Story plot: Stan Lee
Script: Jerry Siegel
Art: Dick Ayers
Lettering: S. Rosen
Let's deal with the elephant in the room first. The script for this issue and the next of Strange Tales was written, from notes by Stan, by Jerry Siegel (credited as Joe Carter). An unfortunate figure at this time, Siegel was routinely abused by Mort Weisinger at DC, his work help up for ridicule in the offices. As suggested by Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, Stan gave Jerry these assignments almost out of pity for the creator who kick-started superhero comics. We rather liked this issue, we weren't such a fan of the next.
Things start off with Johnny irritating everyone in Glendale by constantly showing off, exhibiting ADHD tendencies long before such a condition would become well-known. These panels get included for the idea that concentric rings of fire would burn away in the air for any time at all, remaining perfectly stationary.
Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #112 on our seventeenth episode: No Funny Title Springs To Mind
[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Episode_17.mp3]