Ahhh. My favorite comic book character. I'm glad they have him back in his classic armor for now, but I wonder what his new armor will be like.

Just finished reading Volume #1 of "The Essential Iron Man" yesterday. It reprints the Iron Man stories from Tales of Suspense #39-72 in black and white. It was fun reading almost all of those old 1960's stories printed in it for the first time.

If you've ever wondered what Iron Man's helmet would look like in real life, you might wanna check these pictures out. http://www.alexrossart.com/archives/marvel/IRONMAN/IronSculpt2.jpg


http://www.alexrossart.com/rosstemp/decross/heads/ironman1LG.jpg

It looks pretty cool.

Whoa. That was cool, Benn. Thanks.

I've downloaded those pics and put them in my photo reference folder for Reflective Surfaces.

That was very cool. Thank you Benn.

You're both welcome.

I wish I could remember in which issue this took place, but it was during Dave Micheline and Bob Layton's run on the book. Tony Stark finds he has to fight some people. He asks one of the people (a guard, I think), "Do you know what a clavicle is?" "No." "It's the bone I just broke hitting you." Or words to that effect. He then proceeded to hit the guy on the jaw. Uh, Tony, the jawbone is the mandible. The clavicle is the collar bone.

That nit has bothered me ever since I read it back in the 80s. It is such a relieve to be able to get it off my chest!

He's a physics wiz, not a biology specialist. :-)

LOL Yeah, true. But it's still a nit. For someone who's trying to show off his vocabulary/intellect (Tony Stark), it'd be nice if he actually knew what he was talking about. (Of course, I doubt the guard he decked was any smarter.)

Excelsior!

I was just thinking about Justin Hammer, and the thought popped to mind that its lucky Marvel wasn't sued over him. His name is just a little too close to controversial American industrialist Armand Hammer, and appearancewise he looked very much like British actor Peter Cushing.

In Mortal Combat With Captain America Tales Of Suspense #58 Reprinted in Marvel Collector's Item Classics #18
This seems to be set after the events of Amazing Spider-Man #15 where Kraven & the Chameleon were deported from America. Here it seems they were able to bribe someone to let them go. If it's the same boat then the US government did a bad job in picking a ship to use.
Also Kraven said he wanted to get back in shape and hunt more in the Congo before he returned.

Presumably it was after this story that Kraven got contacted by Doc Ock to become part of the Sinister Six.
Did Doc Ock free him from captivity or did Kraven have to sneak back into the country again?

Giant-Man is holding the Chameleon disguised as Captain America, then he removes the Captain America mask to reveal Chameleon's face. Problem is, in the flashback to Giant-Man capturing him, the Chameleon already has the Captain America mask off.

Suspected Of Murder! Tales Of Suspense #60 Reprinted in Marvel Collector's Item Classics #20
Page 7, Panel 5. Most of Hawkeye's hair is colored the same color as the background.

Responding to Iron Man's taunt, Hawkeye says, "Imitation Robin Hood, eh? I've got powers he never dreamed of..."
No, you have trick arrows he never dreamed of, not powers.

To get away from Iron Man Hawkeye shoots the restraining chains holding up a Uranus II rocket.
Chains??? Years of research & development, probably millions of dollars spent, and the best form of holding the rocket up is chains???

The Death Of Tony Stark! Tales Of Suspense #61 Reprinted in Marvel Collector's Item Classics #19
A reporter says, "We'll stay here till we can see him! Our readers want to be sure it is Anthony Stark!"
Did the readers phone the newspaper to demand that? Typical reporter arrogance. State what you want to know as if the readers want to know it as well. I suspect that the majority of his paper's readers couldn't care less.

Page 8, Panel 1. Some of the red of Pepper's hair is printed on her face.

Page 8, Panel 2. Inspector Flint's brown hair is now red with white and his brown jacket is now black.

Iron Man tracks the trajectory of the ray that destroyed his home to somewhere in the Orient.
Cute trick given that the ray originated from a satellite.

Dated Item. To get near the Orient Iron Man decides to disguise himself as a large gentleman (so he can wear his armor underneath).
If Marvel is trying to say that this story happened in the last 10-15 years, one wonders how he got through the metal detectors.

When the plane is near the Mandarin's hideout Iron Man opens the door of the plane and jumps out.
Yeahhhhhhhhh... hope the other people on the plane don't mind the explosive decompression.
Was he courteous enough to close the door behind him?

To his android Koto, the Mandarin orders, "Return to the dungeon and dismantle yourself until I summon you again!"
Dismantle yourself???
How far could an android dismantle itself before it is in too many pieces to continue further? (Koto: Hmmmm... now that I've removed one arm, how do I remove my other arm?)
Also if Koto is dismantled wouldn't he have to reassemble himself when the Mandarin summoned him again? (Koto: Oh, dear. Where did I set my head after I took it off?)

The final caption of the story says that next issue will be the origin of the Mandarin & that the next story in this issue will be a Captain America tale.
Well, that may have been true in Tales Of Suspense #61, but there was no Captain America tale in Marvel Collector's Item Classics #19.
Also the next issue of Marvel Collector's Item Classics reprinted the Iron Man story from Tales Of Suspense #60, not the Mandarin's origin. (Whoever selected the Iron Man stories goofed up.)

Somewhere Lurks The Phantom Tales Of Suspense #63 Reprinted in Marvel Collector's Item Classics #22
Iron Man thinks, "my built-in radar-type detector is beginning to tingle!"
Radar-type??? Geeze Stan did you just give up trying to invent technobabble???
Also this seems to be somekinda technological spider-sense.

By Benn on Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 7:36 pm:

+ I wish I could remember in which issue this took place, but it was during Dave Micheline and Bob Layton's run on the book. Tony Stark finds he has to fight some people. He asks one of the people (a guard, I think), "Do you know what a clavicle is?" "No." "It's the bone I just broke hitting you." Or words to that effect. He then proceeded to hit the guy on the jaw. Uh, Tony, the jawbone is the mandible. The clavicle is the collar bone. +

Issue #126, I believe, Benn. Funny, I remembered that, too.

Stark:"Do you know what a clavicle is?"
Guard: "Uh, no."
WHAM
Stark: Surprise! It's what I just broke!"

You mentioning that made me realize I remembered the exchange word-for-word. How or why we store this kind of minutae away in our minds for decades is beyond me!!

I actually got to ink Iron Man (or at least an alternate version of him)in a back-up story in an Annual, I believe, back in the late 80's/early 90's. Basically just a few panels of him, as I recall, but it was fun to tackle a childhood favorite for real!

Uh, Bob, do you mind me asking what your last name is and whether you've done any other comics? I'd be curious to see some of your other works if possible. I'd at least like to see the issue you inked. (The only BobL I can think of in association with Shellhead is Bob Layton. But he did a little more than ink an Annual.

BTW, your memory's very good. Because, IIRC, you've quoted the exchange between Tony and the guard exactly. Now I'm going to have to track down that issue to read it for myself.

Excelsior!

At first, Benn, I thought it'd be easier to ask you what comics you've read or currently own from the '85-'90 period...but if that list totals, like, 50,000 or so, it would be a very bulky post!

For starters, check a Suicide Squad from that period (something like issues #4-20). You'll bump into me. As for others, I'll have to try to remember what I did...it's been some time! I'll check back w/ you on that.

By the way, I was under the weather yesterday and spent some time perusing the posts here. I very much enjoyed your Star Trek animated series comments! I picked up the TOS season 1 DVD's a couple of weeks ago, and considered buying the animated series, too. Your posts gave me reason not to regret leaving it on the shelf!

Bob, did you do They Were Chosen to Be Survivors series? If so, wow. I used to really like that series. I'm gonna have to pick up those comics again.

If I've got your last name pinned down, then you were primarily a DC inker, right? I'm going by what I see on the Grand Comics Book Database site and it looks like your only major Marvel work was Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #9, which I don't currently have.

Still, it's pretty cool to have someone who's worked in the comics field on these boards.

About the STAR TREK Animated Series, I personally have no regrets that I own the DVDs. To me, TAS is as much canon as the Original Series and the movies. I admit it's very flawed, but so was the third season of TOS. And for a Saturday Morning cartoon series, it's one of two from that era that's actually more intelligent than most. That helps me think it's worthy of being considered canon. It was also a load of fun.

At any rate, glad you enjoyed my posts. Hope you find more posts by me and the others here as interesting. And that you continue to contribute to our little site.

Excelsior!

Yes, primarily DC. Check your Star Trek issues of the period. I inked a number of covers. The fog of time isn't allowing my view of the issue numbers to be any clearer!

OMG.."They Were Chosen To Be..."! I thought that had been completely forgotten by now! I even forgot about it until you brought it up! Yep, that was me, in my embryonic beginnings. Those 'spurt-of-new-independent-publishers' days of the early 1980's were fun times! The interesting thing is how, over time, looking at my old work is like looking at old pictures of myself! *Cringe!*

I did one or two other Annual back-ups, I believe. In one I was mis-credited as Al Williamson, or some such. The story featured Sub-Mariner and the Serpent Crown (look for scenes in an icy cave).
The funny thing about being mis-credited is that it does give one a "Mr. Leslie" feeling! I just pray that I have at least half as many lives as he!

I'm glad to be here. I found the site completely by chance, and I've steadily enjoyed the commentary. And I will be around for awhile. I've just bought season 1 ST, and i'm only about 5 episodes into it, so stay tuned.

Who knows? Maybe I'll even turn up on the ST animated boards. Anything can happen!

Okay, I've gotten a stack of Iron Man comics that included Iron Man #126. This is the "clavicle" issue. I just re-read it for the first time in 28 years. ((28 years!?!?)) What happens in the panel where Tony strikes the guard (page 14, panel 5), is that Stark strikes him on the side of the neck with an open hand. The panel, drawn by John Romita, Jr. and Bob Layton, is drawn in such a way that it looks like Tony could have hit the guard on the side of neck, slapped his face or maybe even hit him on the right side of the clavicle. It's not very clear. The moovles in the panel don't help much, either. They start from just to left of the center of the panel and go down in a curve. Bottom line is the whole panel is very ambiguous as to how Stark hit the guard.

Still, it is interesting to know that two different people thought that Tony Stark did not hit the guy's clavicle.

Excelsior!

In Iron Man #124, Shellhead's armor is remote controlled by Justin Hammer to kill an Ambassador on live television. In #125, the cops confront Iron Man and ask him to give himself up. The Golden Avenger responds that he's innocent and must be allowed to go free to clear his name. The cops allow that. Yeah, right. I'm sure the police routinely allow people who are accused of a crime, particularly one where there is filmic evidence, to go free to prove their innocence.

The one caveat the cop ask for is that the Iron Man armor be turned in to prevent the man inside the armor from using it. (Oh yeah, right. Like there aren't more armors available as backup. ) So, sans armor, Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes, Stark's private pilot, travel to Monaco to confront Justin Hammer. Stark takes along a spare suit of armor.

Separated from Rhodey, Tony is captured by Hammer. A briefcase Tony has contains the spare Iron Man suit. While on Hammer's artificial island, Stark dons the Iron Man armor and fights a pack of supervillains. Among them are Discus and Stilleto, two of Luke Cage, Power Man's foes. Um, these two aren't really villains. They're two very misguided kids who fought Cage because they knew Luke was an escaped convict. They believed they were serving the cause of justice in tackling Power Man. They weren't trying to rob a bank or take over the world or anything like that. So, their presence as part of Hammer's supervillain army is very questionable at this point.

In Iron Man #127, Rhodes finally convinces the Monacan police that he really is Tony Stark's employee. That his boss has been kidnapped. And miraculously, he leads them to Justin Hammer's island. The first thing Jim Rhode says to Iron Man is "...I thought you was illegal." Well, maybe in the U.S. But you guys are in Monaco. I don't think Iron Man's wanted for murder there. So I don't think any laws are being broken by Iron Man's appearance. Although, the authorities in the U.S. aren't going to be too happy... But what can they really do about Iron Man appearing in Monaco? Now, when Shellhead returns to the States, that's a whole other matter.

Excelsior!

It's very reassuring to know that I'm not the only one in the world who still reads these old comics! Seems every couple of years or so, I break out my collection of 'Tales of Suspense' and re-read them, among others, now and then. Nostalgia for simpler times? Maybe. Certainly the sheer, uncomplicated fun of these tales is hard to beat!

Case in point: Tales of Suspense #61, The Death of Tony Stark.

Tony Stark is trapped (or so he believes) in his armor. If he should remove it, his heart will stop beating, thus his death. By this issue, Tony Stark has been 'missing' for a month. Frustrated by his absence, and suspicious of Iron Man's involvement, Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts quit Stark Industries in order to get answers. Outside the building, they encounter Inspector Flint, who is working on the case of Stark's disappearance. They go to headquarters, where a reporter overhears that "the brass" is suspicious of Iron Man. "What a story!". Pretty careless of the Inspector to talk to Happy and Pepper with the door open. The few times in my life I've talked to police about anything, it was never in casual earshot of anyone who happened by.

Of course, by the next panel, it's headline news. "Extra! Iron Man top suspect in Tony Stark's disappearance!" blurts out the kid on the street selling the papers. I'm not quite old enough to know if newspapers were really ever sold that way, or is that just an old movie contrivance which became etched into the collective imagination?

Tony spends most of the next page working feverishly to find a way to remove his armor, and agonizing over his plight. "For so long as I must wear my fighting garb, I cannot take my place again in public as Tony Stark, without revealing that Stark and Iron Man are one and the same!" and so on. If I were Stark, I would've called people on the phone to establish my supposed whereabouts, instead of brooding in private, making matters that much worse.

Happy sneaks into Stark's estate, hoping to find a clue as to Tony's whereabouts. Tony, who just in time slipped under the covers to appear sick in bed, tells Happy "The doctor said I was run-down...I needed absolute rest and quiet." Happy calls Pepper to tell her the good news. Well, either Happy or Pepper is a blabbermouth, for by the bottom of the page, the hounding media is gathering outside Stark's estate. So much for absolute rest and quiet! Not to mention that the police are now inside questioning Tony!

Meanwhile, the Mandarin is putting his new killer satellite into operation. Why did Mandy always have to use one of his power rings to activate things? The caption reads "With pinpoint accuracy, it strikes a sensitive switch, activating it!". How about just pushing that switch with your finger? As it is, it took five panels to get the laser beam activated! The laser, in turn, activates the satellite. Its only purpose, Mandarin says, is to "slay anyone he wishes... anywhere on earth". In this case, Tony Stark. The beam strikes Stark's estate, but Stark, as Iron Man, got away just in time. "A long-distance laser beam! If I hadn't moved when I did, I'd have been just another statistic!" thinks Stark. What kind of statistic, one more person killed by a long-distance laser beam? Must be thousands every year, at least.

A shocking bulletin is broadcast (in homes across the nation): "Tony Stark's home has just been struck by a mysterious, deadly ray of unknown origin!" Happy and Pepper, in the car, hear the broadcast.

Sidenote: I don't claim to be very familiar with old cars, but where is the radio located in this car? It's hard to say: judging from panel 1, page 7, I'd say it's either in the extreme back of the passenger door where the door hande normally would go, or pretty much right where the glove compartment would be.

Pepper (to Iron Man): "You!! You called yourself his bodyguard! How did you escape?" Understandably, Pepper was sobbing and upset at this point, but that's an odd question to ask, it seems. On the next page, she tells Inspector Flint about how she's "...seen Iron Man in action! You wouldn't believe how strong he is...the fantastic things he can do!! With all his power, his armor, his secret scientific devices...". Why should she be surprised when he survived the beam? I suspect Pepper's "How did you escape?" questions' purpose was to keep the Iron-Man-is-Tony- Stark predicament foremost in our minds. For his answer, we get "Mr. Stark had...eh..sent me to the other wing to get him some papers..." Why did writers always use a variation of that line when a superhero was confronted with a 'where were you?" kind of question? They heroes always sound like they're caught completely off-guard when it happens. "I, uh...", "Well you see, um...". They always act like an ten-year-old caught in a lie!

Again on page 10, the Mandarin (oh, wait, "the oriental mystery man"!) "...trains the beam of one of his "many" (ten) potent rings upon a complex control panel..." Again, just push the button!

If you're reading this, Benn, I'm wondering if the Mandarin might actually be even lazier than Galactus? I don't think Mandy could flush the toilet without a pyrotechnic show...

"The Mandarin deftly aims one of his wonderous rings at the lever..."

It's getting late and I don't have the strength to go on. Last night, I was dozing off reading this comic in bed, and tonight picking it apart is keeping me up!

Thank you for your attention!

BobL - Of course, by the next panel, it's headline news. "Extra! Iron Man top suspect in Tony Stark's disappearance!" blurts out the kid on the street selling the papers. I'm not quite old enough to know if newspapers were really ever sold that way, or is that just an old movie contrivance which became etched into the collective imagination?
I'm not old enough either, but in an interview between Will Eisner & Jack Kirby (reprinted in Shop Talk) both talk about selling papers on street corners as kids.

As I understand it, the kids only made money by selling papers so yelling out headlines to get attention (& hopefully sales) makes sense.

me - Sidenote: I don't claim to be very familiar with old cars, but where is the radio located in this car? It's hard to say: judging from panel 1, page 7, I'd say it's either in the extreme back of the passenger door where the door hande normally would go, or pretty much right where the glove compartment would be.

I must've been tireder than I thought, or I'm not familiar with any cars, old or new: the door handle is further up front of the car door, not towards the rear as I implied!

BTW, kind of off-topic and out of date, but I HAVE read that Serpent Crown story you're talking about, Bob. That annual was part of the Atlantis Attacks crossover, with each annual containing little stories about the history of the Serpent Crown. I think yours was about Atlanteans worshiping the Crown, ticking Neptune off so he zapped them.

That sounds right, Mike. Offhand, the only thing I remember was some guy speaking at a podium on the 1st page, and some ice caves. Also that the inks were miscredited to, I believe, Keith Williams. :[

If you're reading this, Benn, I'm wondering if the Mandarin might actually be even lazier than Galactus? I don't think Mandy could flush the toilet without a pyrotechnic show... - BobL

Could be. To be honest, I've read maybe 7 comics featuring the Mandarin so far in my life. I was never a huge Iron Man fan, though I did follow the book for a few years starting in the late '70s with #96 or thereabouts. But that run had only one appearance by Mandy - #99-100.

Some good nits picked, though, Bob!

Excelsior!

"The Mandarin's Revenge", Tales of Suspense #54

Tony Stark is summoned to the Pentagon, and Happy asks him "Which car do you want me to drive you in? The XK-E, or the Jag?" Um, Happy. . .the XK-E is a Jag.

Then, after telling Pentagon brass that he (Tony Stark) would go to Viet Nam, Stark goes there as Iron Man. Way to keep the secret identity secret, Tony.

Stark is in Viet Nam to figure out why the observation missles "in Viet Nam", which are supposed to take pictures "behind enemy lines" keep crashing or disappearing. Turns out their being captured by the Mandarin. . .from his fortress (in mainland China, per Tales of Suspense #50). Granted, China has a border with Vietnam, but that seems way, way "behind enemy lines". And then Stark drives to the Mandarin's fortress in a jeep.

"The Uncanny Unicorn", Tales of Suspense #56

The Unicorn infiltrates Stark's main factory and, when confronted, says "You're doomed! I've hidden a time bomb in your factory. . .Surrender and let me take you behind the Iron Curtain as my prisoner, or else see your life's work go up in flames!" Later, he adds "Not only will my bomb destroy your entire factory, your entire life's work. . .but what about the people inside?? People such as your lovely secretary??" Only problem is, he says all these things to Iron Man. He speaks as if he knows that Iron Man is Stark, right down to threatening Stark's secretary. Not only is there no earlier indication that he knew Iron Man's real identity, but such knowledge should be a big deal, seeing as how the Unicorn is a Soviet agent who escapes alive and well at the end of the story.

observation missles
Wha...? Do they mount cameras on them & hope to recover the film after it crashes? I should think high-flying observation planes would be better, and they're reusable (assuming they're not shot down).

Anyone here reading the ongoing "The Invincible Iron Man"?

I wonder what will happen to Tony that that SHIELD has been disbanded. Now Norman Osborn is starting the Dark Reign (a follow-up to Secret Invasion) and in 2009, there will be the new Dark Avengers!

I thought the Zeke Stane storyline was pretty good, and Salvador Larocca's art was beautiful, as usual. But I would've given Zeke a more formidable-looking armor.

From Tales of Suspense #90, as reprinted in Tribute to Gene Colan:

The Melter, holding Tony Stark at gun-point, orders Stark to create a pocket-sized version of his melting gun. Deciding Tony has outlived his usefulness, the Melter turns his gun on Stark and changes the setting to "Flesh". Lessee, the gun has a setting for "Stone", "Metal" and "Wood". I think any one of those three would cover melting flesh, wouldn't it?

And melting wood!?! What drugs were Stan Lee and/or Gene Colan on?! Because, personally, I suspect you'd have to be on drugs to see wood melt.

The gun, incidentally, does a poor job melting Tony Stark. The Melter shoots Tony and Stark just falls to the ground. You'd think Stark'd be a puddle of protoplasm if he'd truly been melted.

Excelsior!