Marvel comics story. 4: 1962
  
Fantastic Four gigantic and immediate success generated legion of new creations and practically all are still today best sellers series. Begining with HULK in January 62, an idea from Kirby wich allowed Stan Lee to take to its achievement the concept of bad hero sketched with the Thing. In the same state of mind, Submariner, the golden age hero came back as bad guy in Fantastic Four 4.
First appearance of Thor
Kirby:Journey into Mistery 83.
In June, Stan Lee struck his stronger blow. Two new characters appeared this month. One was
THOR.
Lee wanted to cribb Superman without too much showing it. Kirby's northern god performed it. It takes imagination to find some DC star feature in Odin's son. Indeed, in both cases, a weakling-like turn secretly himself into a super strong costumed flying righter of wrongs. But, owing to Kirby, we get far away from the thousands Superman-like folks who fill the skies. As for the one of the Fantastic four, for the first appearance of Thor Kirby used again a story that he allready told us at DC's (Tales of the Unexpected 16, 1957) Only, this time, the mortal who found his hammer didn't only got his powers, he BECAME Thor. The look of Thor was still the same but for a litle detail. Certainly, his bearb made him too tramp for a super hero. Thor's divinity, wich meant to Stan Lee but an alibi to avoid a trial with DC, was regarded as a serious thing by Kirby. It was not the first god drawn by Kirby ...and it wouldn't be the last! Right under Stan Lee noose -him who wished "more human super heroes", remember- Kirby would create a whole universe inside Lee's world. Loki, the frightful god of evil, Odin, father of gods, Asgard the eternal city connected with Hearth by the rainbow bridge, trolls, giants of ices, Hela, queen of hell, a whole mythology resuscitated
.
 

Yet, Thor was only the less important of both characters created this month. The other one ...

 

The other one, Martin Goodman, the publisher, was so convinced he'd never work that he didn't want to hear about him. (This story reminds the one of Superman who took five years of his creators' life to get published, because no publisher wanted of it.) But Stan Lee found the opportunity to force Goodman's hand with the disappearance of Amazing Fantasy, one of those big monsters comics that the Fantastic Four put out of fashion. "Since, anyway, this is the last issue, said our cunning Stan, what do we risk?" And Goodman gave up, thinking that, at least, he wouldn't hear any more about it. He was not close to hear for the last time about...

 

SPIDER-MAN!

Stan Lee's idea was to create a "super weakling", a super hero born to loose. A puny kid, with glasses, his old aunt's pet, rejectedby his schoolmates, unable to find the money for the rent and super hero at his time. Not somebody who played a looser part by cleverness, like Clark Kent (Superman), not someone physically handicaped but great doctor like Don Blake (Thor). No, a true misfit who got slaps on his face as much in civilian life as in his hero costume.

Perhaps, you think that Spider-Man was the first Marvel comic not being co-created by Kirby? Spider-Man was drawn from the first issue by ditko and this a blessing. Ditko succeeded in giving this series a special atmosphere, an undefinable charm, a realy unique style, wich distinguished it from Kirby's series, as from former or further Ditko's creations.Well, that said, Spider-Man was created... by Kirby, one year before Lee and Ditko and not for Marvel but for Black Magic (the comic created by Kirby and Simon at Prize's).


Ditko:Amazing Fantasy 15
How to become a super hero in 4 lessons
1 Create a weapon, a web shooter for instance
2 Make you a suite. A discreet and elegant one
3 Do some sport to keep in good shape
4 And if you can walk the ceilling, it's on the right way.

The comic disappeared before the story was published and Kirby kept the idea in a drawer. When he spoke of it to Stan Lee, this one saw it as the perfect embodiment for his super weakling. It was allways Kirby who was in charge of the creation of a character, all the most reason a super hero. Besides, according to Lee Ditko was not destined to draw super heroes: his style was too esthetical, too graceful, too power and violence missing. Anyway, it was Jack's character. But when he shown him the first pages, Stan was disappointed . "Jolly Jack" didn't copy the message about a super weakling. He had drawn so many supermen that when you asked him to make a dead loss as weak as possible, he answered "OK" and penciled a common athlete hardly fit for olympic games. So, in the end, Lee gave the job to Ditko precisely because, still according to him, this one was not made to draw super heroes.

 
At the end, Spider-Man didn't keep much long this weaky look dear to Stan Lee. As time went by he got as much muscles as Kirby's strong guys. He lost his glasses in issue 8 (It's flash Thompson who broke it). Nevertheless Ditko carried on with Stan Lee's born to loose Peter Parker over expectations. Like Young Steve Ditko before him, Peter Parker was a lonely and unsociable studient, uneasy with girls and with half republican half anarchist speechs wich deseapared after than Lee had rewriten dialogues. Even the incredible sales of Spider-Man couldn't make Martin Goodman bear this and Lee carefuly choosed the boss side. So it was the war. Ditko leaved slaming the door and Lee asked John Romita (Sr) to give Goodman his Peter Parker perfect citizen, with prety girls around and without political concern.

If Spider-Man inovated, the last creation of 62, IRON MAN had rather the comics of 1954 spirit. He spent his time in Russia or in China, fighting bolshevik super vilains. Who makes you dream the most? Loki, the Green Goblin... or Kroutchnev?

 

The year most important event was not the coming of a new character but of a world. Marvel's mail overflew with readers letters asking who was stronger, either Hulk or the Thing and claiming a clash. Hulk, whose publishing had just been stoped, came for a last time, as Fantastic Four's foe, in FF12.That did not only relaunch Hulk. It convinced Goodman and Lee about the succees of their various comics if, from then on, their characters lived in the same world and meet each other. So was born the Marvel world.
Always romantic, the first meeting. (Kirby FF12.)

 

LET'S SUM UP.

August 61Creation of the FANTASTIC FOUR
January 62Creation of HULK
January 62 First appearance of Ant Man in Tales to Astonish 27
February 62Return of Submariner in Fantastic four 4
June 62Creation of THOR (Journey into Mistery 83)
June 62First appearance of SPIDER-MAN in Amazing Fantasy 15
July 62Begining of the series Ant Man (Tales to Astonish 35)
August 62First appearance of Balder and Odin (Journey into Mistery 85)
October 62Begining of the series Human Torch in Strange Tales 101
December 62Begining of the series SPIDER-MAN
December 62
 
Creation of IRON MAN (Tales of Suspense 39)

 

AND THAT WAS ONLY THE BEGINING!

 
NEXT
1963, Xmen, Avengers...

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