I've been continuing my New Year's resolution of reading all of the Silver Age Marvel comics in the order they were originally published, and I've reached what I believe is a watershed month:August 1963.
Up until this time Stan Lee had been letting other writers work on some of the minor strips. I've read that about the time the Marvel heroes were starting to take off, publisher Martin Goodman insisted that other writers be given work in case Stan decided to leave. Having one guy do all the editing and writing was a pretty big risk.
The result was a lot of lackluster Human Torch, Ant-Man, Thor, and Iron Man stories for much of the first two years of the Marvel Age of Comics, as it was becoming known as.
Something happened with the Marvel comics on sale in August 1963. That month, Stan was able to take full control of all the writing/scripting for all of the hero comics, including Sgt. Fury. The previous month or two he had successfully launched Avengers and X-Men, and promoted Ant-Man to Giant-Man. I think it was at this point that Stan decided this was going to be his career and he was going to make the most of it as long as he could.
He also at this point found the best use for his artists, especially those who could do much of the plotting on their own. Jack Kirby had Fantastic Four, Avengers, X-Men, Sgt. Fury, and for a couple of months, Giant-Man. Steve Ditko had Amazing Spider-Man, the short Dr. Strange stories, and Iron Man, plus some inking over Kirby. Don Heck was still on Thor and Dick Ayers had Human Torch, and soon, Giant-Man.
Of course, this couldn't last, and in a couple of years there would be additional strips that Stan and the Bullpen couldn't handle without additional help. At that time, Stan would go for older artists just at or coming into their prime (Romita, Colan, Wood), but the writers he would hire were younger with new ideas of how comics should be written (Thomas, Friedrich).
So I guess my point is that August 1963 is the month that really started the Marvel Age of Comics. Or something. I just know that the various series seemed to come together and gel as a line when Stan took over everything.
Hoy
Replies
That's an interesting observation. I usually figure the peak years of Marvel's SA began in 1964, when DD started up and all the others were set in place, but that probably began a little earlier and DD was just the final piece in the puzzle. I wouldn't say that's when the MAOC *started*, as all of these things tend to be a bell curve. I'd say that's when it began to really flourish.
I'm interested by the fact that, as we talked earlier, in November 1963 issues, Stan stopped using word balloons on all his covers. It was so universal and continuous that it had to be a conscious choice. I wonder if, as he took over, he decided his voice on the covers would help him unify things more and make them consistent, or if something else was going on.
-- MSA
I always liked how the word balloons on early Marvel covers had that thick outline. I really made them stand out style-wise from National and I really liked the look. I don't remember being aware of them stopping it but it seemed somehow special at the time.
Andy
(I use this issue for an example as it's the first issue of a Marvel mag I ever got)
DC thought that word balloons helped sell comics, which is partially why they had so many explaining the image that we were looking at. Stan obviously felt the same, as your FF image shows (although it was obviously drawn to leave lots of room for chatting. Not exactly the best composition to be showing off the new heroes).
Going from that to this--and doing it consistently, with almost no balloons appearing for years--was a dramatic change and had to be intentional. -- MSA
I wish there were more word balloons or captions on covers these days!
I think word balloons detract from the original art sale. Stan mostly replaced word balloons from the characters with starbursts and sell copy from Stan. So it was Stan talking rather than the characters, but someone was still talking to the reader/buyer.
Today's covers don't really need sell copy, since covers don't sell many issues. They're either on your pull list or you buy a specific title. What the cover shows apparently doesn't matter much.
-- MSA
"You're a sad, sad little man...." Who said that? LOL!
Rich Steeves said:
Andrew, to have been on the ground floor of the FF, and do see Dr. Doom introduced for the first time. WOW!
My first Dr. Doom was FF #16-17, and #39...and I could see the progression in terms of characterization and stature. The artwork has changed, and the threat level is larger.
When Looking at that August 1963 month's output(,the Marvel comics on sale in August 1963.) I am struck by the fact that more than half of the output is westerns and girl's magazines...and the heroes issued were only FIVE... Spidey, FF, Strange Tales, Astonishing Tales, and Iron Man in Tales of Suspense. That's it. If you say that the Avengers and X-men were in there somewhere, I don't see them. And the Hulk is nowhere to be found!
If you say the cover balloons vanish as of November 1963, I am reminded that JFK was shot at the end of that month, and while I don't think there's a real connection there, I keep looking for the impact that has been suggested the milestone event had on comics.the Marvel comics in November 1963.
Also, as I use Mike's Kang Platform to flip between months, I am struck by the way that the coloring of issues seems to go in waves... Reds and Yellows one month...then darker blues and blacks another... a wave of green in the titles another. I also look for design similarities, like inset boxes on the cover that show the villain or a supporting character. And also, I see a repeating image of an angle.... as hero, gueststar or villain that crosses over between issues including the westerns!
I've also just discovered "Monsters to Laugh With"/Monsters Unlimited which only ran about 7 issues. Although I heard a passing plug of this title in the FF, I have never until this moment seen an actual cover or knew anything else about it. It must not have had very good distribution in our area, as I've NEVER heard anyone reference it, share it, sell it or talk about it. (Nice experiment, Stan.)
This was one of my first and "biggest" (no pun intended), until #57 which you just showed:
Fantastic Four #39 "And a Bind Man Shall Lead Them..."
However, back to your first Doctor Doom.... I had only just discovered that Marvel Comics were still being published and that they were on-going stories... I had envisioned them as being like Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books...always in print and available. So when I saw this one on the spinner rack, and had to stop and look at it, and then buy it! I've been buying them every since.... Summer of 1966 when I was ten and discovered comic books!
...That was my first regular " ish " , too , George !!!!!!!!! BROTHER !!!!!!!!!!! ( I may have gotten that year's Special - Not Annual , MSA or anyone else , it's true . - first . )
George Poague said:
...MSA , to perhaps make up for my tweaking you?? , I agree that Stan must've conciously taken off all word baloons , it certainly made for a distinct company-line difference from DC's , certainly especially on the Wesinger titles , 's heavy dose of word baloons .
A great observation :-) !!!!!!!!! ( I.e. , one that I made myself . )
As a young'un , seeing those couple-years-back old covers on repro'd eenntsy-beenntsy on MCIC and MT's covers ( Tending to be overlapped by placement/additional blurbs !!!!!!!!! This maybe annoyed me a little . Remeber tin the 90s , how " twofer " reissues of old LPs on CD tended to repo those old LP covers exactly to scale , not-overlapped , side by side ???...admittedly , maybe looking a bit stiff, design-wise ?????
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