Origin Of The Origin Of The Fantastic Four?

Under The Microscope

Analyzing The Original Art Pages Of FANTASTIC FOUR #3

by Nick Caputo

t’s a great feeling to be in the right place at the right time. I had that opportunity when I accompanied noted Timely-Atlas historian (and Alter Ego contributor) Dr. Michael J. Vassallo on a trip that placed me in direct contact with original artwork pages from The Fantastic Four #3, material of great importance to those who value comicbook history. It might not rank with the discovery of a Picasso painting, unseen Chaplin footage, or an unreleased Elvis song circa 1955, but it clearly tells a story unique to the world of popular culture.

An original comicbook page from the days before PC technology was a singular work of art. All the individuals involved in its production—writer, artist, inker, letterer, editor—played a direct part in completing the job for publication. It should be noted for the benefit of anyone out of the loop that colorists never touched the original art. This stage of the process occurred after the original art was copied and color guides were marked, before being sent to the specialists in this line of work. That being said, it might be considered presumptuous to compare the study of the comics medium with the uncovering of an Egyptian tomb, but to aficionados of the art form it’s probably just as exciting. Holding pages from Fantastic Four #3, dated March 1962 and likely worked on in summer/fall of 1961, was indeed a memorable experience. Being able to observe the handiwork of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby at the dawning of Marvel’s Silver Age (following the company’s initial super-hero era in the 1940s), filled with markings and notations unseen in the printed comic, is—at the very least—worth recording for posterity.

What do these pages tell us in regard to the working methods of Lee and Kirby in the pivotal year of 1961? For starters, during this early period Kirby’s margin notes to Lee had not begun. Instances of their initial usage date to 1964, perhaps at the request of Lee. Dick Ayers’ and Don Heck’s distinctive handwriting surfaced at the same time, when they became involved in the Marvel method of drawing a story based on Lee’s plot synopsis (given either verbally or as a short typed-out page). According to Ayers, he originally placed a few of Lee’s own words above the panels to refresh his memory of their discussions. This became the rule everyone followed, except for Steve Ditko, who penned his descriptions on separate pieces of paper. In time some of the artists provided more detailed exposition and played a larger role in the finished product. While Kirby’s visual contributions were concrete and speak for themselves, they

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do not give us access to the exchange of ideas or story development before the pages were drawn. Lee’s notations, however, provide some insight into his role as writer, editor, and art director.

What better place to begin the analysis than the splash page of FF #3, the earliest page from the early “Marvel” days known to exist thus far. A number of interesting discoveries appear. On the top space where the production info appears (book, date, job number) “March ’62” is crossed out and replaced with “Nov ’61.” March 1962 was the date on the actual cover, but most comics were dated two to three months ahead of publication in order to have a longer shelf life. FF #3 was on newsstands in December 1961, so November was probably when the book was due at the printers. Alongside the date info the word “Timely” is written, probably by Sol Brodsky, who in addition to inking the story handled the production chores. Some staffers and freelancers still referred to the company as Timely, not Magazine Management or Marvel. Another reason I suspect these are Brodsky’s notations is quite elementary—Lee’s scribbles are worse than a doctor’s scrawls! I’ve often struggled to read his editorial corrections, examples of which can be seen on countless original art pages. The bottom of the page has an amusing, if not earth-shattering, grievance penned in green ink from uncredited letterer Artie Simek: “WHEW! VERY HEAVY PAGE OF LETTERING FOR A FIRST PAGE, STAN!!” Apparently, Lee and Simek had a good relationship, or at least a friendly one!

It’s A Miracle, Man!

Nick Caputo (on left) and Dr. Michael J. Vassallo (below) hold up the original art to the splash page of Fantastic Four #3 (March 1962). See Nick’s article for the story behind that event—and thanks to him, as well, for both photos. In addition, we’ve blown up the bottom of the signed p. 1 artwork, so you can hopefully just barely make out hard-working letterer Artie Simek’s plaintive message to Stan. [Artwork TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

If you look closely, it seems that Lee wrote his dialogue directly on the penciled pages, perhaps putting down his initial, rough dialogue and later refining and typing it up into its finished stage (at least I hope that’s the “It’s YOUR Turn!” explanation

As Nick C. notes, the lettering change “It’s YOUR” in and poor Artie panel 6 of p. 3 doesn’t appear to be Simek’s work. (Plus, didn’t have either a comma or a period got “whited out” after the to decipher word “guy.”) Although occasionally in the early days (and even in the mid-1960s) Artie would be pulled into his bosses’ the offices by Stan or production manager Sol Brodsky barely legible to do a bit of re-lettering, it was more usual to call in scribbles!). some other, less essential freelance letterer to do such [A/E

work. Either way, that person’s time had to be paid for; EDITOR’S thus, in the very early days of FF #3, it might well have NOTE:

been Solly B. himself who did the issue’s relatively few Generally, corrections. Script (and proofreading note) by Stan Lee; Stan penciled pencils by Jack Kirby; inks by Sol Brodsky. Thanks to Nick dialogue directly and Heritage Art Auctions for the scan. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] only on splash pages.]

Next up for study is page 3. Panel 6 has a margin note by Lee to alter two words in the Thing’s speech balloon to: “It’s YOUR,” perhaps from his original, more formal “It is YOUR.” The crudely lettered correction was clearly not the work of Artie Simek. Lee was a stickler for getting a character’s speech just right (as observed on many original art pages over the years), and this might be the case here. Also, the bold lettering could have been added for emphasis. The Thing’s face has touch-ups in this frame, likely by inker Sol Brodsky, where beads of sweat appear to have been hastily added,

Page 4 (see bottom of page) has a red circle in the margin next to panel 3, which was Lee’s method of denoting a change of some kind, but it’s hard to decipher exactly what alteration he wanted. I suspect Lee was either instructing Sol Brodsky to make Sue visible or explaining to colorist Stan Goldberg that Sue is visible, in order for him to apply the proper hues. Panel 4 has a notation to add the “4” logo on the Fantisticar and to fix up the front area of the vehicle (Lee seemed to prefer having a roundish, more circular design, which he may have felt accentuated the insignia, especially when broken up into sections). The back of this page has an undecipherable sketch; I’m unclear as to its meaning.

Page 5 (see facing page) has a particularly interesting discovery. Along with the continued notations to make the Fantasticar corrections, it provides us with Lee’s panel design and partial dialogue on the back of the page, apparently as a guide for Kirby before it was penciled. If true, it would explain why FF #1 differs from Kirby’s standard layouts. Historians have debated this anomaly over the years, with some theorizing that the comic was cobbled together and expanded from a feature (perhaps for Amazing Adventures) into a solo title at the last minute. Another possibility suggested is that Lee had a more hands-on approach in his early collaborations with Kirby. Panel 1 notes: “MM [Miracle Man] looks out of window – sees monster display in street.” Panel 2 is hard to ascertain; it reads in part: “..will use monster.” Panel 3 has a crudely drawn caricature of a frowning Miracle Man saying: “Only I know how to bring him to life.” Kirby follows Lee’s panel configurations fairly closely. The second tier has three slight sketches of the FF in their car, and the last panel notes: “showing Apt” which was a diagram of the headquarters in the comic. Are there any other examples of Lee providing a layout for Kirby on the back of original art pages?

We now jump to page 16, another noteworthy example that

Wite-Out Wipe-Out

Hopefully, the Wite-Out fluid utilized in making corrections will be visible in the panel at right (from p. 4) where it was used. Nick explains the matter of the “4” on the Fantasticar; why Wite-Out was used beneath the word balloon in the right-hand panel is unknown. Unfortunately, we don’t have a scan of the “undecipherable sketch” he found on the back on that page. Script by Lee; art by Kirby & Brodsky. Thanks to NC & Heritage. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

When The Sub-Mariner Was A Bowery Bum

A Historical Look At A Primary Setting Of Fantastic Four #4

by Bob Cromwell

A/E EDITOR’S

INTRODUCTION: Back in issue #138, journalist Paris Liu provided a history of 177A Bleecker Street and environs in New York’s Greenwich Village—the address, in Marvel Comics, of Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts (and, not so incidentally, the real-world locale where fellow pros Gary Friedrich, Bill Everett, and Roy Thomas had dwelt for half a year in 1965-66). That article and his own interests led A/E reader Bob Cromwell to take a long and informative look at an even earlier, basically true-life Marvel landmark—the “flophouse” in the Bowery sector in lower Manhattan where, in Fantastic Four #4 (May 1962), a disgruntled Johnny Storm, a.k.a. The Human Torch, decided to temporarily hide out from the other members of that fledgling super-hero team. Only, it wasn’t really a “flophouse” (not that Johnny or scripter Stan Lee used that precise phrase), as Bob explains below.

The Prince On The Bowery

How do the two above images tie together? Well, the one on the right, of course, is the cover of Fantastic Four #4 (May 1962) by penciler Jack Kirby & inker Sol Brodsky—the issue that brought the Golden Age antihero known as the Sub-Mariner into the earliest days of the a-borning Marvel Universe by having him discovered living on what was often called “the Bowery.” FF #4 cover courtesy of the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] The photo depicts the location where, decades earlier, the family of Jacob Kurtzberg/Jack Kirby reportedly lived for a time. That address, 147 Essex Street, was just a few blocks east of Bowery, and is the red brick building with the blue “Lazar Mechanical” sign. The photo, of course, is from a more recent day, courtesy of Bob Cromwell.

Unfortunately, we were forced to abridge Bob’s article slightly, and to utilize only half or so of the numerous photos that accompanied it when it was first posted online at https://cromwell-intl.com/namor—but, if you want, you can revel in the entire piece and all the images by clicking on that still-valid URL. Meanwhile, here is the Alter Ego version, with thanks to Bob C. for making it accessible to our ever-questful readers…. Prince Namor In The Bowery I was at a Ukrainian dive on the Lower East Side when the guy on the adjacent bar stool asked me a question that led to American history throughout the 20th century, the return of

Namor the Sub-Mariner in the Silver Age, and, just possibly,

Thor’s search for Odin.

Who said the comics weren’t educational?

I was at Karpaty Bar on Second Avenue near 9th Street. Dave on the adjacent stool asked me if I lived in the neighborhood. “No, I’m from out of town, but I get to New York fairly often,” and my local home away from home at the time was the White House nearby on Bowery. Dave was surprised to hear that, as he knew what the place was like when we’re told that the Sub-Mariner lived there or somewhere very similar. The White House had been home for indigent men since 1899. Around 2000 it was converted, half for permanent residents and the other half a hostel for independent travelers. It was a few years afterward that I started staying there, on the hostel side. It was a little scruffy, but you got a tiny private room for only $30 in Manhattan. But—the Sub-Mariner?

In Fantastic Four #4, cover-dated May 1962, Johnny Storm has left The Fantastic Four. He goes to the Bowery to find a place to stay. This was during a period when Marvel was moving toward a realistic New-York-based setting. No more Central City, but actual New York City settings and details.

Johnny selects a place “no worse than the others.” Once inside, things become very self-referential. He finds an old comicbook from two decades before—an issue of Timely’s Sub-Mariner. It’s an “old, beat-up comic mag… from the 1940s.” But Johnny remembers his older sister Sue Storm talking about Namor as an actual person.

First & Four-most

A Brief Biography Of GEORGE KLEIN— Inker Of Fantastic Four #1 & 2— And A Fine Artist In His Own Right

by Ben Herman

A/E EDITOR’S

INTRODUCTION: I suppose Alter Ego and I have been two of the last hold-outs. Ever since art-intensive comics historians first began proclaiming a decade or so ago that the inker of Fantastic Four #1 & 2 was almost certainly George Klein, I’ve usually added the adjective “probable” to that designation when reprinting pages from those issues in A/E. Of course, final proof of the inker’s identity is highly unlikely, since virtually all the Timely/Marvel professionals who were around in 1961—writer/ editor Stan Lee, penciler/co-plotter Jack Kirby, FF logo designer Sol Brodsky, letterer Art Simek, colorist Stan Goldberg, even ancillary Marvel artists such as Dick Ayers, Don Heck, Steve Ditko, and Paul Reinman—have all left the scene without providing us with so much as opinions, let alone proof. Only Stan’s brother, Larry Lieber, remains of those who were in and out of the Timely offices in 1961… and Larry, who wasn’t involved with FF #1, has never ventured an opinion as to that comic’s initial embellisher. Only some long-lost document—a personal letter, a scrap of some old accounting record, etc.—could possibly shed any definitive light on the subject.

Still, henceforth, I shall assume, as do most people nowadays who consider the subject, that George Klein—whom I worked with on The

George Klein

If George had returned to Marvel Comics a couple of years earlier, no doubt editor Stan Lee’s cavortin’ credits would’ve dubbed him “Gorgeous George” (after a prominent 1950s wrestler)—and maybe they did, somewhere. Above photo courtesy of Todd Klein (no relation, far as we know.) Also on this page are a trio of counterclockwise highlights of Klein’s post-Timely career: The first Superman cover inked by Klein—for #150 (Jan. 1962), over pencils by Curt Swan, who was then fast becoming the Man of Steel’s major delineator. Thanks to the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © DC Comics.] The splash page of the second chapter in Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961)—probably done within a few weeks of the Superman #150 cover—was evidently inked by GK over pencils by Jack Kirby. Script by Stan Lee. Thanks to Jim Kealy. Since George’s first assignment at late-’60s Marvel was The Avengers #55, he was on hand to lend his considerable embellishing skills to John Buscema’s dynamic pencils for #57 (Oct. ’68), which introduced the Marvel Age Vision. Script by Roy Thomas. Thanks to Bob Bailey. [FF & Avengers pages TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]