The Coming Of The Invaders!

Never have I been so ready to consume a comic book than I was the debut issue of the The Invaders. The notion of the Timely "Big Three" (Captain America, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner) becoming a team (as they had done very briefly in the pages of All-Winners) was an idea I thought downright ripe and ready as 1975 rolled around. So, when Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins sprung The Invaders on us "Marvelites" of the time, I was aboard the Fortress Europa Express in a nanosecond. I love the concept so much I have all the originals, the paperback reprints and I've just added The Invaders Omnibus, which is what I'm reading the epic war saga in this time. 

(Gil Kane)

I had been made ready, eager, and willing by a host of forces. Fantasy Masterpieces was a potent comic in the late 60's, giving fans not just reprints of Marvel's vigorous Silver Age, but reaching back into the then not-so-distant mists of time to bring forth true-blue Golden Age stories of likes of Cap, Subby, and the Torch among others. The comic was a peephole into comic book lore, allowing a glimpse but little else of the sprawling vista the Golden Age had been. But it was enough.

(Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger)

The Golden Age heroes started popping up in actual comics, specifically those written by Roy such as The Avengers and The Uncanny X-Men. The mostly forgotten Red Raven flew into a single story with the high-flying Angel when the X-Men had gone their separate ways for a time. Golden Age heroes sprang from the mind of Rick Jones in the climax of the awesome space-spanning Kree-Skrull War. The Invaders themselves were presaged in earlier pages of that same comic when time-traveling Assemblers at the behest of Kang traveled to wartime Paris to battle the Timely trio. Former All-Winners Squad members Whizzer and Miss America had recently shown up in the back story of Marvel's mysterious mutant siblings Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. The Golden Age was bubbling up all over creating a heady brew indeed.

(Gil Kane and Bill Everett)

So, The Invaders were inevitable really, and when Roy "The Boy" Thomas relinquished the reins of Editor-in-Chief of the mighty Marvel Bullpen, he had a project he'd been born to write, a ret-conned history of Marvel's most vintage heroes. He created The Invaders, and made them "Giant-Size" to boot. 

(The original splash page by Frank Robbins was tweaked by John Romita and became the debut cover.)

Giant-Size Invaders was the original format for Marvel's WWII heroes, a format which was widespread and popular with yours truly. We got a new story of extended length along with a great Golden Age reprint, in this issue one starring Namor, the Sub-Mariner from his first self-titled comic way back in 1941 by his creator "Wild" Bill Everett.

(Frank Robbins created this splash which shows the scene on the cover from the reverse angle.)

The debut story assembles our disparate heroes as they all confront a threat on the high seas. The Nazis are trying to kill the Prime Minister Winston Churchill before he can come to the Americas to ask for aid for his afflicted country. To that end they kidnap a scientist who was a part of the creation of Cap himself and force him to assist them in the creation of their own ideal warrior dubbed "Master Man". Controlled by Colonel Kreighund the Master Man battles to destroy Churchill's ship but is stopped when Cap, Bucky, Torch, Toro and Namor combine forces to stop him. Afterwards Churchill himself suggests the heroes form a team to storm Fortress Europa itself, and dubs them "The Invaders".

(John Romita)

But that was the last Giant-Size issue for many decades. With the very next installment, that format was dropped and The Invaders went to a then-regular sized twenty-five cent comic, but that meant the next story originally developed for the larger size was shifted to two full issues. In those the newly assembled Invaders head to London where they confront the deadly Blitz and in the midst of that find a mysterious girl who seems to have a link to the rumored "Brain Drain" which was itself connected to the Master Man they'd defeated in their first adventure.

(John Romita)

They soon enough find sufficient reason to travel to into enemy territory where they find and battle three seeming gods from legend, but who turn out to be space travelers instead used by the Brain Drain, a scientist who has been transformed by their coming into a man with a brain encased in a glass dome. The girl turns out to be the fourth space traveler and they all decide since they are stranded here they are better off dead and the world is introduced to nuclear energy sooner than has been documented.

(Jack Kirby and John Romita)

(Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia)

Following that deadly struggle the heroes return to the United States for a time and run afoul of a new foe, one of the Sub-Mariner's own Atlantean minions named Merrano who has used his science to make himself into a super-powered soldier for the Reich calling himself "U-Man" after the deadly submarines which threatened the Eastern coast of the United States and all of the Atlantic at the time.

(Gil Kane)

The Invaders eventually put down the threat of the U-Man, but not before uncovering a mystery in the region we commonly call the Bermuda Triangle, an enigmatic area which seems to drag in the unsuspecting into a time warp to a deadly zone filled with prehistoric creatures, among other things. This is a shout out to another Marvel comic of the time, Skull the Slayer which explores the area in modern times.

(Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott)

The Invaders then begin one of their most important missions, one which finds them back home front hawking war bonds.

One offbeat note is a panel in which Bucky and Toro are seen reading the comics above, a reference to the Marvel Comics within the Marvel Universe in which they get many things different than "reality".  Sadly the heroes, save for Bucky who is deemed too weak to fool with, are captured by the Red Skull and turned into mind-controlled super-soldiers for the Third Reich, and turn their attention to destroying weapons plants.

(Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia)

Bucky left alone takes steps to assemble other superheroes of the time and creates the Liberty Legion made up the Patriot, the Whizzer, Red Raven, Miss America, the Blue Diamond, the Thin Man, and Jack Frost.

(Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott)

These heroes confront the Invaders as the latter attack different regions of the United States, but the battles are somewhat inconclusive, though Toro is captured.

(Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia)

Then eventually the tide turns, and the Liberty Legion is able to free the Invaders of the Skull's mind-control, which was made possible by use of technology developed by the now-dead Brain Drain. Afterwards it seems the Legion will stay together to defend the Homeland while the Invaders return to their primary mission to "invade" Fortress Europa.

For the record this story wove between two issues of The Invaders and two issues of Marvel Premiere which showcased the Liberty Legion drawn by Don Heck. Rich Buckler and Dick Ayers stepped in to handle one issue of the crossover, a springtime blockbuster of sorts. The name "Liberty Legion" was one Roy Thomas had created when he was a teenager and is now finally able to use.

(Jack Kirby, Frank Giacoia, and John Romita)

When the team returns to London, they find almost immediately that the Blitz continues. Amid that destruction they discover the supernatural in the form of Baron Blood, a for-real vampire.

(Neal Adams)

We eventually learn that Baron Blood was created by none other than Dracula himself, though this was of course decades before the Count's then modern adventures in the pages of The Tomb of Dracula.

(Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia)

The team also meets for the first time Union Jack, a British hero of the earlier World War I. He turns out to be Lord Falsworth and the secret of Baron Blood is closer to him than he realizes. We learn that Union Jack is one of several heroes from the "Great War" who formed a team not unlike The Invaders themselves. The Phantom Eagle was a colleague of the Union Jack. Also threatened by the deadly vampire is his daughter Jacqueline, a high-born but brave woman.

(Jack Kirby and Frank Springer)

The Invaders work together alongside Union Jack to defeat Baron Blood, despite injuries which prevent Lord Falsworth from being able to continue in his heroic role.

(Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia_

Worth noting is that with the ninth regular issue, original inker Vince Colletta gave way to Frank Springer who would be the regular for several years to come. Also, the return of Jack Kirby to Marvel was most important as he became a regular cover artist for the line for a while and some of his absolute best work is seen on these Invaders covers. 

(Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott)

But the stage is set for something new as the ranks of The Invaders is about to grow permanently.

The invasion continues. More tomorrow. 

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IT Happens!

One of the most original and influential stories was created by science fiction master Theodore Sturgeon. Marvel adapted the long short story "It" in its debut issue of Supernatural Thrillers which sported this iconic Jim Steranko cover.

(An It of a different color. It is eye-popping!)

The granddaddy of all swamp monsters likely dripped from the pen of Theodore Sturgeon in the pages of the August 1940 issue of Unknown magazine. A book with little regard for covers to begin with, this title didn't even feature the short story by Sturgeon on its lackluster green cover.

The story is an atmospheric masterpiece and tells of a weirdly animated being which doesn't seem to understand its own genesis which comes to "life" in the remote mountains and encounters a family already torn by some degree of mistrust. The creature kills a dog and potentially many others but in the end comes to an ignominious demise, its origins suggested but never stated directly. The creature was a strange blend of human remains and plant life blended into a synthesis which suggested a brute intelligence and life.

Thanks Mr. Sturgeon. If you'd like to read the story for yourself check out this intriguing PDF presentation of the original Unknown pages.

The story was later reprinted in 1975 in the black and white pages of Masters of Terror with the somewhat misleading but still evocative Jim Steranko cover for Supernatural Thrillers reinterpreted by Gray Morrow for the cover of this presentation. I wish either Steranko or Morrow, preferably the latter had been tapped to do the artwork on this story. It would have been more successful. But that said, this story's reach is still amazing as it clearly seems to have inspired the creation of The Heap in various pages of Hillman Comics and the Heap gave rise indirectly to both the Swamp Thing at DC and the Man-Thing at Marvel. Without "It" none of these mucky swamp critters would likely exist.

Here is more on how this offbeat tale adapted by Roy Thomas, Marie Severin and Frank Giacoia fits into the larger Marvel mythology. And below is a look at Severin's and Giacoia's original artwork up close.

A Dojo Monster Classic. More slippery monsters tomorrow. 

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Atlas-Seaboard Comics - October 1975!

We have reached the end. Atlas-Seaboard, a fledgling company with veteran publishers, veteran talent, and at least early on a hefty pocketbook, made a big impact in 1975. They offered all kinds of titles in all kinds of genres, but by the end of the year they would be gone. There is only one book with an October date.

PHOENIX THE PROTECTOR #4 is an ironic choice as Atlas-Seaboard's final publication. The final Phoenix story is another attempt to revise the original, and it's not a very good effort really. The artwork by Ric Estrada and Frank Giacoia is perfectly okay, but lacked the edgy spontaneity of the Sal Amendola work that had graced the first three issues. The story by Gary Friedrich offers our hero in a fit of despair attempting to kill himself by flying into the air and overloading his spacesuit. Before his desperate plan can work, aliens (not the Deiei, other aliens) known as The Protectors beam him aboard their spaceship and his wounds are attended to by a gaggle of lovely space-chicks. His wounds bandage and his face transformed, he confronted by a tribunal of overly-dressed aliens (all more or less humanoid, though the script at times seems to suggest otherwise) who inform Ed Tyler the Deiei worked for them, and now that they have failed the Earth problem has defaulted to them. (For the record there are two short scenes that tie up apparent loose ends from the previous plot line, but it's not clear if we're supposed to see Ed's wife and boss again.) Our hero has been chosen it seems to salvage the Earth's behind by doing his hero thing, and to help him they outfit him with new gimmicks and a new outfit. After his new gear is on, but before he's had a chance to test-drive it, he's beamed to a battleground of some sort where he confronts a cyclops. After a slow start, he eventually beats his opponent and proceeds to take on this new task as savior. The final panel shows our hero, renamed the Protector, staring out toward the reader, his face in calm repose, accepting of his fate.

And that's it.


The Atlas-Seaboard company disappears into the comics mist alongside Fawcett, Fox, Tower, Centaur, Skywald and so many others. The company was an oddball blend of hubris, experience, and striking naivete. I remember wanting more than anything for them to succeed, but by the end I was ready for it to be over. The promise was wasted, and the books had drifted far from their original concepts. Thanks to those who have followed me down this particular memory lane to this point. 

But we're not quite done yet.  I'll be taking a few glimpses at the Black and White line-up from Atlas-Seaboard this month and put a bow on the proceedings.  

A bit more to come later today. 

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The Man Who Sold The United States!

My nation is nearly two hundred and fifty years old and faces its greatest challenge since the days of the Watergate Scandal or perhaps even the Civil War. A literally raving lunatic has gained control of one of the two major parties and is running for the highest office in the land. He is manifestly unfit for any public office especially the presidency, despite having held the office once before. He brings with him hate and division and all the things which destroy civility and ultimately freedom. But this story today was told before nearly fifty years ago, not long after the embers of the Watergate Scandal were beginning to fade, and the United States was about to celebrate its two hundredth birthday. 

Marvel Comics in 1975 was losing steam, when Jack "King" Kirby agreed to return to the "House of Ideas". It was not as big a bombshell when Kirby returned alas as it was when he originally left, since there was a general sense of inevitability about the whole thing. Kirby was not interested by and large in returning to his old haunts such as the Fantastic Four and Thor, but rather as he'd done before he wanted to do new things such as The Eternals and animation-inspired Devil Dinosaur.

But there was an exception made for Captain America. Cap had been under the control of writer Steve Englehart and artists Sal Buscema and Frank Robbins for several years, but Englehart had recently left creating a void. Kirby came in and largely ignored much of the topical continuity that Englehart had laid down with such skill in the preceding issues. This was a full-blown reboot. 

The Captain America and Falcon of this new way forward were not as angst ridden as they had been under previous writers, and they were very comfortable working in sync with the government, specifically SHIELD. Working on the first two issues with the reliable Frank Giacoia, it feels like Kirby his wheels under him on the strip. Perhaps due to editorial mandates. 

They are driven to join forces with the United States government when a threat to the whole nation is revealed dramatically enough as a wave of inexplicable hate overcomes both Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson as well as a large part of New York City itself. Struggle and destruction ensued and amid that rubble they are told of the secret conspiracy to destroy the whole nation with a sonic bomb dubbed "Big Daddy", an ICBM-sized device which would throw the country into an orgy of self-destruction.

Behind this scheme is a group of self-absorbed "one percenters" who dub themselves "The Elite". Cap and the Falcon track them into the western "Badlands" and find an underground complex in which a distorted society has reared itself, built on exalted privilege for a few and fueled by greed for those left to support those at the top. 

It's an Orwellian world in which hate is equated with love. Cap and Falcon are discovered by a girl named Cheer Chadwick, the daughter of William Taurey, the man behind this foul scheme to rid the country of the Constitution and return it to a monarchy with Taurey and his allies at the top.

They are forced fight in a brutal gladiatorial contest and eventually alongside the U.S. military are able to bring down the vast "Badlands" complex. But "Big Daddy" had already been moved. By finding its creator, a man named Mason Harding, they hope to find the bomb. But Harding is motivated by the love for his daughter who is overcome by a fatal disease. 

He is hidden by the Elite as Cap and Falcon and SHIELD descend on their hiding place. But eventually they learn that the bomb is hidden in Philadelphia and the Falcon leads a team to stop it. Cap on the other hand goes to a rich estate to confront Taurey and his Elite colleagues. It's a desperate battle and the Falcon takes the worst of it, but it is one at the end of which, as Cap reports that "the Nation Stands".

I well remember being disappointed by this storyline when I first read it, since it seemed to lack the topicality which had dominated Cap stories of the recent past. But now I see a more subtle symbolism in this yarn which escaped my literal-oriented noggin at that time.

The "Madbomb" in its shape and function at once stands for the nuclear might which both the U.S. and some other few countries wield, and the effect that awesome power might inflict on the psyche of the public. The concept of "M.A.D." (Mutually Assured Destruction) was a sword of Damocles which hung over the world for decades (and still does actually though we don't confront it nearly as much as we once did in those old "Cold War" times). That fear could easily be manipulated into self-destructive fury.

The world of the "Elites" is remarkable in that they hate democracy, the empowering of the masses. The desire to concentrate power into the hands of a few is a constant struggle in this country, in the world. For those few, currently dubbed "The One Percent", have goals and motivations which do not comport with what is best for the greater whole of humanity. They wish to end the American experiment in democracy and return to a culture which elevated some to nobility while others lived out their days as humble peasants happy for the crumbs they were given. 

The story is somewhat simple-minded in that United States military might is offered as a solution to the problem, which while not implausible does offer up a somewhat troubling image. That the Falcon is so easily co-opted into this mindset does run counter to much of his character development which had been the focus of so many previous issues (one of the things which I was annoyed with when I first read the story in its original run).

But one thing I did notice is that the Falcon is often key in much of the story for the success of the effort to stop the Elite. Captain America seems confounded sometimes by the clash of reality and his ideals and the Falcon is able to cut through the philosophy with a no-nonsense attitude. This does point out the value of their partnership. 

The story is clearly meant to give us insights into what makes America a successful nation, and in a reverse mirror sort of way it does just that.

More Cap next week. Happy Fourth of July! My next year's celebration be a happy one as well.

Post Scriptum: Given the Supreme Court Decision from a few days ago, this Fourth of July takes on added significance. We normally think of it as the remembrance of the beginning of battles to create our nation. Now we can think of it as the beginning of a great battle to preserve it in the modern day. We win this battle, or rights and liberties we've long taken for granted are in grave jeopardy. The loss of a woman's right to choose and have control over her own body was just the beginning for these bastards. They want to be our overlords. They want to rule us. They want us on our knees.  

This is a Revised Red, White, and Blue Dojo Classic. 

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