Surgery Update

 I've had my surgery and all is well- the problem has been dealt with. I'm in a bit of pain and will need to be careful not to strain myself too much for a bit... but I'm able to consume media and blog, plus I'm off work for a bit. I'm back!

Journey into Mystery #86

 "I'm happy to play a part in keeping the free world strong and secure against the forces of tyranny."

Yes indeed, those are Thor's words as he happily helps the US military test out a "cobalt bomb". Welcome to 1962, folks. 

This is, I suppose, a pleasingly early introduction of a lasting villain, albeit a lasting one, so a welcome relief from all these one-off alien and communist baddies we seem to be getting at the moment. But, I mean, it's not actually very good. Basically, the year 2262 is some kind of generic peaceful utopia but Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man, is an evil scientist with a lust for war and conquest as his only personality trait. He travels back to 1962 (and yes, it's explicitly 1962 here, and I'll be commenting on the "Marvel Time" theory as we go) to nick the cobalt bomb, uses it to conquer the Earth of 2262, but Thor time travels to stop him, after a few ho-hum set pieces. That's it. Not much cop, really.

Some potentially interesting things, though. Zarrko has "Earth's only time machine", so either Doctor Doom's time platform has been forgotten or this isn't all quite meant to be a shared universe yet. Thor summons Odin so he can time travel, our first extended look at the All-Father... and appears, at this point, to be the actual Thor of Norse legend. Is he just Don Blake with Thor's powers? Is he actually Thor? Is this a case of dissociative identity disorder? Things are getting confusing. Donald Blake certainly pops up at the end, and the sixty second rule is in play...

Not a great comic, then, but arguably an important one. 

Update

 Tomorrow I'll be having surgery. I may be pretty much fine after a day or two, but there's a possibility I may be groggy and on painkillers for a bit, so you may not see me for a few days. I don't know which way it will go.

 After that, though, I'll be off work for an indeterminate number of weeks to recover from the op. And that will hopefully mean a lot of blogging! 

Tales to Astonish #36

 "Welcome, yankee! I have been expecting you!"

Not a bad story from Larry "nepotism" Lieber here, with a nice twist at the end about the identity of our latest communist baddie, the rather unimaginatively named Comrade X. But crikey, this is bonkers. 

We fully explore the expansive and increasingly absurd ways that Henry Pym can get ants to do his bidding. He ends up trapped in a glass jar, not the most dignified of situations. And he ultimately saves the day by... untying the villain's shoelaces. I kid you not.

Not only is the plot bonkers, though, we get some extra background here, and it's utterly mad. Ant-Man always knows when he's needed, because the ants tell him... best not to think too hard about the details there. 

Even madder, though, is his lab, which is equipped with an "ant sized elevator" as well as a catapult(!) to transport him to his situation, with ants breaking his fall. Ok then...

Not sure what to say about such levels of bonkersness as this. What can I do other than just go along with it? 

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

I don't, personally, know a lot about drugs. Yes, and without commenting on whether I ever indulged or not, like every forty-something I've been in circles where hash and weed were a thing, but beyond that I've never knowingly interacted with actual drug culture beyond, well, popular culture. I've read some William S. Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson, I've read and seen Trainspotting, that sort of thing.

But, well, I drink, so at least I have that experience of altered states of conscience as recreation. I consume caffeine too. Beyond that I cannot go, because that way potentially lies madness, death or worse, and I want to live a long and happy life. But such experiences are fascinating to read about, this extraordinary novel especially.

This novel really shows the lived reality of a junkie, the hopelessness, the squalor, yet also the philosophical musings. It shows the fickle and double-crossing nature of human relations in a world always defined by one's next fix. It's a truly compelling glimpse into a fascinating nightmare. 

Yet this is also a novel of ideas... and of irony. The irony of the novel's final twist, and the irony of protagonist Bob Arctor's situation: a narc who is forced by the circumstances of his job to himself become an addict. The result is tragedy, yet perhaps with an ambiguous note of hope. But this novel will linger in the mind for a good while. Philip K. Dick, whose own life was blighted and no doubt shortened by addiction, poured his soul into it. More so even than Infinite Jest, this is one of the truly great novels about addiction.

Strange Tales #101

 "A commie sub!"

So now we have a regular solo instalment for the Human Torch in the pages of anthology book Strange Tales... and it begins with the Torch racing, rather alarmingly, an "atomic powered guided missile". What could be more atomic age than that?

And yet... it's quite good. We have a one off villain called the Destroyer who, given the nature of his dastardly scheme, has absolutely no reason to wear a supervillain costume, but let's go with it. Because the plot, while not completely free of bonkersness (we are, naturally, facing communists), is actually pretty solid, and I was impressed by the twist at the end.

But that's about it- a nice little one-off tale. What's interesting is the set-up, though- Johnny is living with Sue in the small town of Glenville. Hilariously, and alarmingly, he has an asbestos room to sleep in, and we even get a plan of it. And... Johnny has a secret identity, which he spends much of the story frantically trying to hide from his friends... why? Sue doesn't have a secret identity, they're siblings, so surely it's obvious that Johnny is the Torch?

 Still, overall, this is fine.

Fantastic Four #7

 " A portable self-contained TV receiver! Amazing!"

This issue is... well, as silly as any in the surprisingly disappointing run of Fantastic Four up until now. I mean, Kurrgo, Master of Planet X? Another random alien, who begins the issue with some old-fashioned "as you know, Bob" style exposition? Even so... there have been worse issues. Like, say, the last one.

I suppose there are a few interesting points, like the probable influence of The Day the Earth Stood Still on the robot (with its "atomic scanner") sent to collect the FF. But the over-the-top horseplay between the Thing and the Torch is just too much. And we have a highly advanced alien civilisation which faces imminent doom but can't flee their planet because they literally couldn't be arsed to build more than two spaceships. Yes. literally. This plot makes zero sense.

But then the ending becomes truly bonkers. Reed saves the population by shrinking them to fit inside the two existing ships... so how will they pilot them now? And then Kurrgo just randomly dies of hubris, and Reed decrees he never actually created an antidote but just lied about it. Er... 

I'm sure Fantastic Four will get good fairly soon. Right? 

Journey into Mystery #85

 "Well, eh, it's all in your point of view!"

After last issue being a fairly dull story about Communists while setting up the dynamic further between Donald Blake and Jane Nelson(?), this time things are pretty damn good. And seem to be heralding a significant change in the status quo.

Thus far, Thor has just seemed to be Blake inheriting the powers and form of the ancient Norse god, with no suggestion that the Thor we see here literally has the mind of the actual deity. I don't think that unambiguously changes here by any means, but things start to blur.

And that's right from the start. Because we suddenly see the rainbow bridge of Asgard, where the booming heavens roar. And we behold with breathless wonder... a tree. Loki has been trapped there for a very long time by Odin, and naturally the consequences of this in terms of mental health are just handwaved away, as this is ruled by the logic of myth. But he plays a clever trick on a freshly introduced Heimdall, and he's off to Earth for revenge on Thor... whom he seems to believe is his actual stepbrother.

And... the contest between them is very wacky but huge fun. Loki turns three New Yorkers into, er, negatives. Thor resolves this by using his hammer (said for the first time to be made of uru) to create. er, "anti-matter particles", which in no way swells like a one-off power for convenience. Loki hypnotises Thor, but he's saved by the hammer's sixty second rule. And... well, Thor, or Blake as Thor, which ever he is, says Loki is "According to the ancient legends, the most cunning and wicked of all the gods". So... does he know of Loki only by legend? Does Thor, at this point, have only the mind and memories of Blake? At this stage, I still think so.

We end with Loki (water is his weakness, apparently) returned to Asgard, with cameos from Odin, Balder and Tyr. This is a rather good issue, and the world of Thor suddenly feels much bigger.

Tales to Astonish #35

 "But they'll be stopped... by a mere rubber band and some thread, among other things!"

Right after Fantastic Four #6, in this story we get a second mention of unstable molecules- a possible first hint of a shared universe?

This, as with previous issues of Tales to Astonish, is one of several tales in what is an anthology book. Henry Pym is back, after an initial appearance that I suspect was intended both as a one off and not really as a superhero concept. This time, though, he has a costume, and a headset that lets him control ants(!) to the point of actually riding the things.

I won't say much about the actual threat- yep, it's communists- but, well, the newly coined Ant-Man is not exactly an alpha superhero, simply being able to shrink and control ants. Some of the consequences of this are well thought through, though, such as a character instinctively trying to rub him off his skin, feeling that unpleasant sensation we all do when we've an insect on our arm.

There isn't much to this, really, the character feels a bit generic, and I'm not sure how much mileage there is in the concept. Still, we'll see. And the cover is simply great.

Fantastic Four #6

 "Hahahaha! Who can doubt the genius of Doctor Doom now?"

This is... well, very silly indeed, just like all previous issues of Fantastic Four. There's some very bad science- a magnetic "grabber" that attracts all objects, not just those containing iron; the Baxter Building being lifted up, taken into space and yet returned afterwards as though nothing had happened; the Sub-Mariner bounding from meteor to meteor in space... this is completely mad. Also, oddly familiar, as I was halfway through reading this when I realised I'd seen it before. In 1966 there were several short-lived and very cheaply animated cartoons based on Marvel characters, including the Sub-Mariner, and it turns out this issue was adapted. It was bonkers there and its's bonkers here.

So the less said about the plot the better. Surprisingly, despite some strong characters and solid potential, Fantastic Four so far has been very silly and, well, not that good, really. We can only plod on and hope things improve, as they seem to be doing with The Incredible Hulk.

There are some interesting things to note in terms of lore, though. The Baxter Building is named for the first time, and we get a rather cool diagram of what all the secret rooms contain, various vehicles and so forth, including a "long range passenger missile" capable of reaching anywhere on Earth... once again, though, how can the FF afford this, as surely many nation states could not?

Other firsts include the mention of unstable molecules, out of which the FF's costumes are made. And the first hint of the Thing's rivalry with the Yancy Street Gang! But... well, at this point, Fantastic Four just isn't very good.

The Incredible Hulk #3

 "If I make one false move now, it'll be curtains for this cat!"

After a so-so second issue, this one is pretty damn good. It introduces the Ringmaster and his circus (not yet the Circus of Crime) who are pretty solid minor villains who we'll see a fair amount of over the years. Yet the key strength of the issue is the thoughtful way it looks at the title's status quo and makes some changes for the better.

We begin with Rick Jones supervising as the Hulk languishes in the stone undersea prison that he and Bruce built for him- with Dr Banner turning into the Hulk as night falls. Yet, with a rather underhanded ruse, General Thunderbolt Ross tricks Rick into helping send the Hulk into outer space. This little ruse is soon rather conveniently undone, but the point is clear: Stan and Jack had realised that the whole night/day thing just wasn't going to work. Hence the Hulk receiving an extra dose of space radiation... and Rick discovers, to his surprise, that the Hulk can now exist in the daytime. And he has to obey Rick, for good measure. 

Not only that: the Hulk is beginning to look more like the iconic image we know, with those purple trousers with holes in the knees. His speech is getting less articulate. And, by the end of the issue, it's unclear when, or if, the Hulk will change back to Bruce Banner.

If I have a criticism it's the retelling of the origin story- we really don't have to do this every other issue! But it's both amusing to reflect that, er, Bruce just shoving Rick into a crevice in the ground apparently gives him total protection from the gamma rays(!) and interesting to see that the Hulk, in this flashback, is shown as grey. The change of colour is actually diegetic. Unecessary retelling of the origin aside, though, this is pretty damn good.

Journey into Mystery #84

 "We will test your courage as you face my firing squad!"

After Thor gets an exciting debut... well, this second instalment is very ho-hum. And I rather suspect that this noticeable downturn in quality may be down to the fact that the script is not by Stan Lee but wholly by his younger brother: nepotism is not the most solid of hiring practices. But we'll see, over time, if Larry Lieber does in fact get to impress me.

The plot is very silly. A fictional Latin American country called San Diablo is facing civil war between two factions, one of them a bunch of commies and the other pro-American supporters of democracy because those are, of course, the only two ideologies that could possibly exist in 1962. There's a very silly communist villain, the Executioner, whose USP is his penchant for sending people to the firing squad at the drop of a hat.

This is a very perilous situation, but nevertheless an American medical mission is somehow sent to help, all volunteer doctors and nurses who agree to head towards what must surely be certain death as the Executioner wants them dead. That'll do for the plot: let's just say that Thor saves the day.

There are some interesting bits of lore, though. Again there's no suggestion that this is the actual Norse god Thor. It's revealed that Donald Blake was holidaying in Norway last issue, and that he's a doctor. He and his nurse, Jane Nelson (not Foster?) both fancy each other, but neither will ever reveal it through lack of confidence. Yes, that trope. But, oh irony of ironies... Jane comes to fancy Thor more.

Still, this is frankly a bit rubbish. They can't all be good, I suppose, but this is still early days.

Journey into Mystery #83

 "Well, it's a cinch that skinny gent isn't Earth's secret weapon!"

At first, it seemed this issue (or, rather, short 13 page story) was going to be very silly indeed. I mean, the Stone Men from Saturn? Evoking the Toad Men from Incredible Hulk #2, with their "atomic" force fields and Easter Island faces?

And yet... with allowances made for the fact that this is fairly early in the Silver Age, I find this to be a rather good comic. Yes, it's annoying that Donald Blake is described as being on vacation in "Europe", as though our diverse continent were an undifferentiated mass, and it's very silly Blake should fail to see the alien ship just behind him. Beyond that, though, this is all good stuff. The costume design and initial splash page are particularly good.

Fascinating, after finding the cane, which becomes the hammer (unnamed at this point, at least in the comic), Blake still remains himself as he explores and discovers the powers he's been given by the hammer. There's no indication that he's literally the Norse god in question, simply a worthy man who's discovered an artefact giving him the powers of Thor, whom we would naturally infer at this point was a figure from the deep past. Indeed, as he turns back into Blake after spending sixty seconds not touching the hammer, there's more than a whiff here of Bruce Banner and the Hulk.

But this is all good fun, with the exposition around Thor's powers and the way he defeats the, er, Stone Men from Saturn. A solid start.

Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

 "You really are a nincompoop!"

It's been a while, but I've finally got round to seeing the sequel, in large part due to the pleasure of some truly exquisite company last night! And not only was it a thoroughly enjoyable experience, but I noticed in the credits that the writer was one Jack Thorne, whose distinguished career has included Adolescence among other things (must get round to that!) and who is, rather interestingly, rumoured as a possible new showrunner for Doctor Who... but we'll see.

The script is superb, working perfectly both as a murder mystery with twists and turns which all makes perfec sense at the end but also as a fun, watchable drama with a light touch, lots of fun and lots of wit. It's also, as last night's exquisite company remarked last night, based on the match girls' strike, a very real historical event, and the scandal with white phosphorus was a very real thing.

But Millie Bobby Brown yet again carries the whole thing with aplomb, a truly talented leading lady despite her youth, carrying the whole thing with wit, charisma and those delightfully quirky asides to the camera. To say that she carries the whole thing means a lot given the cast we have here- Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes and Helena Bonham Carter as their mother Eudoxia, in particular. I love the little Sherlockian moments, and it's clear from fairly early on that the film will end with Holmes meeting Watson.

In the end, then, a splendid film. A pedant may observe that the film is set in 1885, too late for Holmes meeting Watson and too early for the match girls' strike (Sarah Chapman is a historical figure), but I'm learning to be better with my pedantry. A hugely enjoyable film.

Amazing Fantasy #15

 "So, they laughed at me for being a bookworm, eh?"

The traditional history of this issue, the last of a title called Amazing Adult Fantasy up till now, is that it was always going to be the last issue, so it was used to try out the character of Spider-Man. That isn't what we seem to have, though- the debut of Spider-Man ("Spiderman" at this point) co-exists with two other, one-off tales. And the last page contains an announcement from the editor about format changes (including the intention to run more Spider-Man stories), clearly indicating that the title was intended to continue, What happened?

That aside, though, this surprisingly short origin story is absolutely superb, absolutely head and shoulders above anything in the order to this point in terms of quality. Yes, the style still contains much excitable hyperbole, and this is still melodrama. But there's nothing silly about this, and there's far more emotional depth to Peter Parker, a vulnerable and relatable lad with a conscience, than we've seen thus far.

This is, of course, just the bare bones of the origin, with many core characters yet to appear- although Flash Thompson has appeared already, albeit in a single panel. And Steve Ditko's bespectacled, downtrodden nerd of a Peter Parker, with his expressive eyes, is very well done. John Romita's version, not this one, would go on to define the future, but I like the Ditko version very much, the facial expressions are a huge part of the storytelling.

I can't wait until we see Spider-Man again. This is just so good, in an entirely unironic way, and that's the first time in the Order I've been able to say that.

Fantastic Four #5

 "Fool! You think you can defeat Doctor Doom so easily?"

It has to be said that the design of Doctor Doom's costume is really, really great... and the design for Darth Vader's costume also owes a great deal to it! That aside, though... this is just bonkers. Fun, but bonkers.

We begin at the FF's headquarters, on the top floor of a skyscraper in what is now explicitly New York, and... the Human Torch is reading The Incredible Hulk in a subtle plug! There's still been no hint as yet of a shared universe- is this inclusion of the comic a suggestion that perhaps that wasn't yet envisaged at this point?

But soon, Doom attacks the FF and Reed gives us the potted origin story of this master of both magic and science, hungry for knowledge and power. And, yeah... he's expelled from uni while literally in a hospital bed, his now-disfigured face bandaged. Bit harsh?

Doom takes them all to a castle in an undisclosed location which is "minutes" from New York, albeit in a super-fast helicopter thingy. Is this within the United States? At no point in this issue is there any mention of Latveria. Is Doom not yet its ruler? Of course, at this point I assume it had not yet been dreamt of.

We then come to the main plot. What does Doom want? Well, to use his Time Platform (a first appearance!) to travel back in time and steal Blackbeard's treasure, which contains items made by Merlin (who thus existed in the Marvel Universe) which Doom can use to rule the world. Ummm...

Oh, and the Thing IS Blackbeard and, if not for circumstances, would have happily stayed in a world where he was somebody, even if it meant doing without twentieth century comforts, medicine etc. And, if all that wasn't enough bonkersness, there's more- the Torch gives his flame "the intensity of atomic heat", which somehow turns some of the water in the crocodile infested (because of course it is, although no visible laser beams are strapped to their replilian heads) moat.

Bonkers. Utter bonkers. I love it. Oh, and Doom escapes, just as Namor did last issue. And Torch juuuust so happens to hope aloud that said Atlantean never finds Merlin's jewellery. Mmm hmm...

The Incredible Hulk #2

 "Hate you? Why shouldn't I hate you? Why shouldn't I hate all mankind?"

So... the Toad Men? Cartoonish generic alien invaders with their magnetic tech and tendency to spout convenient exposition between themselves? They're... yeah, these are early days, still very cheesy, with what is slowly becoming Marvel still emerging from a world in which comics are seen as disposable, throwaway fare, and the Toad Men are a clear symptom.

So much here is fascinating here, though. The Hulk appears grey when outside at night, but I think he's supposed to be green, in only the second issue. It's still very much the case- and integral to the plot- that Bruce becomes the Hulk at nightfall and changes back at dawn, regular as clockwork. This is very Edward Hyde and, indeed, the Hulk is drawn (pencilled by Kirby, inked by Ditko) with sinister, Hyde-like facial features right out of an EC horror comic. And he's pretty smart: it's implied that he could have flown the Toad Men's ship if dawn hadn't come.

One interesting point... the Toad Men refer to Bruce as the "greatest mind on Earth". I immediately thought, well, what about Reed Richards? But I then realised that we've had, as yet, no indication whatsoever that any of these titles are part of a shared universe. I'm very much on the lookout for when that changes.

This is very Silver Age silly, yes. But it's fascinating to see how different the Hulk is at this early stage. 

Tales to Astonish #32

 "No, my heartless intruder! It is you who have asked for it!

I've skipped a couple of Tales to Astonish stories in the Order as they were only tied to the Marvel Universe by one later story many decades later, past the mid-'90s beyond which I'm not sure I'll continue. This one... well, it's just about included, as the Classically inspired monster featured will be seen again in a handful of '70s and '80s appearances.... and, incidentally, had one previous Golden Age appearance!

This is but a five page story, "The Girl in the Black Hood", one of several in the issue, including a one page text story, as was the format of Tales to Astonish at this point. It features a crook getting his comeuppance as he tries to rob an acclaimed photographer who, it turns out, has a solid reason for always hiding her face behind a black hood. Not be all spoilery but, well, her name is "May Dusa"...

This is short and sweet, but a nice little tale with a twist. It does its job and entertains. It's a solid short story. It reminds me of Tharg's Future Shock in 2000 AD. But, well, there's not much more to say, other than to note that it's unclear who scripted this.

The Incredible Hulk #1

 "You keep  out of this, Betty! This is man talk!"

There are a couple of short stories from Tales to Astonish in the order, but I'm skipping them. They're standard pre-Marvel Age monster fare, and only in the order because the relevant monsters re-appear much, much later., and only once, as a novelty As I'm not sure whether or not I'll be going past the early '90s or so (although, well, we'll see!), they're just too tenuous.

So... the Hulk. The first issue is the early version of the familiar origin story. But it's not quite the narrative we will come to know. Most obviously, the Hulk is grey. His clothing is not quite what it will be. And he may be strong and have a bad attitude, but he's perfectly articulate. Moreover, at this stage, Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk at nightfall, not at moments of stress or anger.

These things in combination give much more of a Jekyll and Hyde feel. Like the Edward Hyde of Stevenson's novella, this Hulk feels to be not so much an actual alter ego as a repressed side of Banner's self. This is fascinating.

It all feels very grounded in 1962, though. The atomic explosion is, well, very Atomic Age. The baddies are very crudely drawn Soviet communists- the Cold War definitely shows. And then there's Rick Jones, looking and talking like a specifically early '60s American teenager- no longer rock 'n' roll, the '60s aren't actually swinging yet, and it all feels very American Graffiti.

The Gargoyle stuff is, of course, very silly- I mean, travelling between the USA and the USSR via rocket? The supposedly genius level Gargoyle travelling alone to the heart of America? And his sudden change of heart at the last minute, allowing Bruce and Rick to implausibly escape?

And yet... yes, like previous instalments in the Marvel Order, this is silly stuff... but that's the vibe at this point, deliberately heightened melodrama. It isn't necessarily a fault, just the way things were. Yes, the silliness makes this issue seem ridiculous today... but it's certainly got something.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

 

This is one of those novels which have been translated to the screen again and again, not least in The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price, which I may well have blogged. And yet, in novel form, the premise is truly allowed to blossom. We have possibly the last person on Earth who has not become a vampire, and we really explore the minute detail of how he adapts, survives and reacts to the strange and nightmarish new world in which he finds himself,

And interiority is crucial here. We are privy to Neville's thoughts, feelings, despairing binges, bleak memories, and why he acts as he does, far more so than any film version could ever make us feel, by virtue of the medium itself.

And so (SPOILERS) the twist at the end comes, if anything, as even more of a shock, as it has real moral force. Ruth makes not only Neville confront the moral horror of the fact that Neville has been gleefully staking living vampires as well as dead ones... and it turns out that a treatment is possible which will give them reasonably normal lives. Neville, with whose deeds the reader has been complicit, is in fact a murderer, and must die.

This is a surprisingly brief novella, and it focuses narrowly on the worldbuilding, the twist, and one everyman character. But what it does it does very well indeed.

Fantastic Four #4

 "One side, woman! I got me an idea!"

It's weird to think that this is the Sub-Mariner's first Silver Age appearance... yet his last Golden Age appearance was only in 1955, seven years previously. But it's amusing to think how Marvel opted for nostalgia at such an early point. Indeed, it did that with the character of the Human Torch, and it's amusing to see how the cover has the modern Torch without a face, much like his 1939 predecessor.

Anyway, we begin in the FF's "secret skyscraper hideout", and once again I look forward to an explanation of how they can afford this, as well as such gadgets as the Fantast-car which, we now learn, can split up into four individual parts. Nice. And events follow on from the end of last issue, but Torch is missing, having flounced out after a dramatic argy-bargy with the Thing- and, yet again, it's striking how much real vitriol there is between the two of them at this stage. This is more than just banter, and it seems the Torch genuinely intended to leave the FF for good,

Anyway, it's Ben who finally finds Johnny, but Johnny gets away when the Thing (very) briefly turns human again, a nice little running sub-plot... and, beneath the panels, we get questions like "What is the Hulk?", a very nice teaser for a new comic which will be arriving very soon.

By an incredible coincidence, the hotel Johnny ends up in happens to be the one containing a bearded, amnesiac Sub-Mariner. And it's Johnny who deliberately restores his memory by, er, dropping him in the sea, as though that was certain to work. It does, though... and Namor finds out that his kingdom has been destroyed by (what else?) atomic experiments, so it's time to destroy humanity... with a massive monster which is called Giganto, because of course it is. Yet again Marvel's existing monster genre bleeds into the new stuff.

But the best bit is where, I kid you not, the Thing straps an actual nuke to his back, lets Giganto swallow him, dumps the bomb and escapes through the monster's gob, which is a whole other level of bonkers. And then the threat is basically resolved by the fact that Namor suddenly fancies Sue... and wants to marry her. Well, that escalated quickly, and now the Torch can apparently create tornadoes somehow because the plot requires it...

This issue is magnificently bonkers.

Fantastic Four #3

 " I'm disappointed in you, Reed! You almost had him, and then he slipped through your fingers!"

This issue begins to feel a bit more Marvel from the start, with the cover showcasing the Fantasti-car and the new costumes, which are introduced halfway through, designed by Sue... although Ben won't end up wearing the whole thing. We're also introduced to the FF's huge and expensive-looking secret HQ, crammed with Batcave type stuff. The question must again be asked- how are the FF paying for all this?

The opening scene is a nice little set piece as the four of them see a show by Miracle Man, a stage magician and (very) minor Marvel villain for future years, who is nevertheless destined to get his own Top Trumps card in the late '80s. Hilariously, the Thing is making a token attempt to disguise himself in the audience, and it's fun to see the character humiliate the FF, and Ben especially.

Reed tempts fate by musing that it would be unfortunate if the Miracle Man should turn to crime, while Sue, in giving out the team's new costume, speaks of "crime fighting". At this point, then, the team are being envisaged as crimefighters as opposed to explorers.

The best thing about this issue is the unreasonably critical police commissioner, who is hilariously rude to Reed. I certainly hope to see him again. We then round out the issue, after yet another origin recap and some basic character stuff with Ben and Johnny, with Reed revealing that Miracle Man was just a hypnotist all along, and his powers were just illusions... well ok. Best not to look too closely at the details of that.

Still, this is a pretty good issue and we're starting to see the team slowly morph into becoming the FF we know.

Tales to Astonish #27

 "I won't tell you yet! You would only laugh at me as you've done before! But when I've finished it, I'll show you! You shall know I'm a greater scientist than any of you!"

This is such a fascinating time capsule- entirely a product of Marvel pre-Fantastic Four with the slight detail that it happens to introduce Henry Pym. But it seems likely, from reading this, that it would never have been intended as anything more than a one-off tale, very much in the monster genre that Tales to Astonish and the other anthology comics had been doing.

It's interesting to see that this is just one of multiple tales in a comic that also includes text stories, and is a very short story of just a few pages. The cover and splash page, it must be said, are both excellent- I believe the former is Jack Kirby and the latter Steve Ditko? Ditko, I have to say, does a much more impressive job as penciller than Kirby has thus far, although I know Kirby's best work lies ahead.

Initial observations are that Hank Pym doesn't exactly come across as a hero here. Indeed, he seems to be a bit of a prat, much as he shows sense at the end, following his lucky escape. His deciding to destroy his shrinking serum seems to indicate no intention of a return.... but the loose thread of that one mysteriously friendly ant may suggest otherwise!

The less said about the science the better, although I may point the reader to look up J.B.S. Haldane's "On Being the Right Size". Still, this is a pleasingly amusing little tale. Still very early days though.

Fantastic Four #2

 "No wonder our leaders dare not invade Earth until the Fantastic Four are stopped!"

Issue #2, and we have Skrulls! But, well, they're drawn by Kirby in a very cartoonish fashion, and they're very silly to boot. 

Like the first issue, this is very much rooted in the monster books Marvel had been producing, and doesn't yet feel fully like a superhero title. There are still no costumes, and Reed is still dressing like Don Draper from Mad Men. Indeed, given is apparent age (about 45?) and pipe smoking ways, it's likely that the character would have fought in the Second World War, an odd thought.

We begin with Skrulls framing the Fantastic Four for various crimes, in order to get them imprisoned and out of the way so their orbiting fleet can conquer the planet, which at least makes sense. Interestingly, the FF are very much known to the general public.

We get a recap of last week's origin, and... well, not much characterisation as yet. Ben is still very bitter and anti-social, quite reasonably, as his so-called friends address him not as "Ben" but "Thing"!

The art is still very functional, and the pages feel crowded with lots of panels in this multi-part story in which rather a lot happens. The FF are attacked by the US army, captured... and Johnny is rather alarmingly put into an asbestos cell! Of course, they all promptly and entertainingly escape, and head to "one of the Fantastic Four's many secret apartment hideouts"- wow. They seem to have an awful lot of resources, especially while being fugitives. What's their source of income, then...?

The FF's defeat of the Skrull is... well, as absurd, ridiculous and over the top as one could possibly imagine, involving panels from Strange Tales and Journey into Mystery- both still monster books at this point- among other things. 

We end with the Thing, for the first time, very briefly becoming Ben Grimm again, as the FF now prove their innocence with utterly ridiculous ease. And... the three remaining Skrulls are hypnotised and forced to spend the rest of their lives on Earth as cows. Er, perhaps a bit harsh...?

All in all, very silly indeed. Marvel isn't Marvel yet. But strangely compelling in its silliness!

Fantastic Four #1

 "You've turned into monsters... both of you! It's those rays! Those terrible cosmic rays!"

Yes, it's a bit of a sudden change of direction to start reviewing comics. So... why am I doing this?

Simply put, I've had a temporary but rather unpleasant medical condition for the last year and a bit, meaning physical discomfort . This is making it increasingly hard to concentrate on TV and film, the main focus of this blog. The good news is that I should be right as rain after surgery next month, followed by a few weeks to recover, and I'll be watching and blogging all the usual stuff.

But what to do in the meantime? Well, I can still read well enough, and will still be blogging novels. I will try to keep blogging TV and film as much as I can. But I could do with something that will allow me to blog with relative frequency... so I'll be reading all Marvel comics, online, according to the Complete Marvel Reading Order (fellow Brits, you may need a VPN), starting with this issue! I may not go beyond the early '90s but... we'll see.

So... it's August 1961. The same time period as Season One as Mad Men. The Sixties won't start swinging for a while yet. It's still very much the Atomic Age, the Cold War is in full swing, between the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Both the USSR and the USA put a man in space earlier this year.

And, in terms of comics, it's the Silver Age. And... well, we'll say "Marvel" for clarity, but this is really Timely Comics, known for its pulp-style stories of monsters, aliens and mad scientists- certainly not superheroes for the most part, not since they went out of fashion just over a decade ago. Captain America, the original Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner have, it seems, had their day.

Yet a certain Distinguished Competition has had great success, after years of retreating to just Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, of expanding its roster of superhero titles... and Marvel needs to do something. Things are not going great.

Enter two men in their forties, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Much has been said over the years over how Kirby's contribution to the plots has been underappreciated, but we must be careful not to dismiss Lee as a mere hype merchant, either. This thread I will, I'm sure, keep returning to, but Lee is very much on record of saying that, at this point, he was thinking of leaving the comics industry and this was a last throw of the dice, him finally doing a comic exactly the way he wanted. And, well, that clearly worked.

I'm very much aware that the Fantastic Four, being essentially explorers, owe much to Challengers of the Unknown, which Kirby had recently done at DC. Indeed... this issue in many ways seems and feels more like an Atomic Age monster comic than a superhero comic- there are, for example, no costumes at this point. And this is very much baby steps for Marvel- Kirby's art, while very good for what this is, is by no means anywhere close to being as sublime as it will eventually become, great though the cover is. And the dialogue is... melodramatic, and also wordy. The narration, while poetic at times, is surprisingly foregrounded: there's certainly an authorial voice to this.

The narrative, perhaps reflecting the pre-existing style, is split into four. The first is... odd, with Reed Richards summoning the others with some weird signal thing. Sue Storm is with "society friends" when she hears the signal, reacting to her "vow" and leading to some hi-jinks with a taxi. Ben Grimm, at this point, looks much less rocky, and is far more grumpy and anti-social, saying "bah" a lot. The events seem to take place in "Central City", a DC-esque fictional location, not New York. And... the FF are very much treated as hostile by those in authority, with the US government trying to get Johnny. This sequence showcases the characters' powers, but... it's odd, it's uneven, it feels experimental, and the characters are far from fleshed out at this point.

The second part of the narrative is the familiar origin story, with the cosmic rays. Even this has some unexpectedly fascinating little details, though. Reed was rushing the rocket and cutting corners on safety in order to beat "the Commies"- you can really feel the sudden urgency of the space race in 1961, the year the US quickly rushed Alan Shephard into space in order to keep up with the Soviets. And Sue goads Ben by calling him "a coward" despite his very reasonable safety concerns. The love triangle over Sue between Reed and Ben is surprisingly raw.

Part three gives us actual plot, with atomic plants (this being the Atomic Age) being targeted from underground, including in French Equatorial Africa, reminding us how long ago this is! "Monster Island" is from right out of pulp and B-movies, the monsters (one with three heads!) being pure Ray Harryhausen. Mole Man is... well, not the most classic of villains, basically an incel who flounces, self-pityingly, to the centre of the earth, losing much of his sight... and then gaining supernatural senses and mastery over the monsters for reasons which are in no way explained. And yes, he explains his rather rubbish plan to the FF "before I slay you".

This is by no means the finished article. It certainly doesn't feel like Marvel at this point. And yet... the fundamentals of the key characters have real potential, and I can see why this was such a success.

An Update... and a Plan

 Firstly, fear not: everything I've been blogging- Dexter, Gen V, films, other new telly that may arise- will continue. This blog isn't going anywhere.

However, the medical condition I've had for over a year now has been gradually worsening, and at this point it's becoming harder to focus on TV and film. Fortunately I have surgery scheduled for the middle of next month which should have me completely back to normal. I'll need a few weeks to recover from the surgery, but after that the blog will continue.

So, ideally, I need an idea to keep this blog sort of going in the short term. Part of that will be filled by the novels; I can concentrate more easily on a book, and I'm still going to blog those.

But I need something else... so here goes: the Complete Marvel Reading Order! I'm going to start with Fantastic Four #1 and go on and on until, well, at least the early '90s. I'm in my late forties, so a project like this is a pleasing way of giving the finger to mortality.

For my fellow Brits, you'll need a VPN if you fancy following along, but I assume we all have those since the passing of the Online Safety Act. 

Ghostwatch

 "You don't know, do you?"

"..........No. I don't."

I haven't seen this since... well, 31st October, 1992, so reluctant was the BBC to admit to it until recent years. A drama that (despite the opening and closing making it clear that it is indeed such) apes Orson Welles' famed 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds and convinces much of the nation that this is in fact a real live broadcast, with actual, well-known presenters, was... well, bound to be controversial, and the BBC got cold feet very soon after broadcast.

All of which, of course, is an ironic consequence of just how bloody good it is. Yes, some criticise the early parts for being slow and meandering, but that's the point: if it's to convince as a real drama, it has to do precisely that, warts and all. And it does so well. Michael Parkinson and Sarah Greene, in particular, are utterly convincing as themselves, which is not as easy a feat as it seems, both being absolutely convincing at moments that have to feel spontaneous. And Craig Charles, too, is not only convincing but rather a good sport in allowing himself to come across as a bit of an arse during scenes when he "thinks" he's off camera.

Yet the family themselves, none of them known faces for obvious reasons and including two child actors, are utterly convincing with, necessarily, very naturalistic acting. The whole thing progresses perfectly and the ending is utterly chilling. I'm surprised how dark the themes are, with hints of past child abuse and child murder, and the terrifying use of nursery rhymes.

Watching it in 2025, though, one is ruefully reminded that this is a bygone age of tape recorders, where deepfakes and AI were undreamt of, as I wish they had remained. And the one obvious hint that this isn't actually real is the merely token inclusion of a sceptic, made to be unlikeable, the BBC certainly not being likely to have dared to seem so biased in reality... at least back then. 

Still, this is not only one of the earliest examples of this kind of more metatextual take on horror, leading to genres such as "found footage" becoming more prevalent and therefore important to film history, but also one of the very best,

Update

Fear not; I haven't gone anywhere and will continue with Dexter, Gen V and other stuff as much as I can. Just bear with me in advance of my upcoming surgery and recovery, with my condition it's becoming increasingly different to watch serious telly and concentrate most days. But I should be back to normal after the op.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Yes, I know: I've seen the television series based upon this novel and its sequels, and I usually arrange to read the novel first. But it matters little here- this is well-trodden history and spoilers hardly apply. Moreover, the two are not particularly alike. Plot is one thing; interiority is another. Yes, this novel may be a truly magnificent feat of making us truly feel the England of the 1520s and '30s, but it is more than that.

The novel is told entirely through the thoughts and impressions of Thomas Cromwell. The various familiar figures from the reign of Henry VIII very much appear, but we see all of them as Cromwell does. And we come to understand him- his kindness to children, his hard-headed bruiser side, his workaholism, his deeply cultured nature.

The novel truly communicates the nuances and paradoxes of its age, an age in which the line between Catholic and Protestant is blurred in ways which would soon not be true, and an age in which judicial murder coexists with the primacy of legal propriety, in which a famously tyrannical king nonetheless respects that he is constrained by Parliament.

The novel takes a notably sympathetic approach to Cromwell himself, as well as to the future Queen Mary I and the seemingly kindly Cardinal Wolsey. Others, notably Thomas More, the king himself, and Anne Boleyn, get damning portraits, particularly More, a torturing zealot and abusive husband. Others, such as the Duke of Norfolk and the young Christophe, are simply fun.

This is a novel that's all about the nuance, the texture, the reimagined history. It's a truly dizzying experience.

Stranger Things: Season 5, Chapter 8- The Rightside Up

 "Oh, I was planning on carelessness...!"

I saw this finale last night, and I'm glad I've let it sink in a little before articulating my thoughts. There is, of course, one rather large plot hole- the gang, having destroyed the Upside Down and saved the world, end up in the custody of Sarah Connor and her toy soldiers. Why aren't they all arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to those absurdly harsh prison sentences of which America, with its extraordinarily huge prison population, is so fond? Regardless of morality, they've all surely broken several important laws. But I think we can safely forgive and handwave this. Because the episode is a masterpiece,

The way the threat is resolved is superb. We have two hours of run time, plenty of time for each character to breathe, with lots of nice little scenes between pairs of characters- especially the reconciliation between Jonathan and Steve. It's fitting that Vecna, whatever he may think, is ultimately just another vessel and the real Big Bad is a freaking massive CGI monster. And the whole gang work together to destroy it before Sarah Connor ruins everything... and yes, there's no hope for Eleven after all. There never could have been. Those waterfalls always were a pipe dream.

This is, of course, very bleak. But by the end of the episode we nevertheless haven't turned to despair. Because Stranger Things never really was about the supernatural threat- it's about the characters, about growing up, about how we all deal with adversity together. About how, yes, the world is full of suffering, unfairness and death, but how we can nevertheless find joy and make our own meaning. 

Which is why we need this long coda for the characters to be seen to be getting on with their lives, pursuing their dreams and friendships, dealing with their grief. Life goes on. The proposal scene with Joyce and Hopper is so very wonderful, as is Hopper's speech to Mike on healthy and unhealthy ways of grieving, lessons we will all need at some point.

But there is also fun. It's 1989, the end of the decade. We have the Pixies! Dustin gives a wonderful valedictorian speech, including a tribute to Eddie. And we end, of course, with D&D (or rather, I assume, 2nd edition AD&D!), with a beautiful imagined happy ending for El. It's just Mike's fantasy, of course. But sometimes we need to believe in comforting fictions, and that's ok.

The perfect finale.