strange tales #120: flamin' 'eck 42
Deftly Written by: Stan Lee
Dazzlingly Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Dramatically Inked by: Dick Ayers
Distinctively Lettered by: S. Rosen
We're back to Strange Tales, as Jack Kirby draws his final Human Torch solo strip. It's not a great story, being notable for introducing the third-rate Sub-Mariner villain Barracuda, and teaming up the Human Torch with Iceman from the X-Men. If you've read the pre-Crisis story featuring the first meeting of Batman and Superman (the one on the cruise ship, brilliantly re-told in Superman/Batman Annual #1, with extra-added Deathstroke and Deadpool), then the basics of this issue will be very familiar.
Of course, neither Superman nor Batman attempted to defeat the villain by hurling fireballs seemingly at random towards the wooden deck they were standing on, being unable to generate fire from their bodies, and having a health respect for the flammability of wood. Even with Iceman on hand to extinguish any stray flames, it seems like an incredibly stupid thing for Johnny to do.
Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #120 on our twenty-eighth episode: Bailey's Iceman Podcast with special guest-host Michael Bailey