The Silver State Chronicles

A Look at The Comic Book Icon

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Amazing Armor, It’s Iron Man

Back in the early 1960s, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others were blazing new trails in comic history as they were ushering in what would be known as The Marvel Age of Comics. Their creativity and output was at a peak, and numerous classic characters broke onto the scene, changing comic books forever!

At the time, Marvel published several weird tales/fantasy/science fiction comics. Among those titles was Tales of Suspense, an anthology series comprised of short stories usually dealing with a monster or other supernatural theme. Well, with great characters like The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man forming the cornerstone of the Marvel Universe, the wizards at Marvel decided to create a new hero for Tales of Suspense – The Invincible Iron Man!

So since Iron Man will enjoy a major movie release in just a few weeks on May 2nd, I decided to feature Tales of Suspense #39 in the Greatest Comic Covers series. That’s the origin and 1st appearance of Iron Man!

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Does Whatever A Spider Can

Marvel Comics was building a creative, dynamic universe in the early 60s, with innovations on many fronts. One of the most popular titles of that era was, of course, The Amazing Spider-Man. Under the talented hand of Steve Ditko and the creative force of Stan Lee, Spider-Man captured fans’ imagination and crafted an unusual super hero for that era.

But some changes were in the works. After just over a three year run, the art duties of Spider-Man would be transferred to the talented John Romita, Sr. Under his art direction, Spider-Man would truly come into his own and that particular vision of the hero remained the dominant image for decades.

The switch was to coincide with a big turning point in Spider-Man’s life. The Amazing Spider-Man #39 would be Romita’s first issue, and it would also culminate a story line involving The Green Goblin, Spider-Man’s arch foe. The cover tells it all – The Goblin is seemingly victorious, and has evidently discovered Spider-Man’s secret identity!

This is pretty heavy stuff for the mid 1960s! In any event, it’s one of the greatest comic stories of all time, and easily one of the greatest comic book covers of all time! Enjoy!

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Always nice to hear what Stan has to say!

On October 8tn, 2007, Dennis Miller did a quick interview with Stan Lee on his relatively new radio show. Dennis has a great sense of humor and his radio show is really taking off. Last week, a caller just casually suggested that he invite Stan on the show, and Dennis’s people got on it quickly and made it happen just a few days later!

Stan discusses some memories of Nick Fury, flatters Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, covers the 1960s Marvel Comics creative process, and manages to mention the new Iron Man and Hulk films.

Dennis is a genuine fan of Stan and Silver Age Marvel Comics, so it’s clear that this interview is a genuine treat for him. Enjoy!

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The Thing a la Steve Ditko

Legendary comic book artist Steve Ditko did some work for Charlton comics in the early 1950s. This was in the horror & crime era of comics, as superheroes took a backseat for a decade or so after WW2. Dig this awesome cover from The Thing # 15

Leave it to Steve Ditko to make a story involving a giant killer worm into something special & memorable! Give special attention to that rendering of the homicidal giant worm’s face! Harrowing!

Thank you, Steve Ditko, for so many great comic memories!

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