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Post by Nowhere Man on May 9, 2015 0:23:36 GMT -5
The Puppet Master's powers, especially as shown in this issue make no sense unless they're magic. Which, in fact, they are. As revealed over a decade later, the radiation in PM's "radioactive" clay--which comes from Wundagore Mountain--is actually the magical essence of the degenerate Elder God named Chthon. Cei-U! I summon the possessed Play-Doh! I never knew that. I like that explanation. It certainly makes more sense that it's magical as opposed to a product of "science." Then again, my knowledge of the FF mythos is spotty at best after the Lee/Kirby run and before Byrne's.
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Post by Nowhere Man on May 18, 2015 8:40:53 GMT -5
Journey Into Mystery #86Credits
Script: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: Dick Ayers Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Artie Simek GCD Synopsis: Zarrko of the year 2262 goes back in time and steals a cobalt bomb in 1962, but Thor chases him forward in time and defeats him. First Appearances: The Tomorrow Man (Zarrko), Odin (first view of his face, at least) Comments: This is the third time I've read this issue and I've always found the opening interesting and kind of amusing. The military is testing its weapons by using Thor as a measuring stick and even go so far as to attempt to see if he can survive a cobalt bomb. In the story, right after the purpose was stated to "test physiological reactions in humans" it's then stated that no human could possibly survive such a blast. Uh-uh. So was the military "trolling" Thor and he was just too eager to please to be offended? All I know is that these great characters can't get out of this era of cold war propaganda fast enough for me. (We get more communists next issue. Yay.) Zarrko might not have been as cool or as interesting as Loki, but I much prefer this little sci-fi/time travel adventure to the aforementioned cold war stuff. I'm assuming the original intent was for Zarrko to be a one-off character as he didn't really seem to stand out from your standard evil scientist type and for the fact that he was conveniently given amnesia at the end of the story. One thing that I've noticed that many bad guys of this particularly era have in common is their mutual love of wearing dark green jump suits. I'm sure the real answer is that jump suits are easier to draw, but it does make you wonder if having a penchant for world-conquering shuts off the part of your brain that cares about fashion. We also see Thor's first "pull this power out of nowhere" moment when he uses his supernatural breath to blow himself back into our dimension, thwarting Zarrko's attempt at zapping him away. Characters Development: None of note besides the part where Thor pulls a fast one on Zarrko by dressing up one of the citizens as himself while he dressed in black robes as a disguise. This is the sort of sneakiness that I'd like to see Thor employ more often when he tangles with Loki. Personal Rating/Historical Importance: 6/6. I sort of struggled gauging this one, but I feel "above average" on both fronts is appropriate. Zarrko would go on to have a surprising shelf-life for such an ostensibly unremarkable villain.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 18, 2015 18:24:20 GMT -5
I really like the Zarrko story... it's just so silly in a good way
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Post by Nowhere Man on May 19, 2015 3:25:29 GMT -5
Strange Tales #102Credits
Plot: Stan Lee Script: Larry Lieber Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: Dick Ayers Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Artie Simek GCD Synopsis: The Human Torch is tricked and trapped by the renowned genius the Wizard, who impersonates the Torch to frame him for crimes. The Torch escapes, captures the Wizard and clears his name with the help of his sister the Invisible Girl. First Appearances: The Wizard Comments: This story would have been a lot better if Stan wouldn't have played up the Torch's "secret identity" so much. The first issues lame explanation was bad enough, but to accept that the Wizard of all people was ignorant of the Torch's identity is absurdly hilarious. One wonders why a man who has achieved so much fame and success (Inventing air-chairs, solar powered personal escalators and escaping locked safes with mini power-saws hidden in his ring, just to name a few accomplishments!) would risk it all just to show up a guy who can burst into flame. One also wonders if it's so easy to simulate the Torch's powers, why not simply be happy with that? He could have made a mint if would have simply continued to charge people $100 dollars a car to pass his "toll gate of flame." (My favorite part of the issue, by the way.) The art was pretty good, though not great. I think Kirby might have played up the Wizard's evil exaggerated look a bit too much. I much prefer the refined Wizard we get later on when he becomes a more credible threat in the pages of the FF. Character Development: Johnny shows a surprising amount of smarts in the way he uses Sue's invisibility to trick the Wizard. It's a silly way to thwart a genius super-villain, sure, but it goes without saying that the Torch of his solo series can't simply relying on Reed to do all the thinking. Personal/Historical Rating: 5/7. Even though the continued use of the secret identity is absurd, I enjoyed the story enough to give it an average rating. Obviously the first appearance of the Wizard is a fairly significant addition to the FF mythos.
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Post by Nowhere Man on May 19, 2015 3:27:26 GMT -5
I really like the Zarrko story... it's just so silly in a good way I think we need to pool our resources and try to figure out how it is that Zarrko can invent time machines but can't invent a primitive explosive device.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 19, 2015 6:55:25 GMT -5
That's easy.. he needed the explosive cobalt core! No such dangerous elements are allowed in the future. He did, after all, quickly modify 'construction' robots to attack Thor.
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Post by Cei-U! on May 19, 2015 7:20:41 GMT -5
Strange Tales #101Credits
Plot: Stan Lee Script: Larry Lieber Comments: This story would have been a lot better if Stan wouldn't have played up the Torch's "secret identity" so much. I'm not sure where this mental block of yours comes from, TtU, but you've got to stop leaving Lieber out of the equation when evaluating these early stories. Cei-U! I summon the missing piece of the puzzle!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 19, 2015 8:49:32 GMT -5
Strange Tales #101Character Development: Johnny shows a surprising amount of smarts in the way he uses Sue's invisibility to trick the Wizard. It's a silly way to thwart a genius super-villain, sure, but it goes without saying that the Torch of his solo series can't simply relying on Reed to do all the thinking. . Up to this point Reed hasn't done that much thinking.
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Post by Nowhere Man on May 19, 2015 9:41:53 GMT -5
Strange Tales #101Credits
Plot: Stan Lee Script: Larry Lieber Comments: This story would have been a lot better if Stan wouldn't have played up the Torch's "secret identity" so much. I'm not sure where this mental block of yours comes from, TtU, but you've got to stop leaving Lieber out of the equation when evaluating these early stories. Cei-U! I summon the missing piece of the puzzle! I made the mistake, again, of only using the first batch of credits that GCD lists. I'm guessing that the credits I listed are for...the cover? I also corrected the issue number.
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Post by Cei-U! on May 19, 2015 10:39:07 GMT -5
Yup. You need to check the credits appearing after the story title. I wouldn't harp on it but, like him or loathe him, Larry Lieber is a big part of why the early Torch, Thor and Ant-Man stories are so different in approach than Stan's work of that same era.
Cei-U! I summon the stickler for accuracy!
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Post by Nowhere Man on May 19, 2015 20:46:14 GMT -5
Yup. You need to check the credits appearing after the story title. I wouldn't harp on it but, like him or loathe him, Larry Lieber is a big part of why the early Torch, Thor and Ant-Man stories are so different in approach than Stan's work of that same era. Cei-U! I summon the stickler for accuracy! I have to admit that I have had the notion that Larry Lieber is a mythical creature created by Stan to explain away his early rush-jobs. Has anyone every actually SEEN Lieber? (For the record...I kid.)
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Post by Farrar on May 20, 2015 8:48:44 GMT -5
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Post by Cei-U! on May 20, 2015 10:58:24 GMT -5
I saw Larry Lieber speak at ComicCon a decade or so back. That's where I first learned that he wrote all those early super-hero stories full-script, a fact Stan Lee confirmed at that same panel. Stan said he had enough confidence in Larry's writing chops that he usually didn't bother to check his scripts before forwarding them to the artists (which is how the Torch's secret identity fiasco happened).
Cei-U! I summon the sibling solidarity!
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Post by the4thpip on May 21, 2015 2:40:37 GMT -5
I have to admit that I have had the notion that Larry Lieber is a mythical creature created by Stan to explain away his early rush-jobs. Has anyone every actually SEEN Lieber? (For the record...I kid.) LOL! Yeah, that alliterative name always struck me as suspicious...Stan's fingerprints are all over it. Larry and the others circa 1969 kirbymuseum.org/blogs/dynamics/2010/12/22/1960s-marvel-bullpen/John Severin was so dashing looking.
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Post by Nowhere Man on May 24, 2015 23:06:24 GMT -5
Tales to Astonish #37 Credits
Script: Stan Lee (plot); Larry Lieber (script) Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: Dick Ayers Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Artie Simek GCD Synopsis: Ant-Man deals with a dangerous extortionist, who turns out to be disguised as one of the victimized jewelers. First Appearances: The Protector Comments: This is one of the silliest Ant-Man stories so far. Probably the silliest. It's hard to figure out how a down-on-his-luck jewelry store owner in Gerald Marsh can afford a giant exoskeleton and even a smoke producing "disintegration ray." The story doesn't say if he created this equipment or not, but given that it takes place in the Silver Age, it can only be assumed that while he can't figure out how to make money selling jewels, he makes up for it by being a scientific genius. Thee ending explanation by Ant-Man as to how Marsh did it all seems to indicate that Kirby and Lieber (or Lee) weren't on the same page here. He has time to leave what looks like 100 lbs of sand all over the wrecked jewelry cases? And where was he hiding all that sand? Ah, comics. The Kirby/Ayers art continues to be solid. Even though the Protector is a fairly lame villain, I have to admit I like the design Kirby came up with. The beret was an odd touch, but that's what makes Kirby so damn interesting. Characters Development: It's clear why Pym needed Janet. There hasn't been any progression in his character so far, which is probably the main reason why these early stories aren't as good as they could have been. Personal Rating/Historical Importance: 4/4. I see this issue as being sub-par on both fronts. The stunts with the ants are entertaining, but we've seen all this before numerous times at this point. I can't wait for the Wasp to make her debut!
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