APOCOLYTE'S WORLD OF COMICS: Human Torch

Monday, April 14, 2014

The DOCTOR is in - STRANGE is truther than fiction

The year is 1963.

At Marvel Comics,

the "Marvel Age" of comics was in it's infancy.

Stan Lee, aided ably by Jack Kirby and to a lesser degree Steve Ditko, had picked up the superhero ball more recently owned by DC and ran with it. Spurred by publisher Martin Goodman, Lee had remolded the "super-team" model offered by National's Justice League Of America and with Kirby developed the Fantastic Four in late 1961, complete with an updated version of one of Marvel's most popular Golden Age characters, the Human Torch.

Soon after, in 1962, Marvel brought forth Hank Pym (the Ant-Man), followed by the Hulk, then Spider-Man, and Thor. 1963 saw the creativity continue, first with Iron Man, then Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos. By this time Stan Lee had taken the FF's Human Torch and given the character even more exposure by having him star in Strange Tales. Lee hoped to revitalize the monster anthology, whose sales were waning, and he counted on the revamped Carl Burgos character to boost comic sales as it had in previous decades.

Unfortunately, artist Kirby was already taking on the lion's share of the art chores for Marvel, and drawing a full-length Torch comic wasn't a possibility. Also, the once popular monster tales weren't a good match for the new super-hero themed Strange Tales. It seemed the time was right for another new character.

Lee tapped Spider-Man artist Steve Ditko for the new character, a magician.

Did I say a magician? Nay, not just a mere magician, a sorceror supreme! Stan Lee based his new character Dr. Strange (er, no relation to Golden Age hero Doc Strange...er) on magician heroes from the radio and pulps of his youth, primarily on Chandu The Magician, whose radio exploits were heard by Lee growing up.

Steve Ditko was the perfect choice to draw the new adventures.

His already slightly odd figures and landscapes took on a whole new aspect of, well, strange.

It wouldn't be long before Dr. Strange became the comic book hero of choice on college campuses throughout the country, as young minds perused the pages with heightened interest, searching out hidden meanings and mind-expanding truths in the eastern mysticism laden panels. In an ironic twist, it seems that the Mighty Marvel Revolution coincided with the Drug Revolution, and it turns out that Dr. Strange became a favorite of hippies and stoners as the decade progressed, and the psychedelic style of artwork put Dr. Strange and Strange Tales among those at the forefront of the movement.

So, starting with Strange Tales # 110, 1963, the Human Torch had a new co-star.

Dr. Strange was introduced fully formed, and it wasn't until issue #115 that Marvel presented an origin story.

Here are both of those early stories.

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From STRANGE TALES #110

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From STRANGE TALES #115

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Thursday, April 3, 2014

Bill Everett -- An AMAZING MAN

One of my favorite comic artists is Bill Everett.
But Bill Everett wasn't just an artist, he was also a writer, and a creator of comic book characters.
His biggest creation played a major role in the formation and development of comics as we know them today.

At 21 years of age, Bill Everett sold his first comic book page of artwork for $2 in 1938.

It featured his first comic book character creation, Skyrocket Steele,

a "Buck Rogers"-like space adventurer.

AMAZING MYSTERY FUNNIES #1, 1938,

featured Skyrocket Steele on the cover, even though Bill Everett's creation didn't make his debut until issue #2.

Cover art by Bill Everett, one of his first published comic artworks.

Everett's SKYROCKET STEELE.

"As related from the diary of Bill Everett"

Everett's next creation, DIRK THE DEMON,

from AMAZING MYSTERY FUNNIES #3, 1938.

Everett's next creation to hit the news-stands was AMAZING-MAN, in September 1939.

Though Centaur Comics art director Lloyd Jacquet is credited for co-creating Amazing-Man,

it was Everett who scripted and drew his origin in the debut issue (#5),

as well as his adventures in subsequent issues.

AMAZING-MAN COMICS #5, 1939.

Cover art by Bill Everett.

The stage is set for Everett's biggest creation.

Though created before AMAZING-MAN for for the ill-fated MOTION PICTURE FUNNIES WEEKLY #1, Everett's original 8-page story about Namor, The SUB-MARINER was repackaged and sold to Martin Goodman (with an added new 4 pages) for MARVEL COMICS #1.

In October, 1939, THE SUB-MARINER debuted and, along with compatriot Carl Burgos' creation THE HUMAN TORCH, changed the face of comics forever. With Marvel's addition of Simon and Kirby's CAPTAIN AMERICA, which debuted two years later, THE SUB-MARINER and THE HUMAN TORCH would make up the trinity of characters that would remain at the heart of Marvel Comics for the next two decades and beyond.

From MARVEL COMICS #1, 1939.

Well, if comics fans liked ONE under-water hero,

why not create another one?

Bill Everett's THE FIN debuted in Marvel's

DARING MYSTERY COMICS #7, 1941.

Speaking of aquatic themes, we can't forget about Everett's HYRDOMAN, created in 1940, a hero who could transform himself into living water!

In the 1950's Everett was one of Stan Lee's best artists for Marvel's Atlas period, where he contributed dozens of fantastic stories and incredibly detailed and moody covers, such as these examples,

many of these comics I purchased solely based on the beautiful Bill Everett cover artwork:

Everett worked for Marvel doing comics through the 60's and into the early 70's, using his artistic abilities to draw such popular characters as the HULK, DR. STRANGE, and his own SUB-MARINER. He did many covers, pencils, and inks for a variety of comics. In 1964, along with Stan Lee, Everett used his creative powers again and helped create DAREDEVIL, drawing the 1st issue (Jack Kirby also had a hand in designing the character, giving him his billy club, and Steve Ditko and Sol Brodsky helped finish the artwork, handed in at a late hour).