*Originally posted on Facebook in October 2015*

Okay, everyone, PLEASE bear with me as I try to sound like I know what the heck I’m talking about. This is the first of my (hopefully) weekly overview of each of the first 25 years of Marvel Comics. Each week will cover a year of that first 25. Bear with me as I try to touch on key or significant moments from each year of Marvel’s first 25 years. This is an extremely daunting task as I am dealing with a highly knowledgeable crowd. So, I am expecting from you all some corrections, information that I omitted or simply did not know, and/or positive/negative feedback. Now, with that said, let’s get into the first year.

Year one. *SIGH* Oh, if only all the others would be this easy. The “Marvel Age of Comics” started in August of 1961 with magazines bearing the cover date of November 1961 and it is this month that the company tried something new and daring for them. Obviously, I’m talking about the publication of FANTASTIC FOUR #1; a landmark comic that forever changed how comics were done. Comics that featured superheroes, but not ones that lived in fictitious Metropolis, Gotham or Central City. These heroes fought in the “real world” of New York City (although, they were originally from Marvel’s “Central City”), fought odd new villains (the Mole Man in issue #1) and even fought each other at times. Hell, for the first 2 issues, they didn’t even wear costumes, but we’re not quite there yet. One can only wonder if Stan Lee and the late, great Jack “King” Kirby knew that they, at that moment, had become pioneers, of sorts.

Of course, FANTASTIC FOUR #1 wasn’t the only book on sale in the month of November. Believe it or not, there were, actually, other books that predate FF #1 and I can only imagine that they enjoyed a certain amount of success in their own right. Coming out of the 50’s, I can’t imagine western comics like KID COLT, OUTLAW and GUNSMOKE WESTERN not being successful as westerns were big on television and theaters in those days. I think that it’s also pretty obvious that books like MILLIE THE MODEL and LINDA CARTER, STUDENT NURSE (Linda Carter? Really?!!) and romance books like LOVE ROMANCES and TEEN-AGE ROMANCE were aimed at teen-aged girls. What I found interesting was that published were the names of some very familiar titles and my mind couldn’t help but wander ahead and think about what they would go on to introduce. However, in 1961, AMAZING ADVENTURES #6, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #74, STRANGE TALES #90, TALES TO ASTONISH #25, and TALES OF SUSPENSE #23 were just sci-fi and horror books that featured strange creatures that were either supernatural or extraterrestrial in origin.

Also, here’s one more interesting note about the August issues: While FF #1 is the acknowledged beginning of the Marvel superhero age, according to this character’s bio, he predates them by 5 months, but uses a different name. AMAZING ADVENTURES #1 debuted in March of 1961 (cover date of June 1961) and it featured an occult-based character by the name of Dr. Droom. This character was featured in 5 of the first 6 issues of the book that was called AMAZING ADVENTURES (the next paragraph will explain what that means), including issue #6 which was published the same month as FF#1. He is next seen as the occult hero Dr. Anthony Druid in WEIRD WONDER TALES #19 (December 1975). I don’t know if this was a retcon or if Dr. Druid was always thought to be the same character from AMAZING ADVENTURES. I just thought that it was interesting to note.

In September (December cover dates), there was no FANTASTIC FOUR #2, but the next issues of 5 of last month’s books were on the stands. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #75, TALES TO ASTONISH # 26, TALES OF SUSPENSE #24, STRANGE TALES #91 and AMAZING ADULT FANTASY #7 (formerly known as AMAZING ADVENTURES) were the second issues of those anthology titles published in Marvels new, superhero era of comics. The only western that was published this month was RAWHIDE KID #25 and the romance books were KATHY #14, LIFE WITH MILLIE #14 featuring Millie from MILLIE THE MODEL, PATSY WALKER #93, and PATSY & HEDY #79 which features Patsy Walker who would reappear from obscurity in 1975 and go on to become the super-heroine called Hellcat.

From October to November (cover dates, January to March), all of the books not called FANTASTIC FOUR continued to be published in their aforementioned formats of anthology books, teen romance, or westerns. Significant to the development of the Marvel Universe are the events in FANTASTIC FOUR #’S 1-3. Issue #1 has been covered, but issue #2 on sale in October (January cover date) featured the first appearance of the Skrulls. Also in October, Dr. Henry “Hank” Pym debuts in TALES TO ASTONISH #27. In this story, he uses a “reducing serum” instead of the Pym Particles gas that he would later deploy to fight crime. Like the FF, Dr. Pym wore no costume, and it would seem that Stan Lee, Larry Leiber and Jack Kirby had not intended for him to become a superhero as he dumped the remaining serum down the drain at the end of the story and isn’t seen again for 7 issues. Issue #3 of the FANTASTIC FOUR was released in December (March cover date) and it was the first time that the team was seen in costume. (Am I the only one that noticed that AMAZING ADULT FANTASY uses the same “font” as the FF. It means absolutely nothing, lol!!! It’s just something that I noticed.)

So that’s it, people. 1961, the whole five months of it, was just the beginning of something millions would go on to love. Outside of FF books, there were some well-known books with not-so-well-known characters (aside from Hank Pym), plus books that represented an era in comics that was starting to fade. Hopefully, next week I’ll be able to share my thoughts on Year Two. Until then, take care.

That's what I was doing in the Facebook group. Since these are already written, another one could pop up tomorrow. You never know.   I do intend to bring these posts up to where the FB group is. Over there, I just posted August 1976 on Saturday morning. It's gonna take some time, but I'll get there. 

The Dr Druid stories in Weird Wonder Tales were modified reprints of Dr Droom stories from Amazing Adventures, eked out with some non-Droom reprints, edited to include Dr Druid as the narrator.

Dude!!!!! Welcome to the forum. That's some project, I get tired just thinking about reading all those books. I think I will follow along.

The great thing about the early days of Marvel Comics is that, with the release of every new issue or brand new title, they’re, essentially, making comics history. Even the books that take place outside of the fledgling Marvel Universe have some historical value to some extent. While no one talks about KATHY or MILLIE THE MODEL nowadays, Patsy Walker is still a part of the Marvel Universe, although in a different fashion (no pun intended). Millie the Model must have been very popular because she starred in five different titles, MILLIE THE MODEL, MODELLING WITH MILLIE, LIFE WITH MILLIE, A DATE WITH MILLIE, and MAD ABOUT MILLIE. Like Patsy Walker, she has had modern-day appearances in THE DEFENDERS and THE SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK, but not as a superhero. Also, the westerns were integrated into the Marvel Universe and their stories were revisited at various times.

As the FANTASTIC FOUR was a bi-monthly book in January of 1962, the year started off with its usual publication of books that included stories from Marvel’s teen romance line (KATHY, LIFE WITH MILLIE, PATSY & HEDY and the 100th issue of PATSY WALKER), RAWHIDE KID was the lone western for this month and the anthology books (STRANGE TALES, TALES OF SUSPENSE, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, AMAZING ADULT FANTASY and TALES TO ASTONISH) featured their usual fare. February 1962, mainly, gave us two things of huge significance: the introduction (re-introduction, in one case) of two of the most powerful heroes of the Marvel Universe, Namor the Sub-Mariner (FF #4) and the INCREDIBLE HULK #1; grey skin and all. Also, debuting in THE HULK is a pivotal character in the Marvel Universe, Rick Jones, as well as Betty Ross. Gen. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. Although Namor is presented as the antagonist in the FF, he and the Hulk will later go on to become two of Marvel’s most popular anti-heroes, even if popularity eluded the Hulk in the beginning. On sale in March were the next issues of the anthologies, western and romance books. April 1962 gave us the second issue of the INCREDIBLE HULK as he battled…the Toad Men?!! *SIGH* Okay, so the real highlight of the month, once again, happened in the FF as issue #5 introduced, perhaps, THE most iconic of all super-villains in Dr. Victor Von Doom. No other villain will go on to torment the FF (and many other Marvel heroes) as much as this man who, essentially, has no superpowers, but an intellect only surpassed by Reed Richards.

It’s now the month of May and with FF and THE HULK being bi-monthly books, normally fans would have to wait to get their superhero fix. However, now just one month after the debut of Doom and THE HULK #2, AMAZING ADULT FANTASY drops the ADULT from its title and introduces a character that would go on to be even more iconic (in my opinion) than the FF, the Amazing Spider-Man. Also, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #83 becomes the first of the anthology books to debut a superhero (if you don’t count Henry Pym, which I don’t at this point because he wasn’t used as such in TALES TO ASTONISH #27), the Mighty Thor. Rounding out the first half of the year, interestingly enough, it isn’t the FF that goes monthly first, but the Mighty Thor as he’s become the star of JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY which was already a monthly publication. Issue #84 also features the debut of Jane Foster. In issues #4 and #5 of the FF, the Sub-Mariner and Dr. Doom debut, respectively. Now, in issue #6, the team must face them both; the first meeting of the always uneasy alliance of Namor and Doom. Even more significant is the first mention of something that would become something of a staple for many Marvel heroes to function, “unstable molecules”. Many a hero has gone to Reed Richards for costumes made from this “material.” TALES TO ASTONISH #35 features the return of “the Man in the Ant Hill”, Henry Pym from issue #27. This time, he’s in costume for the first time and still using a serum. This issue is the first mention of Pym Particles. Oh, and now calls himself the Ant-Man. Nothing special happens in THE INCREDIBLE HULK #3.

The second half of 1962 now has a monthly FF title with issue #7. JIM #85 introduces the Gods of Asgard and Asgard itself. Chief among them are Odin and Loki, who is credited with making his first “modern” appearance. Maybe someone can fill me in on the previous. TTA #36 has the second appearance of Henry Pym as Ant-Man as he is now the star of the book like Thor in JIM. Meanwhile, another anthology book, STRANGE TALES #101, features a superhero. This time an already established hero, the Human Torch, becomes Marvel’s first hero of this era to star in 2 books. Also significant is the first Marvel Annual of this era as STRANGE TALES ANNUAL #1 debuts (although the Marvel Wikia has the debut a month earlier vs Mike’s Amazing World. You choose which one to believe). In August, one year after its debut, FF #8 has the first appearance of Alicia Masters and the Puppet Master. THE INCREDIBLE HULK #4 is on sale this month and it’s becoming obvious why this book was canned after 6 issues. Seems like nothing spectacular happens and it seems to be presenting him as just another Frankenstein/Mr. Hyde-type monster, a creature more suited to the earlier anthology books. JIM #86 guest stars Gen. Ross from the Hulk book which, at least, links Thor and the Hulk in the same universe as none of Marvel’s heroes have depicted as sharing the same universe, thus far. Even in S.T. #101 & 102, the only other heroes the Torch meets are members of his own team. Also, the Wingless Wizard debuts in issue #102.

The only thing of note in the month of September is that in the FF, Namor is first seen in his signature green trunks instead of the red as worn in previous appearances. Nothing earth-shaking in JIM #87 or ST #103 either. The most significant thing to happen this month is the first appearance of Egghead in TTA #38. Pretty dopey character in those days, but he will later become Pym’s biggest hurdle in life outside of his mental stability. HULK #5 has the first appearance of Tyrannus (whoopee..) and in FF #10 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby insert themselves into the book. As for JIM #88 and TTA #39, meh… Same with ST #104. Truly a slow month when the debut of Paste Pot Pete aka The Trapster is a “highlight”. That’s it. That’s your October. In November, in FF #11, it’s the first appearance of Willie Lumpkin and the Impossible Man. The other heroes, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Human Torch, are doing their thing by headlining their respective books. Nothing groundbreaking happening in November either.

Year 2 goes out with a bang!!! After 2 or 3 months where nothing spectacular happens (including this month’s issues JIM, TTA, ST, and THE HULK), I guess Marvel decided that it was time for some new blood and to try some new things. Perhaps to help a floundering book, Marvel has the Incredible Hulk guest star in FANTASTIC FOUR #12 which features the first of many epic battles between the Thing and the Hulk. After debuting 7 months ago in AMAZING FANTASY #15, Peter Parker returns in his own book THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1. Significant for 2 reasons: first, because it’s the first appearance of, possibly, Spidey’s greatest adversary (not villain, but definitely an adversary), J. Jonah Jameson, and his son John, who would later become the Man-Wolf. The second, because, this time, the FF find themselves in the guest star role as Spider-Man decides that he wants to join the FF to solve his financial issues. With this month’s FANTASTIC FOUR guest-starring the Hulk and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 guest-starring the FF, Marvel has now firmly established a shared universe for its characters for the first time. TALES OF SUSPENSE #39 becomes the next anthology book to debut and feature a brand new superhero, the Invincible Iron Man. Despite all history being made, another dubious bit of history is made as Marvel has its first cancellation of their superhero era with the INCREDIBLE HULK #6. The book never seemed to have a direction other than chasing the Hulk and having him fight “villains” not worthy of his power. Needless to say, however, that was not the last we saw of ol’ green skin.

Aaannd that’s 1962. This year we saw the Marvel universe grow a little. We saw the introduction of new heroes, new supporting characters, and the birth of a shared universe. Pym Particles and “unstable molecules” were introduced this year and will remain a part of this universe to this day. Next week: more new heroes and villains, the Ant-Man gets a partner, the FF isn’t the only team in town anymore, an ol’ “howling” warhorse, the return of a legend, and…mutants. Until then, take care.

November 1962 (Cover Dated: February 1963)

Thanks for the welcome!! More are coming. In fact, I posted Year 2 today. Hope that you enjoy it.

Interesting point about Marvel's shared universe being established in two separate titles in the same month - since I've always read these stories as reprints at different times, I never put that little fact together like that.
As for the Hulk - yeah, I suppose those first six issues are pretty lackluster, but I always had a soft spot for them ever since I first read them in the late 1970s in that color pocketbook reprint edition. And I'm particularly fond of the last issue with the Metal Master - with art by Ditko instead of Kirby. (Although apparently that pocketbook reprinted the wrong cover, as I see that on the original you posted all of the copy is in Spanish. Incrível! )

Otherwise, I tend to agree with Confessor about the early Spider-man: I've always thought that the series is head and shoulders above everything else Marvel was putting out at the time.