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Fantastic Four Annual #1 (1963): Namor, Marvel's prototype of the anti-hero

I've never read been much of a Fantastic Four reader, and even now I was mostly baited into reading Annual #1 because it contains an appearance by Spider-Man.  The appearance in question is just a re-telling of the cross-over from The Amazing Spider-Man #1 , but the main story turned out to be a great topic of contemplation. Here, I found some of the origins of what would set Marvel 's storytelling (when it was really good) apart from the rest, and the beginnings of narrative dynamics going beyond good guys fighting bad guys. Fantastic Four Annual #1: "Sub-Mariner Versus the Human Race!" Writers: Stan Lee Artists: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers Editor: Stan Lee Publication Date: July 2, 1963 Cover Date: September 1963 Art by Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Stan Goldberg and Artie Simek. © Marvel Comics. I'm used to treating the old Annuals as second-rate products, primarily because they tend to break from the continuity of the main story of the titles...
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Tales of Suspense #42 (1963) & The Amazing Spider-Man #3 (1963): Was Spider-Man really that good?

I recently started re-reading Marvel comics from the early 60s on, primarily due to an acute nostalgia for silver age  Spider-Man . I've read Spider-Man from the beginning until the late 90s covering everything that was available on Marvel Unlimited at the time, and as much as I was initially looking forward to reaching the mid-90s in publication history which would coincide with the period in time when I first got into comics ( ASM #403 was my first issue -- what a jumping-on point, right?), I ended up learning that the really good stuff was, in fact, back in the 60s and 70s just like all the comics gatekeepers always said. While I'm working my way through the publication of Spider-Man again, I wanted to read some additional titles to keep up with some other characters I've either liked or been curious about over the years; I've never been that into reading the stories of non-Spidey characters, but I found myself motivated to read through the catalogue of The Hulk , I...
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Avengers #4 (1964)

The fourth issue of the Avengers is one of the more historically significant comic books of the 60s, it being where Captain America , one of Marvel 's Golden Age champions, makes his return to the active roster. This alone is worth some inspection, without even getting into the contents of the book, not least because it really was treated as a momentous event. There's significant risks and pitfalls involved with a story structured around a returning character, such as a lackluster plot or poorly justified character motivations that might result from a creative process relying too much on the splash the character is expected to make. Fortunately, this issue navigates those hazards admirably, and delivers a pretty solid story that doesn't get overshadowed by Captain America's presence, but rather supports it and is in turn supported by it. Captain who? The Avengers #4: "Captain America Joins... The Avengers!" Writers: Stan Lee Artists: Jack Kirby ...
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