Where Monsters Dwell #34: "No Way Out!"

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I can recall owning this comic book as a kid, but then trading it away for an issue of Spider-Man with a neighbor friend. I was pretty notorious on my block as "that kid with hundreds of comic books." This story is reprinted from Tales to Astonish (Marvel, 1959 series) #9 (May 1960).

Reprinted:

• from Tales to Astonish (Marvel, 1959 series) #9 (May 1960) (Pictured inset).
• Where Monsters Dwell (Marvel) #34.
  

• in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish (Marvel, 2006 series) #1 (2006).
  

Monster Menace #1 "The Terror of Tim Boo Ba" (Classic Steve Ditko)

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"Many are the wonders of the vast universe. But none so fantastic as... TIM BOO BA!" I hadn't been born when that menacing statement was first published in Amazing Adult Fantasy #9, but thankfully Marvel reprinted this classic in Monster Menace #1. Inside these pages, Stan "the man" asks why why we're fascinated by monsters:

“	Why? Why do people love monsters? Why is it that the bigger they are, or the scarier and the more macabre they are, the more we love them? And that's just not today--our fascination with monsters goes back to the beginning of the legend--from the Cyclops of Greek mythology to St. George's dragon, and all the way to King Kong, Godzilla and Frankenstein, not to mention a whole plethora of titanic titans, past and present. It seems to start when we're very young. Remember the excitement when you heard your first fairy tale about Jack the Giant Killer? I'll bet it wasn't Jack that turned you on--it was the monstrous giant! In fact, will you ever forget the fascination that those early tales held on you? They were tales of ogres, witches, demons, goblins, werewolves, trolls, vampires and assorted monsters of every size--and political persuasion (I just threw that in there to make this sound contemporary!). Some of you may recall the monster mags of the fiendish fifties, featuring nightmarish creations bearing such names as Groom, Mongorr, Korakk and of course, the never-to-be-forgotten Fin Fang Foom! I'm about to run out of space and I realize we still haven't answered the burning question, "why do monsters turn people on?", but whatever the reason, you dig'em--so enjoy! Excelsior! Stan Lee, the pater familias of Marvel Comics	”

Ghostly Haunts #47: "Final Treatment"

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He was present at the creation of Marvel's most successful superhero. And in addition to being the co-creator of Spider-Man, he created Dr. Strange. Steve Ditko broke into comics in the early 1950s, drawing fantasy and horror tales for Strange Suspense Stories, Fantastic Fears, and Black Magic. By 1956 he'd linked up with Charlton to draw Tales of the Mysterious Traveler. Later in the 1950s, Ditko went to work for Marvel, turning out somewhat quirky tales of fantasy and horror for titles such like Journey into Mystery and Tales of Suspense. One of his specialties was alien invaders.

Ditko invented Captain Atom for Charlton in 1960 and in 1962, working with Stan Lee, he began his run on Spider-Man. He designed all the major characters—Peter Parker, Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, etc.—as well as such major villains as Dr. Octopus, the Vulture, and the Green Goblin. By this time, Ditko had developed a distinctive style of his own, inspired in part by both Jack Kirby and Joe Kubert.

Leaving Marvel in 1966, Ditko worked for Dell, Charlton, Warren and DC Comics, which is how we got this story. Later he worked again for Marvel. Highly independent, Ditko left mainstream comics some years ago.


Credits

Script: Joe Gill
Pencils: Steve Ditko
Inks: Steve Ditko

Reprinted:

• in Ghost Manor (Charlton, 1971 series) #66
• in Blade of Fear (Gredown, 1976 series) #1

Marvel Treasury Edition #1: "Spider-Man Tackles The Torch!"

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I was only ten years old, but I can still recall precisely where I was when I first eyed this baby. I had just stepped into The Bottle Shop, which was located on Main St. in the small bedroom community I grew up in (and the only alternative to Rexall's Drug Store's comic book spinner rack), when I spied this beauty on the magazine rack. Of course, I had to buy it and I've have had it in my collection ever since. It's almost difficult to believe that I used to think that $1.50 was a steep price to pay for a comic book!

Not a mutant, Spider-Man has been Marvel's most successful and popular character. After auditioning in Amazing Fantasy #15, he moved into his own title, The Amazing Spider-Man, early in 1963. He was the creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, with possible input from Jack Kirby.

The original story introduced mild-mannered high school student Peter Parker, who lived with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Clean-cut, hardworking, and bespectacled, Peter was a brilliant science student but was shunned by his fellows and labeled a "bookworm." After being bitten by a radioactive spider at a science exhibit, he gained "spider powers" that included superhuman strength and agility and the ability to cling to any surface and spin webs.

Among the artists who've drawn the old web-spinner have been John Buscema, Gil Kane, John Byrne, Todd McFarlane, and a host of others.


Credits

Cover: John Romita
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Steve Ditko

Reprinted:

• from Amazing Spider-Man, The (Marvel, 1963 series) #8 (January 1964)