends it to fight the Avengers.  The robot posing as Spidey confronts the Avengers stating that he knows where Iron Man is.  He will help them help Iron Man in exchange for Avengers membership.  The Avengers fly with him to Mexico to an old temple.  Spider-bot, Giant Man, and the Wasp arrive first.  The robot beats them by making Giant-Man reach around something and webbing his hands together, and then swats the Wasp with a web-swatter.  Thor arrives and, it encloses first Mjolner, then Thor in webbing, and Thor becomes Don Blake after 60 seconds still ensnared in webbing.  Captain America then parachutes in, is ambushed, and thrown from the temple to his death.  He is saved off-panel by...the real Spider-Man.  The two exchange blows, and Peter throws the Spider-bot from the temple who retorts by making web wings.  Peter then uses his tactics from dealing with the Vulture to quickly defeat and deactivate the robot.
     I really don't get this issue.  It hangs its narrative on continuity -- Iron Man being AWOL, then misses other beats.  Giant Man states that hes confronting Spider-Man based on what little hes gleaned from news coverage of Spider-Man, but the two have met and fought before in Tales to Astonish.  No allowance is made for how the real Spider-Man manages to get to (or for that matter leave) Mexico.   The setting makes no sense.  With their being no traps built for the Avengers in advance, this could have taken place anywhere.  A mountain retreat upstate as an example.  Finally, I don't see how this serves the Avengers.  A guest-spot by Spider-Man makes sense.  At this time he is probably the most popular character with the second-best selling book, behind FF.  However with his duplicate owning the Avengers, him so easily defeating the robot, and him never actually interacting with the team, I don't know what would make a Spider-Man fan stick with the Avengers based on this issue.  In the letter page, Stan says this we rewritten late in the production cycle because it was felt not having the real Spider-Man appear cheated readers, but I can't help but think that might have served the Avengers better.

   Finally a little about Tales of Suspense #61, since it played a part in Avengers #11.  Iron Man is on leave, because Tony Stark is believed dead, killed by an energy beam fired at his home by one of the Mandarin's satellites.  Iron Man has been having secret ID problems.  He has to wear the full armor to keep his heart going after a fight with Black Knight (TOS #59) and has been accused of kidnapping Stark by Pepper and Happy (TOS #60).  He gets partially out of the bind by appearing bedridden (to hide the armor), but this sets up his being thought dead when his house is destroyed this issue.  Tony flies to confront the Mandarin and quickly falls into a trap -- to be continued.  I don't think I can really judge this until I read the next part.  The bulk of this story is wrap-up of his identity woes and setting up the confrontation with Mandarin. 
    In the Cap story, Captain America challenges a general to free a soldier POW in Vietnam.  Another fight issue which is a little troublesome for the Cap solo feature as the run so far has been
    - Cap attacked by the Maggia
    - Cap attacked by Assassins
    - Cap fights the general
I've heard this gets better when the Skull shows up.  The fights continue to be dynamic, its just there's no breathing room for plot.  This story also makes the assumption that all things Asian are universal to all cultures within Asia with the General in Vietnam being a master of Sumo wrestling.

Odds and Ends 1/8/2016

     For those who may have recently come to the blog, I hope you'll find that I try to be on the whole positive.  I don't write about everything I'm reading, but I like to mention or post highlights of either things that I think are significant from a continuity or history perspective, or things I really liked.  I tend to have three different reading lists:
 - Current comics.  I'm normally 2-3 months behind depending on the title and publisher.
 - Golden Age Read through: I'm currently in October of 1941 (I started with some from 1936), and I tend to group these by publisher within the month, so right now the focus is on DC.
- Marvel Silver Age Read through: I'm currently on December 1964.  I read everything except the Millie the Model and Patsy Walker type-stuff.  I'm not a snob against them, but it is basically Archie/Katy Keene comics in the Archie-house style.  When I finally got access to some, I had 3 years to read-through to catch up with where I was in my order with everything else, and ultimately, decided it wasn't worth it.

    The first book I want to briefly mention is Batman #7.  Two stories out of the four I thought were worth a mention.  In the first, the Joker returns from the dead (again), but he enlists and blackmails a group of practical jokers to work for him.  He gets them addicted to ever-increasing chaotic and dangerous pranks, until the city is in panic as the cover to his crimes.  I thought it was neat angle.  In the last story, Bruce Wayne is framed for a murder.  When put on trial, Batman appears (an escaped Wayne) to declare Wayne's innocence with no evidence.  The DA attacks the word of the vigilante, and Commissioner Gordon gives a stirring oration in the support of Batman.  Wayne is cleared with the real gunmen makes a deathbed confession, and Commissioner Gordon backs up his words by deputizing Batman and Robin.  If you were wondering when or how that came about, its this story.

    The issue that I've liked best out of my current backlog that I've read recently is Amazing Spider-Man #3.  Since it is of a more recent vintage, I'll try to be more spoiler-sensitive.  The story boils down to how the Human Torch reacts when he hears that his former home and headquarters, the Baxter Building, has been purchased by Parker Industries.  I like the heart shown in this issue, how Slott conveys the Johnny Storm/Peter Parker friendship, and how Peter treats his friends in general.  The only negative is while not everything has to be spelled out, I felt like there was tip-toeing by Slott on this issue because of what is and is not known about certain characters do the delay in the over-hyped, over-blown, mostly late Secret Wars event.

     Next, I'm going to make an exception to my always talk about the positive rule.  I try to read the letter pages if I can when I read comics, and in the November 1964 books, there have been a few praising Stan for his new humor mag, Monster to Laugh With.  Lies, and plants, folks, those letters are lies and plants.  I've read them (as Andy Leyland sometimes likes to say -- so you don't have to).  They are 36 pages of horror movies stills, of varying vintage, with one-liner word balloons.  The jokes are almost always a quote of an Ad slogan -- "Calmay, take me away!" or along the lines of "I have exaggerated feature (wrinkles, bandages, and fangs being the most common).  Don't I look funny?"  Nothing to elicit so much as a chuckle.  Nothing to see here folks.  Nothing to see....

    Finally, some reader feedback.  Kirk Groeneveld requested some pictures of Egghead's android from Tales to Astonish #61.  I've included two below one color, and one black and white.  I should clarify in case I mislead anyone.  When I called him a prototype Vision, I meant it from the perspective of it being a density changing android, not in terms of visual design.

Kirk Greenfield replied to the ending of my post on Strange Tales #127, that the original amulet of Dr. Strange was called 'Harold'.  If that were true, wouldn't the new one contain the Eye of Agga-Maude-O?  (And that's why I'm in IT and not a stand-up comic).

Golden Age Read-Through: DC Comics October, 1941: The Mist in Kentucky

So for a change of pace I read some on my Golden Age Read through.  I read everything I can get from Fawcett, Timely, Quality, DC, and some Dell.  I normally focus on one publisher for a month.  What I sometimes do is flip between.  I'll read a couple of books from this month, then a silver-age comic or two, then a couple of golden age, etc.  Last night I read Action Comics #41, Adventure Comics #67, All-American Comics #31, and All-Star Comics #7.

The stand-out from the pack was Adventure #67.  I've been wanting to write about Adventure for awhile.  Starman is one of the more interesting serials put out by DC in 1941.  First while not the first playboy secret ID (Sandman, Carter Hall, and Bruce Wayne - of course), Ted Knight is the first played for humor as a playboy with an acute case hypochondria constantly convinced he is on the verge of some medical condition.  Secondly, his villains are different from most heroes.  Most heroes, even the big guns like Superman and Green Lantern spend the majority of their time fighting organized crime and social ills, Starman almost exclusively is called in by FBI Chief Wooley to battle some new mad scientist's schemes.  Now don't get me wrong, I know that others have fought mad scientists, but the frequency and variety makes Starman stand-out.  The final component of Starman's appeal is the art by Jack Burley.  His art has a silver age style of refinement and cleanness that is ahead of the time of most of his peers.  In this story, we have the first appearance of the Mist using his cloaking technology to bomb defense sights.  This story also benefits from a unique setting for a Golden Age story, the Mammoth caves in Kentucky.  At this point, Adventure also features the Shining Knight, The Hourman, Steve Conrad, Federal Men, Paul Kirk-Manhunter, and the Sandman.  It is typical of how superheroes were starting to dominate the market at this point with only two strips not featuring costumes heroes: Steve Conrad and Paul Kirk-Manhunter.  Soon Paul Kirk would become a mystery man.

Second favorite out of the batch was All-Star Comics #7.  Green Lantern decides the JSA should raise money for war refugees and sets a goal of 1,000,000 dollars with each member raising 100,000 -- except Johnny who volunteers to come-up with 300,000.  At this point, the overarching plot is basically a framing device for each creative team of the normal hero to tell their story within.  I give credit to all of the different teams by coming up with unique ways for each hero to raise their share.  It is also worth commenting on the team line-up changes 4 issues into the JSA's run.  Characters with a quarterly book are honorary members and not part of the active roster, so Green Lantern joins Flash -- who left last issue, Batman, and Superman on the honorary roles, Hourman takes an unexplained leave of absence in the last two pages.  It is announced that starting in #8 their place will be taken by Starman and Dr. Mid-Nite.

Marvel Silver Age Read-Through -- The first defeat of Dormammu

I only got through one issue last night because of an early morning doctor's appointment.

Stan is still treating the title like the Human Torch is the headliner, but Dr. Strange has long since taken over the title.  In the first feature, the Torch and Thing get tired of being bossed around by Reed and tells him off.  Reed "proves" his leadership by leading them into a trap and showing how helpless they are without him.  A really weird entry, even for Strange Tales.  A lot has been made of sexism in early Marvel titles, but this shows the now out-of-date concepts of leadership.  Reed presents he should be leader by virtue of age, not merit, and leadership is shown as a title and right, not a skill or talent.  Boneheaded moment of the story for me -- Johnny presents as an argument for why he should not have to listen to Reed his defeat of the Wizard, Paste-Pot Pete, and him and Ben chasing off Namor in the previous issue.  I was waiting for Reed to point out that they didn't thwart an attack, they ruined peace talks,  Yeah, Johnny.  That's evidence of your maturity.

In the second story, directly continuing from the last issue, Dr. Strange battles and comes to terms with Dormammu for the first time.  I think this was the first time a story was broken over two installments for Dr. Strange.  Ditko brings the striking arcane visuals as usual, and while not yet-named, and she technically appeared last issue, this is the first appearance of Clea.  At the end of the story, Dr. Strange is presented with his more famous red cloak of levitation (the first one was blue) and a new amulet which contains the Eye of Agamotto.  I don't know if the old amulet was ever name.

Marvel Silver Age Read-Through: Cap goes solo and android overload

Tales of Suspense #59


With this issue, Cap becomes the back-up in Tales of Suspense which Marvel has started calling Iron Man on its letter pages and special announcements.  In the Iron Man lead, Iron Man is attacked by the Black Knight looking to get back at the Avengers for his defeat as part of the original Master of Evil in Avengers #6.  This is standard Iron Man fare for the time and the Black Knight is a threat more by luck than actual ability.  Stan Lee ratchets up the drama this issue by having the chest plate alone not be enough to protect Tony's heart and Pepper and Happy start to distrust an Iron Man who refuses to let them see their boss and whom insists he is fine.
     The Cap feature is much more exciting.  Even the splash page of Cap jumping through a window crackles with energy.  In this story, the Maggia decide to strike the Avengers through their weak link, the "normal" Captain America.  There are plot holes to be sure.  You essentially have the mob do a B&E for the purpose of a hit.  Instead of ski masks and non-descript clothes, they go in open-faced purple body suits.  The bulk of the issue is one big fight, but it is a really dynamic fight, and Cap shines without the bruisers of the Avengers in his way.  This story also introduces Jarvis for the first time.  In fact, Jarvis points at a flaw in the Iron Man feature.  The Black Knight attacks Stark Industries because he knows that will draw out Iron Man which is the only Avenger he knows how to find.  However, the Maggia kidnap Jarvis to find out who is on-duty at Avengers Mansion with Jarvis telling them they could have achieved the same thing with a phone call.  Then why didn't Black Knight just call the mansion to see who answered?

Tales to Astonish #61

In the Giant-Man lead, Giant-Man and Wasp are attacked by an android courtesy of Egghead.  I am a big Hank Pym fan.  He is a seriously underrated character.  At this point, He is probably second only to Reed as a scientist, having invented Pym Particles, the Wasp's stingers, a chemically fueled flying car, and in my mind unstable molecules.  In his first or second appearance as a Ant-Man the Kirby drawn picture of his suit, it states it's made of unstable molecules, before the same is said of the FF.  It's a treat to get a Pym story drawn by Ditko.  The android is almost a proto-Vision with density powers, and I like Hank defeating Egghead by enducing vertigo through the android's senses.

The Hulk story continues from last week with the Hulk continuing to fight an unknown spy in a robot suit.  The spy is eventually dealt with and the Hulk is captured as the cliffhanger for next month.  This story is notable for introducing long-term antagonist Major Glenn Talbot.