Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Namor, The Sub-Mariner Vol. 1 - The Quest Begins

by Stan Lee, Gene Colan (Illustrator), Wallace Wood (Illustrator)

The Sub-Mariner was one of the first heroes in the Marvel pantheon. While Namor is a volatile monarch, his temper is second only to his desire to serve the people of the mighty undersea kingdom of Atlantis. In this debut Mighty Marvel Masterworks edition, Stan Lee and Gene Colan send the subsea scion on a great quest for the Trident of Neptune. Only by obtaining that mythic object can Namor put an end to the warlord Krang's attempt to ursurp the throne and thereby prove his status as rightful ruler Atlantis. Along the way, you'll experience a whole new realm of the Marvel Universe, meet Lady Dorma and witness Namor's iconic battle with Daredevil! Collecting DAREDEVIL (1964) #7 and material from TALES TO ASTONISH (1959) #70-80.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

176 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2022

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Leonardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Namor, Prince of the Blood, First Mutant (and a number of other titles), is a major player in the Marvel comics (and now the MCU) and a complex antihero. His passionate and almost single-minded defense of his underwater empire puts him at constant odds with the surface world and has made him an ocassional ally of Marvel's greatest villains. This collection of his first solo adventures in the pages of Tales to Astonish sees him battle enemies in both worlds and face a series of deadly quest that proves that he is the true heir to the throne of Neptune. The words and the visual are both classic and dated: they range from the epic and the dynamic to the trite and the unpolished. Of course, these comics were created in the 1960s (at least two decades before the Watchmen/Sandman revolution), so they were created with thrilling entertainment and not brooding reflections in mind. Nevertheless, both inconsistencies with underwater physics and old-fashioned points of view (looking at you, damsel-in-distress portrayal of Lady Dorma) can hinder the enjoyment of this anthology. In conclusion, the four stars of my rating reflect more closely my personal fascination for the character and Namor's development in the following 60 years than the actual achievements of this specific issues. Still, this anthology is certainly a good complement and contrast with Wakanda Forever's new (and exciting) portrayal of Namor.

[Gary Sassaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The August 1965 issues of Marvel Comics’s Tales to Astonish and Strange Tales dropped two bombshells: Long-time heroes Giant-Man and the Wasp were gone from TtA and the Human Torch and the Thing were gone from ST, replaced respectively by the Sub-Mariner and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. The latter would become one of my all-time favorite Marvel features, especially once Jim Steranko took over. But I can’t say the same for Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner (who, in classic 10-year-old fashion, I always called the SUB-MA-REEN-ER). If Stan Lee could never figure out what exactly to with Ant-Man/Giant-Man (and eventually Goliath/Yellowjacket), he knew exactly what to do with Namor: Make his new series an ersatz Thor, complete with Shakespearian speech and Vince Colletta’s lousy, wispy inking. One thing this series did do that had an impact on Marvel: Bring Gene Colan into the fold, albeit as “Adam Austin” for the first eight or so issues, while Colan finished drawing romance comics for the Distinguished Competition. Stan puts Namor on a quest to find the trident of Neptune and become the true ruler of Atlantis, after he is deposed by the evil warlord Krang, while visiting the surface world. This collection starts with Daredevil #7, a classic by Lee and Wally Wood that makes poor Gene Colan’s art pale in comparison. Colletta is probably the absolute worst person ever to ink Colan; a later issue in this volume (which features TtA issues 70 through 80) has Bill Everett tackle the chore, with Dick Ayers inking the last issue. Colan would go on to greater superhero glory on Captain America and Daredevil (and Batman over at DC), but I only really enjoyed his art on Tomb of Dracula, perfectly inked by Tom Palmer. This collection is one of my least favorites of this run of budget reprints of Marvel Masterworks. It’s also the first to feature new cover art by Leonardo Romero, and he’s a worthy replacement for Michael Cho on these covers, totally capturing the essence of Cho’s colorful graphic art. Smart of Marvel to do a Namor volume the same month as the character is introduced into the MCU in Wakanda Forever, but I’m still waiting for the Ant-Man and the Wasp volume, which I thought would come in February in time for the Quantumania debut. Oh, well.

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes these stories were weak. The saving grace was the art by Adam Austin. Wow...he is pretty good, I wonder what happened to him, I thought, and why had I never heard about him before.
Then, in the last few issues Gene Colon came on and I realized what had happened...Adam Austin was a pseudonym for Gene. I google to find out why and it was because Gene wanted to work as a freelancer for both DC and Marvel. DC quickly recognized his style and Marvel offered him a raise to come over to them exclusively and a legend (at Marvel) was born. This isn't the finest example of Gene's flowing style (Dracula was probably the best for his work) but you can see the beginnings of the legend. The dynamic poses. The beautiful figure work.

But the stories. Yikes. I never think Namor works as the star of the stories. He comes across as a less likeable Aquaman with no supporting cast. Since he is such a jerk he has no real friends, just a doting lady who wishes he wasn't such a jerk. He is great as a supporting cast or part of a larger team (Invaders as an example or the Defenders). These stories are so basic and don't have much creativity in them. A guy wants to rule Atlantis so Namor must fight to regain his throne. Maybe if I had read them when I was younger I would have some fondness for them but I think there is a reason you don't hear anyone talking about this run.

BTW - This format is just the stories in cheaper, smaller collections, which is fine.

[Mr. Stick · Rating 3 out of 5]

"FOR, NO MATTER HOW LONG THE QUEST SHALL BE -- NO MATTER HOW DEADLY THE DANGERS I FACE -- NAUGHT BUT BUT VICTORY CAN BE MINE! I WAS BORN TO RULE!! I WAS BORN NAMOR, THE SUB-MARINER!"
- 60's monologing at its best.

1965 was a year rife with nine-panels pages and over-the-top monologing. Namor, however, did more with less. True, the monologing was still sub-orbital, but ZERO nine-panels. Not even any eights. It was so refreshing to read three, four and five-panels most of the time. There were even a few single-panels... in the middle of the story. Total INSANITY!!!
When Namor wasn't speaking to himself in iambic pentameter he was being a dick to his attorney, seeking Neptune's trident, breaking out of unbreakable iron cells, being a dick to his girlfriend, getting his kingdom back, fighting the seaweed man, being blinded by the deadly diamonds of doom, being a dick to Hank Pym, robbing banks while under the influence of a voodoo doll.
This was more readable than I expected. Very corny. Very predictable. But, the art (and lack of nine panel nightmares) was a big relief from the other 60's titles I've been reading.
Three stars.

[Jack "THATLegoRobber" Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10

Was more interesting than I thought it would be, kinda.

I do like how the entire story and book in particular has two plotlines that work in a linear fashion, like most comics released around this time had plots introduced and concluded within one or two issues at most but in this the plots continue over many issues. The first plot I enjoyed as I thought it was interesting and its a story that suited the character but the second plot was just basic and dull.

The issue I have with giving Namor a whole ass solo story/comic run (technically cofeature but ignore that) is he's rather limited as a hero as my ideal story for him was covered in the first major plot of his run which leaves the entire rest of his issues in 'Tales to Astonish' to be uninteresting to me.

I'm not a big Namor fan I just main him on Rivals but I didn't mind his characterisation in this as while he is painted as the hero throughout if this was a Fantastic Four comic instead he would be painted as the antagonist which puts the character in an interesting and unique position. The side characters are rather unmemorable as they dont really do much other than Dorma acting as the usual damsel in distress.

[Dallas Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was a collection of Namor's original stories, but it's really his return to Marvel proper in their grand first real decade.

The Stan Lee writing is certainly that. Very much reads like words were added after the art. So nothing too interesting or worth diving into with the characters.

I really enjoy Namor's personality when he has others to bounce it off of! There are huge gaps where he doesn't get to do that towards the end though!

Some real funny moments with Daredevil and the Puppet Master! That aged really well!

[Paul Stanis · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Why do the very sands of the sea not cover me o’er, to hide the sight of this monstrous ignominy??!”