Strange Tales #107

(April 1963)

The Master of Flame vs. The Monarch of the Sea!! (Table of Contents: 1)

Human Torch / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Stan Lee (credited) (plot); Larry Lieber (credited) (script)

Pencils

Dick Ayers (credited)

Inks

Dick Ayers (credited)

Colors

Stan Goldberg ?

Letters

Artie Simek (credited)

Job Number

X-88

Genre

superhero

Characters

Human Torch [Johnny Storm]; Sub-Mariner [Namor McKenzie]; Thing [Ben Grimm] (cameo); Mister Fantastic [Reed Richards] (cameo); Invisible Girl [Sue Storm] (cameo)

Synopsis

The Human Torch goes looking for Sub-Mariner in order to beat him and win more respect. He traps Sub-Mariner beneath the ocean floor and returns to the surface.

Reprints

• in Seriepressen (Serie-pressen) (Saxon & Lindström, 1971 series) #2/1971
• in Marvel Tales (Marvel, 1966 series) #9 (July 1967)
• in I Fantastici Quattro (Editoriale Corno, 1971 series) #9 (27 Luglio 1971)
• in Capitaine America (Editions Héritage, 1970 series) #33 ([May 1974])
• in The Human Torch (Marvel, 1974 series) #7 (September 1975)
• in The Marvel Saga the Official History of the Marvel Universe (Marvel, 1985 series) #8 (July 1986)
which is reprinted
• in Marvel Saga (SatellitFörlaget, 1988 series) #8
• in Essential Marvel Saga (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 (2008)
• in Essential Human Torch (Marvel, 2003 series) #1 ([October] 2003) [black & white]
• in Marvel Masterworks: The Human Torch (Marvel, 2006 series) #1 ([September] 2006)
• in The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales - The Complete Collection (Marvel, 2018 series) (2018)
• in Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection (Marvel, 2021 series) #1 - Enter the Sub-Mariner (2021)

Indexer Notes

Sub-Mariner last appears in Fantastic Four (Marvel, 1961 series) #9 (December 1963), and next appears in Fantastic Four Annual (Marvel, 1963 series) #1 (1963). This is the first Sub-Mariner story of the 1960s not drawn by Jack Kirby. Sub-Mariner exhibits the powers of a puffer fish and an electric eel, never seen again after this story!

The Universal Gadget (Table of Contents: 2)

text story / 1.75 pages (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

Job Number

H-254

Genre

fantasy-supernatural

Characters

Bill Jordan

Synopsis

A mysterious salesman offers a product that can do anything, but his customer decides that his ordinary contentment is better than the risk of the unknown.

Reprints

• from Journey into Mystery (Marvel, 1952 series) #30 (January 1956)

Indexer Notes

The first page of this story is printed between the pages of the Human Torch story, while the second page is printed between "Secret Weapon!" and "The Treasure of Planetoid 12!". The last page is split with the statement of ownership. Info by Barry Pearl.

Secret Weapon! (Table of Contents: 3)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Stan Lee (credited) (plot); Larry Lieber (credited) (script)

Pencils

Larry Lieber (credited)

Inks

Sol Brodsky (credited)

Colors

Stan Goldberg ?

Letters

Artie Simek (credited as Art Simek)

Job Number

X-89

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Fedor Zelinki

Synopsis

A Soviet spy steals a gas intended to make the US leadership invulnerable, and uses it on the Soviet leaders. They find that it is a trap and the gas shrinks them to the size of insects.

Reprints

• in Creepy Worlds (Alan Class, 1962 series) #35 (1964 ?)

Indexer Notes

Inks and letters credits by Barry Pearl; originally listed Larry Lieber (inks).

Statement Required by the Act of August 24, 1912, as Amended by the Acts of March 3, 1933, July 2, 1946 and June 11, 1960 (74 Stat. 208) (Table of Contents: 4)

statement of ownership / 0.25 page (report information)

Letters

typeset

Indexer Notes

This shares the last page of "The Universal Gadget". Average circulation per issue published October 1961–September 1962 (issues #93–103, despite monthly cover dates): 136,637.

The Treasure of Planetoid 12! (Table of Contents: 5)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Stan Lee (credited)

Pencils

Steve Ditko (credited)

Inks

Steve Ditko (credited)

Colors

Stan Goldberg ?

Letters

Artie Simek (credited as Art Simek)

Job Number

[X-90 ?]

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Charlie Nast; Sam

Synopsis

In the year 2100 a criminal hijacks a spaceship to be the first man to claim the treasure of Planetoid 12. When he gets there, he finds nothing but water and mud. He thinks that it might be oil or something valuable, but after he drinks it he knows that it is merely water. The pilot that he forced along at gunpoint thinks he knows where the treasure is, but the criminal refuses to believe there is a treasure on Planetoid 12 at all until he reverts back into an infant. The pilot has realized the treasure is the fountain of youth.

Reprints

• in Creepy Worlds (Alan Class, 1962 series) #35 (1964 ?)
• in Fantastic! (IPC, 1967 series) #33 (30 September 1967) [Black and white. The panels of this story are re-sized and reordered to bring thepage count down to 2.75]
• in Vault of Evil (Marvel, 1973 series) #22 (October 1975)
• in Los Vengadores (Novedades, 1981 series) #17 (25 de junio de 1981)
• in Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus (Marvel, 2019 series) #2 (2019)