The kind of masterpiece Stan & Jack used to throw out in an afternoon, this one's always stuck with me since I swapped it off somebody back in the Bronze Age. Whatever the other guy ended up with, I got the better end of the deal.
Yeah, Thor fights a super-adaptive robot yadda yadda blah blah, but what we're really interested in is the B-story. You'll see the ending coming a mile away, but that's what makes it sweeter.
And I can't believe Jack wasn't thinking of Jimmy Cagney here.
Fun story, with an ending slightly reminiscent of Fantastic Four #51. Which one did Stan write first?
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Chris A.
I could look at the GCBD but that wouldn't tell us which was written first, plus it's Friday night, I'm feeling lazy! Anybody want to take this one?
ReplyDeleteFantastic Four 51 was published in June, 1966 and Thor 141 was published in June, 1967.
ReplyDelete- Neil
One thing I loved about Stan Lee's scripts (and the great visual innovations and plots of his Silver Age collaborators Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby) was that Stan, though middle-aged and with a fair amount of life experience, knew that he was not writing for his age group, but for a much younger audience. Nevertheless, he did not patronize them, but sought to entertain, inspire, and, yes, even teach them a few life lessons in the midst of it all. The result was an irresistible package that had paeudo-hip swagger on top with a lot of heart and soul just beneath. The stories touched so many lives.
ReplyDeleteGene Poole
So true Gene, thanks, which is why people, I believe, will still be talking about these men in generations to come. Stan & Jack NEVER spoke down to their audience, but rather invited us up to their level. Certainly, me and my friends felt like we were as much of a part of Marvel as Stan, Jack & Steve were.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks Neil, for stepping in there for me!
I've got this one and it's a cracker. I've also got 'The Growing Man', which has a similar ending if I recall correctly.
ReplyDeleteI remember The Growing Man in a Sal Buscema issue of The Avengers, did he pop up ( arf! ) in Thor too?
ReplyDeleteHe did indeed, PD, but I was getting my stories mixed-up. Actually, the issue I was thinking of was Thor #174 - "The Carnage Of The Crypto-Man!"
DeleteI'm sure Stan & Jack got them mixed up too - Kirby's grandson Jeremy posted on twitter yesterday the cover of the DC Style Guide, with the comment: 'Pretty sure my grandfather never used this!'
ReplyDelete