Marvel Comics 1962 - My Massive Read Through: Year by Year Analysis
Hey True Believers,
I was planning to post one of these per week, but I'm out of town next week, so I'll go ahead and leave 1962 a bit early. I'm hoping these posts can spark some good conversation and highlight some of the excellent silver age books that some may overlook. I'm not at all versed in the history of Marvel or creator backstories, just want to share my thoughts. I feel like I should explain my rating system in case any of these seem a bit too high/low as everyone has their own strategy for rating, so please check out the bottom of the post for an explanation.
1962 Marvel Book Ratings
| Book | 1961 | 1962 | 1962 Total Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fantastic Four | 3.83 | 3.66 | 9 |
| Spider-Man | 4.25 | 2 (ASM, AF) | |
| Thor - Journey into Mystery | 3.07 | 7 | |
| The Incredible Hulk | 3.00 | 5 | |
| Iron Man - Tales of Suspense | 3.00 | 1 | |
| Avg. score out of 5 | 3.83 | 3.38 | |
| Total Books | 3 | 24 |
After a 1961 Marvel Universe debut with 3 , stellar Fantastic Four issues, we get 4 classic debuts, some better than others.
I'll start listing the average scores for the creators, but it is a bit difficult to pull good data with the anthology books having so many authors on them, so it may not be as accurate as I'd like until later in the decade.
Creator Scores
| Creator | Avg Score | No. of Books |
|---|---|---|
| Writers | Stan Lee | 3.5 |
| Pencilers | Steve Ditko | 3.6 |
| Jack Kirby | 3.2 | |
| Inkers | Dick Ayers | 3.2 |
Favorite Books
While none of these earned a 5/5 for me, these were all 4/5 or 4.5/5
- Amazing Spider-Man #1
- Amazing Fantasy #15
- Fantastic Four #5
- Fantastic Four #6
- Fantastic Four #8
- Fantastic Four #10
- The Incredible Hulk #1
Least Favorite Books - These earned 2.5/5
- Journey Into Mystery #84
- The Incredible Hulk #4
- The Incredible Hulk #5
Brief notes on this year's books
Fantastic Four - Building off the great intro from last year, we see the introductions of Doom, Alicia, Puppetmaster, and financial problems
Amazing Fantasy/Amazing Spider-Man - One of the greatest origins in comics, we get some fantastic story telling and a relatable teenage hero with a dash of concerning nerd rage. The Chameleon is introduced, Spidey immediately is connected to the Marvel Universe by meeting the FF, and JJJ begins his long run as one of the best antagonists in comics.
Journey Into Mystery - A strange and confusing origin for Thor with some rough plots, these early issues aren't great, but we do get Jane, Loki, Odin, and Heimdall. This run gets much better in coming years, and they eventually explain the origin.
The Incredible Hulk - I enjoyed the first issue, but the short-lived horror solo book never finds it's footing. We do get Thunderbolt Ross, Betty, Rick Jones, and introductions to the Circus of Crime as well as the seldom used Tyrannus.
Tales of Suspense - Issue #39 introduces Tony as Iron Man, but this wasn't a well-written debut, and it certainly doesn't stand the test of time. Big "red scare" vibes here and Tony's manufacturing plants are the only thing that can keep the "commies" from winning.
I read Spidey, FF, Thor when I first started this project three years ago, and Iron Man and Hulk more recently. Most of these comics get stronger in the next few years in my opinion.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on 1962 Marvel!
- Did I miss any excellent books?
- Am I being too negative about early Thor?
- Is Spidey overrated?
- Is Iron Man's silver armor going to scare children?
- How many "R's" does Thor have in his name?
- Post any favorite panels you might have in the comments.
Previous Years
Scoring System
5/5 Great comic - Excellent art and storytelling, compelling me to spend more time rereading panels and enjoying the art. I do think I may have ranked a bit too many X-Men and Spider-Man books this high, but I'll let you judge as I post my reviews.
4.5/5 A very, very good comic - Writing and art are both exceptional and the plot is interesting. These are books that will still be good a decade from now.
4/5 A good comic - Writing and art are both strong and the comic tells a good story. For me, this is where creators like Roger Stern live. These aren't my favorite comics, but they are worth rereading and I tend to buy these in collected editions.
3.5/5 Above-average - Either writing OR art is strong here. This could also be a book that is average but has one amazing panel that gets a bump up. When I think of 3.5, I think of writers like Steve Englehart. These are solid books that have a good idea or move the character forward in some way.
3/5 Average comic - Inoffensive, but with a good pace. I don't want to reread these any time soon, but I'm certainly not angry I read them.
2.5/5 Below-average comic - These are either have poor art OR poor writing. Confusing plots, or inadvertently offensive. I wouldn't want to reread this if I could avoid it.
2/5 A bad comic - Comics that seem pointless. The plot is confusing or adds nothing to the character.
1.5/5 and below Awful comic - These books for make me angry with the editor for allowing them to be published. They're either promoting horrible view points, extremely lazy, or maybe I was having a disagreement with my partner and took it out on an average comic. Either way, we definitely talked things through in the end and we're doing great, but I couldn't be bothered to go back and edit my ratings.