Strange Tales #107: Nova Time 3

Plot: Stan Lee

Script: Larry Lieber

Art: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

From up-and-to-the-right to down-and-to-the-left. Dick Ayers is really showing off his amazing panel compositions here...

However, this is the first time that Johnny has gone full-on nova with his powers, despite using them to blind the Miracle Man in issue #3, and threatening to go near-nova a couple of times. The idea behind this powers is that it's a super-hot, almost explosive blast of his powers, using all of his energy to great effect but leaving him spent.

I sure hope, based on the angle of his descent, that he doesn't want to go into the water...

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #107 in our eleventh episode: Red? Yes! Communist? Yes! Russian? No!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Episode_11.mp3]

Strange Tales #107: Flame On 29

Plot: Stan Lee

Script: Larry Lieber

Art: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

Are you starting to get deja vu with this issue? The background details may have changed slightly, but this is the fourth panel we've had featuring Johnny flying up and to the right whilst crying FLAME ON! And, at four 'Flame On's so far, this is the most populous issue to date for Johnny's catchphrase.

This time, Johnny exhibits a natural waterproofing as he manages to ignite despite being underwater.

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #107 in our eleventh episode: Red? Yes! Communist? Yes! Russian? No!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Episode_11.mp3]

Strange Tales #107: Flame On 28

Plot: Stan Lee

Script: Larry Lieber

Art: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

So, Namor beat Johnny up with his asbestos-clad fist. And then tied him to the back of a dolphin. And swam away.

So, Johnny decided to ignite small parts of his body, burning through the tethers without even gently heating the dolphin.

Which is how we get to this panel, where Johnny - presumably un-dampened by his proximity to the ocean, as we've seen how even the tiniest amount of dew can retard his ability to ignite - flies away from a dolphin. And, if you look closely at the artwork, you can see the dolphin's back actually on fire.

So much for taking care...

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #107 in our eleventh episode: Red? Yes! Communist? Yes! Russian? No!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Episode_11.mp3]

Strange Tales #107: It's... ASBESTOS!!! 10

Plot: Stan Lee

Script: Larry Lieber

Art: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

It's a shame the remit of this blog doesn't allow me to cover the brief trend for giving Namor ridiculous powers that started with this issue. Just prior to today's panel, Namor was seen hurtling unstoppably towards an iceberg. To survive, he employed the powers of a puffer fish and inflated his body to three times its original size, embedding himself in the ice. He then shrank down to his normal size and easily escaped. Yes, he was pretty much Aquaman crossed with Animal Man.

Namor is scavenging around for things to use in his battle with the Torch. He grabs a statue from an ancient Atlantean ruin, and a torn bit of asbestos, presumably from an ancient Atlantean insulated wall. The statue is to mesmerise the Torch, the asbestos to wrap around his fist so that he might wail on the teenager without burning his knuckles.

Its origins aside, this is probably one of the most sensible uses of asbestos seen so far.

And as an aside, I really like Dick Ayers' depiction of Namor in this panel. It's very recognisably Namor without being a carbon-copy of Jack Kirby's rendition.

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #107 in our eleventh episode: Red? Yes! Communist? Yes! Russian? No!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Episode_11.mp3]

Strange Tales #107: Flame On 27

Plot: Stan Lee

Script: Larry Lieber

Art: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

After a few well-earned days off, I find myself hankerin' for a picture of a teenage boy self-immolating whilst flying, with no harmful effects. And, surprisingly enough, that's exactly what I get.

The ridiculous conceit that Johnny's flame would randomly run out without warning came into play once again this issue. Out for a flaming joyride, Johnny finds himself out over the sea, flameless. Landing on a handy ship, he is put to work by the sceptical sailors until the mists creep in, forcing Johnny to re-flame and help them out.

I love the sailor's surprised reaction to the fact that they had the Human Torch aboard all this time - "Well, I'll be! And we had 'im manicurin' the deck!". Larry Lieber's wonderful wordplay creating a great piece of speech.

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #107 in our eleventh episode: Red? Yes! Communist? Yes! Russian? No!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Episode_11.mp3]

Strange Tales #107: Flame On 26

Plot: Stan Lee

Script: Larry Lieber

Art: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

Well, we didn't stick around long with Fantastic Four #13... So, back to Strange Tales then!

Today's 'Flame On' comes after Johnny, left at home instead of joining the team thanks to his shenanigans the previous issue, starts snooping through Sue's belongings. He soon comes across a framed photograph of Namor, the Sub-Mariner, proof that Sue still has feelings for him.

Ignoring the question of when exactly the picture was taken (maybe during his tenure as boss of SM Studios), he decides to head off and beat up Namor and prove himself worthy of inclusion in the rest of the team's activities.

There's not that much to say about this panel, save to note that the room must be pretty big for Johnny to be able to fly in an arc like he does.

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #107 in our eleventh episode: Red? Yes! Communist? Yes! Russian? No!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Episode_11.mp3]

Fantastic Four #13: It's... ASBESTOS!!! 9

Story: Stan Lee

Art: Jack Kirby

Inking: Steve Ditko

Lettering: Art Simek

Today's panel represents  a first for this blog, and certainly a first for comics.

What seems like a perfectly harmless (well, mostly harmless) sheet of asbestos is actually a patriotic Communist shape-changing ape who is in an ancient abandoned alien city on the moon. I'll bet you never guessed it was going to be that!

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #13 in our eleventh episode: Red? Yes! Communist? Yes! Russian? No!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Episode_11.mp3]

Fantastic Four #13: Reed's Stretchy Body 21

Story: Stan Lee

Art: Jack Kirby

Inking: Steve Ditko

Lettering: Art Simek

Casually forgetting that he has already invented a rocket ship pilotable by one man that can easily break orbit, Reed is concerned about winning the space race and beating the Communists to the moon. However, he's seeing it as a solo mission, again forgetting that his best friend is a crack US air force pilot with spaceflight experience.

So, it's no wonder that Ben is not happy at being left out of the plans, making his point rather physically by grabbing Reed and stuffing him into a nearby oversized test tube. I love this visual, with Reed seemingly shrinking to ensure that he fits in the tube.

I mentioned yesterday that Steve Ditko's inks would create some great visuals in this book. In these three panels, we see his influence on The Thing, giving more definition to him than we'd seen with Dick Ayers, whilst still retaining the concept of Ben's skin being hide-like. I love how he gives expression and feeling to Ben's face whilst never letting us see his eyes through great use of shadow.

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #13 in our eleventh episode: Red? Yes! Communist? Yes! Russian? No!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Episode_11.mp3]

Fantastic Four #13: It's... ASBESTOS!!! 8

Story: Stan Lee

Art: Jack Kirby

Inking: Steve Ditko

Lettering: Art Simek

We've made fun of unusual uses of  asbestos before, focusing on Stan and Jack's misguided understanding of the physical properties of the substance, from cells and dungeons, to buzzsaws and spray. And don't get me started on Johnny's room...

But as we all know, asbestos is a nasty and toxic substance, whose fibres cause a very nasty lung condition that leads to death. Which is why it's darkly funny that Reed would mix asbestos and unstable molecules to create a protective stretch-suit for himself.

It's not very apparent from this panel, but the inker for this issue is Steve Ditko, regarded by Stan Lee as his favourite inker for Jack Kirby. We'll see some notable differences in the artwork this issue as the two styles mesh to create a unique and different look for the book, one that sadly would not be reproduced in Strange Tales Annual #2.

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #13 in our eleventh episode: Red? Yes! Communist? Yes! Russian? No!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Episode_11.mp3]

Strange Tales #106: It's... ASBESTOS!!! 7

Plot: Stan Lee

Script: Larry Lieber

Art: Dick Ayers

Lettering: John Duffy

Between the break in posting and the huge amount of content from Fantastic Four #12, it's been quite a while since we saw an appearance from my favourite trope: Inexplicable usage of asbestos. Thankfully, today's panel is an absolute classic.

Taking a leaf (and a visual) from Paste Pot Pete's book, ZANTE extinguishes Johnny's flame with a jet of liquid asbestos. Ignoring the fact that asbestos is a fibrous substance and liquidising it would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible.

Ah, my favourite villain and my favourite trope. Life is good!

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #106 in our tenth episode: Hulk? Smash!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Fantasticast_Episode_10_Final.mp3]

 

Hello and welcome to the 45th episode of the show. This time around, Steve and Andy are once again joined by Christine Hanefalk of The Other Murdock Papers to examine the guest appearances of Daredevil in the Fantastic Four. Well, half a guest-appearance at least. In Fantastic Four #40, the team, along with the Man Without Fear, take part in the Battle of the Baxter Building against none other than Doctor Doom. Then in Strange Tales #134, everybody's favourite non-interferer turns up to interfere. That's right, The Watcher is back.

This is our final episode covering Strange Tales as a core Fantastic Four title, and instead of leaving on what you might assume to be a down note (come on, there is a small chance that the story might be pretty good), we decided to produce a list each of five things that weren't terrible about Strange Tales.

Check out The Other Murdock Papers here, and follow @Chris_TOMP on twitter here.

Feedback can be sent to fantastic4podcast@gmail.com (please do send us an e-mail - we're doing a feedback show next week). It can also be left in the comments below, or over at ffcast.libsyn.com

Listen to the episode below, or click this link to go to the libsyn page for the episode.

[audio FF_Episode_45.mp3]

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Strange Tales #106: Flame On 25

Plot: Stan Lee

Script: Larry Lieber

Art: Dick Ayers

Lettering: John Duffy

Take a look at the page and panel reference for today's image. Now go and see yesterday's. Now back to today's again. That's right, your eyes aren't deceiving you, and I've not made a mistake. Two FLAME ONs in three panels. Johnny sure has an ignition problem, and I'm sure it's nothing to do with Stan having to cover artistic inconsistencies that saw Johnny alternate between fiery and flame-free form from panel-to-panel.

Other details to notice include Reed's rarely-seen pipe, which would occasionally pop up in the early 1960s and in stories set during the early days of the Fantastic Four. Also take a look at Ben - his form has rarely been more 'lumpy-oatmeal'. As Kirby's main inker in the first couple of years on the book, Ayers played a large role in shaping the look of the Fantastic Four. It wasn't really until after he had moved on that the Thing's hide would move away from the organic, hide-like look to the more traditional 'rocky-platelets' look.

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #106 in our tenth episode: Hulk? Smash!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Fantasticast_Episode_10_Final.mp3]

Strange Tales #106: Flame On 24

Plot: Stan Lee

Script: Larry Lieber

Art: Dick Ayers

Lettering: John Duffy

It's back to Strange Tales, and a particular favourite of ours. Not only is issue #106 the episode where Johnny's pretence at having a secret identity completely falls down, but it also introduces my favourite villain of the entire run - The Acrobat, aka... ZANTE!

ZANTE makes his way into the book by convincing Johnny that he would be better off in a team with him, rather than with his family. Johnny pop round to tell Reed and Ben the news, and predictably, gets into some sort of fight. Still, it makes for a nice ignition panel from Dick Ayers - his first of many.

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #106 in our tenth episode: Hulk? Smash!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Fantasticast_Episode_10_Final.mp3]

Fantastic Four #12: Hulk vs The Thing Round 2

Script: Stan Lee

Art: Jack Kirby

Inking: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

Round two of the ongoing battle between the biggest and baddest (right now) of the Marvel universe is, thankfully, a more sustained affair than the first one-panel-long round. Lasting for most of page 20, the fight sees Ben smack the Hulk into a stone wall, and Hulk lob a wooden cart at Ben before the two finally get around to grappling with each other.

Unfortunately, the fight doesn't last very long, as some sort of beam emits from the ground, enveloping the Hulk, and rendering him unconscious. Ben's even complains about this abrupt end to the fight in the next panel - "I didn't even land my last punch! I must be better'n I thought!"

However, this is not the first time that a super-powered punch-up would be brought to a premature conclusion by a third party...

The result: Victory goes to Ben, even if it took the Wrecker to bring about his victory. A 1-all draw.

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #12 in our tenth episode: Hulk? Smash!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Fantasticast_Episode_10_Final.mp3]

Fantastic Four #12: Reed's Stretchy Body 20

Script: Stan Lee

Art: Jack Kirby

Inking: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

Wow, the last couple of days have seen Reed really pull ahead  to solidify his position as the second-most common trope of the Fantastic Four.

I've included both panels today as I love the idea that Reed is fast enough to launch his torso into the air and wrap it around the Hulk as he is in mid-leap, and the way that, still in the middle of the leap, the Hulk is able to generate enough centrifugal force with his own body to unravel Mr Fantastic.

Thankfully, the Hulk would rarely be seen with such astonishing leaping powers again.

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #12 in our tenth episode: Hulk? Smash!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Fantasticast_Episode_10_Final.mp3]

Fantastic Four #12: Hulk vs The Thing Round 1

Script: Stan Lee

Art: Jack Kirby

Inking: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

Here it is folks, the first punch thrown in one of comicdom's most enduring rivalries. At this stage in the Marvel Universe, the Thing and the Hulk are clearly the two strongest and toughest people around. Namor comes close, but Fantastic Four #9 showed that without the intervention of the storm, Ben would have triumphed over the Sub-Mariner.

So it's surprising that the first meet-up between the two should be so brief. This panel is the entirety of their fight. After teasing us with the cover and with Ben's imagining of the fight earlier in the book, this punch-up is a bit of a disappointment in its brevity and how quickly Ben goes down.

Thankfully, there would be more than a few rematches over the years...

The result: The Hulk wins by a country mile - Ben doesn't even have the chance to produce a corny quip, instead hitting the ground like a sack of bricks. 1-0 to the Hulk

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #12 in our tenth episode: Hulk? Smash!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Fantasticast_Episode_10_Final.mp3]

Fantastic Four #12: Reed's Stretchy Body 19

Script: Stan Lee

Art: Jack Kirby

Inking: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

Ah, now, this is more like it.

I think we're all used to Reed using his body to break somebody's fault, but normally he's stretched out between, say, a couple of lampposts to provide him something to brace against. Here, he does his best Great A'tuin impersonation (go check out the concept of the Discworld for an explanation behind that reference), using his own limbs for bracing.

Not that's he's stretched them out at all, meaning that the area of his body that Ben is about to crash into is at most a foot off the ground. I hope Reed is very, very rigid...

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #12 in our tenth episode: Hulk? Smash!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Fantasticast_Episode_10_Final.mp3]

Fantastic Four #12: Flame On 23

Script: Stan Lee

Art: Jack Kirby

Inking: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

Ah, those halcyon days of times past. When an army base conducting top secret weapons research involving gamma rays would have a strange egg-shaped rail-mounted transport pod that anyone could jump into, only to find themselves at risk of being blown up by a booby trap laid by a most-literal card-carrying Communist spy with a penchant for kidnapping teenage sidekicks.

Ah, those halcyon days of times past. When a Fantastic Four comic would trail the appearance of the Hulk on the cover of the comic, only to be repeatedly sidetracked, ensuring that by the 3/4 mark, we have yet to see the jade giant himself.

It's not often that Kirby and Lee let their pacing instincts draw them this far off course, but with Fantastic Four #12, the moody and ominous cover acts as a tease to a fight that barely gets to happen in the issue. Thankfully, the next time the Hulk would meet the Fantastic Four, the action quota would be more than met.

Anyway, waxing lyrical has led me astray as well. Johnny's catchhrase is here employed as he charges off to try and save Ben from the exploding egg-shaped transport pod.

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #12 in our tenth episode: Hulk? Smash!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Fantasticast_Episode_10_Final.mp3]

Fantastic Four #12: Fear Of The Thing 8

 

Script: Stan Lee

Art: Jack Kirby

Inking: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

I couldn't resist posting today an image of Ben at his most fearsome. Watch him show how he would handle the Hulk... were the Hulk a stack of custom-bound telephone directories...

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #12 in our tenth episode: Hulk? Smash!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Fantasticast_Episode_10_Final.mp3]

Fantastic Four #12: Flamin' 'Eck 18

Script: Stan Lee

Art: Jack Kirby

Inking: Dick Ayers

Lettering: Art Simek

Come on Reed, get stretchin'! Johnny's crazy power usage is getting out of control!

And if we ever needed an explanation of why Johnny's power usage could be classed as 'unlikely', then this is it. Banner's assistant has dropped his wallet on the floor, and instead of walking over to it and picking it up, Johnny decides to try and use a 'flaming lasso' trick that he's been thinking of.

It really is rather lucky that instead of setting fire to the flammable wallet and incinerating everything within, Johnny manages to pick it up from afar and bring it over to him. The reason for this being lucky? Without the evidence contained within (a Communist party membership card, making the assistant a literal card-carrying Communist), the finger of suspicion would never have moved away from the Hulk.

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #12 in our tenth episode: Hulk? Smash!

[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/Fantasticast_Episode_10_Final.mp3]