By Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Paul Reinman, Joe Simon, Al Gabriele, Harry Sahle, George Mandel, Harold Delay & Paul Quinn, John H. Compton, Ray Gill, Stan Lee, Sid Greene & others (MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-1623-3 (HB) 978-0785167778 (TPB)
This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. Lots of it, generated at moments of fervent if not rabid anti-German and anti-Japanese excess. Everybody on all sides was doing the same at the time but that’s no excuse, and if you can’t tolerate overtly racist depictions despite historical context and social grounding, this might be a Marvel Masterwork to avoid.
In the early days of the Golden Age, a novel idea and sheer exuberance could take you far, and since the alternative means of entertainment and escapism for most kids were severely limited, it just wasn’t that hard to make a go of it as a comic book publisher. Combine that once in a lifetime moment with a creative workforce which kept being drafted, and it’s clear to see why declining standards in story and art didn’t much affect month-to-month sales during World War II, but started a cascade-decline in superhero strips almost as soon as GI boots began hit US soil again.
In 1940 the comic book industry was in frantic expansion mode with every publisher trying to make and own the Next Big Thing. Martin Goodman’s pulp fiction business leapt to the challenge and scored big in the Fall of 1939 with debut anthology Marvel Comics (Marvel Mystery Comics from its second issue). Both The Human Torch and Sub-Mariner (Happy 85th Birthdays “firebug” & “water-rat”!) found great favour with the burgeoning, fickle readership. Two out of seven was pretty good: Action and Detective Comics only had the one superstar apiece…
An editorial policy of rapid expansion was in play: release a new book filled with whatever the art- & script-monkeys of the comics “shop” had dreamed up and not yet sold. “Shops” – freelance creative studios packaging material on spec for publishers – were the most prominent facilitators in the early days, and Goodman bought all his product from Lloyd Jacquet’s Funnies Inc. Like every other money-man, Goodman kept the popular hits and disregarded everything else as soon as sales reports came in.
In quick succession Daring Mystery Comics #1 (January. 1940) and Mystic Comics #1 (March 1940) followed, with limited success and a rapid turnover of concepts and features. Timely Comics – or occasionally Red Circle, s the nest of companies then called itself – had a huge turnover of characters who only made one or two appearances before vanishing, never to be seen again …until modern revivals or recreations generated new, improved versions of heroes like Black Widow, Thin Man, The Angel, Citizen V or Red Raven.
That last one is especially relevant here. Although fresh characters were plentiful, physical resources were not and when the company’s fourth title Red Raven #1 was released (cover-dated August 1940) it failed to ignite substantial attention for title character or B-features Comet Pierce, Mercury, Human Top, Eternal Brain and Magar the Mystic – despite being crammed with stunning early work by rising star Jacob Kurtzberg/Jack Curtiss/Jack Kirby.
The magazine and its entire roster was killed and its publishing slot and numbering were handed over to a proven seller. Thus, a Human Torch solo title launched with #2 (Fall 1940) – not only offering extra tales of the flammable android hero, but also introducing his own fiery side-kick.
Just so’s you know; the next two Timely releases fared much better: Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941) and inevitably, a singular title for Sub-Mariner (Fall 1941)…
Although the material in this collection is of variable quality and probably not to the tastes of many modern fans, for devotees of super-heroes, aficionados of historical works and true Marvel Zombies there’s still lots to offer here. However, it cannot be said enough: these stories were created in far less tolerant times and social, class and especially racial depictions leave a lot to be desired. But that’s history, and we need to see it, warts, epithets, attitudes, gross misconceptions and all…
After a knowledgeable and informative introduction by Roy Thomas, the vintage hot-dogging begins with by Carl Burgos’ ‘Introducing Toro – the Flaming Torch Kid’ wherein our shining star discovers a circus boy possessing all his own incendiary abilities. After learning his tragic story and how his parents were killed, he clashes with an evil, exploitative carny strongman with a ray-gun to free the lad from bondage. The misnamed senior Torch was actually a miraculous android and not at all human, but here he acquires a plucky, excitable teen assistant who would be his faithful comrade for (almost all) the remainder of his career…
Next comes Bill Everett’s ‘Sub-Mariner Crashes New York Again!!!’ as subsea stalwart Prince Namor once more attacks America, prior to ‘Carl Burgos’ Hot Idea’ and ‘Bill Everett’s Hurricane’ provide prose features allegedly detailing how the respective creators came up with their tempestuous brain-children…
The remaining stories are pretty pedestrian. ‘The Falcon’ by Paul Reinman features a young District Attorney who corrects legal shortcomings and miscarriages of justice as a masked vigilante, ‘Microman’ (Harold Delay & Paul Quinn) stars a young boy exploring his own garden at insect-size before Mandrake knock-off ‘Mantor the Magician’ sees a fez-topped modern mage crush crooks posing as ghosts in a by-the-numbers battle by Al Gabriele.
Joe Simon’s Fiery Mask actually debuted in Daring Mystery #1 before closing his career here with ‘The Strange Case of the Bloodless Corpses’, as the multi-powered physician hunts a remorseless mad doctor terrorising the city…
Second outing issue #3 (I loved typing that) is far more impressive, and includes the always-enticing ads old farts like me adore. Behind the Alex Schomburg cover (who provides all four in this book) is a monochrome plug for upcoming release Captain America Comics #1 before an ambitious and spectacular untitled 40-page Torch epic by Burgos & Harry Sahle reveals how naive traumatised Toro is seduced by Nazism. Partitioned by a full-colour ad for Marvel Mystery Comics and featuring another early Marvel standby moment as the flaming fireballs fight, before uniting again when the boy sees the patriotic light and burning off Hitler’s moustache, this is the early company at its most sensationalist and primal.
John H. Compton’s text piece ‘Hot and Wet’ sees the two elemental superstars debating whose creator is best and Cap offers kids membership in his Sentinels of Liberty club before a 20-page Sub-Mariner crossover yarn – anticipating Marvel’s successful policy of the 1960s onward – sees Namor and the Torch team up to trash Nazi vessels sinking Allied convoys, and ultimately scuttling a full-blown invasion together with the issue closing on an ad for Timely’s next sensation The Black Marvel in Mystic Comics…
Numbered #3 on the cover but #4 inside, much of the next issue was ghosted. Following another Captain America plug, The Torch – via Burgos & Sahle – takes far too long solving the ever-so-simple ‘Mystery of the Disappearing Criminals’, even splitting the battle against deranged mastermind Blackjack into two chapters divided by an ad for never-published All-Aces Comics, after which Ray Gill introduces second string star-spangled hero The Patriot in a 2-page text piece. Everett was still very much in evidence and on top form when Sub-Mariner takes 10 beautiful pages to save an Alaskan village from plague, blizzards, an onrushing glacier and incendiary bombs in a sublime forgotten classic, before another Marvel Mystery Comics ad segues into The Patriot’s rather lacklustre comics debut, shambling through a tale by Gill & George Mandel featuring Yellowshirt Bundist (that’s German/American Nazi sympathizers to you, kid) saboteurs to close the issue…
That line-up continued in the last issue reprinted here (Human Torch #5A, Summer 1941, and the “A” is because the series did a little lock-step to catch up with itself: the next issue would also be a #5). Here, however, following an ad for Captain America, the fiery star and his Flaming Kid clash with mad scientist Doc Smart in 2-part epic ‘The March of Death’ (Burgos layouts and Sahle finishes). Ads for Sub-Mariner Comics #2 and ‘Marvel’s Pinwheel of Stars!’ precedes the incandescent android joining forces again with Namor in Stan Lee-scripted prose vignette ‘The Human Torch and Sub-Mariner Battle the Nazi Super Shell of Death!’ and is backed up by more team-up action as Sub-Mariner and guest-star The Angel are assaulted by Nazi zombies in ‘Blitzkrieg of the Living Dead’ (possibly scripted by Mickey Spillane with art attributed to Bill Everett, but clearly overwhelmed by lesser hands in the inking and perhaps even pencilling stages)…
The action pauses after The Patriot wraps thing up in a boldly experimental job by future artistic great Sid Greene written by Ray Gill. Here the Home-Front Hero tracks down a Nazi who kills by playing the violin, after which an ad for landmark title Young Allies #1 brings the historical festivities to a close…
In the bonus section are more house ads (Human Torch # “1”, “3”, “4” & 5A) plus a promotional flyer confirming the astounding sales of the first Torch title…
Although undoubtedly controversial by modern standards, even with all the quibbles and qualifications, this is certainly a book lifelong Marvel and comics history fans would need to see. Value is one thing and worth another, so in the end it’s up to you…
© 1940, 1941, 2018 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.