Editor's Note: The following piece is an expanded version of Pierre's article "The Four Fantastic Phases of Silver Age Marvel" which featured in the Sept 2000 issue of that excellent publication Comic Book Marketplace, also known as CBM. Without the constraints of the printed medium, we're able to present this fuller version. You might like to compare the two! - Nick
Author's Note: Regular visitors to this site will be familiar with the four phases of Silver Age Marvel's development described here, as they continue to serve as the theoretical basis of this writer's collaboration with Gregorio Montejo in our In-depth Reviews column. I first dreamed up the idea of dividing Silver Age Marvel's development into four phases in the early '90s, just before the completion of the original of this article around 1994. - Pierre
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Part II: The Years of Consolidation
Although there were isolated examples that indicated the direction Marvel's new line of comics would take between the Early, Formative Years and the later, Grandiose Years, it was in the two years or so that separated them, the "Years of Consolidation", that certain themes would be adopted in earnest. It was in these years that Stan Lee and his stable of artists, particularly Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, began to actively exploit the disparate elements that had begun to define the increasingly popular 'Marvel style' (which they themselves had more or less stumbled upon), and started to weave them into a coherent universe. What characterized these years of consolidation? Mostly the deliberate attempt by Lee to tie his growing universe closer together, to develop its own internal consistency and give it a semblance of verisimilitude. To that end, a number of devices were used, most notably the crossover and the continued story. The reliance on multi-issue stories, some lasting more than a year, would become a hallmark for Marvel in the later, grandiose years, but began in the years of consolidation as more modest two-part tales. Also important in these years was that element of fun and excitement good writing invariably provides as Lee began to take upon himself the scripting for all the super hero titles. Such control in the hands of a writer/editor whose overall vision of the line was mature but experimental would prove crucial to Marvel's success. Lee, in partnership with such talented artists as Kirby and Ditko, whose skills were perfectly suited to the emerging "Marvel method" of creating comics, was able to strike a balance between the melodramatic elements that made them seem realistic while at the same time giving broad hints that none of it was to be taken too seriously. And so, working within the Comics' Code, Marvel found a way to simply have fun with the universe it had created in its early, formative years, mixing and matching its elements and seeing how they turned out. And an enthralled readership was the beneficiary. |
1) Jack Kirby and fellow artist Don Heck teamed up to produce Tales to Astonish # 49 (Nov 1963) in which Lee changes Ant-Man into a completely different super hero by adding two letters to his name. And so, in less than three pages, Ant-Man became Giant-Man! The augmentation in the character's powers was an obvious attempt by Lee to 'jazz up' a faltering character and as usual, Kirby was called in to jumpstart the strip. Heck, who up until now, had been the regular penciler, remained as inker. Giant-Man however, hardly has time to get used to his new powers before the "Living Eraser" shows up. It seems the denizens of the dimension from which the Eraser has come have learned of Earth's atomic bomb and would like one for themselves. Using a transporting device that simulates "erasing," the Eraser kidnaps Earth scientists, including Hank Pym, in order to force them to build a bomb for his masters. Pym slips away to become Giant-Man and readers are treated to a fantastic, no holds barred fight where Kirby lets out all the stops. Throughout, Heck's delicate inks perfectly complement Kirby's pencils, proof perhaps that he was an even better inker than penciler, especially on page 15 where Kirby uses big, quarter page panels to have Giant-Man lassoing alien aircraft from the top of a skyscraper! Lee comes up with a totally unpretentious plot that the artists just have a ball working on. Truly, an unsung classic!
2) With Steve Ditko replacing Heck on the inking chores on Tales to Astonish # 50 (Dec 1963) (the first issue following Ant-Man's change to Giant-Man), Lee and Kirby followed the origin story of Giant-Man from the previous issue by moving immediately into a "novel length" two-part story featuring a new villain called the Human Top (who proved to be an early mutant). It was such things as Marvel's depiction of a super-hero, unused to his new-found powers, stumbling about the city, making a public fool of himself that separated the company from its competitors. Marvel's heroes were still human beings, and it was that formula that Lee tried to infuse into the Giant-Man strip that had been lacking before. Consequently, the reader gets to see the heroic Giant-Man crashing through the city, smashing through fences, knocking down signs and running into lamp posts as the Top scampers just out of reach, taunting him unmercifully. Finally, tiring of the game, the Top just takes off, leaving a defeated Giant-Man in his wake. Lee has succeeded in making the hero, despite his power, a sympathetic character in the mind of the reader. And as the issue draws to a close, we see Giant-man desperately practicing to catch a giant mechanical top in preparation for his next encounter with its human counterpart. But unbeknownst to him, the sympathetic Wasp has set the device to only half-speed, so how can Hank possibly beat the real Top? Keep reading to find out - it's the very next review! |
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3) Tales to Astonish # 51 (Jan 1964) begins with a nice Kirby cover highlighted in purple and green (albeit with signs of the artist's hectic schedule what with its numerous errors in Giant-Man's costuming!). Dick Ayers replaces Ditko's inking of Kirby as the contest between Giant-Man and the Human Top continues. Once again, Giant-Man manages to catch up with the Top, only to once more fall prey to his own exaggerated size. The interesting contrast in super powers impresses itself on our hero as he realizes that it will take more than brute strength to defeat his opponent. When the Top next appears, a section of the city is evacuated, trapping the Top and Giant-Man inside a cordoned-off area. Then follows a fun-filled three-page chase sequence (with a particularly fine Kirby drawing on page 11, panel 5), with Giant-Man finally corralling the Top.
One of the earliest examples of the two part story, Astonish # 50-51 is distinctive because of Lee's willingness to take a chance with the magazine distribution system as it existed in the early 1960s. Before the rise of the comic book specialty shop and the direct market in the late 1970s (which ensured that comic shops could carry every title without fail), magazine distribution was a haphazard affair, especially for comic books. Because of their low cover price, comic books presented stores with an unusually narrow profit margin, much smaller than that for regular magazines. Consequently, store owners with only limited shelf space, if given the choice, would rather put up a $1 copy of Life magazine rather than a 12 cent Fantastic Four. As a result, a kid in the 1960s found that seeking out his favorite comics became a time-consuming adventure. Riding his trusty Schwinn from store to store, he might, if he was lucky, be able to find all the titles he could expect to find on sale for that particular week. But as often as not, there'd be books he'd never find, leaving him forever wondering how Thor managed to get his hammer back from the Cobra and Mr. Hyde, or how Iron Man escaped from the clutches of the Mandarin. Under these circumstances it's easy to understand why publishers generally shied away from running continued stories and how chancy it was for Lee to try it, especially with a line of books that was still struggling to get out from under the shadow of its giant rival, DC (who also happened to control their distribution). But the early attempts by Lee to sell continued stories must've proved successful, because not only did they become more prolific during the Years of Consolidation, but by the time of the Grandiose Years, titles such as the Fantastic Four and Thor would turn into virtual serials, with plotlines continuing almost endlessly for months at a time.
4) Was it a continued story within a continued story or the first multi-title crossover in comics' history? Whatever it was, the earliest struggle between the Hulk and the rest of Marvel's heroes presents the perfect example not only of the years of consolidation, but of the possibilities inherent in a shared universe. And although having a single writer/editor and artist in charge of a limited number of titles would make it easy to juggle so many characters at once, it's more than likely that at this early stage, neither Stan Lee nor Jack Kirby had quite planned the way this story would eventually turn out. Okay, now pay attention: It begins in Avengers # 3, side-tracks into Journey into Mystery # 112, continues in Avengers # 4, picks up again in Fantastic Four # 25 and 26 and concludes in Avengers # 5. Got that? Now to confuse you even further, the story actually has its real beginning at the end of Avengers # 2 when, after the Avengers have defeated the villainous Space Phantom, the Hulk realizes that his teammates don't really trust him. Never having quite fit in with the group, the short-tempered Hulk quits, leaving the others wondering when and how he'll strike next. Now, if "bludgeoning battle" issues are to your taste, you couldn't possibly go wrong with "The Avengers Meet the Sub-Mariner" in Avengers # 3 (Jan 1964). Here, Kirby's art transcends Paul Reinman's uninspired inks as he and Lee craft a 25-page story (that seems much longer) about Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man and the Wasp as they combat the Sub-Mariner, who's managed to coerce the Hulk into joining his campaign to conquer the human race. The Avengers begin their search for the Hulk by visiting almost every super-hero in the Marvel universe, seeking information on the whereabouts of their wayward member, then move west for their first round of action. The confrontation is inconclusive until they meet the Hulk again in the bowels of the Rock of Gibraltar and come to grips with both he and the Sub-Mariner, with both sides using a variety of left-over World War II military hardware in the ensuing mayhem. As usual in these circumstances, nothing is decided as a stalemate forces both parties to break off the action. But that's not the end of this story, not by a long shot! The Avengers continue their pursuit of the Sub-Mariner in their next issue and of the Hulk in FF # 25.
5) This next entry is actually a retroactive chapter in the Avengers/Hulk storyline because Journey Into Mystery # 112 (Jan 1965) appeared nearly a year after the conclusion of that opus in Avengers # 5. Billed as "The Epic Battle of the Age", and featuring page after page of action as Thor, without the aid of his enchanted power, and with only his own natural strength to aid him, dukes it out with an enraged Hulk deep beneath the Rock of Gibraltar (who's to argue?), the story is told by Thor to a group of youths he finds arguing over who was stronger, him or the Hulk. As Thor tells it, he and the Hulk were separated during the events of Avengers # 3 and conducted a private match between themselves before being reunited with their teammates. With crossovers like this, Stan and Jack were able to draw the elements of their new growing universe of heroes closer together and to create in their readers' minds a sense of its realism. In addition, they provided a solid base on which to build more complex stories in the future. And just who turned out to be the strongest, Thor or the Hulk? Pick up this great book for yourself and find out!
But wait! That's not all frantic fans would find in this memorable issue! You might think that with a titanic match as that between Thor and the Hulk, anything else would have to be squeezed out of the book for sheer lack of room, but not so. This issue also comes with the usual Tales of Asgard back-up feature, this time introducing a new theme: the boyhoods of Thor and Loki! A sure-fire attention grabber for any youthful reader, this issue's installment is called "The Coming of Loki" and tells the tale of Odin's defeat of Laufey, king of Jotunheim, and his subsequent and fateful adoption of the suddenly orphaned Loki. A key episode in Asgardian history, making this even more of a landmark issue!
6) Most references to Avengers # 4 (Mar 1964) quite rightly point out that it features the first appearance of Captain America in the Silver Age and certainly, that event alone puts this issue on the map. But what most accounts never mention is that this story is also a direct sequel to the action in the previous issue. It begins in the north Atlantic as a frustrated Sub-Mariner, enraged at his defeat by the Avengers in the previous issue, comes across a group of Eskimos as they worship a dim figure trapped in a block of ice. Tactless as usual, Namor seizes the chunk of ice and hurls it far out to sea. Just by coincidence, the Avengers discover it as they return from the Rock of Gibraltar and haul in the figure that has now been freed from the ice. To their amazement (and the readers'!) they discover that it contains the long vanished Captain America! Reactions of the Avengers range from disbelief, to wonderment, to eager acceptance of the sentinel of liberty into their ranks. Back in New York, as Cap catches up with twenty years of history, the Avengers are turned to stone by a strange alien creature in the thrall of local gangsters (don't ask!) This implausible situation is resolved by Cap in his first adventure and when the Avengers are freed, they agree to help the alien raise his space ship from the bottom of the sea. See the connection now? This is where the Sub-Mariner once more enters the picture! He and his undersea legions attack the Avengers and battle to the predictable stalemate when the sea prince takes advantage of the ground breaking up beneath his feet to declare victory and return to the sea. But ominously, the final panels of the story show a despondent Rick Jones wondering what the Hulk will do once he finds out Rick has thrown him over for Captain America.
the next six... |
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