Stan, Jack, and Steve - The 1960's (1962) Jack Kirby creates the Marvel Universe! 4 4

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

Tales of Suspense #32 - I'm no editor, but these two mistakes stood out to me: In the first panel Stan misses a word in the first sentence "I've got (to) think up a new show..." and in the last panel he calls the main character by the name Grimm, and yet in the same panel then correctly calls him Grumm!

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

Also for Tales of Suspense #32, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko have a story, signed Stan Lee & S. Ditko on the splash. 

[bc]

On 1/13/2023 at 3:37 AM, Prince Namor said:

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

Also for Journey Into Mystery #82, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko have a story, signed 'Stan Lee & S. Ditko on the splash page. 

Didn't realize "Orrgo" had his own planet

-bc

[Dr. Haydn]

Hmm...

So, we have TWO stories in May 1962, one by Ditko, one by Kirby--about an unscrupulous guy who steals other peoples' ideas. I wonder how they thought up such a thing?

[Dr. Haydn]

On 1/13/2023 at 7:21 AM, Prince Namor said:

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

Tales of Suspense #32 - I'm no editor, but these two mistakes stood out to me: In the first panel Stan misses a word in the first sentence "I've got (to) think up a new show..." and in the last panel he calls the main character by the name Grimm, and yet in the same panel then correctly calls him Grumm!

An interesting detail here: the letterer of the story is Joe Letterese (the bottom caption in the last panel is his work--the wide D's are a quirk of his handwriting), but the dialogue in the last panel is clearly Artie Simek's handwriting. So, the dialogue was probably a last-minute change (I would guess by editor Stan Lee). That would explain the spelling error (Marvel of course had a character named Grimm by this time, and Stan was notorious for getting character names mixed up.)

I wonder what the original (presumably Kirby) dialogue said?

Edited January 13, 2023 by Dr. Haydn

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Tales to Astonish #34, Jack Kirby does the cover (inked by D. Ayers) and writes and pencils TWO stories. The cover is unsigned, but is a recreation of the front page which IS signed 'Kirby Ayers' in two small boxes (I mean, really small) by D. Ayers. 

Story ONE (inked by D. Ayers):

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Tales to Astonish #34, Jack Kirby does the cover (inked by D. Ayers) and writes and pencils TWO stories. 

Story TWO (inked by Paul Reinman):

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

Also for Tales to Astonish #34, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko have a story, signed Stan Lee & S. Ditko on the splash. 

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Strange Tales #99, Jack Kirby does the cover and writes and pencils TWO stories, all inked by D. Ayers. The small 'Kirby/Ayers' double box is on the cover and the splash to both stories. 

I originally read this story in an old copy of Fantasy Masterpieces way back in the day - I still really like this, especially that ending!

Story ONE: 

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Strange Tales #99, Jack Kirby does the cover and writes and pencils TWO stories, all inked by D. Ayers. The small 'Kirby/Ayers' double box is on the cover and the splash to both stories. 

Story TWO: 

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

Also for Strange Tales #99, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko have a story, signed Stan Lee & S. Ditko on the splash. 

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Incredible Hulk #2, Jack Kirby does the cover and story, this time inked by Steve Ditko.

I love Kirby's work. I love Ditko's work. I was never a fan of Kirby inked by Ditko.

Maybe Marvel felt the same way... Pre-1980, this issue was reprinted only TWICE - once in 1967 (Marvel Collectors Items Classics #8) and once in 1978 (pocket books), while #3 was reprinted FIVE times: In the Lancer Book series (1966), in 1967 (Marvel Collectors Items Classics #3), in Giant Size Defenders #1 (1974, where I first read it), TWICE in 1978 (pocket books AND the Simon and Schuster book)...

It doesn't change anything though... this was a fun issue...

Chapter ONE: 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Prince Namor

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Incredible Hulk #2, Jack Kirby does the cover and story, this time inked by Steve Ditko.

Chapter TWO:

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Incredible Hulk #2, Jack Kirby does the cover and story, this time inked by Steve Ditko.

Chapter THREE:

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Incredible Hulk #2, Jack Kirby does the cover and story, this time inked by Steve Ditko.

Chapter FOUR:

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Incredible Hulk #2, Jack Kirby does the cover and story, this time inked by Steve Ditko.

An AD for Fantastic Four #5!

And a strange announcement regarding TO MUCH mail to rent any letters??? Hmmm...

Edited January 13, 2023 by Prince Namor

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Incredible Hulk #2, Jack Kirby does the cover and story, this time inked by Steve Ditko.

Chapter FIVE:

Edited January 13, 2023 by Prince Namor

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

Incredible Hulk #2 - some notes... I think one of the things that ultimately hurt this title was the consistency of art, story and characterization. And color. Just from issue #2... is he mindless or scheming? Is he Grey or Green? Is he Brando or Karloff?

Like most lasting creations there'd be some lessons learned and growing pains...

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

Incredible Hulk #2 - was Ditko given the Hulk inking job because AAF was absent for the month?

[Prince Namor]

ON NEWSSTANDS MAY 1962

For Rawhide Kid #29, Jack Kirby does the cover and 3 stories, all inked by D. Ayers. The little signature boxes are there (including on the cover) and Stan Lee signs his name too. 

I'm not a huge Western fan, but this is one of those Kirby stories (and sorry, but this IS a Kirby story) that I really like. 

Story ONE: