In Which I Lament the Lack of Editor's Notes and Say Goodbye to the Waco Kid

COMIC COMMENTARY
 Modern Material

 All-New Wolverine Annual #1:  One of the few replacement/generational characters from Marvel that I felt added, rather than subtracted from the Marvel Universe, Laura, the "All-New" Wolverine from the title, is joined by the worst, Spider-Gwen, and the issue is poorer for it.  A cross-dimensional caper, because Spider-Gwen has to brought into the 616 every chance they get (its a rule, doncha know) that doesn't make sense.  I mean I understood the plot, it just seemed a pointless run around.  There are also examples of good and bad editorial material in here.  At the recap/premise page, it explictly points out the this annual takes place before Civil War II.  Who cares?  Nothing happens of note inthis issue, and nothing of note is happening in Civil War II that affects these two characters.  The villain of the piece is enacting a revenge plot because they are related to someone the "original"Wolverine killed.  When?  Why?  Here would have been the time to include a good, old-fashioned Editor's Note.  You know, "See Super Spandex-Guy #12 --Editor".  I don't understand why today, at a time when digitally and in trades the back catalog is more available than it has ever been that this isn't used more.  One of the best digital features that never came to be was when an early digital platform (now defunct) talked about turning all those old editor notes into links that navigated your collection or prompted an impulse buy.

Amazing Spider-Man #17:  Spider-Man continues to investigate NuLife and an ally gets in trouble.  Once again trying to avoid spoilers.  A good issue.  Its another one that could have also benefited from some Editor Notes or stronger editing.  I *think* the events of this issue overlap with issue #16, but the transitions aren't very clear.  I like where this appears to be heading, but I have to ask, with the particular people involved to date, as the evil cabal grows, how likely are a majority of Spider-Man's villains likely to find out his secret identity?
Astonishing Ant-Man #11:  Not necessarily filler, but an epilogue to the last arc that sets up the next as Scott finishes his narration relating how he ended up back in prison (I presume that's not a spoiler since it was part of the narrative framework from the first issue).  This is only a Civil War II tie-in because it gets mentioned in an off-hand manner in a conversation.

Golden Age Greats

All-American Comics #41:  Not a bad issue, but nothing particularly stands-out.  The Golden Age Green Lantern helps an indian tribe realize they are being duped in a story that would be offensive today.  There is a funny bit where Doiby realizing the Indians don't really know what Green Lantern looks like, stalls for time and bluffs wearing a version of Green Lantern's costume.  Hop Harrigan gets hazed by his commanding officer (yeah, I didn't know that kind of thing was allowed in the military).  Sargon the Sorcerer prevents an assassination attempt with shaving razors and shears.  Sargon is probably the most inventive strip in the series at this point, with his power to command whatever he's touched, he uses inanimate objects in visually interesting ways, but they aren't portrayed an anthropomorphic cartoon creations like they are in the Zatara strip in Action.  In the Atom strip he stops some saboteurs from blowing up a plant.  They work for the Black Dragon Society which will feature again in All-Star and be used to good effect by Roy Thomas in All-Star Squadron.

Silver Age Spotlight

Daredevil #17: Spidey and Daredevil continue to antagonize each other before teaming-up to prevent the Masked Marauder from stealing the fuel-plans for an experimental engine.  What I liked this issue: Spidey assuming that Foggy was Daredevil, Daredevil bating and using Jonah to his own ends, the reaction of General Motors to Jonah's new special, and the solid that Daredevil does Spider-Man.  This is the start of the Spider-Man/Daredevil friendship.  When everyone jumps to the conclusion that Spider-Man is up to know good, Daredevil takes the time to correct everyone and give Spider-Man credit for the bust.  The first meeting between Spider-Man and Daredevil is referenced several times (in Amazing Spider-Man #16...cause you know, editor's notes).  The Romita art sings.  This title has sparkled since he took over, and you can tell this is a Spider-Man try-out as Spider-Man, Jonah, and May all make appearances.  It fills like Stan wanted to see how Romita would do with different key members of Spider-Man's cast.  The only negative was the over-wrought dialog about the Foggy, Karen, Matt love triangle.  It was like someone hit the slow-motion button on the book, every time it was focused on.

MOVIE MADNESS

Blazing Saddles:  We lost one of the greats last week, which prompted my wife to put on Blazing Saddles since he had never seen it.  The film is a wonderful satire of the Western genre and on race, but it is extremely shocking when watched through the cultural sensitivity lens of 2016.  This was covered wonderfully on the Film and Water Podcast click here to download.  I'll just mention some of my favorite parts:

• There must be legal precedent....Here it is Hanley vs. United States, Hanley 7, United States nothing!
• Sorry sir, I'm all booked until Monday.
• Well if you must pry.  I must, I must
• The b!t@h was creating the candygram!  And I bet they won't give me credit for them either.
• All of the fourth wall breaking.  Everyone points out the cinema and backlot scene, but Bart talks to the camera throughout the film.

....And We're Back Again....Again

     Whew, where has the time gone?  I've taken an unplanned break.  I'll get more into the why's wherefore's at the bottom so if you are only reading this for geeky goodness you can read the top and skip the bottom.

COMIC COMMENTARY
Golden Age Greats
- Action Comics #51

The Superman feature this issue contains the first appearance of The Prankster.  It was a really good story.  I know The Prankster is often viewed as lame in modern context because he is a non-powered motif villain against Superman who can move mountains.  The thing is, most people forget that until the Silver Age, most of the foes super-heroes fought were plain, regular criminals.  Superman, up to this point in his career, has spent probably 70% of his career going up against regular criminals.  Its something important to consider also when running a Supers RPG.  Yes, it feels right to give Superman a 50 Strength because my what a large number it is, but if everyone else normal is 2-3, then a 12-15 is probably sufficient.  It' all about the scale.  But I digress.  The important thing about The Prankster is that he is the first Superman villain to break out of the pulp mode and be more of what we think of as prototypical super-villain in that he has a somewhat unique motif and a visual distinctive design.  The loud plaid-checked suit, gapped teeth, and freckles set him apart from the thugs and generic criminals in leotards with a domino mask (I'm looking at you Archer.).  The Puzzler from Action Comics #49 had the unique motif, but visually was no different than any other crooked academic we've seen to-date.  I also found his plot to be complicated, but original.  The Prankster and his men go through town staging mock hold-ups in bizarre attire, and it each one, they prove their guns are harmless and provide large sums to the patrons and bank presidents.  They continue to do this, drawing larger crowds, until a particular bank is complacent enough to let them into their vault.  This time, however, the weapons are real, and they steal 10 times the amount they've given away to-date.  Due to the false sense of security they've installed in everyone else, this plan works, except for the presence of Superman who never falls for their schtick.  The other features were enjoyable, but this was the highlight.  The only negative was the Mr. America/Fat Man strip.  Its well written, but we're entering a period where a lot of the masters of art of the golden age are hitting their stride: Jerry Robinson, Sheldon Moldoff, Jack Burnely, and Mort Meskin.  Bernard Bailey's art was sufficient in the late 30's, but its really starting to suffer in comparison here in 1942.
- Adventure Comics # 77: I've only read the first two features so far (Starman and Hourman).  The Starman strip is worth noting.  In addition to great Jack Burnley art, the Mist escapes and preys on the greed of others.  He leaves valuables for unsuspecting citizens to find, and when they keep them, he uses them to hypnotize them to commit crimes for him.  Starman tumbles onto his scheme when  an honest girl tries to take the valuable she finds to the police so they can find its rightful owner.  The only quibble is it ends with Starman saying he has a couple of busted ribs, but we never see him take a shot to the chest in any of the fight panels.  The Hourman story is a mess.  Crooks steal run-down instruments from some kids (including Thorndyke, Hourman's sidekick) and replace them with new instruments in order to get a specific clarinet to open a specific safe in a museum rumored to have a vast treasure.  One, I had a hard time believing that the slum kids wouldn't have been happier with their new instruments and left well enough alone, 2 wind instruments aren't tuned, string instruments are, and then its two make sure they have the right pitch.  Any clarinet should have worked for opening the safe, if you knew which notes to play (which the criminals did).
- Captain Marvel Adventures #14

Two strips I wanted to comment on here.  The first is a farce in which WHIZ Radio is broadcasting a local college play and Nazi fifth columnists kidnap the star (a man playing a grandmother in drag) in order to replace him with an agent who will use the opportunity to transmit instructions to a group waiting to sabotage a nearby naval fleet.  Billy replaces the missing star AS Captain Marvel resulting in multiple instances of musclebound men dressed as a grandmother beating each other and others.  The second features the return of Nippo the Nipponese who gets a really poor showing.  Not only are the stereotypes abrasive because of the war context, but Nippo has gone from being a capable, albeit outmatched by Captain Marvel, to a bumbling fool who can't steal the correct plans for a ship (Okay, so he technically does steal the right plans but never notices that they are printed on the backside of old plans).

-Whiz Comics #33: Captain Marvel teams up with Spy Smasher to try and root out a spy on a naval ship that is at sea on a top secret mission.  Instead of solo strips, they share a 29 page story.  I stopped reading Spy Smasher due to the lack of variability in its stories.  The presence of Spy Smasher dampens the whimsy and camp of Captain Marvel that has been his hallmark.
Silver Age Spotlights
-Amazing Spider-Man #38: Spider-Man fights a down on his luck loser named Joe, a failure as a boxer and a wrestler, who accidentally gains super-strength while jobbing as a monster extra on a sci-fi T.V. shoot.  Many consider this to be the nadir of the Lee/Ditko run with it being Ditko's last issue.  I tend to disagree.  Joe is immensely likable and relatable, and while the fight isn't Ditko's finest, its been a while since we've had Spider-Man involved in a more pedestrian affair.
Modern Material
- Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #11: This series gives me fits and starts.  I find the best friend character, Nancy, to be annoying 75% of the time, but this issue without Nancy involves Squirrel Girl defeating Nightmare through Computer Science.  As a Comp. Sci major who understands and follows all of the binary speak and logic structures, I whole-heartedly approve.
-Uncanny Inhumans Annual #1:  Another title I struggle with.  If it focuses on Medusa, Black Bolt, Karnak, the Reader, or the detective (whose name I forget).  It's generally enjoyable.  Its sister title with Crystal, Gorgon, the Jubilee wardrobe reject, etc. traveling the world in a ship is drek.  Why then do an annual under one title but focus on characters from the other?  *facepalm*
- Venom Space Knight #11: I've enjoyed the adventures of Venom, Agent of the Cosmos and the reveal of the true purpose of the symbiotes.  The idea of Flash trying to save a friend he left behind and in the process redeem his partner is great.  Being interrupted as soon as he arrives on Earth by Spider-Man playing "Peter knows best" and not listening to a damn word Flash is saying?  Not so much.  Feels like padding with a gratuitous (and deceitful) cross-over heading.

TELEVISION TIDBITS

Doctor Who (1963) Season 2, Episode 2: A Dangerous Journey:
Planet of the Giants is the "one where they get shrunk" but its much more clever than its given credit.
- A Plot, the crew being shrunk and separated from the TARDIS is affected by, but completely separate from, the B Plot, Forrester covering up the tracks of the murder he committed so he can release DD6 to marker as scheduled.
- The design is pretty great for the era with all of the giant props being really well-realized.  The only let down is the counter to which is the studio floor with a black backdrop.  It would have been improved with a matte background.  The sink set it stellar.
- The middle of the episode has a great dramatic turn from Jackie Hill as Barbara has picked up a seed coated with the pesticide and gets it on her hands.  Ian never notices and off-handedly hands her a handkerchief then obliviously gives a lecture on how horrible it would be if they were to even touch the stuff to a Barbara who has a dawning horror of the consequence of her actions.
- A neat cliffhanger.  The Doctor and Susan are in the drain pipe of the sink.  Forrester and his accomplice plug the drain, then wash the blood from the hands.  They pull the plug from the drain.  Will the water wash away Doctor and Susan?  Will they drown?

PODCAST PROPS
Views from the Longbox #244: The Killing Joke click here for episode
Michael Bailey and Andrew Leyland discuss The Killing Joke, its classic reputations, its current critical re-evaluation, and the recent animated adaptation.

Being of similar age to Michael and Andrew, I was the right age at the right time when Killing Joke came out (I was 13).  I agree it is a deserved classic, and I agree with them that in and of itself it is not misogynistic.  The gender of the child was irrelevant to the Joker's plot, and while it is easy to label it with the brush of 'fridging' when you are trying to get to a character through their loved ones, when said character is a single father of a daughter, your options for targets are extremely limited as a writer.  It is uncomfortable reading what happens to Barbara, but I don't think I would feel "better" if it was replaced with more explicit scenes of the torture of Jim Gordon.  The highlight for me is the climax and denouement of the story.  Even after this latest round of violence, Batman still tries to reach out like he did in the beginning, and my reading is the Joker considers it, then says, nope I've gone too far, and they share a moment where the masks fall and they both empathize with each other, and the story ends on that moment.  Too me, that is the power of the work.  It humanizes them both, and for a brief moment, they share an understanding and a connection.

Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men #100 Unexpected Wonder with Chris Claremont click here for episode

Whew!,  27 more to go and I will be caught up.  When I like a podcast, especially an index show like this, I like to try and catch up. I pick one show at a time to focus on while I maintain pace with the others.  In this episode, Jay and Miles interview Chris Claremont.  I admire Mr. Claremont, and I have never met or heard other interviews with him, so this episode is worth its weight in gold to me.  There are a couple of contradictions:  He speaks out against Warren Ellis trying to involve Kitty and Pete Wisdom in a relationship because of her age, but later said he had at one point wanted to  put her and Gambit in one.  I assume he meant once he had advanced her a few years in age, but it was never clear.  His insight however into character and how to make characters matter and have the events in their lives be impactful was priceless.

BLOG BITS AND BOBBLES
So what happened to us here?  Honestly, I hit a spate of books that I just didn't feel moved to talk about, then I got out of the habit of posting.  However, we are back, and hopefully for the long haul this time.  There will be quite a bit of changes.  I always said this blog would cover more than just comics, and then proceeded to blog almost exclusively about them.  There will be a dedicated effort to talk more about film and television, driven primarily by fires stoked thanks to Palace of Glittering Delights podcast and the Film and Water podcast.  I'm still plugging through my reading lists.  For the golden age reading, I've dropped everything except DC and Fawcett, I still am keeping up with my Marvel Silver Age reading, and for modern comics, I keep up with Marvel and DC, but have put indies on the back-burner for now.  Please leave comments here or on whichever social media format you've discovered us.  'Till next time....

"When a Man Loves A Woman.....He Invades the Skrulls!"

    How far would you go to make your girlfriend happy?  If you're Reed Richards, the answer is through a space-warp to an alien planet in a distant galaxy.   Easily the best issue Marvel published in April 1965, Fantastic Four #37 has the FF go to the Skrull homeworld to avenger the death of Sue and Johnny's parents.  There is a lot of inventiveness this issue: getting a glimpse of Skrull politics, the fact that the FF's powers quickly diminish on the Skrull planet, and the lengths Reed goes to to make his fiancee happy as their wedding nears.  Kirby's art has never been better, and for me, this is the first use of an art collage that enhances instead of detracts.  Maybe its the reproduction values on reprints and digital issues, but most of them before have come across as murky or as disconnected from the story.  Here it give a realistic 3D effect to the ship as it sails through space.  Lee's dialogue crackles with some hilarious Ben Grimm lines.  My favorites: "Boy! Give ya (Reed) a piece of chalk an' a blackboard and there's no stoppin ya'." when Reed explains how their craft is getting to the Skrull homeworld, and later when judging how much of his strength is gone by hitting a wall: "Nothin but a puny WHAP!!  Me -- who usedta never get anything less than a BAROOM or at least a KAPOW!"  The only weakness is the coloring.  If you're reading an original copy on over half of the panels the Skrulls are a pale yellow and without the bumpy chins could be mistaken for Asian characters as depicted in the 40s and 50s.  This issue also has, I believe, the first appearance of Anelle, who would become important in the late 80's/early 90's.  I don't know how often she appeared, but she was mentioned a lot in the first 30 or so issues of that period's Silver Surfer volume.

Honorable Mentions
- www.twotruefreaks.com.  I can't cover it any better and highly recommend you download and give it a listen.

Amazing Spider-Man #23 has Spider-Man go up against a bunch of gangsters being targeted by the Green Goblin.  Great fight scenes with Spidey being swarmed by large groups of thugs, and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it-first appearance of Norman Osborn.  My only hang-up is that it features the Green Goblin.  I started reading comics in 1980 when the Green Goblin was popular in multimedia and merchandising but was Spider-Man's legendary deceased arch-nemesis.  Reading the Lee/Ditko Spider-Man era, the Green Goblin is one of the least interesting villains.  The only thing going for him is the mystery of his identity.  It is still a well-told tale by two greats in the midst of their peak.  Andrew Leyland has covered this issue in Part 4 of his Walloping Web-Slinger series on Palace of Glittering Delights podcast available on iTunes and at

-Daredevil #7 is noteworthy for introducing the classic red uniform for DD, and after spending a little too much time on his bill club, giving a knock-down drag out fight between Daredevil and the Sub-Mariner, who clearly outclasses hornhead in pure power.  Daredevil is forced to get inventive, luring the Sub-Mariner into a construction site and using everything from a wrecking ball, steam shovel, and exposed electrical wires to his advantage.  While the premise doesn't 100% work, I also like that it hangs on Namor trying to be reasonable for a change: the surface-dwellers have what is rightfully his, so he will sue for it in the court of law.  He even goes on a rampage to force the court to recognize him.  Unfortunately this is quickly dropped so the fight can begin, and while it is a glorious fight, one almost wants to see the kind of case Nelson and Murdock would put together.
-

Tales to Astonish #66 has Giant-Man facing Madame Macabre who can change the size of inanimate objects the way that Giant-Man can control his size.  Its a bit of a cheat listing this here, but I've not posted about some of the better Ant-Man/Giant-Man stories here, and I really have a soft spot for Hank.  He is my favorite founding Avenger, and this story does have an interesting angle with him facing someone with a very similar power set with a different limitation.

Notable Events
- Baron Zemo dies in Avengers #15.  The issue wasn't bad, but what starts as a large Masters of Evil roster coming together to tear apart the Avengers gives way to a one-on-one showdown between Zemo and Captain America.  This is where all the drama was because of their history, bit the unseen (at least in this issue) battle between the Avengers and a Masters of Evil Roster of Enchantress, Executioner, Melter, and Black Knight had to be more exciting than what was focused on here.
- Black Widow goes from a Bond femme fatale to super villainess and Peggy Carter first appears as Agent 13 in Tales of Suspense #34.

Housekeeping
It looks like the blog is settling into a weekly posting schedule with Sundays being the most likely day for a new post to go up.  The reading order has changed again:  The Golden Age will now only focus on DC and Marvel.  Trying to also read golden age Fawcett, Quality, and Dell was too much (at least for now).  I'll still read it as the mood strikes me, but it won't be intentional reading for the blog.  The blog has mostly focused on my Marvel silver age reading, but the past two posts, I've purposefully focused on the Golden Age.  Ultimately I'll cover what I enjoyed most for that week, but I'll try to strive for some kind of balance.

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.

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).

Marvel Silver-Age Selections from Jan. 1964

Last night I read Amazing Spider-Man #8,  Avengers #3, Fantastic Four #22, and Journey Into Mystery #100.  My thoughts:
- Amazing Spider-Man #8: Peter Parker and Flash Thompson face of the in gym ring while a robot runs amok in the halls.  In a back-up, Spider-Man crashes Johnny Storm's party and tussles again with the Fantastic Four.  Probably the weakest issue of Spider-Man's first year.  The introduction of the Tinker is a worse story than the Living Brain story, but that issues was buoyed up by the first appearance of the Vulture.  Still, weak Lee and Ditko still makes for a pretty good comic, and I get a cathartic charge every time I read Peter pasting Flash, even if it was accidental.  I miss Flash.  I know he's currently in space in Guardians of the Galaxy, but I've just realized...in the current series Peter doesn't really have friends any more.

-Avengers #3: The team is challenged by Sub-Mariner and Hulk to a fight to the finish.  Until Avengers #4, and the introduction of Captain America, and almost as importantly in #6, Baron Zemo, Avengers was a little aimless after its first issue.  This issue has some decent moments, Hulk being unable to pry Thor's hammer from him for one, but you can tell that Stan was at a bit of a loss.  Any foe strong enough to be a threat to the whole team would outclass Giant-Man and Wasp, but anyone less than that is a push-over for Iron Man and Thor.  It's why I think they had the Hulk quit and become an antagonist for a while: alone he was a threat for the entire team.  Really what hurts this issue is its a team that's not quite gelled.  Everyone tries to act on their own, and while no one get owned, that means Giant-Man backstops Iron Man and Thor while the Wasp....flies around?   It makes to a certain extent, these four not being a cohesive team, but I think its more Stan and Jack really didn't have a sense for how they could measure up and work together yet.

- Fantastic Four #22: An experiment by Reed, increases Sue's powers just in time, as the Mole Man launches a scheme to heat-up the Cold War.  The best of the lot.  This is the spot in there run where Stan and Jack are not so much flying from the seat of their pants, but honing their craft.  Jack has some rather eventful traps that the Mole Man devises, particularly the  cotton trap for Ben, and Stan has Sue make leaps forward in terms of being an asset to the team and silencing the naysayers who pointed out she only existed as the team's damsel in distress.  Their are still plot holes to be sure (how did the Mole Man arrange all of those complaints?) and Stan still doesn't know how to pace a story so it doesn't just abruptly end (Well...let's go home).

- Journey Into Mystery #100:  The second part of the first two-parter I think we've had in the Thor strip.  Mr. Hyde kidnaps Dr. Blake and Nurse Foster while trying to steal a Polaris sub-marine.  If the synopsis sounds a bit ridiculous, it is.  The first part in #99 was much stronger with Thor finding a loop-hole to court Jane Foster, and Calvin Zabo using his new-found power to avenge himself against Don Blake for a career slight earlier in their lives and Thor for interfering.  Nothing that you've seen of Mr. Hyde last issue makes you think that stealing a nuclear sub would be in his wheelhouse.  It's like Lee and Heck are so used to industrial sabotage stories in Iron Man that they forgot they were writing Thor.  Actually Thor was pretty adrift in this period.  It wouldn't be until Kirby returned to the book that it would dig deep into the cosmic and Asgardian roots that its more known for.  There is a Leiber drawn sci-fi morality tale in the "who is the real monster" vein titled 'Unreal', and in the Tales of Asgard by Lee and Kirby, a young Thor and Loki mix it up with a couple of Storm Giants.