Made Men - I Call Him The Human Torch!

The first and foremost of the "Made Men" is Timely's The Human Torch. Debuting in the first issue of Marvel Comics (along with the Sub-Mariner of course) the Torch is an android created by Professor Horton. But he has a flaw, the artificial man bursts into flames on contact with the atmosphere and so after proving to be a menace is encased in concrete. But he breaks free and does in some villains and begins a career as a hero, a career which during the Golden Age paid little heed to his manufactured origins.

The Human Torch becomes a powerhouse for Timely, who alongside the Sub-Mariner and Captain America form the "Big Three" for the ferocious company, led by Martin Goodman who was more than eager to jump on any trend and suck the marrow out of it. When superheroes fell from favor, the Human Torch disappeared to be replaced by funny animals and bodacious models. When superheroes came back so did the Torch in the early Atom Age days. But it was when the character was totally revamped and made a true HUMAN Torch named Johnny Storm that the character found lasting power.



Eventually the original returned, though with grumbling endurance, The brevity of his 60's revival has been suggested to be because of the attempts by his creator Carl Burgos to gain some additional revenue from the character in court. But eventually "John Hammond" the Golden Age Human Torch does become a part of the Marvel mythology in an ongoing way, at first as part of the Vision's elaborate origin  and then later as himself.



But never has he been as compelling to my eye as when he was a monster, a creature beyond the control of man. His very existence the evidence of man's overreaching into the fabric of nature, a creature not at all unlike Frankenstein's.

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Masterpieces Of Fantasy!

Of all the myriad of reprint comics that Mighty Marvel unleashed upon the world over the course of its long multi-decade existence, none will in my mind ever be cooler than Fantasy Masterpieces. First there's the name, the essence of bombast and insane seriousness which marked the early days of the Marvel experience. Marvel at one level took its comics more seriously than did the Distinguished Competition and consequently also took its fans more seriously too. That was felt by the youngster reaching for entertainment which not only passed the hours but lifted up their senses of themselves. Comic books might have been for kids, but Marvel comic books were a bit different, seemingly designed for a select cadre of readers who could truly appreciate the art of comics.

And so in the earliest issues the artists are the starts with not only Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko getting name-checked on the cover but also others like Don Heck, Joe Sinnot, and Dick Ayers. This wasn't a
"Batman comic" or a "Spider-Man comic" but a "comic by (fill in the blank)", a more adult and sophisticated attitude about literature which these comics aspired to be, if only just. Name checking the talent has proven to be a winner for comics which for many years eschewed such personal glory and promoted a company brand. Jack Kirby and Joe Simon had been the first really to break this pattern in the 40's when they took their trade to DC and later on their own. Kirby and Ditko now were at the spearhead of a wave of celebration of pop culture of which comics were a part.

Sadly by the third issue that attitude had given way somewhat and despite a cost rise there was suddenly a shift in focus as not just the Atomic Age was there to be gleaned but the Golden Age as well. Captain America by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon was back and he was soon to be followed by others of his ilk.

In issue seven Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch joined the jolly band of heroes and monsters and weird science fiction tropes which filled up the pages.

And ultimately a team from Marvel's Timely past, the All-Winners came to visit. The first of their only two yarns was in issue ten and the second would find its way into the magazine after its name change.

These were raucous packages of vintage work, and some of it every bit as good as what was being done in the then modern day. The Black Knight by Joe Maneely was an exquisite example of what could be done on a comic page. But soon Captain Marvel would come to Earth and the title would become Marvel Super-Heroes. Still they were masterpieces.

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