| 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 ... |
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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... |
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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. |
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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. |
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