vintage splash pages from strange tales

Tags

Dick Ayers, Don Heck, Jack Kirby, Marvel Comics, Paul Reinman, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

 
We hope you enjoyed our little romp through the archives of Marvel’s Strange Tales series this week. To close it out, we present a selection of splash pages that appeared between 1960 and 1962, approximately. You will see artwork from Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman, Don Heck, and Dick Ayers. You won’t find many copies of the originals around any more, but you might get a kick out of Marvel’s high-quality hardcover reprints: Marvel Masterworks – Atlas Era Strange Tales. Enjoy!

 

Advertisements

I Found the Mad Universe!

Tags

Marvel Comics, microscope, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

 
Collector’s Guide:
– From Strange Tales # 76; Marvel Comics, 1960
Art by Steve Ditko.
This issue also contained I am Dragoom with art by Jack Kirby.

 

Do Not Panic!

Tags

Mars, Martian, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

This great Steve Ditko short story comes from Strange Tales #95. Steve’s splash pages for these stories just rock our world. What great posters they would make!

 

I Saw the End of the World!

Tags

Don Heck, end of the world, giant ants, Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

 
What a great page from Steve Ditko! The rest of this issue of Strange Tales is pretty awesome, too – a personal favorite of ours. Jack Kirby and giant ants to lead off!

Collectors’s Guide:
– From Strange Tales #73; Marvel, 1960

Prototype issue (Ant-Man). “Grottu, King of the Insects!” with pencils by Jack Kirby; “I Saw the End of the World!” with art by Steve Ditko; “I Was Captured By the Mole Men!” with art by Don Heck; “I Am a Walking Time Bomb” with art by Paul Reinman; plus a two-page text story, “The Tree.” Kirby cover pencils. Cover price $0.10.

I Was Trapped in the Nightmare World!

Tags

dreams, Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

 
Collector’s Guide:
– From Strange Tales #74; Marvel, 1960.

“Gorgolla! The Living Gargoyle!” with pencils by Jack Kirby; “Beware the Hands of Hundu” (art by Don Heck?); “I Was Trapped in the Nightmare World” with art by Paul Reinman; “When the Totem Walks!” with art by Steve Ditko; and a two-page text story, “The Whirlpool of Gairloch.” Kirby cover pencils. Cover price $0.10.

What is X-35?!

Tags

Don Heck, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

Dig these two short stories from Strange Tales #101. The issue also had two Human Torch stories that guest-star the Thing, marking the debut of the Torch’s popular run in this title. We like these sci-fi/occult backups by Steve Ditko and Don Heck. The splash pages are super fun, and the stories aren’t bad either!

Collector’s Guide:
– from Strange Tales #101; Marvel, 1962.

If you like What is X-35, you may also enjoy a similar but wordless treatment by Thomas Ott in the even-creepier The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8. (It’s sold out at Fantagraphics currently but is scheduled for reprinting in a soft cover edition in 2014. Until then you can see some other samples of Thomas Ott’s works in our archives.)

More about Strange Tales #101:
Human Torch solo series begins in “The Human Torch!” Plot by Stan Lee, script by Larry Lieber, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers. Fantastic Four origin retold. Also in this issue: “The Impossible Spaceship” with art by Don Heck and “What Is X-35?” with art by Steve Ditko. (Lee and Lieber may have written these last two stories.) There is also a 2-page text story, “Sdrawkcab.” Kirby/Ayers cover. Cover price $0.12.

The Mighty Oak!

Tags

mighty oak, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko subject an oak tree to the same atomic test blast that created the Hulk in this classic short story from Strange Tales #100.

 

Strange Tales 71

Tags

Joe Sinnot, Paul Reinman, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

Let’s set the time machine for 1959! Take a look this week at a stack of Marvel’s Strange Tales. You’ll find fast-paced science fiction stories with an occasional occult theme thrown in for good measure. (Strange Tales ran more horror in the early 1950’s, before the Comics Code Authority nonsense began.) Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby feature prominently alongside other masters of these classic short-form comics.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Strange Tales #71; Marvel, 1959.

“I Dared to Defy Merlin’s Black Magic!” with art by Steve Ditko; “I am the Man Who Will Destroy Your World!”; “When the Saucer Strikes!” with art by Paul Reinman; “I Fought the Man Who Couldn’t Be Killed!”; “I Am the Man Without a Face!” with art by Joe Sinnott.

Strange Tales 70

Tags

Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

Let’s set the time machine for 1959! Take a look this week at a stack of Marvel’s Strange Tales. You’ll find fast-paced science fiction stories with an occasional occult theme thrown in for good measure. (Strange Tales ran more horror in the early 1950’s, before the Comics Code Authority nonsense began.) Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby feature prominently alongside other masters of these classic short-form comics.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Strange Tales #70; Marvel, 1959.

“A Giant Walks the Earth!” with pencils by Jack Kirby; “Earth in Chains!” with art by Paul Reinman; “Ghost Ship!”; “Escape to Tomorrow” with art by Reinman; “When Wakes the Sphinx!” with art by Steve Ditko; Kirby cover pencils.

Strange Tales 69

Tags

Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnot, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

Let’s set the time machine for 1959! Take a look this week at a stack of Marvel’s Strange Tales. You’ll find fast-paced science fiction stories with an occasional occult theme thrown in for good measure. (Strange Tales ran more horror in the early 1950’s, before the Comics Code Authority nonsense began.) Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby feature prominently alongside other masters of these classic short-form comics.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Strange Tales #69; Marvel, 1959.

“The Man in the Iron Box!”; “Rocket Ship X-200”; “Journey Into Nowhere!” with art by Joe Sinnott; “The World That Was Lost!” with pencils by Jack Kirby; “That Threat From the 5th Dimension!” with art by Steve Ditko; Kirby cover pencils.

Strange Tales 68

Tags

Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnot, John Buscema, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

Let’s set the time machine for 1959! Take a look this week at a stack of Marvel’s Strange Tales. You’ll find fast-paced science fiction stories with an occasional occult theme thrown in for good measure. (Strange Tales ran more horror in the early 1950’s, before the Comics Code Authority nonsense began.) Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby feature prominently alongside other masters of these classic short-form comics.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Strange Tales #68; Marvel, 1959.

“Last Warning–Evacuate Earth!” with art by Joe Sinnott; “The Creatures From the Bottomless Pit!” with art by Steve Ditko; “Test Pilot!” with pencils by Jack Kirby; “Next Stop–Mars!”; “Trapped in Tomorrow!” with art by John Buscema; Kirby cover pencils.

Strange Tales 67

Tags

Don Heck, Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnot, Steve Ditko, Strange Tales

Let’s set the time machine for 1959! Take a look this week at a stack of Marvel’s Strange Tales. You’ll find fast-paced science fiction stories with an occasional occult theme thrown in for good measure. (Strange Tales ran more horror in the early 1950’s, before the Comics Code Authority nonsense began.) Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby feature prominently alongside other masters of these classic short-form comics.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Strange Tales #67; Marvel, 1959.

“Trapped Between Two Worlds!” (art by Steve Ditko); “I Seek the Sea Serpent” (art by Don Heck); “I Was the Invisible Man!” (pencils by Jack Kirby); and “The Man Who Never Was!” Joe Sinnott cover.

One of Us is a Martian!

Tags

Al Williamson, Beware the Robots, golden age, Martian, One of Us is a Martian, robot, Steve Ditko, Tales of Suspense

One of us is a Martian. It might be …you! Come to think of it, we’re all Martians, here! So, let’s rock this Steve Ditko tale from the golden age of science fiction comics and see what happens.

We’re also including an Al Williamson piece called Beware of the … Robots! Yes, the next time someone complains about machines taking their job, you can confidently say, “Let ’em!” We’ve got better things to do!

Thanks to The Warrior’s Comic Book Den for hipping us to this sci-fi classic. They’ve got some great Al Williamson pieces there and much more.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Tales of Suspense #4; Marvel, 1959.

Amazing Adventures 1961 – First Issue with Kirby and Ditko!

Tags

Amazing Adventures, Amazing Adventures 1961, Dr. Droom, first issue, Jack Kirby, Midnight at the Wax Museum, origin, Steve Ditko, Torr

Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko rock stories of the far-out, freaky, and fantastic in the first issue of Amazing Adventures! We’ve got the 2-part “Torr,” “Midnight at the Wax Museum,” and the first appearance and origin of “Dr. Droom!”

Collector’s Guide:
– From Amazing Adventures #1; Marvel, 1961. All six issues feature Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko.
– Reprinted in the Amazing Fantasy Omnibus #1; Marvel, 2007.

Marvel published several different series under the title Amazing Adventures. Don’t get this confused with the 1970 Amazing Adventures Kirby kicked off with Inhumans stories.

I Came from the Black Void!

Tags

April Fools Day, Creatures on the Loose, I Came From The Black Void, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Here’s a three-page kicker of a story by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, straight out of the back pages of Creatures on the Loose. An alien comes to earth to make first contact – but his plans go awry due to some bad timing!

Steve Ditko’s Secrets of Spider-man!

Tags

how strong is spider-man, Spider-man, Spider-man's mask, Steve Ditko, utility belt

Did you ever wonder how Spider-man’s mask works? Or how strong he is compared to other Marvel heroes? If you already know the answers, then maybe you remember that Spidey used to have a cool utility belt like Batman – complete with extra web fluid cartidges and a bitchin’ belt buckle that shone a Spidey face wherever he pointed it. Writers seem to have forgotten the Spidey Spotlight! Now, feast your eyes on Steve Ditko‘s rendering of these incredible secrets of Spider-man!

Spider-man’s First Battle against the Lizard!

Tags

Amazing Spider-man, Curt Connors, Face to Face With the Lizard, lizard, Marvel Tales, Spider-man, Spider-man Classics, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Mutating Reptiles taking over the world? YES!

Too bad Spider-man shows up to give Dr. Curt “The Lizard” Connors his medicine and make him all normal again. Shucks! Didn’t you ever just want The Lizard to win for once?

Enjoy the scene in our gallery below. It’s the very first showdown between Spider-man and The Lizard!

Collector’s Guide:
– From Spider-man Classics #7.
– Reprints Amazing Spider-man #6.
– Reprinted in Marvel Tales #143
– Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks Amazing Spider-man #1.

The Origin of The Lizard!

Tags

Amazing Spider-man, Curt Connors, Face to Face With the Lizard, lizard, Marvel Tales, Spider-man, Spider-man Classics, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Just in case you’ve spent the last 5000 years in suspended animation in a cave on Neptune and don’t know the original secret origin of The Lizard, here’s the Stan Lee and Steve Ditko version from the 1960s.

Collector’s Guide:
– From Spider-man Classics #7.
– Reprints Amazing Spider-man #6.
– Reprinted in Marvel Tales #143
– Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks Amazing Spider-man #1.

If you ever want to pick up early Amazing Spider-man for cheap, try the 16-issue reprint series Spider-man Classics. It reprints the most classic Lee/Ditko tales of all: the first 16 appearances of Spider-man – and the Lizard, Electro, Kraven, Doc Ock, the Vulture – need we say more? You would need thousands of dollars to collect the originals, but you can get the whole Spider-man Classics run for less than 20 bucks!

Spider-man’s First Battle with Dr. Doom!

Tags

Amazing Spider-man, Dr. Doom, Marvel Tales, Spider-man, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

It Had to Happen! Spider-man meets Dr. Doom for the first time. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko take us inside Doom’s secret hideaway. There, we witness web-head battle a barrage of high-tech gadgets in a spectacular display of Ditko fireworks and special effects! Check it out!

Collector’s Guide:
– From Marvel Tales #142.
– Reprints Amazing Spider-Man #5.
– Reprinted in Spider-man Classics #6
– Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks Amazing Spider-man #1.

No Sign of Life!

Tags

Chris Columbus, Cowboys and Colored People, Creatures on the Loose, Flip Wilson, No Sign of Life, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko suggest that some aliens just don’t WANT to be discovered! From the pages of Creatures on the Loose.

That reminds us of this old Flip Wilson record where the natives of the West Indies shout to Chris Columbus, “Discover yo a$$ on away from here! We don’t want to be discovered!”