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Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics #5
Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics, Vol. 5
Collects Marvel Mystery Comics #17-20.
Headlining the heavy-hitters of the Timely era, Marvel Mystery Comics has it all-from top-of-the-field super hero action to bizarre mystery, otherworldly noir, jungle adventure and boy detectives! And it all starts off with the history-making Human Torch/Sub-Mariner team-up by the titanic talents Carl Burgos and Bill Everett! Then the Human Torch's sidekick Toro, the Flaming Kid, makes his Marvel Mystery debut. Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, takes his uniquely anarchic brand of action straight to the Nazis' noses, while the Angel's origin is revealed and he begins a multi-part crusade against the sexy villainess, the Cat's Paw. Rounded out by Jack Kirby's eerie agent of vengeance, the Vision; the wonderfully weird Electro; Terry Vance, School Boy Sleuth; and the adventures of Ka-Zar, it's the classic package that made Marvel famous!
Headlining the heavy-hitters of the Timely era, Marvel Mystery Comics has it all-from top-of-the-field super hero action to bizarre mystery, otherworldly noir, jungle adventure and boy detectives! And it all starts off with the history-making Human Torch/Sub-Mariner team-up by the titanic talents Carl Burgos and Bill Everett! Then the Human Torch's sidekick Toro, the Flaming Kid, makes his Marvel Mystery debut. Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, takes his uniquely anarchic brand of action straight to the Nazis' noses, while the Angel's origin is revealed and he begins a multi-part crusade against the sexy villainess, the Cat's Paw. Rounded out by Jack Kirby's eerie agent of vengeance, the Vision; the wonderfully weird Electro; Terry Vance, School Boy Sleuth; and the adventures of Ka-Zar, it's the classic package that made Marvel famous!
267 pages, Hardcover
First published January 26, 2011
7 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Carl Burgos
241 books8 followersMax Finkelstein created Jim Hamond, the Human Torch, for Timely Comics (later evolved into the Marvel Comics) in 1939, using the pen-name Carl Burgos. He also created the Thunderer for Daring Mystery Comics. Both series were published by Timely Comics, the forerunner of Marvel. He was drafted in 1942 and did mostly commercial art in subsequent years, occasionally drawing science fiction stories for Marvel, by that time known as Atlas. He also drew the first story featuring the Beetle (Abner Jenkins) in Strange Tales #123, starring Johnny Storm, the second Human Torch. Two years later, in Fantastic Four Annual #4, Marvel published a battle between the two Human Torches, resulting in the death of Jim Hamond. Although his daughter tried to preserve as much as possible, Burgos set fire to much of the Human Torch materials he had retained from the 1940s, considering the story an excuse to reassert trademark on a character they were not using simply to spite him.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 4, 2014
This is one of those rare golden age series in which there isn't a bad feature in the book. Marvel Mystery Comics are reprinted completely in this Masterworks series and these stories often continue over the course of several issues, something that didn't seem to happen very oftenover at their Distinguished Competition.
This volume had some great artwork by Carl Burgos, Paul Gustavson, and the great Bill Everett on The Sub-Mariner. You cannot go wrong reading this one!
This volume had some great artwork by Carl Burgos, Paul Gustavson, and the great Bill Everett on The Sub-Mariner. You cannot go wrong reading this one!
September 17, 2016
This book has one huge highlight and that is the first ever superhero team up between Namor, the Submariner and the Human Torch. This happened more than a decade before Batman and Superman teamed up and is notable because these two had previously fought each other but now were combining forces against the Nazis. It's a superb classic story that's overlooked in comic history.
As for the rest of the book, Namor continues to be a highlight of any book in which he appears as you see the complexity of the character as well as his shift to war-footing. He continues to be fearsome, moody, and unpredictable. The book's final Namor story has him, oddly enough, returning to New York to fight in a boxing match.
The Torch stories are more standard fare. They're well-written but not all that memorable.
The Angel and Ka-Zar strips work in serialization with the Ka-Zar having a two part story and the Angel having a three part story. This made a lot of sense and I wish more Golden Age comics had done multi-part stories particularly as paper shortages required shorter stories. The Angel story features the Cat's Claw, a villainess who calls to mind the Pulp Heroine Miss Fury. Ka-Zar's last solo story is of note as he takes on the Nazis and drives them out of Africa.
The Terry Vance stories are light juvenile detective tales that could have stood a bit more development. The only truly unenjoyable story is Electro, the Robot whose stories are tedious to read. Thankfully, he's not included in the final issue.
The text stories in this book are noteworthy as they're about the heroes of the comic books. Thus we get stories about Terry Vance, the Angel, and the Human Torch, which is nicer than the generics included in many golden age Comic books.
Overall, there are already some slight declines in comic book quality already visible in this book, but each strip (except Electro) is enjoyable in its own right, the text stories are interesting, and the story of the Submariner-Human Torch team up make this a must-read.
As for the rest of the book, Namor continues to be a highlight of any book in which he appears as you see the complexity of the character as well as his shift to war-footing. He continues to be fearsome, moody, and unpredictable. The book's final Namor story has him, oddly enough, returning to New York to fight in a boxing match.
The Torch stories are more standard fare. They're well-written but not all that memorable.
The Angel and Ka-Zar strips work in serialization with the Ka-Zar having a two part story and the Angel having a three part story. This made a lot of sense and I wish more Golden Age comics had done multi-part stories particularly as paper shortages required shorter stories. The Angel story features the Cat's Claw, a villainess who calls to mind the Pulp Heroine Miss Fury. Ka-Zar's last solo story is of note as he takes on the Nazis and drives them out of Africa.
The Terry Vance stories are light juvenile detective tales that could have stood a bit more development. The only truly unenjoyable story is Electro, the Robot whose stories are tedious to read. Thankfully, he's not included in the final issue.
The text stories in this book are noteworthy as they're about the heroes of the comic books. Thus we get stories about Terry Vance, the Angel, and the Human Torch, which is nicer than the generics included in many golden age Comic books.
Overall, there are already some slight declines in comic book quality already visible in this book, but each strip (except Electro) is enjoyable in its own right, the text stories are interesting, and the story of the Submariner-Human Torch team up make this a must-read.
April 28, 2025
I'm pretty sure reading these from the 40s is going to make me a worse person at the end.
July 5, 2023
Part of a Vision story was missing on my kindle version
June 24, 2024
This is the cream of the Timely Comics crop. All of the greats are helming their original creations since they haven't been drafted by Uncle Sam to serve in World War II yet. The Nazis are recurring antagonists across the strips, which is interesting considering that all of these issues were published well before we entered World War II. Every 64-page issue was divided up among the following strips:
The Angel by Paul Gustavson- The Angel is the pulp hero throwback of the title, and has the best continuity out of all of the strips in the title. This feels like an old movie serial cliffhanger, with each issue ending with a seeming disaster that our hero could not possibly survive. The Angel is arguably the most violent of the characters here, engaging in rough and tumble fisticuffs at the drop of a hat.
The Vision by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby- The concept is pure cheese, but what delicious cheese it is! The Vision enters our dimension through smoke? And decides to fight evil?? No further explanation is ever given, and honestly, none is needed. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby are great, and this bursts with all of the energy that you would expect from the pair.
The Sub-Mariner by Bill Everett- The cream of the Timely crop, Everett's Prince Namor is a hot headed, egotistical prick...a characteristic that is employed to this day. Everett's artwork is a joy, and I am looking forward to the upcoming Bill Everett Archives from Fantagraphics Books.
The Human Torch by Carl Burgos- I am not as enamored with the Torch and Toro as I was once was. I own, and have read, all of the Golden Age Marvel Masterworks, so I am well versed in their exploits. Burgos is a less capable storyteller than his peers, and his artwork is often crude by comparison. I enjoy them, but like the other strips much more. The thing that grinds my nerves is that Burgos established the Torch as an android early on and then ret-conned him into being a human. I am sorry, but I have a real hard time with this.
Ka-Zar the Great by Ben Thompson- Fast paced and far out jungle fun. There is always some unkown section that the Lord of the Jungle doesn't know about, with giants and Lizard-People or whatnot. Too funny.
Electro, The Marvel of the Age by Steve Dahlman- This “Iron-Man” is a ridiculous and often tedious read. The lettering (by Dahlman?) is horrible, with huge swaths of ugly lettering obscuring the artwork, not that this is a huge problem. Dahlman has not gone down in history as one of the greats of the Golden Age for a reason. Professor Zog is becoming more combative, no longer being content with merely controlling the robot by remote. Now he uses a gun and caps criminals.
Terry Vance, the Schoolboy Sleuth by Ray Gill and Bill Oksner- A product of the time, this is an okay read. Some of these concepts could be retooled for modern comics, but not this one. It has its charms for sure.
Kudos to Marvel for preserving these issues, as they originals are too obscure and too expensive for any but the most affluent collectors to afford to read. While these Golden Age Masterworks are pricey ($64.99 MSRP), they are far cheaper than a beater reader copy of even one issue, which would be several hundred dollars. The paper, the binding, the color and linework restoration are all wonderful. Two thumbs up. I would give it more, but I only have two thumbs.
The Angel by Paul Gustavson- The Angel is the pulp hero throwback of the title, and has the best continuity out of all of the strips in the title. This feels like an old movie serial cliffhanger, with each issue ending with a seeming disaster that our hero could not possibly survive. The Angel is arguably the most violent of the characters here, engaging in rough and tumble fisticuffs at the drop of a hat.
The Vision by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby- The concept is pure cheese, but what delicious cheese it is! The Vision enters our dimension through smoke? And decides to fight evil?? No further explanation is ever given, and honestly, none is needed. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby are great, and this bursts with all of the energy that you would expect from the pair.
The Sub-Mariner by Bill Everett- The cream of the Timely crop, Everett's Prince Namor is a hot headed, egotistical prick...a characteristic that is employed to this day. Everett's artwork is a joy, and I am looking forward to the upcoming Bill Everett Archives from Fantagraphics Books.
The Human Torch by Carl Burgos- I am not as enamored with the Torch and Toro as I was once was. I own, and have read, all of the Golden Age Marvel Masterworks, so I am well versed in their exploits. Burgos is a less capable storyteller than his peers, and his artwork is often crude by comparison. I enjoy them, but like the other strips much more. The thing that grinds my nerves is that Burgos established the Torch as an android early on and then ret-conned him into being a human. I am sorry, but I have a real hard time with this.
Ka-Zar the Great by Ben Thompson- Fast paced and far out jungle fun. There is always some unkown section that the Lord of the Jungle doesn't know about, with giants and Lizard-People or whatnot. Too funny.
Electro, The Marvel of the Age by Steve Dahlman- This “Iron-Man” is a ridiculous and often tedious read. The lettering (by Dahlman?) is horrible, with huge swaths of ugly lettering obscuring the artwork, not that this is a huge problem. Dahlman has not gone down in history as one of the greats of the Golden Age for a reason. Professor Zog is becoming more combative, no longer being content with merely controlling the robot by remote. Now he uses a gun and caps criminals.
Terry Vance, the Schoolboy Sleuth by Ray Gill and Bill Oksner- A product of the time, this is an okay read. Some of these concepts could be retooled for modern comics, but not this one. It has its charms for sure.
Kudos to Marvel for preserving these issues, as they originals are too obscure and too expensive for any but the most affluent collectors to afford to read. While these Golden Age Masterworks are pricey ($64.99 MSRP), they are far cheaper than a beater reader copy of even one issue, which would be several hundred dollars. The paper, the binding, the color and linework restoration are all wonderful. Two thumbs up. I would give it more, but I only have two thumbs.
January 24, 2016
Fantastic reprint of these Golden Age of Comics issues. The first appearance of such iconic characters as the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner appear here. Great collection of rare comics. Very recommended
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews