Harry's Marvellous Meanderings through the Comic Book World 1 1

[Harry Lime]

Tales To Astonish #72 October 1965 Bought from the boards.

My Copy - Grade 4.0

 

Cover: 3/5 ~ Ah, another Marvel window/monitor type cover. I quite like them and they certainly solve the problem of conveying two (or more) separated characters. This one is quite effective as Krang dominates the picture whilst frantically twiddling his knob to locate the very best in mid-60's reality TV. As for the Hulk's floating head? Well at least they didn't split a panel to show it.

Stories reviewed separately

A Prince There Was!

Art: 3.5/5 ~ There's nothing spectacular in here but I'm really warming to 'Austin's' style (not really a surprise to me as I generally love his DD work as well). I can forgive the occasional lack of detail for the moody depictions, it's perfect for an underwater tale such as this.

Story: 2.5/5 ~ Starts with the conclusion of a cliffhanger (the fight with the Seaweed Man ) and ends with one (the Diamonds of Doom). Sandwiched in between is Krang's attempt to force Lady Dorma to marry him and her punishment for refusing. The Lady may be fickle but there's only one her heart truly belongs to. Namor is aware of her peril (facing the Faceless Ones) as communicated by a passing school of fish but ignores it to continue on his Trident quest.

Quote of the Day ~ "It is I who have betrayed the prince of my heart! If Namor dies...It is I who am the murderer! It matters not that I did it in the name of love! The guilt, and the sorrow...are mine!"

My assessment ~ The problem with these 10 pagers is that the story is finishing just as you're getting into it. They really should be read as an arc but it's my lot to review each one separately, so the story will have to be exceptional to gain a higher mark.

 

Within the Monster dwells a Man!

Art: 2/5 ~ Well this has me very confused. Kirby is credited for layouts, Mickey Demeo (who is primarily an inker) for the artwork and somebody (who?) is drawing the Hulk in a different style than previously seen. Perhaps Kirby was tiring of the Elvis/giant cheeseburger Hulk and was experimenting with a different look on some of the panels but I'm afraid I didn't like it. It's weird because the rest of the supporting cast Ross/Talbot/Jones even the Leader stayed the same.

Story: 2/5 ~ The Hulk is trapped in a cave that's being levelled by the military. The Leader offers him an escape route if he'll join him and eventually the Hulk accepts and is 'electro-wave' transported to the Leader's lair in Italy. Unfortunately for ol' greenskin the Leader is sleep-gassing him from the moment he arrives which upon waking triggers the change back to Banner (which will kill him). Frantically wrecking the Leader's lab in order to find something to stave off the change, the Hulk becomes embroiled in a brief fight with humanoids and has just enough time for another cliffhanger ending. 

Quote of the Day ~ An exchange between Talbot & Ross (not the sharpest knives in the drawer). "Rick Jones holds the key to this in some way, sir! Both the Hulk and Banner were connected with him! I wonder...can the Hulk be a product of one of Banner's secret experiments??"

"By thunder!! I never thought of that, Talbot!"

My assessment ~ Sadly a mediocre tale after the promising start made in #70. Issue 75 will be the next reviewed in this series but there's a few (and better) books to come from other titles first.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Harry Lime]

At long last the first part of the Master Planner arc. Had to resort to a low-grade copy in the end to get one.

Amazing Spider-Man #31 December 1965 Bought from the boards

My Copy - Grade 2.0

 

Cover: 4/5 ~ For some time I wasn't particularly enamoured of this cover but it's steadily grown on me with it's simple spider motif and the action panels cleverly inserted betwixt the legs. I'm sure it'll achieve classic status soon (for me) and a high grade version must look gorgeous.

Art: 4/5 ~ An issue which focus primarily on the more mundane aspects of Parker's life but full of emotion as he attends ESU for the first time and concurrently has to deal with Aunt May being admitted to hospital with a serious but unspecified illness. Ditko also treats us to one of his multi-themed depictions (reminiscent of the cover for DD #9) only this time he doesn't even have to use a splash page or indeed a full page. What action there is is well done inside a rather cavernous helicopter and on a dockside but Spidey fights only the mysterious purple suited guys first seen in the previous issue. The rather massive continuity error from that issue (they're supposed to be 'the Cat's' gang) has still not been explained. If I'm missing something obvious here will some kindly soul please explain it?

Story: 4/5 ~  The meat of the story is sandwiched between two action sequences where Spidey attempts to stop the purple gang from stealing nuclear equipment. On first reading I thought there was a strong Thunderball influence (the divers, underwater lair, dropping stolen items into the sea to be recovered) but on investigation the timing doesn't match up. Thunderball wasn't released until December '65 whereas this book was on sale in September '65. Of course it's possible that Stan or Steve had read the book, knew about the forthcoming film and had based the plot, with the bonus of increased sales, on what was sure to be a very commercially successful film but it's quite a stretch to make that assumption. Anyway, speculation to one side, the main part of the tale is concerned with Peter's first days at college & Aunt May's collapse and serious illness. Understandably Peter is so concerned for his Aunt's well-being that he focuses exclusively on that but his fellow students mistake his distractedness for haughty aloofness and take an instant dislike to him. Flash Thompson's presence amongst them doesn't help matters either. The story ends on an unusual cliffhanger as two doctors discuss May's condition and it's impending fatality.

Quote of the Day ~ Gwen Stacy's thoughts upon seeing Peter again, the dirty trollop! "Peter Parker is the only boy I've met who hasn't given me a tumble!"

My assessment ~ I'm ashamed to admit that upon first reading I was almost disappointed with this issue despite the high marks and the fact it was better than anything else Marvel was producing at the time. This is where hindsight is not such a good thing. Because #32 & #33 were so good I was expecting this to be up there with them, it slightly falls short in that regard but upon reflection I realised it had to for the overall greatness of the arc. This is the setup, #32 is the thrilling chase and #33 the immensely satisfying conclusion. But still a great comic and one that I'm very glad I finally have.

Thanks for reading!   

Edited December 14, 2017 by Harry Lime

[Harry Lime]

500th post special!

And I promise this will be the last time we go backwards until the next time!

Amazing Spider-Man #6 November 1963. Not only my earliest Spidey but also the most expensive book I've 'bought', even more than my ASM #50 (whoops, spoiler alert) over which I had serious buyer remorse. None whatsoever over this purchase, of course it helped that it's my Christmas present for 2017 from my wonderful girlfriend. Bought from the boards, fittingly, from @lizards2.

My Copy - Grade 3.5

 

Cover: 4/5 ~ Full sized depiction of both the hero & villain? Instant win! And with only one blurbing box (albeit quite a large one) taking up space there's plenty of room left for Ditko's off-beat poses as the Lizard is preparing to attack a seemingly helpless Spider-Man. If there's any negatives it's the lab coat's colour (it's white inside the book) but the purple pops so much better.

Art: 3.5/5 ~ Ditko seems to be in a transitional phase from his early, quite small & scratchy ASM work to the later more confident and dynamic drawings. The splash page and the sequence in the abandoned Spanish fort easily being the highlight of the issue.

Story: 4/5 ~ A nicely paced saga where Peter has to convince J. Jonah to cover the 'scoop' of Spidey fighting Lizard in the Everglades because he can't afford the plane flight to Florida. Only in ASM do we find these delightful nuances that reflect the difficulties facing real teenagers. Parker has done his background work and identifies a certain Dr. Connors, a local expert in reptiles, as a man who could help but first he has his initial encounter with the Lizard in the gloomy Everglades. It doesn't go well for Spidey and he ends up getting thrown a considerable distance by unwisely grabbing hold of the Lizard's tail. This fall puts him conveniently close to Dr Connors' house and so he goes to warn them of the Lizard's vicinity. Upon entering he's told the full story & origin of Connors/Lizard and after a couple of brief tussles with the Lizard (luckily interrupted by the Connors' family) because Spidey was getting trashed, Parker (thank god for his braininess) manages to come up with a serum which will, hopefully, turn the Lizard back into Connors. Spidey's strength & webbing are of no help in the ensuing final conflict as the Lizard is much stronger than him but Spider does still have the edge in agility and it's this whilst demonstrating some marvellous mid-air acrobatics that enables him to force the serum down the Lizard's throat whereupon after a few fateful seconds he does change back to Dr Connors. Much relief and a heart-warming family reunion follows where Spidey swears to keep the secret of Connors' transformation from the world.

Quote of the Day ~ A surprisingly difficult issue to get a decent quote from. Let's have a bit of comedy from J. Jonah suspended by some fast dissolving webbing from the ceiling of his office.

"Miss Brant, stop gaping and call Peter Parker! I want to see him here at once! But first put some soft cushions on the floor under me!"

"Y-yes sir"

"WHUMP!"

"Owww!! Never mind those #!?+! cushions"

My assessment ~ The first ASM I can remember reading as a kid although it must have been a B&W reprint in the Mighty World of Marvel. Unusual for the time but not for Spider-Man that he has to use his brain and agility to rescue a very tricky situation. The Lizard is much stronger than Spidey (more so than the Scorpion) and an interesting character (he's not a megalomaniac nor inherently evil) that it's quite surprising it took so long for a reappearance.

Thanks for reading!

   

[Get Marwood & I]

2 hours ago, Harry Lime said:

500th post special!

And I promise this will be the last time we go backwards until the next time!

Amazing Spider-Man #6 November 1963. Not only my earliest Spidey but also the most expensive book I've 'bought', even more than my ASM #50 (whoops, spoiler alert) over which I had serious buyer remorse. None whatsoever over this purchase, of course it helped that it's my Christmas present for 2017 from my wonderful girlfriend. Bought from the boards, fittingly, from @lizards2.

My Copy - Grade 3.5

 

Cover: 4/5 ~ Full sized depiction of both the hero & villain? Instant win! And with only one blurbing box (albeit quite a large one) taking up space there's plenty of room left for Ditko's off-beat poses as the Lizard is preparing to attack a seemingly helpless Spider-Man. If there's any negatives it's the lab coat's colour (it's white inside the book) but the purple pops so much better.

Art: 3.5/5 ~ Ditko seems to be in a transitional phase from his early, quite small & scratchy ASM work to the later more confident and dynamic drawings. The splash page and the sequence in the abandoned Spanish fort easily being the highlight of the issue.

Story: 4/5 ~ A nicely paced saga where Peter has to convince J. Jonah to cover the 'scoop' of Spidey fighting Lizard in the Everglades because he can't afford the plane flight to Florida. Only in ASM do we find these delightful nuances that reflect the difficulties facing real teenagers. Parker has done his background work and identifies a certain Dr. Connors, a local expert in reptiles, as a man who could help but first he has his initial encounter with the Lizard in the gloomy Everglades. It doesn't go well for Spidey and he ends up getting thrown a considerable distance by unwisely grabbing hold of the Lizard's tail. This fall puts him conveniently close to Dr Connors' house and so he goes to warn them of the Lizard's vicinity. Upon entering he's told the full story & origin of Connors/Lizard and after a couple of brief tussles with the Lizard (luckily interrupted by the Connors' family) because Spidey was getting trashed, Parker (thank god for his braininess) manages to come up with a serum which will, hopefully, turn the Lizard back into Connors. Spidey's strength & webbing are of no help in the ensuing final conflict as the Lizard is much stronger than him but Spider does still have the edge in agility and it's this whilst demonstrating some marvellous mid-air acrobatics that enables him to force the serum down the Lizard's throat whereupon after a few fateful seconds he does change back to Dr Connors. Much relief and a heart-warming family reunion follows where Spidey swears to keep the secret of Connors' transformation from the world.

Quote of the Day ~ A surprisingly difficult issue to get a decent quote from. Let's have a bit of comedy from J. Jonah suspended by some fast dissolving webbing from the ceiling of his office.

"Miss Brant, stop gaping and call Peter Parker! I want to see him here at once! But first put some soft cushions on the floor under me!"

"Y-yes sir"

"WHUMP!"

"Owww!! Never mind those #!?+! cushions"

My assessment ~ The first ASM I can remember reading as a kid although it must have been a B&W reprint in the Mighty World of Marvel. Unusual for the time but not for Spider-Man that he has to use his brain and agility to rescue a very tricky situation. The Lizard is much stronger than Spidey (more so than the Scorpion) and an interesting character (he's not a megalomaniac nor inherently evil) that it's quite surprising it took so long for a reappearance.

Thanks for reading!

   

This was always one of my favourite issues as a kid. I just love how Ditko portrays the Lizard and for some reason I always felt a bit sorry for him. The story is quite simple and basic by today's standards but it had a real sense of mystery and adventure to me. I liked the old cartoon of it too. I sometimes wish I could feel now the way I did back then about things. Wide eyed, innocent, excited. Who'd choose to grow up if they didn't have to..... 

[Get Marwood & I]

3 hours ago, Harry Lime said:

500th post special!

And I promise this will be the last time we go backwards until the next time!

Amazing Spider-Man #6 November 1963. Not only my earliest Spidey but also the most expensive book I've 'bought', even more than my ASM #50 (whoops, spoiler alert) over which I had serious buyer remorse. None whatsoever over this purchase, of course it helped that it's my Christmas present for 2017 from my wonderful girlfriend. Bought from the boards, fittingly, from @lizards2.

My Copy - Grade 3.5

 

Cover: 4/5 ~ Full sized depiction of both the hero & villain? Instant win! And with only one blurbing box (albeit quite a large one) taking up space there's plenty of room left for Ditko's off-beat poses as the Lizard is preparing to attack a seemingly helpless Spider-Man. If there's any negatives it's the lab coat's colour (it's white inside the book) but the purple pops so much better.

Art: 3.5/5 ~ Ditko seems to be in a transitional phase from his early, quite small & scratchy ASM work to the later more confident and dynamic drawings. The splash page and the sequence in the abandoned Spanish fort easily being the highlight of the issue.

Story: 4/5 ~ A nicely paced saga where Peter has to convince J. Jonah to cover the 'scoop' of Spidey fighting Lizard in the Everglades because he can't afford the plane flight to Florida. Only in ASM do we find these delightful nuances that reflect the difficulties facing real teenagers. Parker has done his background work and identifies a certain Dr. Connors, a local expert in reptiles, as a man who could help but first he has his initial encounter with the Lizard in the gloomy Everglades. It doesn't go well for Spidey and he ends up getting thrown a considerable distance by unwisely grabbing hold of the Lizard's tail. This fall puts him conveniently close to Dr Connors' house and so he goes to warn them of the Lizard's vicinity. Upon entering he's told the full story & origin of Connors/Lizard and after a couple of brief tussles with the Lizard (luckily interrupted by the Connors' family) because Spidey was getting trashed, Parker (thank god for his braininess) manages to come up with a serum which will, hopefully, turn the Lizard back into Connors. Spidey's strength & webbing are of no help in the ensuing final conflict as the Lizard is much stronger than him but Spider does still have the edge in agility and it's this whilst demonstrating some marvellous mid-air acrobatics that enables him to force the serum down the Lizard's throat whereupon after a few fateful seconds he does change back to Dr Connors. Much relief and a heart-warming family reunion follows where Spidey swears to keep the secret of Connors' transformation from the world.

Quote of the Day ~ A surprisingly difficult issue to get a decent quote from. Let's have a bit of comedy from J. Jonah suspended by some fast dissolving webbing from the ceiling of his office.

"Miss Brant, stop gaping and call Peter Parker! I want to see him here at once! But first put some soft cushions on the floor under me!"

"Y-yes sir"

"WHUMP!"

"Owww!! Never mind those #!?+! cushions"

My assessment ~ The first ASM I can remember reading as a kid although it must have been a B&W reprint in the Mighty World of Marvel. Unusual for the time but not for Spider-Man that he has to use his brain and agility to rescue a very tricky situation. The Lizard is much stronger than Spidey (more so than the Scorpion) and an interesting character (he's not a megalomaniac nor inherently evil) that it's quite surprising it took so long for a reappearance.

Thanks for reading!

   

And well done on hitting 500 posts by the way Harry. I like reading your ramblings and love that you clearly cherish your books. When others are bragging over multiple copies of high grade keys, it's great to see you love your mid-grade ASM 6. I like my graded 9.4 ASM 129. Because one day I'll make a buck on it. Yippee. But I love my lower grade, well read, hard to find old pence westerns so much more. Comics are about love and romance, not pressing to get a point one grade increase in a plastic tomb. Up the romantics! 

Edited December 14, 2017 by Marwood & I
Flipping auto correct....

[1950's war comics]

Wow that is a very nice looking copy of ASM #6 for a 3.5 !!

[1950's war comics]

8 minutes ago, Marwood & I said:

And well done on hitting 500 posts by the way Harry. I like reading your ramblings and love that you clearly cherish your books. When others are bragging over multiple copies of high grade keys, it's great to see you love your mid-grade ASM 6. I like my graded 9.4 ASM 129. Because one day I'll make a buck money it. Yippee. But I love my lower grade, well read, hard to find old pence westerns so much more. Comics are about love and romance, not pressing to get a point one grade increase in a plastic tomb. Up the romantics! 

I'm with you Steve !! high grade to me is a 6.0 !!

recently someone posted about 20 different graded copies of Nova #1 all CGC 9.8 in the "whats new in your collection. or the just back from CGC" thread and i'm thinking why the overkill???

This is a great thread Harry Lime because you are down to earth, appreciate mid-grade and you provide fun reviews of popular comics 

Edited December 14, 2017 by 1950's war comics

[Harry Lime]

Just now, Marwood & I said:

And well done on hitting 500 posts by the way Harry. I like reading your ramblings and love that you clearly cherish your books. When others are bragging over multiple copies of high grade keys, it's great to see you love your mid-grade ASM 6. I like my graded 9.4 ASM 129. Because one day I'll make a buck money it. Yippee. But I love my lower grade, well read, hard to find old pence westerns so much more. Comics are about love and romance, not pressing to get a point one grade increase in a plastic tomb. Up the romantics! 

Thanks, man.

Whilst I do have a few high grade books I could never encapsulate them as I love to read them. Although I'm not dissing on the CGC collector as they're to an extent preserving the copies for future generations and many of them probably have low grade readers or TPB anyway. This is something I can't afford to do, I love the originals (the smell, the ads, the letter pages as well as the story/art) but I have to be able to read them.

[1950's war comics]

@Harry Lime

on you 500th post

[Get Marwood & I]

5 minutes ago, 1950's war comics said:

I'm with you Steve !! high grade to me is a 6.0 !!

recently someone posted about 20 different graded copies of Nova #1 all CGC 9.8 in the "whats new in your collection. or the just back from CGC" thread and i'm thinking why the overkill???

This is a great thread Harry Lime because you are down to earth, appreciate mid-grade and you provide fun reviews of popular comics 

 

3 minutes ago, Harry Lime said:

Thanks, man.

Whilst I do have a few high grade books I could never encapsulate them as I love to read them. Although I'm not dissing on the CGC collector as they're to an extent preserving the copies for future generations and many of them probably have low grade readers or TPB anyway. This is something I can't afford to do, I love the originals (the smell, the ads, the letter pages as well as the story/art) but I have to be able to read them.

Don't get me wrong guys, I don't disrespect what others collect and why. I was a completist myself for a long time so have no business digging at those with multiples of a book. I had about 10 ASM 179's at one point, but to be fair they were all 'different'. 

I just dislike the money element creeping in to the hobby which the grading process seems to encourage. So I like it when I see raw book love. 

Let's hear it for raw book love!

[1950's war comics]

@Marwood & I and H. Lime...speaking of affordable and raw...

Since i can't afford an IH #181 ... this might be the next best thing??

what do y'all think??

[Harry Lime]

1 minute ago, Marwood & I said:

 

Don't get me wrong guys, I don't disrespect what others collect and why. I was a completist myself for a long time so have no business digging at those with multiples of a book. I had about 10 ASM 179's at one point, but to be fair they were all 'different'. 

I just dislike the money element creeping in to the hobby which the grading process seems to encourage. So I like it when I see raw book love. 

Let's hear it for raw book love!

I think you're still a completist, your pence/indicia pursuit would kinda support that theory.

For a run collector like me the speculators have driven certain books well out of my comfort zone. ASM #129 is a book I'm never going to own. FF #52 is another one unless it's a real low grade one. But who knows what's going to happen in the future? One day I may be able to complete my FF/ASM run (all raw, of course) and you may find a pence version of ASM #43!

[Get Marwood & I]

59 minutes ago, Harry Lime said:

I think you're still a completist, your pence/indicia pursuit would kinda support that theory.

For a run collector like me the speculators have driven certain books well out of my comfort zone. ASM #129 is a book I'm never going to own. FF #52 is another one unless it's a real low grade one. But who knows what's going to happen in the future? One day I may be able to complete my FF/ASM run (all raw, of course) and you may find a pence version of ASM #43!

Ha!

If you find me an ASM 43 pence printed copy you can have my 129 Harry! 

 

[Get Marwood & I]

1 hour ago, 1950's war comics said:

@Marwood & I and H. Lime...speaking of affordable and raw...

Since i can't afford an IH #181 ... this might be the next best thing??

what do y'all think??

Hulk fight fit chicks all day long. Hulk like fit chicks. But their claws? Hulk no like 

[AJD]

Great review Harry. The Lizard is an excellent tragic villain. Your copy must look really nice in a mylar too - it's a pretty good looking 3.5.

[Get Marwood & I]

22 minutes ago, AJD said:

Great review Harry. The Lizard is an excellent tragic villain. Your copy must look really nice in a mylar too - it's a pretty good looking 3.5.

How can you not feel sympathy for this reptile?

 

I always liked this cover variant too:

[Get Marwood & I]

[Harry Lime]

36 minutes ago, Marwood & I said:

I liked your scan and thought it was time for a change. As long as the character in my avvy remains green, it's all good.

In context, I have to surmise that I'm the incredible alternative to high-grade books!

[Get Marwood & I]

16 minutes ago, Harry Lime said:

I liked your scan and thought it was time for a change. As long as the character in my avvy remains green, it's all good.

In context, I have to surmise that I'm the incredible alternative to high-grade books!

Hulk like green avvy characters. And well read raw books. So Hulk like Lime Harry. Lime Harry is cool. But if Lime Harry should one day succumb to uber high grade books, and start 'slabbing' them in impenetrable plastic cases, then Hulk will smash! 

[1950's war comics]

HLime that is a cool new avatar