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Hi gang, Stan Lee yakkin' with you again as promised last post. Up here in the Heavenly Hills, I'm having a great time, but I miss my ol' Soapbox days, which is why I occasionally 'inhabit' my Mego 8 inch action figure so that I can communicate with all you Marvel Maniacs. This time round we'll take a look at the Invincible Iron Man, as well as the fallibility of human memory (especially yours truly's).
At one time, both Jack Kirby and Don Heck seemed to think that Jack did the layouts for the pages of the very first Iron Man story. It later turned out they were both mistaken and that Don had drawn Shellhead's origin story in TOS #39 all on his lonesome. Don may've been confused by Jack pencilling Tony Stark's alter-ego's second (and fifth) appearance, which Don inked.
However, it's said that Jack designed the Iron suit as seen on the above cover, but I have a notion that covers were drawn after the contents (though they went to the printers weeks or months in advance), so if Jack designed the armour, perhaps he did it before producing the cover. Just a guess of course, but that doesn't mean it ain't so. (Doesn't mean it is either. Hey, I like to be fair.)
Jack wasn't very consistent in drawing Stark's armour (especially the joints), and he gave him a cannon shell-shaped head with no chin. However, Don had drawn the helmet with a chin when he illustrated the first strip and therefore tweaked Jack's pencils at the inking stage to reflect that. Whoever designed the suit, it was Don's version that was the more impressive and 'realistic' looking one.
As with Thor, I supplied the plot, though I have no idea if I talked things over with Kirby before handing it to my brother Larry to do a full script for Don to follow. Larry came up with the name of Tony Stark, avoiding the alliteration that I was prone to, which is why he wasn't called Tony Tanner, Samuel Stark, or Anthony Anderson. Yep, there's no doubt about it, Tony Stark is a much better name for a millionaire playboy in the '60s. Larry, ya did me proud.
Anyway, that's it for now. Gotta dash for my monthly memory competition with Jolly Jack (yep, he's up here too) to see who misremembers the most from those early days of the Marvel Age of Comics. It's usually a draw, 'cos we're both as bad as each other when it comes to recalling exactly how things happened. We both did something right though, whoever did what, which is why these characters are still around in the 21st century.
'Nuff said!
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I've always thought the design for Iron Man didn't resemble anything in Kirby's repertoire, at least nothing that came to my mind. Kirby toiled in a New York animation studio for some time as an "in-betweener," which some think accounts for his marvelous ability to break down the range of a human body's motion and dramatize that motion in almost endless variety. But with the original Iron Man armor, there's not a lot of articulation of the joints. Don't all Kirby's big hulking robots and androids have full range of motion?
ReplyDeleteThing is, GP, if you look at Kirby's version of Iron Man, it often seemed as if Jack drew him in whatever position he needed with no thought of where the joints were supposed to be then added them in later - with results that weren't always consistent. Perhaps it was because Stan realised that any future artists were going to have difficulty in animating such a bulky, limited figure in a realistic and consistent way, which led to him asking Steve Ditko to redesign the armour.
ReplyDeleteHere's a bit more AI fakery ... I asked the Bing chatbot to say something about your blog in the style of Stan Lee, and this is what it came up with: "Ahoy, true believers! If you’re looking for a sensational site that celebrates the golden age of comics, look no further than CRIVENS! COMICS & STUFF! Kid Robson is a master of marvels who shares his passion and knowledge of the medium with wit and wisdom. You’ll find amazing articles, fantastic features, and incredible images that will make you exclaim “Excelsior!” Don’t miss this web wonder, face front and click on it today!"
ReplyDeleteNot too bad for a robot, eh?
Obviously a robot with taste and discernment, AM - I couldn't describe my blog any better myself. Okay, both me and the robot are stretching the truth beyond acceptable boundaries, but I won't let that bother me in the slightest if you won't. Thanks for taking the time and trouble.
ReplyDeleteDon was clear that he was solely responsible for the interior art and he received the Iron Man assignment AFTER Kirby did the cover. Covers first was a standard practice in those days.
ReplyDeleteGiven the Red and Gold shows up less than a year later, how natural it looks in Kirby's hands and clumsy in Ditko's (inks by Ayers and Reinman didn't help) it's possible the redesign was Jack's as well. That's just a guess on my part but, FWIW, I say it as a dedicated Ditko man.
Happy Trails,
Smitty
I know covers first was standard DC custom, PS, and believed it to be so with Marvel, too. However, I've read in various places that, at some point in Marvel's history, the interiors were drawn before the covers, although the covers were sent for printing first, and the interiors were printed at a later date. Not quite sure how that would work to be honest, but that's what I read. Could be a mistake though.
ReplyDeleteDon was later clear that he was solely responsible for the interior art of TOS #39, but at some point he later thought that Jack had done layouts on it, according to what he (Don) said in interviews. He later realised his mistake. As for who designed the new armour, again, I read somewhere it was Ditko, but who knows for sure? For years Dick Ayers was credited as the inker of the cover of Journey Into Mystery #83, when it was obviously by Joe Sinnott.
I'm sure I've seen your Iron Man art - very nice, if memory serves.
Printing covers first was a cost/time/space saving thing. A single sheet of paper could contain one 32 page comic or 8 covers. Storing empty covers takes up 1/8 the space. Changing set-ups between cover and interior stock costs time, money and idle presses. Printing all the covers, then all the guts, reduces tear down/set-up time. Once interiors were printed, they were folded, slipped into previously printed covers, stapled, cut and shipped out the door.
ReplyDeleteWhoever credited Ayers as inker on JSM 83 was, you'll pardon my phraseology, a big poopy head.
Happy Trails
Smitty
Yup, I knew about that, but wasn't sure why covers were reputedly drawn AFTER the contents (if where I read it - a TwoMorrows mag perhaps - was true) but printed BEFORE the contents, as surely it would be more convenient the other way? Anyway, regardless, it was Marvel who used to credit JIM #83's cover to Ayers instead of Sinnott, just as they once credited the inking of FF #1 to (are you ready for this?) Art Simek.
ReplyDeleteKid, if you're interested Titan Comics are launching Conan The Barbarian #1 next week and next year they plan to relaunch Savage Sword Of Conan in its' original format as a black & white magazine. Conan The Barbarian #1 is also available as an e-book so I might buy it.
ReplyDeleteI might buy the first issues, CJ, but I tend to think of Marvel's Conan as the real comicbook Conan and other publishers' versions as impostors. Thanks for letting me know anyway.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same that in comics, Conan = Marvel but I will pick the first issues up to see what it's like. I did enjoy the early ( first 15_or so)Dark Horse issues. Thanks for the info Colin.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit sad that Marvel no longer have the rights to Conan. I wonder if Dark Horse outbid them when they came up for renewal, or Marvel simply decided to relinquish them due to poorer than anticipated sales. At least they got to reprint the early tales in Omnibus and Epic collections, so that was one good thing that came from Marvel having reacquired the rights for a while.
ReplyDeleteBack in May on Free Comic Book Day Titan published a copy of Conan The Barbarian as a taster for the new comic and I downloaded the e-version recently. I was pleasantly surprised at how "Marvel" it felt - the art is by Robert De La Torre who is clearly homaging John Buscema and there was a proper, old-fashioned splash page with the story's title. Even the production team were given nicknames like Grim Jim Zub (writer) and Ravaging Rob De La Torre (artist). It was obviously a deliberate pastiche of a '70s Conan comic from Marvel. I don't know if this style will continue into Conan The Barbarian #1 but my free Conan comic felt more like a proper Marvel comic than anything produced by Marvel during the recent Conan run!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, CJ. I'll maybe see if the free comic is available on eBay (at a price, obviously). I've got a reprint of every '70s colour comic (and more) I ever had at the time, in my 6 Marvel Epic Collection volumes and Omnibus Edition, as well as the Kull Omnibus Edition. Apart from the Titan first issues (perhaps), I'll maybe consider my Conan comic collection completed.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a comic called "Lord of the Jungle" where the artist also draws in a John Buscema style, so much so I though it was actually big John's art.
ReplyDeletehttps://bleedingcool.com/comics/dan-jurgens-benito-gallego-launches-tarzan-lord-of-the-jungle-comic/
I'll take a look, McS, ta. Enjoyed the old Tarzan movies and bought a few comics in my time, but I was never really a huge fan of the jungle lord, to be honest. Even bought war and football comics, though I have absolutely no interest in either of those subjects. Strange, eh?
ReplyDeleteKid, if you're thinking of buying Titan's free Conan comic I'd better explain that the story is only about 12 pages long and the rest is ads plus a short essay about Robert E Howard and an illustration of him with all his most famous creations standing around him. The actual story involves a young Conan deciding to leave Cimmeria for the first time and is really just a taster for the upcoming Conan comic. But like Paul mentioned with the Tarzan comic, the art in this Conan comic is so similar to John Buscema that you'd think it actually was him if you didn't know otherwise. And this art (by Rob De La Torre) is definitely continuing in Conan The Barbarian #1.
ReplyDeleteConan goes out of copyright in the United States on January 1st 2028 so I assume Titan will be the last holders of the Conan licence? I've read that sword & sorcery/fantasy authors are just counting down the days until 2028 when they can start churning out Conan novels free of copyright restrictions. But the phrase "Conan The Barbarian" might still be under copyright because Robert E Howard never actually used that phrase in any of his Conan stories as far as I know - he used the term "Conan The Cimmerian" numerous times but "Conan The Barbarian" was invented after his death (possibly by Marvel).
I only ever bought a handful of Tarzan comics , like yourself I'm not a big fan . As a kid ( under 12) I loved football comics like Hotshot Hamish, Roy of the Rovers, Its goals that count etc . I bought a few war comics (UK and US) but that was mostly for the artists work as they featured some grear art like Adams, Kubert, Heath, Severin etc ditto Westerns!
ReplyDeleteI'll wait and see how much I can get the 'free' comic for first, CJ, before I make up my mind about whether to continue with the series or not (after the first issue). Hopefully, come 2028, Marvel will resume publishing their Conan comics. Hopefully, also, I'll still be around to see them.
ReplyDelete******
That was the good thing about the UK weekly anthology comics, McS - you got all kinds of strips in one comic, so if there were any you didn't like, there were bound to be some that you did. I could seldom resist the lure of a new comic, which is why I sometimes bought ones that I wouldn't normally get.
Funnily enough I'm not a big Tarzan fan either yet I loved the Weissmuller films, Ely TV series and the cartoon was a must-watch after school. I was fascinated how Tarzan had the same voice as Flash Gordon (in the cartoon film) and the sound effects were the same as the Star Trek cartoon. Just looked up Johnny Weissmuller and he is described as American on Wikipedia although Romanian/Austrian/Hungarian as well. I always thought he was German so I'm still none the wiser. Married 5 times! Interesting that he played Jungle Jim after Tarzan. Never heard of it but there are movies on YouTube so I'll definitely give those a watch and look up a few cartoon strips. By the way, love the Ghost of Stan the Man. I was sad when he died, it was the end of an era.
ReplyDeleteI bought a boxed set (Vol. 1) of Weissmuller Tarzan movies several years back and still haven't watched any, though I enjoyed them on TV when I was a kid/teen. Ron Ely's Tarzan never really worked for me - he was too thin, too civilised, too well-spoken. Not enough of a savage, in other words. I don't remember watching the cartoon, though I saw it advertised in US comicbooks. Stan's ghost will be back with us soon, M, so keep an eye out for him.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough another Tarzan, Lex Barker, got mentioned on Radio 4-Extra just last week. There was a play about the incident in 1958 when movie star Lana Turner's violent boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, was stabbed to death by Lana's daughter Cheryl Crane. It was decided in court that Cheryl had committed "justifiable homicide" because she was defending her mother. Anyway, Lex Barker had been Lana Turner's 4th husband and he gets mentioned in the play. According to Wikipedia Cheryl Crane wrote a book in 1988 about the stabbing incident and also claimed that Lex Barker had sexually abused her.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, CJ. Apparently, Sean Connery punched his lights out when he pulled a gun on him at a party (or movie set). Stompanato was jealous of how well Turner and big Tam were getting on when they starred in a movie together. (Unless I'm confusing him with another gangster. Too tired to check.) Interestingly, Cheetah made similar allegations about Barker. (Only kidding.)
ReplyDeleteYes, that was mentioned in the play too, Kid. Sean Connery (before he became famous as Bond) was in a film with Lana Turner which was being made in the UK and Johnny Stompanato became jealous and flew over here especially to confront Connery on the film set but he didn't realise that Connery was a black belt in karate and a former runner-up in Mr Universe.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago there was a Radio 4 play about the life of Cheetah narrated by John Malkovich as the voice of Cheetah. Yes, I know it sounds bonkers but it was actually very interesting and quite poignant at times.
Connery didn't need Karate for Stompanato, CJ - a good old-fashioned punch to the jaw was what knocked the gangster on his @rse.
ReplyDeleteI heard that Radio 4 play at the time - it was alright, wasn't it. I quite enjoyed it.