Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 20, 2015 3:37:12 GMT -5
Tales of Suspense #40
Cover Date: April, 1963
Cover
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Don Heck
Colors: Stan Goldberg
Letters: Artie Simek
Credits
Script: Stan Lee (plot); Robert Bernstein [as R. Berns] (script)
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Don Heck
Colors: Stan Goldberg
Letters: John Duffy [as Duffi]
Synopsis: After a brief recap of Tony Stark’s background and life, we’re taken to the circus where Tony Stark and his date, Marion, are present when a group of performing lions and tigers escape their cage. Stark changes into Iron Man and rounds up the big cats, but in the process he realizes from the reaction of the audience that the grey appearance of his armor frightens some of the women and children. Marion suggests that Iron Man should change his appearance to gold, to reflect that he’s a modern day “knight.” Tony thinks this is a good idea and proceeds to point the armor with untarnishable golden paint. Dropping Marion off at the airport, Tony promises to pick her up again when she returns the next Saturday on a plane from Granville.
When Tony arrives to pick her up he learns that Granville shut down its airport three days prior. Tony learns from the local newspaper that the town had recently erected a wall to encircle the city and decides to investigate as Iron Man. Arriving, Iron Man uses his armors high-tech drill to bore under the wall. When he arrives, the townsfolk, including the police, seemed hypnotized and attack him on site. He soon learns that they have erected a statue to some creature called Gargantus, who appears to look exactly like a giant Neanderthal man. Gargantus arrives and attacks Iron Man, but in the battle Iron Man notices that his eyes emits a strange light and deduces that it’s this that’s hypnotized the populace. After noticing that the wind is blowing, yet a dark cloud still hovers over the city, Iron Man proceeds to destroy Gargantus, who is really a robot, with three transistor powered magnets. Then using his chest search light, he reveals an alien spacecraft hiding in the cloud. Iron Man hurls his magnets at the craft, but they flee in the Earth having learned that the inhabitants of the planet have changed since they last visited some 80,000 years ago.
Character Appearances: Iron Man [Tony Stark]; Gargantus (introduction, origin)
Comments: I can’t help but feel that the change from gray to gold was a bad move. Personally, I much prefer the gray armor, mainly because the gold (Which is really yellow given that this is an old comic. Yellow might be my least favorite color, at least as the only color option. “Hey, look! Iron Man’s yellar!”) is more than a little silly and unthreatening to my eyes. Iron Man in this early period is dangerously close to looking like a cross between the Michelin Man and a fire hydrant as it is, so giving him the color scheme of a giant banana wasn’t the best choice in my ever so humble opinion. The story by Stan and Rob Bernstein wasn’t that bad, and I like the missing girlfriend mystery angle, but the revelation of yet another generic alien plot (So generic that the aliens weren’t named. They looked kinda like Skrulls with bad facelifts.) and yet another robot monster was a bit of letdown. There is also the amusing plot-hole regarding the fact that Marion suggested the color change, yet doesn’t know that Stark is Iron Man. Unless she lives up to the “dumb blond” stereotype in a big way, how hard would it be for her to piece things together? Bernstein (I presume) also has Iron Man exclaim “Galloping gears!” Sheesh.
Kirby did the layouts and Heck did the inks, but some of the panels look like pure Heck, while others look like pure Kirby. Art wise it’s a very odd issue. It’s pretty good storytelling, but not as strong as the solo job Heck did in Tales of Suspense #39.
Character Development: We get our first real glimpse of Tony Stark, tragic ladies’ man and multi-millionaire. He has to decline an offer to go “swimming” with his date and another couple because of his pesky, life sustaining, chest-plate.
Personal Rating/Historical Importance: 5/7. A fairly average second issue with an unimaginative villain, but it was enjoyable enough. It’s more notable for the change in color scheme which would last a few more issues before we get the first of the classic red and gold armor designs.
Cover Date: April, 1963
Cover
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Don Heck
Colors: Stan Goldberg
Letters: Artie Simek
Credits
Script: Stan Lee (plot); Robert Bernstein [as R. Berns] (script)
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Don Heck
Colors: Stan Goldberg
Letters: John Duffy [as Duffi]
Synopsis: After a brief recap of Tony Stark’s background and life, we’re taken to the circus where Tony Stark and his date, Marion, are present when a group of performing lions and tigers escape their cage. Stark changes into Iron Man and rounds up the big cats, but in the process he realizes from the reaction of the audience that the grey appearance of his armor frightens some of the women and children. Marion suggests that Iron Man should change his appearance to gold, to reflect that he’s a modern day “knight.” Tony thinks this is a good idea and proceeds to point the armor with untarnishable golden paint. Dropping Marion off at the airport, Tony promises to pick her up again when she returns the next Saturday on a plane from Granville.
When Tony arrives to pick her up he learns that Granville shut down its airport three days prior. Tony learns from the local newspaper that the town had recently erected a wall to encircle the city and decides to investigate as Iron Man. Arriving, Iron Man uses his armors high-tech drill to bore under the wall. When he arrives, the townsfolk, including the police, seemed hypnotized and attack him on site. He soon learns that they have erected a statue to some creature called Gargantus, who appears to look exactly like a giant Neanderthal man. Gargantus arrives and attacks Iron Man, but in the battle Iron Man notices that his eyes emits a strange light and deduces that it’s this that’s hypnotized the populace. After noticing that the wind is blowing, yet a dark cloud still hovers over the city, Iron Man proceeds to destroy Gargantus, who is really a robot, with three transistor powered magnets. Then using his chest search light, he reveals an alien spacecraft hiding in the cloud. Iron Man hurls his magnets at the craft, but they flee in the Earth having learned that the inhabitants of the planet have changed since they last visited some 80,000 years ago.
Character Appearances: Iron Man [Tony Stark]; Gargantus (introduction, origin)
Comments: I can’t help but feel that the change from gray to gold was a bad move. Personally, I much prefer the gray armor, mainly because the gold (Which is really yellow given that this is an old comic. Yellow might be my least favorite color, at least as the only color option. “Hey, look! Iron Man’s yellar!”) is more than a little silly and unthreatening to my eyes. Iron Man in this early period is dangerously close to looking like a cross between the Michelin Man and a fire hydrant as it is, so giving him the color scheme of a giant banana wasn’t the best choice in my ever so humble opinion. The story by Stan and Rob Bernstein wasn’t that bad, and I like the missing girlfriend mystery angle, but the revelation of yet another generic alien plot (So generic that the aliens weren’t named. They looked kinda like Skrulls with bad facelifts.) and yet another robot monster was a bit of letdown. There is also the amusing plot-hole regarding the fact that Marion suggested the color change, yet doesn’t know that Stark is Iron Man. Unless she lives up to the “dumb blond” stereotype in a big way, how hard would it be for her to piece things together? Bernstein (I presume) also has Iron Man exclaim “Galloping gears!” Sheesh.
Kirby did the layouts and Heck did the inks, but some of the panels look like pure Heck, while others look like pure Kirby. Art wise it’s a very odd issue. It’s pretty good storytelling, but not as strong as the solo job Heck did in Tales of Suspense #39.
Character Development: We get our first real glimpse of Tony Stark, tragic ladies’ man and multi-millionaire. He has to decline an offer to go “swimming” with his date and another couple because of his pesky, life sustaining, chest-plate.
Personal Rating/Historical Importance: 5/7. A fairly average second issue with an unimaginative villain, but it was enjoyable enough. It’s more notable for the change in color scheme which would last a few more issues before we get the first of the classic red and gold armor designs.