By Matthew Clark
Fantastic Four No. 1 came out in the late summer/early fall of 1961, and is recognized today as the start of The Marvel Age of Comics. Back then, I was still buying comic books off the magazine rack inside the long gone Irvington Pharmacy. This beloved institution was located on the northwest corner of the busy intersection of NE Broadway and 15th Avenue in Portland, Oregon.1 My family lived a block north, across 15th and around the corner on Schuyler Street, in a two bed room house on the edge of the Irvington district. After school, on my way home, I would continue down 14th Avenue past my street to Broadway. I would loop around the block, and go by the drug store. This way, I could glance in the plate glass window on the Broadway side, and see if any new comic books had been put out on the news stand. I don’t remember ever seeing The Fantastic Four back in that distant September. And, in fact, I wouldn’t pick up any Marvel Comics for another six years! Recently, I’ve started to wonder why? What titles caught my attention and my dimes instead of this landmark release?
The cover date on FF No. 1 is November, but that is the date the magazine would be taken off the rack. For this and following articles, we’ll assume that titles were put on the stands roughly two months before the date on their cover. And, so, leaving out the adventures of Atomic Mouse, Little Dot, Archie Andrews, Sugar and Spike, Teenage Romance, Linda Carter - Student Nurse, Dell Comics’ adaptation of Disney’s The Parent Trap and other such ‘non boy’ titles, here’s what else was on the spinner racks in that landmark, history making month of September 1961, when The Fantastic Four first appeared.
Fantastic Four No. 1, we now know, was the start of a new era in comic book art and story telling. These innovations would eventually insure the survival of the comic book, and later spawn major, multimedia licensing franchises. Of course, no one was aware of all that, back then, because Marvel was just a small company, that only put out three or four new titles each week, and so, were easy to overlook. We also didn’t notice, until the next month, that this was the last month comic books would be priced at 10 cents! Dell had already increased their books to 15 cents. And by the next month, DC, American Comics Group, Charlton, and Marvel, pretty much all of what was left of the once burgeoning comic book publishing industry of 10 years earlier, would increase their cover prices to 12 cents.2
Back in 1961, Dell seemed to publish most of the comics you would come across. They had all sorts of franchised characters from TV, cartoons, newspaper strips, and movies. They had been putting out Tarzan of the Apes since the late '40s and adapting Disney‘s Mickey Mouse and his friends, and Walter Lantz’s Woody Woodpecker and his friends, since the late '30s. They also published an original adventure magazine called Turok Son of Stone. This featured an Indian brave and his son wandering through this massive, ‘lost in time’ canyon. Each issue would find them fighting dinosaurs and saving cavemen from saber tooth tigers. This book ran for years, and I think has been revived a couple of times since. But on the whole I wouldn’t get too excited for any of the Dell titles, at this time. The writing on the TV adaptations never was as good as the original shows, and the art work never really looked like the characters in the movies. They did have cool photo covers. But, of all the comic book companies, Dell had the most restrictive production code. These were the comics your grandparents would buy for you.
DC comics, Nation Periodical Publications, had the titles I was interested in. I was such a fan of the Superman TV show, that I bought all six titles he appeared in, even those featuring Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. Batman and Robin continued their appearances in Batman and Detective Comics, as they had since 1940. These were the last years before the hit Batman TV show began on ABC. So, most Batman stories were still kid friendly, science fiction adventures, run-a-rounds with wacky gimmicks, or a lot of double date stories where they would go crime fighting with Batwoman and Batgirl. Both these gals went into action carrying utility Bat Purses. Superman, Batman and Robin appeared together in another long running title World’s Finest Comics. And of course, the Boy Wonder would have to stay home and do school work, while the grownups went off to the Justice League of America.
The other members of the League, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow, like Superman and the Dynamic Duo, had been appearing uninterrupted, and unchanged, in either their own book or as backup features since the 1940s. Green Lantern and the Flash had been re-launched in their current form a few years before this.3 They each appeared in their own re launched titles and were in the Justice League. Also still in print from the '40s was Superboy, who was in his own book, as well as in Adventure Comics, where he would fly off to the future and join up with The Legion of Superheroes.
The only totally original character to appear in DC’s line up since the 1940s, was John Jonzz , the Manhunter from Mars. An original member of the Justice League when it first appeared, he had started as a backup character in the mid 1950s, a couple of years before The Flash started making his first sporadic appearances in Showcase in 1957.
DC put out Showcase and The Brave and the Bold as try out books, where new, or re-launched, characters, or teams would be given a trial run. And, if proving popular, would be given their own title. Just that spring a reworked Hawkman had appeared and would soon begin his own title. That September, The Atom made his first appearance, with one of the best covers of the period. And over the last summer, Aquaman had appeared in Showcase, finally being given a chance at his own book, after almost two decades as a backup in other titles.
Up to this month, there were actually as many heroic teams at DC as single heroes. A group of scuba diving adventurers, called The Sea Devils, had just moved from Showcase into their own book. The Challengers of the Unknown, who had been started by Jack Kirby before he went to Marvel, had been appearing in their own book for a few years. There was the high flying squadron of jet pilot adventurers, The Blackhawks, who had also been in print since the early forties, but from a different publisher, Quality Comics, who went out of business also around 1957. DC comics quickly acquired the Quality Comics characters, and The Blackhawks continued in print with no interruption. Starting that September in Showcase there was The Suicide Squad. Besides the Justice League, over in Adventure Comics were the futuristic exploits of the Legion of Super Heroes. Green Lantern was a member of an intergalactic police force, The Green Lantern Corp. In the science fiction anthology titles Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space, there were The Star Rovers, and The Atomic Knights. Which, if you also add from the war comics the ‘Combat Happy Joes’ of Easy Company, Gunner and Sarge, and the crew of the Haunted Tank, it makes 12 different on-going teams.
Also out from DC were Rip Hunter Time Master, Space Ranger, Tommy Tomorrow, Tomahawk and Adam Strange. There were also three war comics, plus one where GIs fought dinosaurs. And, least we forget, Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis had their own comic books, both drawn by Mort Drucker, who also did art for some of the war comics.
The only other costumed hero appearing in comics outside of DC was Captain Atom. He had first appeared about a year earlier in Charlton’s Space Adventures Comic. It was written and drawn by Steve Ditko, while he was also doing freelance work at Marvel. So in all, that makes seven long running unchanged super hero characters; Superman, Batman, Robin, Superboy, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, and Aquaman. With five revamped ones Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and The Atom. Plus, the only two original characters to appear up to that month The Martian Manhunter, and Captain Atom. But, as of that month, as we well know, lowly Marvel Comics would increase that number by four.
Since about 1957, Marvel Comics Group, which was still named Atlas Comics, then, was allowed by their new distributor to only put about 12 comic book titles a month. By the fall of 1961, Marvel’s on-going western, humor, and long running romance titles, would only come out bi monthly. The five giant monster/fantasy titles, Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, Journey into Mystery and the newly launched, Amazing Adventures, all came out monthly, but had no on going characters.4 Marvel did have two Golden Age characters still appearing regularly, Kid Colt Outlaw and the Archie-like humor character Millie the Model. Another long running character, the Two Gun Kid, had been put on hiatus starting this month to make room to try out the new title The Fantastic Four. Which is what they had to do when starting a new title, they had to drop an existing one.
So, for September of 1961, with cover dates for November, Marvel released those five giant monster titles, two westerns, both featuring Kid Colt, one humor title, Millie the Model and three romance comics. And, a new, bimonthly, try out, called The Fantastic Four. Jack Kirby did most of the covers at Marvel, then, including westerns, and the romance titles. He also drew, and plotted, the main giant monster cover story for the five monthly fantasy books. With Steve Ditko contributing an eerie, ‘twilight zone’ sort of story as back up.5
At this time, the largest number of comic books released, were fantasy/horror anthologies. American Comics Group had started the craze with the release of Adventures into the Unknown back in the late forties. 6 By 1961, they also produced two other titles Forbidden Worlds and Black Midnight. But most of their outputs were war titles like Fighting Navy, or Fighting Marines, as well as a few westerns, with artists such as Al Williamson and Frank Frazetta working for them.
Over at Charlton Comics, Steve Ditko was writing, drawing and editing horror anthologies. Along with a series of giant monster movie tie-ins featuring Konga, Gorgo, and even Reptilicus. DC has its own horror anthology titles Strange Adventures, Tales of the Unexpected, My Greatest Adventures, House of Mystery, and House of Secrets. Mystery in Space had been an anthology title, but for the last few years had been featuring the planet hopping science fiction adventures of Adam Strange.
And, of course, running into a giant monster now and then was all part of a super heroe's job. Like that September’s Green Lantern, Batman and Wonder Tot. And straight forward titles like American Comics Group’s Fighting Navy or Billy the Kid would drop in a big lizard or giant octopus. Also out that month from Dell were two movie adaptations of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Mysterious Island; which both featured giant monsters. Even Classics Illustrated wouldn’t be left out.
But getting back to my question, how did I miss FF No. 1? It could just have been that FF No. 1 had not been put on the stand at the drug store around the corner from my house? I recall that at this time there were many DC titles I would see ads for in the DC comics but for a long time didn’t see them at the store near my house. Occasionally I would walk down to 7th and Broadway to an orange and black fronted Rexall drugstore, an older retail pharmacy chain, and they would have these titles on sale. So maybe I just didn’t get the chance to buy FF No. 1 because, for what ever reason, the distributor didn’t bring them to my store?
Of course, considering that this was a break out comic, and the fan response for it would prompt Stan and Jack to give the FF costumes, a headquarters, and a flying car in issue No. 3, which was being prepared around this time. I might have not seen this issue because it had already been bought out by the time I had got around to the store. Or, maybe I overlooked it because other things were happening with the line of comics I was buying?
Just that last summer along with their annual releases of giant reprints books of Superman and Batman stories, DC came out with Secret Origins, a 64 page throw back to the type of comic books that were published in the '40s. Eight different stories about eight different characters, it even had one by Jack Kirby. But, besides seeing the origins of the characters I was reading at the time, and had missed their first appearances, what stuck with me most was in the opening of Flash’s origin. Here, we learn that there been an older version of the Flash and an older group of super heroes back in the forties known as the Justice Society of America. And they all had different looking costumes than did the ones today.
That there had been other versions of the current characters years ago was all very intriguing to a 10- year-old. But, according to the stories, there was no way that you could see them in action; they didn’t exist. They were only in the comic books that people like Barry Allen, The Flash, read.
Another landmark event at DC was in Superman No. 149, which featured a book long story, rare back then. 7 This Superman book haunts readers to this day. In it, Lex Luthor holds Superman’s friends in some sort of deathtrap and he’ll only release them if Superman allows himself to be killed by Luthor by exposing him to a deadly dose of kryptonite. And he actually lets Luther kill him.
Usually, ‘Imaginary Stories’ were about Lois Lane marrying Superman or Robin growing up to become Batman II. But this was a disturbing story. With Superman actually dying, and then Supergirl, who had been in hiding at this time, emerges as earth’s newest champion. A daring move, if they had actually done it. But, come the next issue, Superman is back on the job. It was just imaginary.
I don’t remember which week it was, or what else was on sale that day. I do remember just going into the drug store like normal, and there it was, Flash No. 123! It had a brilliantly designed cover by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson. All I remember was that it said ‘featuring Flash of Two Worlds‘! It also said ‘sure to be a classic’! There they were, the new Flash in his all over red jumpsuit and cowl, and, unbelievably, there was the original Flash, in his pirate boots, red shirt with the lightning flash on it and the tin hat with the wings on it, like that statue of Mercury! In an instant I had it in my hand.
I never read comics at the stand. And I’ve always looked down at those who did. I would take a quick glance through, to decide if I wanted it. That’s if I hadn’t already decided like in this case where I just bought it unread and hurried home to my room to find out how the two Flashes could both exist. It was all a matter of parallel worlds! And only The Flash could vibrate his body at the right frequency to be able to pass from one to another! DC was always filled with science fiction factoids like this. Something I noticed missing when I first read Marvel’s stories.
To me, at the time, it appeared that DC was on the rise. With Flash No. 123 they first laid out a concept of multiple earths and universes that would define DC comics to this day. It looked like they were leading the pack, reëstablishing the costume hero, and establishing the super team. I guess it was easy for me to over look a new and original title due to the goings on at DC.8
So, in September of 1961, Dell, Archie, Classics Illustrated and Harvey Comics were still putting out their wholesome products which grown-ups would approve our reading. ACG, Charlton were solidly part of the giant monster/fantasy anthologies trend, as well as the one for war comics. DC continued to successfully reintroduce their line of superhero characters. And Marvel had taken a chance on the emerging superhero genre and would find that they had scored a hit.
They didn’t know it, but all would soon be in a fight for survival. Time was running out for the traditional outlets for comic books. Mom and pop drug stores, the most common outlets for comic books, were starting to disappear. My beloved Irvington Drug Store would soon be overshadowed by the opening of a Pay n’ Save. A much larger, Walgreen’s style chain drug store. Located a few blocks away, inside one of the world’s first large shopping malls, Lloyd Center. It was all plate glass, bright neon, a row of 10 cash registers, a hundred and fifty times the shelf space, and a big magazine rack – that held no comic books! And by the 1970s, the Irvington Drug Store with its soda fountain, lunch counter, paperback book spinner rack, and magazine stand with comic books, would be gone.
For the comic books, it would all depend on what the publishing companies would do after this month. They had had to raise their cover price, and sales were dropping from the heights they had known in 1950. And, there were less than half of the publishers, since then, still in business. There was a strong possibility that the comic book would just disappear by the end of the decade. Would anyone care?
Today, at the intersection of NE Broadway and 15th, all the old buildings have all new businesses in them. There is now a pretty good coffee shop where the old Irvington Drug Store once was, with some nice sidewalk seating. Where, if I’m visiting the old neighborhood, I have been know to sit and drink a few triple shot caramel lattes, while watching the traffic, and maybe, even reading some comic books.
1 Since the street car days, two transit lines cross at this intersection, making it the retail heart of the Irvington Community. Besides the drug store I remember there being among other businesses such as a five and dime store which sold plastic model kits, a barber shop, which had copies of Gent and Cavalier on hand for the grown up customers to read while waiting, a shoe repair, and a block west on Broadway and 14th, The Irvington Theate.
2 The price had stayed at a dime since the mid 1930s, when comic books first appeared. It was reasoned, that since only children read comic books, they could only afford to make purchases at such a low price. So, until this month, the priced remained at a dime. But, by then, the costs of production, and a decrease in sales, forced the publishers to start raising the price. By the 1970s, the cover price had moved up past 15 cents to a quarter, and by the 1980s, as comics were now realized as not ‘just for kids anymore’, the price had moved beyond $1.
3 They were originally printed by DC’s sister company, All American Comics. As did a number of other DC characters who would later remerge in the Silver Age. They had ceased their appearances around 1947, soon after publisher, Maxfield Gaines, had sold his share in All American Comics to his partners at DC comics. About eight years later, these characters were brought back under the editorship of Julies Schwartz. Who would totally rework them with more of a science fiction approach.
4 Of the giant monsters titles Strange Tales was the oldest and Amazing Adventures had just begun the previous spring. By next month it would be called Amazing Fantasy, then Amazing Adult Fantasy; by the start of the summer of 1962 it would return to Amazing Fantasy by its last issue No. 16. The return of The Two Gun Kid would replace it.
5 Here we see Stan Lee’s marketing sense. He’s only allowed a limited number of titles, and has no real staff devoted to putting out comics. Kirby, and Ditko are paid as freelancers. And with his duties publishing the other magazines that the Timely company were putting out, Stan has a only a limited amount of time to devote to comics. And, he can’t afford to do any try out titles like DC does with Showcase. He has been able to keep this little operation afloat for the last few years by not spreading his few titles over too many genres. As we can see, all comic companies put out some form of giant monster book. Stan devotes almost half his output, five titles, to this genre. He splits his remaining allotment of titles between the still popular westerns, like what Dell is still coming out with, with humor and romance comics that appeal to young women. Who were also buying comics, as seen by the fact that romance titles were still best sellers until the mid 1970s! This gives the company variety and presence in the most popular story types. Appealing to both male and female readers, but not pushing his resources with unnecessary risks. The new try out, The Fantastic Four, would be a bimonthly release as are the westerns, and romance titles. And with a cover that would appear to bridge the giant monster and the reemerging super hero genre. As we’ll see in later articles, once Stan, Jack and Steve got rolling with super heroes, they would incorporated elements of all these genres into their storylines: the horror story, ‘a man is transformed after exposed to radiation(The Hulk and, The Thing), or bit by a radioactive spider’, the western, ‘young man tries to be a hero but is perceived by the public at large as an outlaw’( Kid Colt and Spiderman), the humor comics, “It’s Clobberin’ Time!”, and the romance comic, “Peter Parker loves Betty Bryant, but she hates Spiderman, whom she blames for her brother’s death” .
6 As I was lining up the covers for this article, I was stuck by how the cover story for this month’s issue of Adventures into the Unknown looks like the source material for the movie Poltergeist!
7 Comics usually had three short stories in them. Either all featuring the title character or having the feature character like Batman as the lead, as in Detective Comics, and then the rest of the book would feature the likes of Johnn Jonzz, Green Arrow, or Congo Bill Bill, a big game hunter who had also started in the '40s. But by this time he had the ability to swap minds with that of a giant golden ape, called Congorilla. Once in the ape’s super strong body he went out to save the jungle. Strange as this sounds, the character still shows up today, and last year before the big New 52 re-launch, Conggorilla was active in the Justice League!
8 We now know that Marvel would follow what DC was doing, but in a very different way. First, they would rework the Golden Age Character of The Human Torch as a teenage member of the Fantastic Four. And then, three issues later they would bring back the actual Golden Age Sub-Mariner. Not a new Sub Mariner, or a son of Sub Mariner, but the original guy who first wanted to destroy New York City and then helped Captain America and The Human Torch fight the Nazis! This was unlike DC, where they sort of held the Golden Age characters at arm's length for a very long time and only used them sparingly. Marvel brought the characters back and they stood shoulder to shoulder with the new characters. Within the year, Marvel would start introducing original super heroes into their already established anthology titles. First, The Human Torch would move over from FF to appear in his own solo adventures in Strange Tales. Original characters Ant Man, and The Mighty Thor would headline Tales to Astonish and Journey into Mystery. By the summer of ’62, Spider-man would show up in what was to be the last issue of Amazing Fantasy, formally Amazing Adventures. And in a few months, after the success of FF, The Hulk would begin in his own solo book, taking the place of the now canceled Linda Carter, Student Nurse. While DC would maintain a status quo till almost the end of the decade. Marvel would keep changing things throughout the '60s. Creating excitement each month over what was going to happen next.
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.