Greetings, everyone. I'm new to the group and it was suggested to me by shaxper who is also a member of the Facebook group Marvel Comics Fans: 1961 - 1986. He suggested that I share my project for that group here at this site. After finally learning to navigate this site, I'm ready to get things started. In 2015, I started reading the Marvel Universe from the beginning; ie,
FANTASTIC FOUR #1. Not only did I read
FF #1, but all the other titles that caught my interest for the books that were cover-dated November 1961. At the beginning of this project, I would review the entire year in one post. However, as the years went on and more books were being published, I abandoned the project altogether, but I kept reading. 1966 was the final Year-In-Review post for quite a while (posted in January 2016). While I kept reading, I didn’t write any reviews for 1967 and most of 1968 and, eventually, abandoned the project for a while. In May 2018, I decided to start sporadically writing reviews again to test the waters. I posted a few for 1964 and 1966 and then I stopped once again. In March of 2019, I decided to post on a regular basis starting with the October 1968 books. Generally, these were posted on Saturday mornings or sometime during that day. I'm going start here with my very first Year-In-Review post which was posted in October 2015. In those days, I hadn't yet established a format or outline for this project. I was, pretty much, "freestyling", back then, lol!!! So, keep in mind that I'm not a writer. So, I hope that you enjoy them anyway. Okay, here we go...
MARVEL YEAR THREE: 1963
Quite a few historic moments happened with Marvel Comics in 1963. So, let’s get right into it. The year started rather quietly as there were some firsts, but nothing of epic proportions. The biggest for the month of January (April Cover dates), probably, was in TALES OF SUSPENSE #40 as, after just one appearance, Tony Stark makes the first of his many armor changes as the golden Mark II armor debuts. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #91 features the first appearance of the Valkyries and the Human Torch battles Namor single-handedly in STRANGE TALES #107. February 1963 saw a very different kind of first this month as it didn’t debut a character or feature a pivotal story. February comics (May cover dates) featured the words “Marvel Comics Group” on the covers for the very first time. Interesting that it took over a year for the company’s name to appear on the cover. Also, appearing on the covers are the lead characters in the upper left-hand corner. Only KID COLT: OUTLAW and TWO-GUN KID did not have these two features that month. More firsts, notables, and/or interesting tidbits for this month include the debut of the Vulture in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #2 (as well as Spidey’s utility belt and belt camera. Seems minor, both are relevant to the Spider-Man mythos) and Iron Man faces an evil scientist named “Dr. Strange”, however, not Stephen Strange in TALES OF SUSPENSE #41. TALES TO ASTONISH #43 introduces a villain called the Time Master and, ironically enough, Ant-Man stories are falling into the same trap as DC’s THE ATOM…lame villains. The same can be said with the debut of the Painter in STRANGE TALES #108. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #92 is interesting because, with Thor having only 10 appearances in JIM so far, Loki has been in 5 of them. That kind of reminds me of Namor in the FF, so far. The first major debut of 1963 goes to the 1st issue of SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS. Not yet the super spy, these are the stories of a younger Nick Fury during World War II. In the March issues (June cover dates) of 1963, the “Red Menace” is still an underlying theme in comics in general as the cold war villains like the Red Ghost and TALES OF SUSPENSE #42’s Red Barbarian demonstrates. Iron Man talking about the Red Barbarian: “That's the name of a top red general, noted for his brutality! He controls this vast commie spy network, and heaven help the undercover man who flubs an assignment!” It May as well have been written in the ’50s. The Radioactive Man and the Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android debuted in JIM #93 and FF #15, respectively. Meanwhile, while TALES TO ASTONISH #44 introduces a partner for the Ant-Man with the Wasp, it, along with STRANGE TALES, is falling into tedium.
The second quarter of 1963 (April with July cover dates) starts with Spider-Man’s first encounter with what will become a major thorn in his side for years to come, Dr. Octopus in
ASM #3. In
FF #16, the F.F. meet the Ant-Man; presumably to help with possible sagging sales of
TTA. Tedium aside, in
STRANGE TALES #110, Johnny faces half of the as yet to be established Frightful Four in the Wizard and Paste Pot Pete. More significant in this issue is the backup story (anthology book, remember) which features the 1st appearance of Dr. Stephen Strange. Interesting that nothing is featured or even mentioned on the cover! This issue, also, marks the 1st appearance of Nightmare. May is probably the most uneventful month I’ve come across since starting this project. The most notable event is the first appearance of Baron Mordo in
STRANGE TALES #111 (still no mention of Dr. Strange on the cover, by the way). Let’s get
“the other stuff” of June ’63 out of the way:
JIM #96 is the 1st “Mad Merlin” later known as Maha Yogi,
TOS #45 is the 1st Jack Frost later known as the Blizzard, plus the 1st Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan,
ASM #4 is the 1st Sandman and Betty Brant,
FF #18 is the 1st Super Skrull and the Skrull Home World and
STRANGE TALES ANNUAL #2 features the precursor to
MARVEL TEAM-UP as the Torch teams up with Spidey for the first time.
Now, with those out of the way, we all know June 1963 was all about the debut of two Marvel heavyweights:
AVENGERS #1, which features the first interaction between Thor and Iron Man in the Marvel Universe, and
X-MEN #1 which features the first appearance of Prof. X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, The Beast, the Angel, the Iceman, and Magneto, but not the first appearance of mutants. That honor goes to Tad Carter who appeared in a story called
“The Man in the Sky” from
AMAZING ADULT FANTASY #14. (Although, I’m sure that some will make an argument for Namor).
At the beginning of the third quarter, three things stand out in July of ’63: the 1st appearance of the Crimson Dynamo in
TOS #46, Spider-Man’s 1st encounter with Dr. Doom (which
may be the first time a Marvel hero battled another hero’s villain. Somebody confirm or deny that, please) and the 1st appearance of Rama Tut, who later on becomes one of the Avengers’ greatest foes, Kang the Conqueror. August ’63 was the month that the phrase
“The Marvel Age of Comics” was used for the 1st time. It was on the cover of
ASM #6, which also featured the 1st appearance of Dr. Curt Conners, the Lizard. In
TTA #49, Henry Pym adopts the 2nd of his name changing/size changing identities, Giant-Man, which is good because, in
AVENGERS #2, the Hulk Quits. The F.F. meets the Molecule Man in issue
#20, Dr. Strange returns to the pages of
STRANGE TALES after a couple of issues away and we get to see the Sanctum Sanctorum for the first time. The third quarter rounds out with the debut of Calvin Zabo, Mr. Hyde, in
JIM #99, Iron Man’s Mark III armor in
TOS #48, and
FF #21 introduces the Hate-Monger and, more importantly, maybe, the 1st modern appearance of Nick Fury; working with the CIA instead of the as yet to be introduced S.H.I.E.L.D.
Coming into the home stretch of 1963, it’s Iron Man vs the Angel on
TOS #49; featuring the 1st appearance of the X-Men in the MU with a cameo by the Avengers. The Hulk and Namor team up to battle the Avengers in
AVENGERS #3; cameos by the F.F., Spider-Man, and the X-Men. Meanwhile, the X-Men meet the Blob in issue
#3 and
SGT. FURY goes bi-monthly with issue
#5. It is the 1st appearance of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. November 1963,
RAWHIDE KID #38 introduces a character called Red Raven; not to be confused with the character from
X-MEN #44 and Liberty Legion fame. In
ST #117, Doctor Strange and Baron Mordo are both mentioned on this issue's cover; the first time either character's name is mentioned on a comic book cover. Plenty of villains debuted in 1963. Magneto being the most popular among them, but not to be dismissed is the debut of the Mandarin in
TOS #50 and Electro in
ASM #9. Also, Marvel said goodbye to one of its "old guard" titles.
KATHY #27 was the last issue of that series. The first casualty of the superhero era for titles like that. The year ends with the introduction of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants featuring the debut of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, along with the Toad and Mastermind in
X-MEN #4. And then, there’s
AVENGERS #4. On a lesser note, this is the issue that introduced the alien race called the D’Bari. Why is that important? That is the race that was destroyed by Dark Phoenix in
UNCANNY X-MEN #135, but I’m getting
way ahead of myself. This issue is also the 1st appearance (somewhat) of the original Baron Zemo. Interesting, I’m sure, but we
all know that the crowning achievement of this issue was the re-introduction of Captain America; the man who would become “Mr. Avengers”, himself!!! Created in the 40s, Marvel revived this old
Timely Comics (Marvel’s original name) character and made him one of the mainstays of the Marvel Universe. Also, one more significant moment in that issue: this issue puts to bed that the myth of Namor being a mutant was a 1990s retcon. He clearly calls himself a mutant on page 15 of this issue.
So, that’s another year covered. Marvel took another step forward in establishing a shared universe among their books and characters. Staples for years to come were introduced in 1963 with more to come in ’64. So, please feel free to tell me what I missed or got wrong. It’s a lot of fun bringing these to you all and I really hope that you enjoy them, but this will be the last one for a while as I have a promotional exam to study for. Year four will be posted in a month or so, hopefully.
Next up…? A blind hero, Marvel’s first black & white magazine, the Sinister Six, a modern-day Robin Hood, and the return of the Hulk. Until then, take care.
JANUARY 1963 (Cover Dated: APRIL 1963)
FEBRUARY 1963 (Cover Dated: MAY 1963)
MARCH 1963 (Cover Dated: JUNE 1963)
APRIL 1963 (Cover Dated: JULY 1963)
MAY 1963 (Cover Dated: AUGUST 1963)
JUNE 1963 (Cover Dated: SEPTEMBER 1963)
JULY 1963 (Cover Dated: OCTOBER 1963)
AUGUST 1963 (Cover Dated: NOVEMBER 1963)
SEPTEMBER 1963 (Cover Dated: DECEMBER 1963)
OCTOBER 1964: (Cover Dated: JANUARY 1964)
NOVEMBER 1963 (Cover Dated: FEBRUARY 1964)
DECEMBER 1963 (Cover Dated: MARCH 1964)
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