Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Sub-Mariner, Vol. 1

Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Sub-Mariner #1

by Bill Everett, Paul Gustavson, Alan Mandel

Marvel continues collecting its classic Golden Age material, reprinting early adventures of Namor! This monumental hardcover volume remasters and restores the first four historic issues of SUB-MARINER from 1941. See the Sub-Mariner battle Nazis in defense of his underwater kingdom; also featuring the adventures of the Angel!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Marvel

268 pages, Hardcover

First published June 22, 2005

About the author

William Blake Everett, aka Bill Everett, was a comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie and Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. He was a descendant of the poet William Blake and of Richard Everett, founder of Dedham, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Michael Neno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprints the first four 64-page Sub-Mariner comics from 1941. These stories, frankly, aren't as compellingly written or drawn as Bill Everett's first Subby stories. Spread thin, he was relying on assistants by this point. They are, nevertheless, worth a gamble. The Angel was the just okay backup strip. Jack Kirby's fantastic Angel cover for Marvel Mystery Comics #12 whetted my appetite for more Kirby Angel stories, but I don't think those ever happened (comics historians please clarify).

The volume is filled out with filler pieces by Mickey Spillane and Basil Wolverton (two creators not often mentioned in the same sentence), historical notes by Roy Thomas and the various house ads for all four issues, which appeared in other Marvel comics.

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This archive edition reprints the first four issues of Sub-Mariner Comics from 1941. Namor the Sub-Mariner kindly shared his book with another feature: the Angel. This isn't the student from Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters; this Angel is a costumed mystery man who deliberately tracks and gets involved with suspected crimes. His tales are more of the horror variety, but they are pretty solid considering the quality of much of the fare on the stands at the time.

The Sub-Mariner stories, to me, are a cut above many of the Golden Age Marvel stories I've read. It is clear that Namor's creator - Bill Everett - put a lot of effort into his stories. My favorite in this tome was "The Mystery of the Disappearing Island", a forty-page tale packed with action, twists and drama. I see it as a rough precursor of the great Marvel sagas that would take place in the Silver Age.

The Namor in these stories is brash and wise cracking, but the regal and arrogant man he would become is evident in them. The consistency in the character over decades is remarkable. 'Nuff said.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never been a huge Namor fan (don't hate him, just don't love him) but this collection was on sale, I had the cash, so what the heck? The Namor stories are fun, but standard for the era, though Namor himself frequently comes off as more amoral than other heroes: when he recovers some stolen radium, he takes it to his own people (not yet identified as Atlanteans) rather than returning it.
The backup series, the Angel is much more entertaining than I expected. No relation to the X-Man, he's a normal non-super hero, though apparently with no secret identity — he's just the Angel all the time.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good superhero stories, longer than usual for the period, but they seem isolated from the story of Namor, Luther Robinson, and Lynn Harris in Marvel Mystery, with little ambiguity about Namor's heroism other than his propensity for letting the villains die. The Angel (or the hero who kept getting announced for his own title but never did but is still recognized as Timely's #4 biggest star) is actually toned down a bit from his earlier murdering criminals and is now letting the police collect them after subduing them. One of his foes introduced here, the Python, would return in Marvel Mystery #25 and Human Torch #8, at a time when supervillains were not common and villains in general rarely returned. In the last story here, he battles a dwarf named Robert Goom, a name that would be used later for a criminal from Planet X in Tales of Suspense, a member of a race of red giants who can glide on air. I don't think Peter Dinklage would be happy with the character, but it is from 1941.

The longer stories serve the characters well. The third issue, with a double-length Sub-Mariner story rather than two separate ones, has some nice world-building with Sub-Mariner allying with ancient Druids who live underwater with their own SCUBA-type technology and who have been forced to comply with Nazis, who, are of course, the most frequent foe in this collection, although we do get breaks from that. He might raise some hackles with the union-busting in issue #2, but it is part of a larger scheme by the Nazis to undermine the war effort. Amusingly, when the union miners' wives charge after the Nazi ringleader, Namor declares, "This is no place for me... too many women!" This made me think of the fictitious introduction to [[Flex Mentallo]] in which we're told that Flex appeared in publications that were intended as homoerotic but also appealed to a child readership, although I don't think that was Everett's intent here.

The last Sub-Mariner story is a bit amusing with its setting of Grayson Hospital and Gordon one of its patients--could it have been a swipe at Batman? It's unknown whether Bill Everett did this story, but it's interesting that a nurse who allies with Namor is named Ruth Prentiss. Namor's police officer friend, Betty Dean, who appears in this volume, would go on to marry a man named Blake Prentiss and pass the name on to Namor's cousin, Namorita, after adopting her. Ruth Prentiss never appeared again, so any relationship between the characters has never been specified.

The back includes some vintage advertising and two vintage photos, one provided by Roy Thomas, who wrote the introduction and would be the writer on early issues of the silver age series, showing a young Bill Everett, who looks like a nerdier version of his protagonist--the head has a similar shape, although it was much more exaggerated in these stories than when he returned to the character in the 1960s. He passed away while working on the silver age revival of the character, around issue #60 of the new series (which restarted the numbering). The other photo shows a newsstand in 1941 with The Sub-Mariner and The Angel (as the first issue was so-called--even the indicia didn't include the word "Comics" in the title until the second issue) #1 front and center. They are held by clothes pins, presumably to a line. Other titles that can be seen in this image include Jumbo Comics, Hit Comics, The Blue Beetle, The Green Hornet, True Comics, Detective Comics, Superman, Wonder World Comics, America's Air Ace Comics, Target Comics, and Feature Comics. These are up high, presumably so kids can't steal them. A handful of recognizable magazines like Popular Science, The Saturday Evening Post, and the famous but long-defunct Look. One magazine with an illegible title has "Can Hitler Invade America?" as the startling feature headline. Newspapers in different languages, including Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew/Yiddish, are close to the window level, where the operator adjusts a radio. The headline says "Jan. Yugo Cabinet in Anti-Axis Coup."

Still an indispensible historical volume, especially for fans of the character, even if sometimes The Angel's stories seemed even more impressive.

[L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The difference between Namor and the other Marvel heroes of the time (that I've read so far) is that the Sub Mariner is a murderer. No dancing around the fact. Why bother to turn the bad guys over to the authorities when you can just kill them? Namor also reacts before he thinks. During the adventure where he's trying to save some trapped miners, he actually makes the situation worse. Lastly, he shows no respect towards women. (The nurse has a name, Namor, and it' ain't 'doll'!)

Padding out this collection are some stories featuring The Angel. According to Wikipedia, The Angel was rather popular during his run. I'm still not seeing why. He has no superpowers. He just runs around dressed up like a super hero and punching people. Yes, yes, you could argue the same thing about Batman or Captain America. The Angel just doesn't impress me.

[Matt Eldridge · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was nowhere as good as the Captain America Masterworks I read some time ago. The stories here drug on way too long and stopped being interesting by around the half way point. The Namor himself isn't remotely as good as Cap, he's more of a thug than hero, with one of his stories being about how "evil" the Miner's Union is for halting production due to being a secret Nazi plot instead of anything relating to reality. Best to skip this one.

[william purcell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of golden age ( 1930's-1950's ) so this was a treat to read. Classic wartime adventure featuring Prince Namor The Sub-Mariner. WARNING!!! If you are a snowflake that gets offended by everything you might want to skip this. This was made in a different era by stronger men with thicker skins then exist today. I think this is a great bit of history and look forward to more volumes.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say, I'm surprised I liked Namor's stories much better than Cap's. All of them made in the 40s during wartime, but Namor's weren't as simplistic and as obvious and repetitive as Cap's. Fun stories to pass the time, especially all the underwater ones. And the artwork at the time was great. Loved that triangle head too.

[Jonathan Blanco · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sub-mariner stories in this volume are mostly dull, boring and the art is really bad. The Angel stories are more on par with other Atlas titles and was the only enjoyable thing about this volume. Glad I paid 89 cents for it. If you want to read Golden Age comics, don't start here.

[Devowasright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was leaning toward 3 stars but Sub-Mariner killed so many nazis he earned a fourth star.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plenty of material

Old fashioned color artwork. Stories of the sub mariner and the Angel. War time ads. Some black and white photos.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the Angel stories were just as good as Sub-Mariner's. Didn't read all of the Dr. Dimwit or other story.

[Michael Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty nice story about Namor fighting Nazis.

[Robert Kimberlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT COMIC. GREAT STORIES AND ART. I LOVE ALL THE CHARACTERS. BILL EVERETT WAS A GENIUS. ANGEL WAS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER AFTER THE SUB MARINER.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a double dip. I had the original hardcover release which was done during the time when Marvel didn't have their remastering techniques perfected yet. Always one to enjoy his comics in the finest “fidelity”, I scooped up this softcover version as it blows away the original hardcover release. Since this was a double dip, it was also a reread, although it I only read the hardcover once in either 2005 or 2006. I honestly didn't remember much about these stories so it was essentially a fresh read.

Bill Everett was and is a genius, and he lived an interesting life to boot. A hard drinking three packs a day smoker, tall-tale telling character, he created or co-created a number of characters, notably Namor The Sub-Mariner and Daredevil. Golden Age Sub-Mariner is a badass. I love the might makes right mentality of Golden Age Comics. He usually fights Nazis in these stories, made all the more remarkable since these issues were all released prior to the United States entering World War II.

Paul Gustavson's The Angel is the recurring back-up feature, and he gets a full 20 pages per issue. (Comic books were 64 pages back then.) He doesn't have any super powers, being closer to pulp heroes of the 1930s while looking like Superman. His exploits probably ape other things that I am unfamiliar with. These are still great reads, high on fun and low on common sense. Lots of whodunit and Horror-tinged action.

There are a handful of other text stories and one page gag strips (one by Basil Wolverton ) rounding out the issues. I really enjoyed these comics. Golden Age material is an acquired taste, but if you can accept the limitations of the era and the fact that these tales don't adhere to any rules because they made them up as they went along then you will dig this stuff. I love the old fashions, cars, architecture, and slang. And in the end the good guys always win, making this the most escapist read you can get here in 2015.

I really like these softcover Masterworks, as they are slightly wider than a standard trade paperback and lay flat in one hand like a big fat periodical, which is wonderful.

[Christopher Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's lovely to see all this in one volume, and it makes me want to go and get the even earlier appearances of Namor in "Marvel Comics" etc. I love the slow building of the cosmology of the undersea world, I love the attention to the details of WWII military hardware BEFORE Pearl Harbor. Timely Comics ran a propaganda effort to try to get the U.S. to join the Allies (Captain America comics portrayed a U.S. already at war with the Nazis), largely because of the plight of the Jews—and, of course, Namor's ambiguous ethnic identity and ambiguous relationship to humanity and his secret identity are, as with Superman, an ethnic-immigrant or Jewish metaphor, but not as well exhausted by scholars as in the Superman case. Plus: Namor is of a race that is accepted by no one, so he's even more of an outsider—at times he feels as bitterly toward the British as toward the Germans—making him comics' first real borderline-amoral antihero berserker, prefiguring folks like Wolverine and the Punisher by many decades. Plus, through a continuity implant of recent vintage, he has now been recast as "the first mutant," and indeed the Sub-Mariner prefigures many of the themes of prejudice and marginality explicitly developed later in "The X-Men." I also love how Sub-Mariner in that era wisecracked like a 1940s New Yorker, unlike the stentorian Thor-like dialogue Stan Lee put in his mouth starting in 1962.

There are fabulous goodies in this volume like text stories by Stan Lee (a teenager!) and Mickey Spillane; these short texts were put into comics so they could squeak through and qualify as "books" for some tax and postal purposes. Plus, there is some early very-underground-style humor strips by Basil Wolverton. This volume is a real shake-up of our sometimes too-settled chronology of comics history.

It seems almost cruel to mention Paul Gustavson's "Angel" hero adventures which appeared in each issue of The Sub-Mariner, if only because they are so--now how can I put this delicately--ineptly drawn. Now I'm not being philistinistically underappreciative of faux naïveté or of minimalism or anything. I mean, the dude could not. Fucking. Draw. He messes up hands. He can't draw faces. His perspective is all off. This is not on purpose. You can tell he's trying. It's almost painful to look at. Or at least that's how I felt until really looking at his villain the Python, a weirdly exoticized Africanized story about a twisty half-man half-snake. Gustavson's incompetence takes on an almost deranged quality in this story. If it were simply framed as outsider art coming out of an asylum, Gustavson might be seen as some crude genius. But put alongside Bill Everett's wickedly good artwork it's a challenge to resurrect this minor figure. Oh, wait, here's a distinction: he is probably the most significant comics artist ever to be produced by Åland, an autonomous archipelago affiliated with the Republic of Finland.

Now on to the second volume!

[Adam Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for pre-US entry into World War II heroes fighting Nazis, this collection is for you.

This book collects Issues 1-4 of the Golden Age Submariner comic with each comic being 60 pages long.Unlike other books, which were filled with back up features, each issue featured two Submariner stories and one Angel story.

The Sub-mariner had been around for a while and actually was the last of Timely's big three to get his own book. The Sub-mariner was an erratic character who would go from being a friend of humanity in one issue to attacking them in the next, to deciding to fight Nazis, and then deciding the whole war thing was kind of stupid.

Bill Everett really comes up with a memorable story for Issue 1 as the Nazis attack Atlantis and killing the Emperor (later ret-conned to a severe injury that put into a severe coma). While in the real world, attacking Russia was the Nazi's big tactical mistake, it's safe that bombing Atlantis had to be the Nazi's biggest blunder in the Marvel universe as Sub-mariner declares war right back on Germany. The first three issues are packed with Sub-mariner fighting the Nazis with Issue 3 featuring Sub in a great mystery adventure story with Nazis and Irish druids that time forgot. Issue 4 features more traditional mystery/light horror stories. All of them are very well-written and the art is a notch above most golden age stories.

What makes Sub-mariner so interesting is that he's not really an anti-hero but he's very alien in his values and priorities. He's not an assassin but he has little compunction about destroying an enemy, particularly Nazis. He's also concerned with Atlantis more than surface dwellers. In the second story in Issue 1, Sub-mariner, captures Nazis who'd stolen radium from a hospital in New York but returned the radium to the sea to save his own angel.

The Angel was the sub-mariner's back up character and while I'm not usually a fan of the character, his appearances is this book are probably the best I've seen as the twenty-page format helps to turn out a quality story. These remain strictly in the Mystery/Horror genre. The best Angel story I've read is in here with issue 3's "The Angels Draw a Comic Strip," featuring an utterly insane villain enslaving a staff of a comic book with the Angel undercover as a comic artist. I will admit it's still a mystery as to why he wears the costume. He says he's a private detective and I guess a blue unitard with wings is what fits in.

Beyond the two stars, there are some interesting text stories including one by a young Stan Lee. Overall, this is just a great volume and with it now in paperback, it's very well-priced. So i strongly recommend.

[Nerdish Mum · Rating 3 out of 5]

As part of my Panels read harder comic book challenge, the one category I really thought that I'd struggle actually finding anything to read was the Golden Age (30's to early 50's). However, while deciding on my options I went to the library with my husband and he spotted Marvel Masterworks: Sub-Mariner - Volume 1 (Marvel Masterworks #47) by Bill Everett, Ray Gill, Stan Lee and Mickey Spillane. This was originally written and published individually in 1941, so it fell perfectly right in the middle of that time frame.

Much as I wanted to love this, as this time period was when comics really got started, I really struggled with the stories and the way the text was written. I felt that each story with Namor was pretty interchangeable as each issue followed the same arc of finding the Nazis did something bad and then punishing them for it, usually by punching them in the face. (action was certainly very different in the 40's)

The writing itself felt very formal and stilted, however that could be due to how people spoke in the 40's, but its not all that long ago in the whole scheme of things.

I believe the stories were run as part of a propaganda plan to try and get America involved in the war (I seem to think we saw Captain America fighting in the war too before America officially joined). This does give at least the reason why the Nazis are in every story, however how they are shoehorned in or blamed in some of the stories is quite unbelievable.

Overall with the Namor stories, I got bored after the second one, so it was quite a slog to get through the rest of the book.

Saying all that, there were stories at the end of each issue about The Angel. These stories and this character I absolutely loved and looked forward to getting to his pages. I liked his character, I thought the stories were good and slightly cheeky. I also loved the idea that when he left a scene, he left a shadow of an angel on whatever surface there happened to be (wall, gravestone etc)

I gave the book 3 stars, mainly because of The Angel, however had this been a more modern book, I would have given less.

I started this book on the 14th of February 2015 and I finished it on the 20th of February 2015

See this and other reviews on my blog http://lifeofanerdishmum.blogspot.co.uk/

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

not a big sub-mariner fan but these stories were fun and clever. and brutal, wolverine is milder than the g.a. sub-mariner.
and these are the first stories i've read of marvel's fourth super-hero, the angel. really good, beautifully drawn stories (except for the angel shadow left behind after he solves the crime). always wondered why roy thomas didn't put him in the invaders, having read three of the character's stories i really wonder about that now.

[Dominick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Either the restoration here really sucks, or the art on these early books (1940 and 1941) was very poor. Certainly, the stories are pretty variable, with the Gustavson Angel stories especially implausible. Interesting more as a historical curiosity (including an early Spillane story—not a very good one) than for any inherent merit.

[Jon Holt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sheer torture to read for someone like me, a person born in the 70s. Looking forward to reading 1950s Everett work, but this is just so painful.

[Edward Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sub-Mariner tales weren't too bad, but the Angel is a terrible character who should never have been paired up with Namor.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good collection of these rare Golden Age comics. It's interesting to be able to read the comics as they were in the very start of the industry. Recommended