Comic Books 101

by Chris Ryall

  THE BEST STORYLINE/ISSUE

  It was bad enough when her dad got killed (felled by falling bricks — and Spidey took the blame!)but nothing matches up to Gwen Stacy's death in The Amazing Spider-Man #121. For me, as a young reader, it was a big emotional shock. She wasn't just murdered by one of the bad guys, remember. Her neck was snapped when Spider-Man tried to save her, and stopped her fall too abruptly with one of his web strands. It was my first introduction to the idea that no matter how clever you are, no matter how smart or heroic or kind, you can still catastrophically mess things up.

  THE GOOFIEST STORYLINE/ISSUE

  Oh, probably this sorry rubbish they just pulled with Mephisto unwriting history, and undoing the last ten years of Peter Parker's life (“One More Day”). That's a cowardly, corporate decision, not a valid storytelling choice. The moment you become afraid to let a character grow and change, that character dies on the page. This is true even of four-panel funnies in the newspaper. After a while, Garfield isn't funny anymore because he never changes.

  SPIDER-MAN'S ROGUES' GALLERY

  GREEN GOBLIN The most dangerous of all Spidey's foes, because only he knows who's under Spider-Man's mask.

  DOCTOR OCTOPUS With four powerful robotic arms bonded to his spine, Otto Octavius's genius is only matched by his insanity.

  SANDMAN After a radioactive day at the beach, bank robber Flint Marko can turn to solid granite or a fine powder.

  ELECTRO Lineman Max Dillon becomes a living battery, and sends thousands of villainous volts Spider Man's way.

  SCORPION The first of J. Jonah Jameson's attempts to defeat Spidey, private eye Mac Gargan is given superstrength and a high-tech tail.

  VULTURE Senior citizen Adrian Toomes swoops through the canyons of New York on artificial wings, snatching up cash and jewels along the way.

  VENOM An alien symbiote and a jealous photojournalist rival combine to create one of Spider-Man's most dangerous and popular foes.

  KRAVEN THE HUNTER A world-famous big-game hunter who sets his sights on the most elusive target of all: Spider-Man.

  As writer Gerry Conway put it, “So do the proud men die. Crucified not on a cross of gold, but a stake of humble tin.” Pretty heady stuff for a superhero comic, especially in 1973.

  I FEEL LIKE READING SOME SPIDEY. WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND?

  When in doubt, go to the source. It can't get any better than the original tales of Spider Man by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and John Romita. Luckily, you can own the first eighty-nine issues of The Amazing Spider-Man in The Essential Spider-Man, Vol. 1–4. Check out the first appearances of Spider-Man and all his friends and foes, in chronological order: Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, Electro, the Lizard, the Sandman, the Chameleon, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, the Vulture, the Rhino — the list goes on and on. While it's a shame they're only in black and white, it's hard to be too upset over the volume of pages you get for the price.

  As for the epic Green Goblin/Gwen Stacy tragedy previously detailed, check out Spider- Man: The Death of Gwen Stacy, written by Gerry Conway with art by Gil Kane. It's much, much better and more affecting than our meager prose can convey.

  GUEST LECTURER

  BRIAN LYNCH, screenwriter/writer, Spider-Man Unlimited

  THE FIRST ISSUE OF SPIDER-MAN I EVER READ

  My first exposure to Spider-Man was either his quick vignettes on The Electric Company television show or the cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. As for the first comic, I was at a yard sale, and there was a comic featuring Spider-Man fighting Man-Wolf that came with a tape featuring actors reading the script, some music and sound effects. I bought it, and was at first disappointed that Iceman and Firestar weren't in it, but soon got caught up in Spider Man's world.

  THE BEST CREATIVE TIME ON THE TITLE

  When the whole “Who is the Hobgoblin?” story arc was going on in the mid-1980s, I couldn't get issues quick enough. Keep in mind there was no Internet back then, so I didn't even know when new Spidey books were coming out. I would go with my mom to the supermarket every week on the off-chance there was a new issue.

  THE BEST COVER

  The cover I think of when I think of Spider Man is Peter Parker walking away from the suit, which has been jammed into a trashcan (The Amazing Spider-Man #50). That said, Todd McFarlane always had covers that wowed me. His cover to Spider-Man #1 was great, and at the time, the fact that they had two versions of it (one with metallic webs!) blew my little mind. And the next printing had gold webs! Yes, I bought all of them.

  THE BEST STORYLINE/ISSUE

  “Kraven's Last Hunt” by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck was amazing, but more a Kraven story than a Spidey tale. I love the entire Sin-Eater storyline by Peter David and Rich Buckler, and the Hobgoblin arc was great. Venom's intro and the return to the red-and-blue costume (The Amazing Spider-Man #300) stands out, too. And while I'm not a fan of the original Clone Saga, the Ultimate Spider-Man version of it was a lot of fun.

  THE GOOFIEST STORYLINE/ISSUE

  Saying the Clone Saga or “One More Day” is too easy. I think Slyde's first appearance (The Amazing Spider-Man #272, January 1986) is pretty goofy (non-stick coating on a super-villain suit? Sure!), but for all-time goofy, I'd go with “The Other.” Spider-Man gets into a cocoon, dies, sheds his skin, eats a dude's head, kinda gets new powers. Wait, now I just remembered the Gwen Stacy/Norman Osborn love child arc. I need more time on this …

  The Best of Marvel Comics, Volume 1 is tough to find, but should you stumble across it at a used bookstore or convention, hip-check whoever's next to you out of the way and pay the man what he wants for it. A lot of books boast something similar in the title, but this one has the goods to back it up. A handsome red leather-bound edition published in 1987, not only does the collection feature Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four and Thor stories, Roger Stern/John Byrne collaborations on Hulk and Captain America, a gorgeous Stern/Paul Smith Doctor Strange story and a great X-Men tale by Chris Claremont and John Romita, Jr., it also contains two of the best Spider-Man stories ever published.

  CHRIS SAYS

  If you delve into Spider-Man's world at all, you're sure to come across references to “the Clone Saga,” arguably one of the worst Spider-Man stories of all time, and it committed the compound sin of being a bad idea that dragged on far too long. In it, Spider-Man is replaced by a clone of himself, a plotline flawed from the start and too convoluted to delve into here (we'd prefer that you actually want to read comics after you finish this book). The story was Marvel's early-'90s attempt to reinvigorate Spidey's line of comics, and things went seriously awry by implying that the past decade of Spider-Man stories were merely the adventures of a clone. The ham-fisted way they tried to rectify the problem was nearly as bad.

  But as with all ongoing comics, if you wait them out long enough, they'll eventually self-correct. Writer Brian Michael Bendis revisited the idea of the clone saga in the Spider-Man reboot series, Ultimate Spider-Man, to much greater effect, even though the stink of the previous storyline still hasn't fully faded.

  The first is a three-part Master Planner storyline from The Amazing Spider-Man #31–33 (December 1965–February 1966), a tense action story pitting Spider-Man against the aforementioned Doctor Octopus, while a gravely ill Aunt May's life hangs in the balance. The second is “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man,” from Amazing Spider-Man #248 (January 1984), by Roger Stern and Ron Frenz. In the story, Spider-Man pays a visit to nine-year-old Timothy Harrison, the world's biggest Spider-Man fan. It's easily the most poignant and touching Spider-Man story ever published. If you can't find this collection, go ahead and track down the back issue. It'll be worth the effort.

  The Mighty Thor

  Journey into mysteryThe year was 1962, and Marvel editor Stan Lee was feeling the pressure. Stan had come out of the gate strong: his new comics had been met with unexpected success at the newsstands. Fantastic Four and The Amazing Spider-Man were not only selling better than anything the company had put out in years, but Stan was
achieving critical success unlike anything he'd ever experienced. The fan mail was pouring in (in excess of a thousand letters a week), and Stan and Marvel were suddenly the darling of the press, with Stan and Marvel doing all kinds of print and radio interviews about the new generation of comic-book heroes.

  The problem was, now what?

  As Stan recounts in Origins of Marvel Comics, “But what was left to invent? Who could be stronger than the Hulk? Who could be smarter than Mr. Fantastic? We already had a kid who could fly, one who could walk on walls and ceilings, and a female who could fade away whenever danger threatened – or whenever the artist ran out of ink. As you can see, we were hooked on superlatives at that time, always trying to come up with characters who were bigger, better, stronger. However, we had painted ourselves into a corner. The only one who could top the heroes we already had would be Super-God, but I didn't think the world was quite ready for that concept just yet. So, it was back to the ol' drawing board.”

  Stan was racking his brain for new heroes, but he kept coming back to the notion of “Super-God.” He knew there was no way to feature God in a comic without offending, well, practically everybody. In the midst of all this, Stan remembered a radio interview he had done in which the host had referred to the new Marvel stories as “twentieth-century mythology,” comparing them to Greek and Norse mythology. With that, Stan had his solution. Sure, there was no way they could publish a comic book featuring God as a superhero, but a comic book featuring a god as a superhero? No problem. Soon enough, Stan had settled on a mythological deity to receive the Marvel treatment, and the Mighty Thor was on his way.

  Feeling that he was handling too much of the company's writing himself, Stan turned over the Thor concept to his brother Larry Lieber, who had been working on the company's line of monster comics. For the art, Stan once again turned to Jack Kirby to bring his rough concept to life. Lee, Lieber and Kirby's vision of the Norse god of thunder made its debut in Journey Into Mystery #83 (August 1962) in “The Stone Men From Saturn!”

  Dr. Don Blake discovers that the hammer makes the man in Thor's Marvel comic debut.

  JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #83: ©1962 MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT, INC. USED WITH PERMISSION. ART BY JACK KIRBY.

  IF HE BE WORTHY…

  In the premiere story, we're introduced to Dr. Donald Blake, a crippled physician vacationing on the coast of Norway. Coincidentally, also visiting the lovely Norwegian coast are the Stone Men from Saturn. However, they're not there for the scenery. A scouting force for a planned invasion of Earth, the stone chaps amuse themselves by uprooting and disintegrating trees. (A little-known fact: Saturnian Stone Men apparently hate trees.) The Stone Men are spotted by a local fisherman, whose warnings fall on mostly deaf ears, except for our good Dr. Blake, who decides to go investigate for himself.

  Blake stumbles upon the aliens, but is quickly spotted, and the Stone Men are soon in hot pursuit. Running for his life, Blake stumbles and drops his cane, which slows him down even more. Seeking refuge in a cave, Blake finds the only way out blocked by an enormous boulder. Leaning against the cave wall, he accidentally activates a hidden trigger, revealing a secret chamber. Inside is only a “gnarled wooden stick – like an ancient cane.” When the stick turns out to be of little use in moving the boulder, Blake strikes the stick against the boulder in frustration, and with a flash of lightning, both Blake and the stick are transformed. To his disbelief, Blake is now the Mighty Thor, Norse god of thunder. Looking down at the wooden stick, he sees that it too has changed, becoming a war hammer, bearing a peculiar inscription: “Whosoever holds the hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”

  The boulder that had seemed immovable mere moments before is now lifted with ease, and Thor begins to experiment with his new weapon and physical form. Thor discovers that he must continuously hold the hammer to remain Thor (after sixty seconds without contact, Thor will change back into Blake, although the hammer will remain), and that by striking the hammer against the ground, both he and the hammer return to their original shapes. Thor also discovers the hammer's ability to control the weather, and that it always returns to his hand after it's thrown. Best of all, Thor learns that by throwing the hammer, and then immediately catching the leather thong at the end of the handle, he's able to hurtle through the air like a missile.

  Thor's lesson in hammer-handling comes none too soon, because before long the full Saturnian invasion force has arrived in Norway. Thor quickly dispatches the Stone Men's ground troops, and handily dismantles the invaders' “mechano-monster,” as well. The Stone Men are freaked, and split for Saturn pronto, not knowing how many more like Thor may be on Earth.

  ENTER THE ASGARDIANS

  After the first fourteen issues, the book was placed in the hands of Stan and Jack. Once Stan took over the scripting, a distinct difference was seen in the dialogue: Thor (and later his fellow Asgardians, as well) began to speak in a sort of archaic pseudo-Shakespearean old English, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense considering he was Norwegian, but succeeded in giving the character a sort of regal nobility that served the character well in setting him apart from the rest of Marvel's costume-types.

  Early on, Thor focused more on Earthbound villains and threats, but the series really kicked into gear when Stan and Jack began to center the series around Thor's Asgardian heritage. It is later revealed that Don Blake has never truly existed, that Thor's human identity has all been a lesson in humility from Thor's father, Odin, mightiest of the Norse gods and ruler of Asgard. Despite this, Thor continues to live a double life as both Thor and Blake, partly because of the strong bond he has forged with Midgard (that's Earth for you non Asgardian types) while in temporary exile from Asgard, and partly because of his love for Blake's nurse, Jane Foster. Thor also finds new allies in Balder the Brave, Thor's loyal right-hand man, and in the beautiful but deadly warrior Sif, Thor's intended bride since childhood.

  CHRIS SAYS

  There's an inscription on the face of Thor's hammer that reads “Whosoever Holds This Hammer, If He Be Worthy, Shall Possess the Power of Thor.” Surprisingly, others beyond Thor have proven worthy of hoisting Mjölnir over the years: a horse-faced alien named Beta Ray Bill, Captain America and even Superman (in the JLA/Avengers crossover).

  The central conflict of the series involves Thor and his half-brother Loki, the god of mischief. Bitterly jealous of Thor and longing for Odin's throne, Loki unleashes evil scheme after evil scheme in efforts to either destroy Thor or discredit him in the eyes of Odin the All-Father. Some of Loki's plots even result in the creation of new foes for Thor to deal with, bruisers such as the Absorbing Man and the Wrecker, who reappear many times over the years.

  Besides the Lee/Kirby issues, the most acclaimed run on Thor was created by writer/artist Walt Simonson during the mid-1980s. Lasting for thirty issues (#337–367), Simonson brought a new vitality to the series that it hadn't seen in years, and his classic, illustrative art style returned Thor to a scope and grandeur that had been missing since the days of Jack Kirby. As for the writing, Simonson brought two sorely needed aspects to the series: a return to the strong emphasis on Norse mythology and a genuine sense that anything could happen — from aliens stealing Thor's hammer to Thor being transformed into a six-foot-tall frog. There have been several notable Thor runs since Simonson's, but none that measures up to his ambitious, epic storytelling. Highly recommended.

  7 Iron Man

  Isn't it iron-icThe best superhero origins are timeless. You can pick them up at any time, and the story and concepts are as fresh as they were the day they were created.

  “A shy teenager is bitten by a radioactive spider, and learns a tragic lesson about responsibility.”

  “Rocketed to Earth from a dying world, a newborn child is raised by Midwestern farmers and grows up to be humanity's greatest champion.”

  Then there's Iron Man.

  Although the basic origin itself can be tinkered with to fit a more current time frame, the original sto
ry is, shall we say, problematic, involving as it does the Vietnam War. However, if you look past the dated trappings, there's a concept at its core that still works quite well, and is as relevant today as ever.

  Back in 1963, Stan had an idea for a superhero who was also a successful businessman, a jet-setting Howard Hughes type. But Stan's rich protagonist needed a reason to go out in a costume and risk his life fighting bad guys. Once more, Lee put it all together. As he recounts in Son of Origins of Marvel Comics, “What if our hero had an injured heart – a heart that required him to wear some sort of metal device to keep it beating? The metal device could be the basic element in an entire suit of armor which could both power him and conceal his identity. I loved it. It had the right ring to it. I knew it would work.”

  Tony Stark's first armor tended to favor function over fashion.

  TALES OF SUSPENSE #39: © 1963 MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT, INC. USED WITH PERMISSION. ART BY DON HECK.

  Dubbing his new creation Iron Man, Stan turned over the plot to his brother Larry Lieber, who the previous year had conceptualized Stan's Thor notion, to provide the script. As for the art, Don Heck provided the pencils, as he would for many of the succeeding Iron Man adventures. Jack Kirby, meanwhile, contributed the design of the original Iron Man armor, as well as the cover for the debut appearance. Compared to the power of Jack Kirby's work, or the sleek dynamism of Steve Ditko's style, some have called Don Heck's work boring or staid, a position with which we heartily disagree. Heck provided a sophistication to the series that fit the high-society feel of the Tony Stark character. Likewise, the streamlined look of Iron Man's armor, as opposed to Marvel's overly muscled superheroes, exemplified Heck's strengths as a draftsman. Lee, Lieber and Heck presented their new creation to the world in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963), in “Iron Man Is Born!”