Tales of Suspense #40 [British]

(April 1963)

Iron Man versus Gargantus! (Table of Contents: 1)

Iron Man / comic story / 13 pages (report information)

Script

Stan Lee (credited) (plot); Robert Bernstein (credited as R. Berns) (script)

Pencils

Jack Kirby (credited as J. Kirby)

Inks

Don Heck (credited as D. Heck)

Colors

Stan Goldberg

Letters

John Duffy (credited as Difficult)

Job Number

X-131

First Line of Dialogue or Text

History has recorded many a bitter duel to the death!

Genre

superhero

Characters

Iron Man [Tony Stark]; Jeanne; Marion; Gargantus (introduction, origin); aliens

Synopsis

Tony takes his newest date, Marion, to the circus. When the wild animals escape, he rounds them up as Iron Man. His grey armor scares the onlookers. Marion suggests that a golden metal might make him look more heroic. A golden Iron Man then battles Gargantus, who turns out to be a mighty robot built by aliens. Iron Man defeats Gargantus by hurling three magnets at him. The magnets float around the robot, ripping its body to pieces. Iron Man then throws the magnets at a flying saucer he just spotted. The aliens flee and, next day, Tony has another date with Marion.

Reprints

• in Spellbound (L. Miller & Son, 1960 ? series) #43 (1964)
• in Marvel Collectors' Item Classics (Marvel, 1965 series) #3 (June 1966)
• in Fantastic! (IPC, 1967 series) #3 (4 March 1967) [part 1], #4 (11 March 1967) [part 2]
• in Fakkelen og Jernmannen (Serieforlaget / Se-Bladene / Stabenfeldt, 1968 series) #1/1968 (1968)
• in El Hombre de Hierro (Ediciones Vértice, 1969 series) #21 (1972)
• in Spider-Man Comics Weekly (Marvel UK, 1973 series) #51 (February 2, 1974), #52 (February 9, 1974)
• in Der Eiserne (BSV - Williams, 1975 series) #2 ([November] 1975)
• in Titan Pocket Book (Marvel UK, 1980 series) #1 (1980)
• 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 Marvel Masterworks (Marvel, 1987 series) #20 ([October] 1992)
• in Essential Iron Man (Marvel, 2000 series) #1 (November 2000) [black and white]
• in Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man (Marvel, 2003 series) #1 [Regular Edition] (2003)
• in Biblioteca Marvel: Iron Man (Panini España, 2005 series) #1 ([Febrero] 2005)
• in Tales of Suspense No. 39 (Marvel, 2006 series) (February 2006)
• in The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 (2008), #1 (2008)
• in Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man (Marvel, 2010 series) #1 (2010)
• in Marvel Famous Firsts: 75th Anniversary Masterworks Slipcase Set (Marvel, 2014 series) #8 - The Invincible Iron Man
• in Iron Man Epic Collection (Marvel, 2013 series) #1 - The Golden Avenger (2014)
• in True Believers: Kirby 100th - Iron Man (Marvel, 2017 series) #1 (October 2017)
• in Coleção Clássica Marvel (Panini Brasil, 2021 series) #8 - Homem de Ferro 1 (junho 2021)
• in Biblioteca Marvel (Panini España, 2022 series) #6 - El Invencible Iron Man 1 ([Febrero 2023])
• in The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus (Marvel, 2008 series) #1 [Second Edition] (2023)
• in Marvel Origins (Hachette [DE], 2023 series) #6 - Iron Man 1 (1963) ([November] 2023)

Indexer Notes

Duffy credit per Nick Caputo. George Olshevsky's Marvel Comics Index incorectly credts Jon D'Agostino.

Wrong Number (Table of Contents: 2)

text story / 1.75 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

Job Number

H-721

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Joey Doakes dozed fitfully and dreamed of bygone days.

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Joey Doakes; Phil Turner

Synopsis

An ordinary man realizes that he is really a medieval knight.

Reprints

• from Uncanny Tales (Marvel, 1952 series) #39 (January 1956)

Indexer Notes

Text story with illustration. The first page of this story is printed between the pages of the Iron Man story, while the second is printed between the two back-up stories. The last page is split with the statement of ownership.

Work of Art! (Table of Contents: 3)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Stan Lee (plot); Larry Lieber (script)

Pencils

Larry Lieber

Inks

Sol Brodsky

Colors

Stan Goldberg

Letters

Vivian Berg

Job Number

X-132

First Line of Dialogue or Text

All his life he had longed for a masterpiece!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Frans Ridderkerk; Henrick Rammp

Synopsis

An unsuccessful artist tries to force a new painter to show him how to paint lifelike pictures. The painter is a sorcerer, and traps the artist in one of his paintings, the secret to his realism.

Reprints

• in Weird Planets (Alan Class, 1962 series) #1 (1962)
• in Demonen (Serieforlaget / Se-Bladene / Stabenfeldt, 1968 series) #7/1968 ([juli] 1968)
• in Eclipso (Arédit-Artima, 1968 series) #21 (août 1972) [N&B et recadré [B&W and reframed]]
• in Das Monster von Frankenstein (BSV - Williams, 1974 series) #25 (Januar 1976)
• in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales of Suspense (Marvel, 2006 series) #4 ([September] 2012)

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

Average sales per issue October 1961–September 1962 (issues #26–36), despite monthly cover dates): 126,140. This shares the last page of "Wrong Number".

Prophet of Doom! (Table of Contents: 5)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Stan Lee (signed as Stan Lee [early- to mid-career])

Pencils

Steve Ditko (signed as S. Ditko)

Inks

Steve Ditko (signed as S. Ditko)

Colors

Stan Goldberg

Letters

Artie Simek

Job Number

V-817

First Line of Dialogue or Text

There didn't seem to be anything strange about him--until he took off his hat!

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Charlie; Joe

Synopsis

A man from the future arrives in the present day in order to set himself up as ruler. He attempts to extort 100 million dollars from the Secretary General of the United Nations only to be shocked when the Secretary reveals that he too is from the future and that there are agents planted in every era in order to apprehend criminals who may attempt to alter the course of events.

Reprints

• in Weird Planets (Alan Class, 1962 series) #1 (1962)
• in Fantastic! (IPC, 1967 series) #11 (29 April 1967) [Black and white.]
• in Fantastic Annual (IPC, 1967 series) #1969 [2-color reprint, black and red]
• in Demonen (Serieforlaget / Se-Bladene / Stabenfeldt, 1968 series) #3/1968 ([mars] 1968) [pages 1-3], #4/1968 ([april] 1968) [pages 4-5]
• in Captain America (Arédit-Artima, 1979 series) #[2] - Prisonnier du Mandarin (2ème trimestre 1979)
• in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales of Suspense (Marvel, 2006 series) #4 ([September] 2012)
• in Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus (Marvel, 2019 series) #2 (2019)

Keywords

time travel