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JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #95 (Aug'63)
cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers

"THE DEMON DUPLICATORS"
from the GCD: "Synopsis: An evil scientist forces Dr. Blake to help him with a duplicating machine by kidnapping Jane. The device duplicates Thor, but cannot duplicate his magic hammer, allowing Thor to defeat the duplicate. Dr. Zaxton accidentally duplicates himself and falls to his death, leaving his good duplicate to take his place."

This is wild. The "SUPERMAN III" parallel CONTINUES for the 2nd issue in a row! First, Thor turns EVIL. Now, he splits into two people, and fights himself! Doesn't it look like whoever wrote that AWFUL movie in the 80's was thumbing thru THESE comics when they were looking for ideas? ("Blue tights, red cape, super-strong, flies... ehh, close enough!")

I have no doubt Jack Kirby supplied the story here, while JOE SINNOTT does full art for the 4th of 5 episodes. Robert Bernstein continues on the dialogue (and possibly fleshing out the story).

Kirby was supplying stories this month to Ernie Hart & Don Heck in ANT-MAN ("When Cyclops Walks The Earth") and Robert Bernstein & Don Heck in IRON MAN ("The Mad Pharaoh"), and Ernie Hart & Dick Ayers in THE HUMAN TORCH ("Fighting To Death With The Asbestos Man")

In addition, it's QUITE possible this was around the time Jack Kirby also got roped into coming up with a proposal (which would, in a rare instance, almost certainly be "work for hire") for DAREDEVIL, in which he designed the circus acrobat costume & came up with the series format of his being a circus acrobat, in the style of Kirby's earlier STUNTMAN... which Bill Everett then REJECTED and replaced with his own ideas. I say this because recently I found out that-- yes-- THE AVENGERS-- was slapped together specifically to replace DAREDEVIL on the production schedule, because Bill Everett was running really, really late, and Martin Goodman, who was chomping at the bit so much to PREVENT Pete Morisi & Charlton Comics from reviving the REAL Daredevil, had actually been STUPID enough to put the Marvel character ripping off that name on the production schedule, BEFORE the book had been done, or had even been completely conceived!!
   (1-31-2014)

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JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #96 (Sep'63)
cover by Jack Kirby & Sol Brodsky

"MAD MERLIN!"
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Merlin is awakened after a thousand years and immediately decides to try and take over the world; He battles Thor using familiar Washington D.C. monuments. Thor defeats Merlin and forces him to return to sleep."
"Indexer Notes: This 'Merlin' was revealed to be an imposter in Avengers Annual #22. In most of his appearances he calls himself 'Maha Yogi'. He has been said to be a mutant, but this is also false."

The last of JOE SINNOTT's 5 episodes of THOR features our mythological hero fighting another character from history and/or mythology. Jack Kirby continues supplying stories while busy elsewhere, with Robert Bernstein either fleshing out Kirby's story or simply supplying dialogue (hard to tell at this point).

The Sep'63 issues were incredibly hectic for JACK KIRBY. In FANTASTIC FOUR #18, he had "A Skrull Walks Among Us", the sequel to FF #2, and a story that was later adapted into the 1967 Hanna-Barbera FF cartoons by Alex Toth. Dick Ayers supplied inks. ANT-MAN & WASP in TALES TO ASTONISH #47 had "Music To Scream By" with Ernie Hart & Don Heck. IRON MAN in TALES OF SUSPENSE #45 had "The Icy Fingers Of Jack Frost", which not only introduced a new villain, but also the first members of that series' supporting cast-- Happy Hogan & Pepper Potts, with Robert Bernstein & Don Heck. SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #3 had "Midnight On Massacre Mountain", with Dick Ayers on inks. JOHNNY STORM in STRANGE TALES #112 had "The Human Bomb", and while the story seems to be almost entirely the work of Jerry Siegel & Dick Ayers, there's a good chance the villain, The Eel, was another one from Kirby.

You'd think a workload like that would KILL most people. Well, on TOP of that-- you had X-MEN #1, which introduced a new series, an entire team of new characters, and one very long-running badguy, Magneto. Inks were by Paul Reinman, who's usually on my S*** list of really BAD inkers. There's indications that this issue was rushed out terribly fast, as the art is sketchier and skimpier than usual.

And on top of THAT-- this month also saw THE AVENGERS #1!!! "The Coming Of The Avengers" gathered together Iron Man, Ant-Man & Wasp, Hulk (who'd lost his own series some time earlier), Rick Jones & The Teen Brigade, featured a cameo by the Fantastic Four, but mostly, acted as a SPIN-OFF of THE MIGHTY THOR!! The villain of the piece, who set the whole story in motion, was-- OF COURSE-- Loki. That sonofabitch just had nothing better to do with his endless time as an immortal, did he??

Oh, "Merlin" (or somebody calling himself that) wound up having a cameo in THE AVENGERS #10, 14 months later. Same guy, or not? Hard to tell.
   (2-1-2014)

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JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #97 (Oct'63)
cover by Jack Kirby & George Roussos

"THE LAVA MAN"
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Thor battles the Lava Man, a monster brought to the surface by Loki, who claims all the dry surface of Earth for his people. Odin forbids Thor to love Jane Foster, leading to her leaving her job as Dr. Blake's nurse."
"Indexer Notes: Dr. Andrews is first called Basil by Jane Foster on page 6 but then is called Bruce by Dr. Blake on the last page. Apparently in the Marvel Universe nurses can't work for doctors that they're not pursuing a romantic relationship with."

SGT. FURY, X-MEN and AVENGERS were bi-monthly when they started. That means, this month JACK KIRBY actually had time to get back on THOR! Which is to say, he's been doing ALL the stories from the beginning, with help, but this time the middle-men are cut out, and JACK KIRBY does story AND pencils! The "editor" also cuts out the middle-men this month, kicking Robert Bernstein out of a job and taking over writing the dialogue himself (while CONTINUING to steal credit AND PAY for the stories as well).

In addition to the 13 page lead story, JACK KIRBY also begins a long-running 5-page back-up series... "TALES OF ASGARD!"

from the GCD: "Synopsis: Beneath Asgard lies the Well of Life. From it came Ymir, greatest of the Frost Giants and Buri, the first Norse God who gave life to Borr. Borr had three sons. Odin was one of them."

JACK KIRBY supplies series concept, story & art. Dialogue by Stan Lee, inks by "George Bell" (the MOON-LIGHTING George Roussos, who, according to his interview in ALTER EGO, was doing Lee a favor by inking pages at HALF-RATES over the weekend... no wonder so many of them looked so awful).
   (2-2-2014)

[festerb4]

On Journey Into Mystery no. 94:

I dont know why anyone would want to take credit for this plot; it was
basically lifted out of an old Tom and Jerry cartoon. But, since it matters
to people, lets try to figure it who actually wrote, or plotted out, this
story.

Jack Kirby is one possibility, but it seems unlikely. He plotted on the
drawing board, and these layouts are Sinnott, not Kirby. There are no
recognized examples of Kirby doing up plots for other people to draw except
for very late in his career, when he did a Super Powers toy tie-in story
for DC.  He would be more likely to use someone elses plot without giving
them credit, as he and Joe Simon did when they were pressed for deadlines
and needed to turn out product, punching up and rewriting the plots as they
drew them. There is an economic aspect to this too: drawings, even layouts,
paid a lot more than did a story idea, and Kirby was a fast artist. There
was no economic incentive for Kirby to do the work of plotting in words
when he could draw the breakdowns with not much more effort, get paid better
and when it was  more natural for him to work that way.

Could Robert Bernstein have plotted the story, even though he only got
credit for scripting? Maybe, but it looks like the scripter of the story
was a bit embarassed by its silliness. That is why he snuck in the bit
about how not just any blow to the head will change the personality, but it
has to be a precisely targetted blow to the chromosomatic gland, a section
of the cranial anatomy unknown to the medical literature and never referred
to in a story before or since. It looks like the plotter and the scripter
were two different people.

Could Joe Sinnot have written the story? Possibly - but he has never been
known to write anything before or since, and he had no real affinity for
superheros. He was one of those talented pencillers who when superhero
fight scenes became the industry standard switched to inking.

Stan Lee is another possibility. Editors were heavily involved in plotting
of stories then, even when a writer was formally given full credit for it,
and as editor he was receiving a salary with the responsibility of getting
the books out, so the low rate for plots would not be a major obstacle. The
problem is that he is actually credited in the story credits as plotter. As
any mystery reader knows, the person who is the obvious suspect on page one
(where the credits were) cannot possibly have done it.

That leaves only one possibility. Gardner Fox. He was a prolific writer of
comics and novels, and he was working for Julius Schwartz so he would not
want to have his name show up in the credits. He often came up with very
gimmicky plots. He eventually did begin to script for Marvel in the 70s.
Obviously, at this stage he was testing the waters there, working secretly
-  in the way that Gene Colan used the pseudonym of Adam Austin when he
first drew for Marvel while doing work for DC - so as not to get his main
customer, Schwartz, mad at him. As Sherlock used to say, once you have
eliminated all the other possibilities, the one that remains, however
improbable, must be the truth.

Gardner Fox writing Thor! Who knew?

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Fun stuff!

There are, however, MANY instances of writers who worked for S&K being interviewed who describe Kirby giving them plots, or figuring out the details of their own plots. 

Perhaps the prime example of Kirby giving someone else a plot if TALES OF SUSPENSE #39, where the story mirrors in many ways the earlier origin of GREEN ARROW... written by Jack Kirby.

[festerb4]

Did Kirby write the origin of Green Arrow? Or was it Dick and Dave Wood?

Who are the writers who worked for S&K who were given plots by them? I know of one writer who did a lot of romance stories for them, and with him it was more a matter of him giving them plots which they tore apart at the drawing board.

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JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #98 (Nov'63)
cover by Jack Kirby & Sol Brodsky

"CHALLENGED BY THE HUMAN CORBA!"
from the GCD: "Synopsis: While visiting India, Don Blake finds that one of his old teachers has been murdered by a villain who gained the power of a snake. Thor fights the Cobra in New York and defeats him, after Jane Foster sees her new boss's cowardice and goes back to Doctor Blake."

JACK KIRBY was clearly over-worked to insane levels, as Don Heck (already a regular on ANT-MAN and IRON MAN) steps in for his 1st of 3 THOR episodes. I'm not thrilled... but what the hey. Kirby continues to supply the story, while Stan Lee does dialogue. The main point of interest here is the introduction of THE COBRA, who would become a VERY long-running super-villain for decades to come.

Meanwhile...
"ODIN BATTLES YMIR, KING OF THE ICE GIANTS"
from the GCD: "Synopsis: The ice giants, led by Ymir, attack Asgard but Odin defends it and traps Ymir inside a ring of fire."

Not much of a sypnopsis, but what the hey. JACK KIRBY supplies story & art, Stan Lee dialogue, and Don Heck the inks. While this story takes place (apparently) in the dim distant past, Ymir would turn up in the PRESENT-day Marvel Universe on a number of instances.

While this was going on... FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1 featured the Sub-Mariner reunited with his people, and attacking NYC; FF #19 introduced a VERY long-running villain in "Prisoners Of The Pharaoh", while FF #20 had "The Mysterious Molecule Man" (which included another appearance by The Watcher).

X-MEN #2 had "No One Can Stop the Vanisher"; SGT. FURY #4 had "Lord Ha-Ha's Last Laugh"; TALES OF SUSPENSE #47 had "Iron Man Battles The Melter" (the first of 3 STEVE DITKO episodes in which IM's bulky yellow armor is destroyed); STRANGE TALES #114 has Kirby return to pencilling for "The Human Torch Meets Captain America" (a deceptive title if ever there was one, heh), TALES TO ASTONISH #49 also has Jack Kirby back on pencils for the 1st of 3 episodes, with "The Birth Of Giant-Man", in which he totally revamps the series while Stan Lee replaced Ernie Hart on dialogue while Don Heck supplies inks to maintain consistency. Finally THE AVENGERS #2 has "The Space Phantom", in which Iron Man (still in his yellow armor), Giant-Man (in his new identity), Thor (same as ever) and Wasp (ditto, tee-hee) have a severe misunderstanding with The Hulk, who QUITS the group after being a member for less than one issue.

When you consider that Jack Kirby was writing ALL of these at the same time... doesn't it just blow your mind?
   (2-3-2014)

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JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #99 (Dec'63)
cover by Jack Kirby & George Roussos

"THE MYSTERIOUS MISTER HYDE!"
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Having been refused a job by Doctor Blake, Calvin Zabo becomes Mister Hyde and attacks the doctor. Meanwhile, Odin has agreed to let Thor marry Jane Foster if she proves worthy. After Mister Hyde learns that Blake survived ('saved' by Thor) it seems that Thor robs a bank, and the police issue a warrant for his arrest."

JACK KIRBY introduces another long-running villain for the burgeoning Marvel Universe. In this case, oddly enough, he would spend a good part of his criminal career teamed up with the previous THOR villain, The Cobra. This marks the first 2-parter in the THOR series.

DON HECK supplies full art, Stan Lee does dialogue (and takes credit and pay for the characters, the story, etc.-- what a slimeball).

"SURTUR THE FIRE DEMON"
from the GCD: "Synopsis: The Trolls ally with Surtur against Asgard, but Odin conquers them. Surtur travels to Earth to destroy it, but again Odin defeats him and traps him in the center of the planet. Their battle creates the moon and starts the rotation of the Earth."

JACK KIRBY supplies the 3rd "Tales Of Asgard" installment. While Stan Lee did the dialogue, there's some dispute as to who did the inks. No one's listed in the comic-- Bob Bailey at the GCd says it's George Roussos. But looking over my Masterworks reprint-- where, I admit, it's a bit hard to tell-- the lines reminds me a LOT of Kirby's early-50's stuff. So, Jack Kirby could have done the inks himself on this one. Anyone here care to field this one?
   (2-4-2014)

Also for Dec'63: FANTASTIC FOUR #21 has "The Hate Monger!", which features not only the first modern-day appearance of C.I.A. Colonel NICK FURY (my single favorite Jack Kirby character), but also the first modern-day appearance of Adolph Hitler-- or one of his clones. TALES TO ASTONISH #50 has "The Human Top", the first 2-part GIANT-MAN & WASP story, which introduces one of the most annoying-as-hell villains they ever faced, with art by Kirby & Ditko. TALES OF SUSPENSE #48 has "The Mysterious Mr. Doll" (notice how Lee keeps OVER-USING the word "mysterious" in story titles??), with Steve Ditko apparently using a new Jack Kirby villain (whose name was changed at the last minute due to objections from the Comics Code).

For Kirby, this was a relatively "off" month. But I'm sure he didn't notice-- he must have been knocking out stuff day after day, week after week, like crazy, in order to keep up with the INSANE schedule heaped upon him by his glory-mongering "editor".

If ever there was a single creator whose family deserved to be rewarded with riches for his efforts...
   (2-4-2014)

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JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #100  /  Jan'64
cover by Jack Kirby & Sol Brodsky

"THE MASTER PLAN OF MR. HYDE!"
from the GCD: "Synopsis: Mister Hyde kidnaps Don Blake and Jane Foster and then tries to steal a submarine using Jane as a hostage. Jane stops Thor from catching Hyde because she thinks that Don is still in danger. The police realize that Hyde framed Thor for the bank robbery, but Jane's actions convince Odin that she is unworthy of immortality."

The conclusion of the first 2-parter in this series, and the final of the 3 issues with DON HECK doing full art. As always, Jack Kirby supplied the story, Stan Lee the dialogue (while taking FULL CREDIT & PAY for Kirby's writing), and no doubt Stan Goldberg did the coloring (uncredited AS ALWAYS).

A series-within-a-series begins in "Tales Of Asgard": "The Boyhood Of Thor". This time out it's "THE STORM GIANTS".

from the GCD: "Synopsis: Thor and Loki (as children) defeat three Storm Giants and return the Golden Apples of Iduna."

JACK KIRBY continues to supply story & art! Stan Lee does dialogue (AND-- NOTHING ELSE!!!) while Paul Reinman supplies inks.
   (2-5-2014)

Meanwhile: FANTASTIC FOUR #22 has "The Return Of The Mole Man!", one of the best sequels from this period, and the source of the very 1st F.F. cartoon to air from Hanna-Barbera & Alex Toth. Dialogue by Lee, inks by Dick Ayers-- tragically, his LAST on the series.

TALES TO ASTONISH #51 has "Showdown With The Human Top", Jack Kirby's last of 3 episodes introducing GIANT-MAN, and featuring a real grudge match, as he tackles the single most annoying bad guy in his entire run; dialogue by Lee, inks by Ayers.

STRANGE TALES #116 has "In The Clutches of the Puppet Master", from Dick Ayers, Stan Lee & George Roussos (yes, the dreaded "George Bell" has arrived). Although Kirby did the cover, and it's a good bet Ayers WROTE the story, it's hard to say who came up with the story idea-- Ayers, or Kirby. (Or maybe the "editor" just said, "Hey, how about bringing back Howdy Doody this month?" Remember, kids-- that's NOT a "plot".)

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #8 features-- in the back!!-- "Spider-Man Tackles The Torch!" Story & art by JACK KIRBY!!! Dialogue by Lee, inks by Steve Ditko. In a sequel to ASM #1, Spidey shows up at a garden party, gets on Johnny Storm's nerves, then leaves a "love-note" to Sue Storm. Heh.

TALES OF SUSPENSE #49 has "The New Iron Man Meets The Angel!" Story & art by Steve Ditko (his final of 3 episodes re-vamping IRON MAN the same way Kirby revamped ANT-MAN), dialogue by Stan Lee, inks by Paul Reinman (who was really getting around at this point). Any Kirby contribution, apart from the cover? Hard to tell. But if I had to lay odds on anyone giving ideas to Ditko, I'd bet on Kirby more than the "editor" who took credit and pay for it.

SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #5 has "At The Mercy Of Baron Strucker", who would become Fury's long-running nemesis in the series, and, as revealed in 1967, be a MUCH bigger part of the modern-day Marvel Universe than anyone (other than Jack Kirby or Jim Steranko) might have dreamed of.

...and finally...

THE AVENGERS #3: "SUB-MARINER!" This is the BIG one. The company-wide crossover kicks into HIGH GEAR, as Subby, still pissed over having to flee Manhattan in FF ANNUAL #1, seeks out THE HULK, who's already angry at his short-time team-mates, and instigates a free-for-all. JACK KIRBY does story & art, Lee does dialogue, Reinman does inks. WOW!!! What a month.
   (2-5-2014)