rodan57

I'm enjoying your (comic) book reports. Never seen Strange Worlds before. (thumbs u

Thanks for the compliment.

I am going to offer a little thanks to all those who have for kept their scans linked for the entire thread. I went back to read from the beginning and those pesky little question marks do make you miss the pictures.

From the TO Con on Sunday.

Amazing Spider-Man #26, July 1965 (April 1965, newsstand). Steve Ditko cover.

As usual in these early Spider-Man comics, Peter Parker gets as much "air time" as Spider-man ... and poor Peter can't get a break.

Betty Brant is all over Peter about Liz Allen and, as Betty had met Mary Jane Watson in issue #25, she's not to happy about him having a "secret" girlfriend who is "very hard to miss seeing!" To top things off, Liz Allen no longer wants to have anything to do with Peter when she sees Peter having a brawl with Flash and his cronys.

Can things be worse? His Aunt May confiscated his Spider-man costume the previous issue and Peter is reduced to buying an ill-fitting Spidey suit from a costume store. He's forced to use his webbing to hold the ankles, wrists and mask attached. (It's his only luck this issue that he did stick down his mask as he is later clobbered by the Green Goblin's jet glider and the Goblin can't remove the mask of the unconscious Spider-Man.)

________________________________________________________

Gunsmoke Western #69, March 1962 (January 1962, newsstand). Kirby and Ayers cover.

There's a fine 6 page Kirby/Ayers story in here called "The Betrayer'. It's a formulaic 'family vs. duty' conflict but very nicely done in the early 60s Kirby style.

From Imperial Coin and Stamp in Hamilton, Ontario.

Strange Worlds #2, February 1959

(November 3, 1958, newsstand, from published sources, but datestamp reads December 5?). Steve Ditko cover.

The first issue of this title from December 1958 (September newsstand) marked the return of Kirby to Marvel and the seed of the genesis that would become Marvel Comics.

____________________________________________

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #10, September 1964 (July 1964 newsstand). Kirby and Ayers cover.

I think this book has one of the most powerful cover images of Nick Fury ever drawn.

This was an eBay purchase that went very well. I find comics in this genre difficult to locate, especially one so early in the restructuring of Atlas into Marvel. Though it was still the company with "no name", Kirby and Ditko had already joined the fold.

Love Romances 82 July 1959 (April 1959 newsstand). Vince Colletta cover.

This title was discontinued (#106) along with Gunsmoke Western (#77) in May 1963 to make way for the July introductions of The Avengers and The X-Men.

Nice trio.

2002

towards2112, FlyingDonut, gman, ArAich, greggy, fingfangfoom, Chromium, supapimp, Bronzebruce13, CaptainOfIndustry, valiantman, drummy, nearmint, Zonker, Architect, dena, SilverandBronze, chrisco37, bronty, fantastic_four, mr_highgrade, comic paradox, sborock, TheVisitor, joe_collector, awe4one, tkg2627, scottish, clobberintime, ComicDiva89, comiclink, comicwiz, comix4fun, delekkerste, Borg, drbanner, drice6900, darthdiesel, jimjum12, OldGuy, Ron_Nasty

2003

Sterlingcomics, Shield, r100comics, Scrooge, Earl, BrianR, WEBHEAD, goldust40, sckao, Theagenes, detective27kid, Flaming_Telepath, Aces, Silver, shiverbones, sakaridis, 500Club, BurntBoy, seank, newerthannew, Mephisto, Calamerica, the_beyonder, tth2, DCEng, Aman619, Methuselah, Hammer : ), jbud73, TheWatcher, NewtSamson, PUNYHUMAN, DiceX

2004

xsmanx, JordanScott, r1970d, Stronguy, namisgr, Currin Comics, marvelcollector, toro, Buck Biggins, Norinn Radd, bounty_coder, iggy, nerfherder-3, comicdey, FFB, FUELMAN, cosmic-spider-man, jeffreykli, jimm94, MutantKeys, BradleyX2, batmanfan, tilleycs, bullet123, CentaurMan, divad, COMICKINGS, DawgPhan, ComicBookGuy, bcc, matchstick johnny, Brockley, rjpb, johnnycoolxx, Apotheosis, Comcasthawk, icefires, inconceivable, stinkowhiff, wrcomics, gozer, helionaut, pastandpresentcomics, mister_not_so_nice, Paris_Fred, Moondog, colossuscomics, fable, Murph, bghkoyama, Samurai-Bill, wdb23, TLC55555, Silver Surfer, Rich_Henn, DCman, Dmac538, action1kid, ASM-completist, oldmilwaukee6er, gifflefunk, dmgcsr, ghengishahn, spidrvacc, Fandango, micmack, squidmo2000, Jayman, Paul_Maul, eddly, samurai007, Durden08, rabidwolf, Shadow, Harvey Dude, 1st-and-keys, october, bubbagump, Kramerica, DKB, markav, MemphisChad, RustyStaple, Ajax, CatskillMike, The_Wolverine, GreatEscape, Reno McCoy, codfish, Khumbu, Shemp, The Brain, ajaxfarrell, Fastballspecial, Underdog, Broken Shakespear, finecomics, shrunkenhead, Rhino, arexcrooke, skybolt, jayvegas420,*paull*, Bat-Hound, WiseGuyX, dzminn, sd2416, lotemo, njyoder1982, CW, iron maniac, Stromm, alwaysbronze, Worldsbestcomics, comichut, Kakapo, borateen, heinlein99, Grimstarman, MasterChief, Artboy99, langur88, AussieRuss, Mithril Man, dem1138, jokersrevenge, the blob, DNAgent, tay666, Ijiwaru Sensei

2005

Sal, kingofrulers, Crows, Cryptkeeper59, theHumanTorch, John72tex, RockMyAmadeus, BigMike, JmC, Benz, Point Five, Inhuman Fiend, GACollectibles, comicdonna, HouseofComics.com, Monkeyman, skypinkblu, noljoner

2006

joeypost, nepatkm, lookwhoitis, MCMiles, thirdgreenham, Monstro, TimMaY, DrWatson, Korvac Saga, Ciorac (2004*), Karma23, Superman2006, ernster, Dark Knight, piper, SolitaireOne, JohnT, Loki, Juggernaut, *spoon* Pontoon, gaz973, Rodan57

2007

BlowUpTheMoon, MacMan, Count, blue808, Mr. Diggler, trmoore54, cheetah, bosco685, MR. COMICBOOK, JazzMan, bronze_rules, Spidermanontilt, Designer Toast, TupennyConan, shark2557, snitzer, rtarturo, almoe, the shadow knows, cloudofwit, Dale Roberts, nwpassage, Big Daddy, Doctor Svord, Annihilus, szelim, drewincanada, telerites, electricprune, Rommin, He11blazer, Pitboss, Socratic Wonder

2008

Comicopolis, Boozad, Nmtg9, Dollarbill, PEP, Black Lantern, Junkenstein99, Cimm, ShortstackComics, Universal Soldier, Lebowski, Beau, jeBailey, oakman29, Insaneclown, Ken Aldred, ComicDoc, Drakeprimeone, dwip99,UnRested Spectre

2009

slym2none, ashsaytr, marino1, gladuchka99, Jessica Alba

2003

Scrooge

2004

xsmanx, JordanScott, Stronguy, namisgr

2005

kingofrulers, Crows

2006

joeypost, nepatkm, lookwhoitis; Rodan57;

2007

BlowUpTheMoon, MacMan, Count, blue808, Mr. Diggler, trmoore54,MR.COMICBOOK, JazzMan

2008

Comicopolis, Boozad, Nmtg9

2009

slym2none, ashsaytr

"I must interject here. Don Heck was one of the most prominent Atlas artists of the 50s and early 60s. He had a distinct style and did fantastic work on fantasy, westerns and war titles..not to mention the early adventures of Iron Man.

 

His work on the pre-hero fantasy titles is just as good, IMO, as the stuff Kirby and Ditko were doing."

 

Count me in as a Don Heck admirer too. Some great stuff.

I am also a lover of Heck's early work especially because he was inking his own work.

I have a suspicion that Heck was like Ditko in that he provided a lot of the magic in his work at the inking stage.

Blake Bell's site has some interesting comparisons between Ditko's pencils and inked work. The two examples provided below are not reproduced in high quality so one must look closely (or go to the original comic book) to see the true beauty in his inked line.

Worth a look: Blake Bell's Ditko Looked Up

Here are the last three books I picked up at the Toronto Con. I've been a little slow in the scanning.

This Sgt. Fury came out November 1969, the month before that I started collecting Marvel Comics. (I started with FF#96 and Thor #173 -- though finding Marvel Comics in those first few months was sort of hit and miss in my small hometown.) Fury was not a title I collected when young but I am including all period books as I start a "second" collection of early Bronze books that I would have bought on the newsstands during my first collecting period, 1970-1973.

I always found Amazing Adventures and Astonishing Tales (in their early incorporation) to be very interesting, with some great artists, Kirby, Smith and Wood. This book hit the newsstands in July 1970.

This final book is another title that I didn't collect when new as I avoided all non-superhero books. But these days, the 15¢ on the cover just cries out nostalgia to me. It's just a collection of 50s Atlas reprints, but it has a rather crude but colourful Trimpe cover.

Space Adventures #12

This is a great cover.

Just posting an encapsualtion of some of the things I have posted here. This was from an article I had written in 2006. Made some updates, edited it, removed some outdated info.

Thanks povertyrow and Ze-man for the high level of information and discussion you have provided in this thread. I checked in just to scan the new posts and have literally lost an hour to a review of the discussion. It was an hour well-lost. (thumbs u

I quoted a small section of an earlier post, povertyrow, just to ask out of curiousity, if you have the time, what information did you believe had become outdated?

Here are three nice 1965 Marvels I picked up at the Toronto Con.

The Spider-Man was an upgrade I debated (note the three long folds on the cover...far more noticeable in the scan) but purchased as my, now, undercopy had a tape pull that bugged me a bit.

I was happy with the Avengers as it is my earliest copy from the pre-1966 period I am interested in. I have never been a big Avengers reading fan as balancing so many diverse heroes in one title always seemed a real task for both writer and artist. So I appreciate this book for the Kirby cover and the Heck art (Ayers did a marvelous job on the inks). The GCBD lists Frank Giacoia as the inker for Kirby. I am sure they are right but it really does have a Gil Kane look to it.

This FF was probably my best purchase... sold to me from a 50% off bin as a 7.0. I wish I could buy 7.0s like this all day long... the long transverse stress line by the bottom staple is only easy to see in the scan and the colours are eyepopping. Another great and probably unappreciated Kirby cover as it seldom comes up for discussion when discussing his FF work. #47 is also the last issue for the "small print" Marvel colophon that was originally designed by Ditko back in February 1963 (Apr./May issue dates) for all the Marvel titles.

... The real exciting part is that I never owned a single Strange Tales book, or even read one before this month.

Take your time and don't rush the Doctor Strange. It's some of Ditko's absolute best.

Ditko and Kirby...Kirby and Ditko...my two favorite comic artists of all time!

 

Here's some links...

Steve Ditko,com

http://www.steveditko.com/

 

Ditko Looked Up?

http://www.ditko.comics.org/

 

This one's pretty good as well...

http://ditko.blogspot.com/

 

When Strange and Stranger came out, there were a few threads here...and there were several negative reviews of the book...a couple of them I read the reviewers were like really pizzed off this guy even made the book...here's one link...

http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/07/15/review-strange-and-stranger-the-world-of-steve-ditko/

 

But for any Ditko fan this book is a must-have...lots of history and great artwork as well as insight into his style...I'm sure there are factual errors as there always seem to be in books of this nature but still very worthwhile!

 

This one features some artwork from the book...

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/08/book-looks-at-s.html

 

And lastly...this one's about some guy's real encounter with Stevey...pretty funny...

http://steve-fuentes.livejournal.com/4914.html

Thanks for investing the time in collating the sources. (thumbs u

I picked this up among others at the Toronto Show. It's a book I remember buying off of the newsstand back in 1970: some Marie Severin goodness.

His line is very delicate in the old Marvel Comics and does not hold up well in reprint form. He was also one of those intuitive artists who drew and inked with an understanding as to how colour would interact with his images. Therefore black and white images and images boldly recoloured do not match with his original intent. One truly needs to view his work in the original form on newsprint.

Can I join the club?

 

Nothing like joining the club with a real bang. Must be a very nice book to read through. I don't know if anyone else enjoys this particular aspect of reading an old book, but I take my time over reading the indicia: Issue Number and Date of Publication.

Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1959, will always a special read.

I have always thought that Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense were put together by Lee, with Kirby and Ditko in mind, as nuanced niche replacements for the then recently cancelled sci-fi titles, World of Fantasy and Strange Worlds.

TTA and TOS, with Strange Tales and Journey into Mystery, guaranteed Kirby a reasonable monthly page count, especially as Kirby replace Maneely as House cover artist.

What a nice book. Someone tore it by accident years ago, but you can tell from the rest of the book that it was cared for by its owners.

Is it possible to see pg.3?

 

I just can't do it. If I ever decide to sell the secret of page 3 will be a dynamite marketing tool.

This is actually even funnier if you read October's answer and glance at his avatar.

Is it possible to see pg.3?

Thanks, shark, for posting the Bullpen pictures.

1975 was just two years after I stopped collecting comics for the first time (they killed Gwen) and it's unexpectedly nostalgic to see the 70s faces that created/molded many of the characters and stories I enjoy as a youngster.

I'd agree. As I am no Dell/Gold key scholar, I am wondering if the artists of these covers are well known?

 

Yes, in general they are. Many of them are by George Wilson and Mo Gollub. I'm pretty sure most of the Dell Turok covers are Gollub (the ones with great dinosaurs). The first few Dr Solar are by Richard Powers. Even though there are lots of blanks or question mark credits at GCD, there are people there that know at a glance who painted which ones (not me). Yes, I wish they'd enter the data too.

 

Jack

 

They are reasonably known within the field of illustration art but that doesn't really translate into well-known in "art" circles.

 

Maybe I was answering the wrong question.

Rodan, were you asking whether credits for the covers are known (how I read it), or whether the covers were done by painters that are famous in art circles (apparently how adamstrange read it)? If the latter, Richard Powers may be about as well-known as an illustrator can be with the exception of superstars like Norman Rockwell.

 

Jack

Yes, I was asking what you thought I was and thanks for the information-- I notice that the label on the Turok #40, above, doesn't ID the cover artist as would a Marvel or DC.

I'd agree. As I am no Dell/Gold key scholar, I am wondering if the artists of these covers are well known?

Welcome to the world of pre-hero Marvels! TTA is a wonderful place to start your collecting. There are so many wonderful Kirby & Heck prototypes and 5 page Ditko gems in that title that it makes one's mouth water.

This is a particularly well-crafted cover -- and it plays well upon the paranoia of the reader.