Fifty years ago on the stands (Yikes!)

[Captain Jim]

I hadn't realized it until just now, but it was 50 years ago this month that I bought my first Marvel comic off the stands: Fantastic Four 9. I also bought my first Archie Adventure comics off the stands this month: Adventures of the Fly #23 and Adventures of the Jaguar #10 (another one of those dinosaur covers). I never realized until now that I first sampled Marvel and Archie Adventure in the same month.

The likely reason for this is that I had read a letter from Roy Thomas in JLA in which he touted the fanzine that he and Jerry Bails were doing together, Alter Ego. I started ordering fanzines from Bails and there first learned about super-heroes outside of DC.

Other comics I bought new fifty years ago this month (September):

Justice League of America 15
Showcase #41 (Tommy Tomorrow)
World's Finest 129

http://mikesamazingworld.com/timemac...alpha&site=all

[Red Oak Kid]

This would be a good two years before I noticed comic books.

[Rob Allen]

My comics reading started 49 years ago in September 1963, and I don't think I own any originals from August or September 1962, so the ones I recognize must be ones I read in reprints:

From August '62, the Fantastic Four, Thor/JiM, Human Torch/ST, Ant-Man/TtA, and Hawkman/B&B.

From September '62, FF again, Hulk, Thor/JiM, Human Torch/ST, Ant-Man/TtA.

[zilch]

I've got about two more years before i start reading fiftieth anniversary wise. Mom said she used to read TV Guide to me, then i started reading it myself, looking for my favorite shows.

[InfoBroker]

September 1962 and I am starting third grade. I was buying, reading, sharing and tossing comic books. It would have all been 'safe' comics from Harvey and Archie, but I have no definitive memory of covers or stories, just the characters. Little Dot, Caspar, Wendy, Hot Stuff, Richie Rich and all the crazy Archie titles.

It is going to be three more years before I decide to hang onto a Marvel Super-hero comic and not toss it (Fantastic Four #44 - that my brother bought), and another five to six months after that before I buy my first Marvel comical book (MCIC #2 - second great ish), reprinting FF#3, Spidey #4, amongst others.

However, we are getting close to the first Marvel Comic I remember seeing in a stack at my cousin's house and flipping through it.

-jb the (too busy at the time, hanging out at the top-30 radio station to worry much about comics) ib -

[Captain Jim]

Oops, we missed this last month:

October issues:

Atom 4
Flash 133
Green Lantern 17
Justice League of America 16

November issues:

Batman Annual 4
Fantastic Four 11
Hanna-Barbera Bandwagon 2
Incredible Hulk 5
Strange Tales 105
Superman Annual 6


My first Marvel comic was Fantastic Four 9, and I never saw 10 on the rack. (Marvel had very spotty distribution back then.) But in November, I not only picked up FF 11, but also Strange Tales 105 (Human Torch) and Hulk 5. I was definitely trying to hunt down Marvels by then.

[Scott Harris]

Comics I own from October, 1962:

Journey Into Mystery #87


Comics I own from November, 1962:

Journey Into Mystery #88
Jimmy Olsen #66


Still a little early for my collection.

[An Ear In The Fireplace]

I was going to bump up this thread, if someone else didn't. I really like some of the Superman titles that came out in November. In Superboy there's a Superbaby story where little Clark is playing with little Lex, little Lana, and little Pete. I think this establishes that Superbaby stories are not supposed to be taken seriously. The writers might have forgotten that Lana came to Smallville as a teenager, but they couldn't have forgotten that Lex had come there as a teenage since this bit of continuity was relatively new. Meanwhile, we get the first Nightwing and Flamebird story in Superman. Superman's giant ant-head in Action. And some great stories in both Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane.

[Polar Bear]

If the first person to contribute in a given month could post the Mike's link, that would be helpful. Thanks!!

[An Ear In The Fireplace]

On sale October 1962
On sale November 1962

Focusing in on Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen 66, on sale November 22--which would be an unfortunate day in a year's time, but this year, having survived the October missile crisis, these were happy times (kindergarten was almost a year away for me, but I remember these days as the happiest of my life).

Jimmy Olsen's comic is oft over-looked, but it was one of the most entertaining comics you could get in the late 50s and early 60s. Almost every issue featured three adventures. There was usually a comedic bent to all the stories, but while one story might be a romantic comedy, another might be a slapstick comedy and another a screwball comedy. This issue features a science fiction crime drama (with a bit of romance at the end), a time travel war nightmare, and a screwball Christmas miracle.

The first story in this issue is by the stellar team of Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan, and George Klein (check out their 26 page epic "Superman in Kandor," on sale November 8th, in which Jimmy becomes Flamebird for his first time). But the story here is a lightweight tale. Jimmy has invited his girlfriend Lucy Lane and his work buddy Clark Kent over for dinner. He shows off all the trophies from his adventures with Superman, but as they sit down for a meal, a burglar from the 31st century knocks them out and starts to steal Jimmy's cache of goodies, yet as the burglar's back is turned Clark becomes Superman and subdues the villain, returning him to the 31st century. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Lucy regain consciousness and just naturally assume that Clark got scared and ran off. The burglar has left behind his 31st century burglary kit, which Jimmy puts to good use in the following days to stop criminals. But one criminal forces Jimmy to use a certain device that sucks things through warped space, from one location to another. As they are on a boat, Jimmy is being forced to suck out some gold from the Metropolis Bank, but in fact Jimmy sucks the gold out from Fort Knox, the weight of which is too much for the boat which sinks, thus defeating Jimmy's captor (Count Slade--who could be Slade Wilson in a former life). Fort Knox was often used in comic book stories back in these days--you don't see it mentioned very often in modern stories.

The story ends cute, with a sly way of showing Jimmy and Lucy kissing, inside the caption. And the bottom third of the page advertises the 13th annual issue of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which was a Giant (on sale October 30). However, while the house ad (featuring Johnny DC) makes it seem like a great thing, the number 13 would prove to be unlucky for Santa's reindeer number 9, as this was the last one (for the foreseeable future).



The next story is by Leo Dorfman and John Forte, but it has many similarities to a story from the previous issue by Robert Bernstein and John Forte--perhaps proving how much influence editor Mort Weisinger had over the plots in his comics. In issue 65, Jimmy found himself thrown back into the past under weird circumstances, ending up in 16th century France, where he is sent to Devil's Island and meets Lord L--a satanic figure, who looks and acts like Lex Luthor--only to awake from what was really a dream. In issue 66, Jimmy finds himself thrown back into the past under weird circumstances, arriving in 19th century America where he encounters General Custer and ends up fighting against Sitting Bull and his tribe at Little Big Horn. However, Sitting Bull looks and acts like Lex Luthor. Jimmy wakes up from what was really an hallucination.

While John Forte's art seems stilted and naive, there's something about it that's very evocative. These stories are not funny, they are more like horror stories and Forte's weird style brings out the nightmare aspect of the adventures.

The final story is a true gem. "The Cabinet from Krypton" is by Leo Dorfman and Kurt Schaffenberger. As the title suggests, a cabinet from Krypton is found, which as the placard on the side of the cabinet says (in Kryptonese which Olsen can read) it was invented by a Kryptonian scientist as an evolution device. At the Daily Planet offices, when Jimmy goes inside the cabinet he is super-aged. To cover up the fact that he's old aged, Jimmy pretends he's dressed up as Santa Claus, given that it's the Christmas season at the time of this story.

When Perry White enters the cabinet, he experiences the opposite result.



And when Lois goes inside the cabinet, her transformation is entirely different.



Meanwhile in Metropolis, Superman has been preoccupied with Mr. Mxyzptlk's tricks. Killing two birds with one stone, Mxy is dared to undo the "magic" of this Kryptonian inventor--returning Jimmy, Perry, and Lois to their natural state--and as the 5th dimensional imp reads out the placard on the side of the cabinet, he reads his own name spelled backwards, "Kltpzyxm," sending him back to his home dimension for 90 days. Normally, all Mxy's magic would be reversed after he leaves, but it's explained that this would not happen with Jimmy, Perry, and Lois because they were how they should be to begin with. Kind of wonky logic and this means that in every comic after that in reality due to the imp's intervention, Jimmy is an old man changed into a young man, Perry is a baby changed into an old man, and Lois is a cat changed into a woman.

[ralphtown]

My mother bought me comic books,coz I,m dyslexic(did,nt know it then) so she thought they might start me reading,coz I was heading for the door marked "Stupid".

UK re-prints of DC and Marvel heroes.
not looked back since.
that was 1966.

This week,I pick up Action Comics #14 and soon it will be Batman and Justice League....thanks Mum :)

I figured out this reading thing by asking her what is Riboflavin....it was on the side of a Corn flakes box and I still don,t know what it is.

RALPH

[Ish Kabbible]

November 1962-I'm 2 months away from buying DC comics off the newstands. That Archie Annual looks awfully familiar to me so I must have had it. The Batman and Superman Annuals must have stayed on the comics rack an extra long time because I did buy those and probably read them a dozen times each.
The Jerry Lewis comic looks pretty cool being an adaptation to the movie "It's Only Money"
and a photo-cover as well.
When was the next DC photo-cover after this one? Were there any?

[Polar Bear]

I own reprints of Adventure Comics #302, Fantastic Four #8, and Incredible Hulk #4. I actually own a copy of World's Finest #129, which I'd say is probably the pick of the litter this month.

[Scott Harris]

Comics on sale December, 1962: http://mikesamazingworld.com/timemac...alpha&site=all

Comics from this month that I own:

Journey Into Mystery #89

That's it. I wouldn't mind owning, say, Amazing Spider-Man #1 or Tales of Suspense #39, though.

[An Ear In The Fireplace]

A good month for the family.

I own The Flash 134 (had to have it for Elongated Man, naturally--part of the Flash family--and Iris's father is featured in the back-up story) and Superman 159 (an imaginary novel where Lois becomes a Supermaid on Krypton and meets the whole El family).

I have scans of Sugar & Spike 45 (the usual family friendly fun), Bob Hope 79 (Bob gets mixed up with a pretty blonde's family troubles), Mystery in Space 81 (Adam thinks the woman he would marry has to come to Earth), and Justice League of America 17 (the eventual precursor of the second Red Tornado--the Tornado Champion that fought Adam Strange as the Tornado Tyrant--now must fight its own evil twin).

I would love to own Batman 153--this is a great novel-length Batman family story--I just love how Sheldon Moldoff illustrates this one (it was reprinted in Batman from the 30s to the 70s). And I would love to own Lois Lane 39, especially with its lead imaginary story concerning troubles in the super-marriage.