As an 8-year-old, I wasn’t aware that the Human Torch had a famous prior history when the character was spun off to headline his own feature in 1962.
But I was all for the Torch’s solo series anyway. He was my favorite member of the Fantastic Four.
And why not? Johnny Storm could fly, he could burn things and he was a vivid, attractive red — all pluses in my book. And the Torch was intriguingly blank-faced when in his “Flame On!” form. That held the same mysterious appeal for me here as it did in DC’s Strange Adventures stories involving the Faceless Hunter from Saturn.
I certainly was happier to see Strange Tales 101 (Oct. 1962) showcasing the Torch than, say, the garrulous Mr. Fantastic, whose stretching power seemed to offer fewer possibilities for wish fulfillment.
The Invisible Girl? Even the FF comic itself was constantly apologizing for her ineffectuality.
The Thing was a more likely candidate, but then he already had his own spinoff title, in a way. For what was The Incredible Hulk, then in his third issue, but a reworking of the tragic super-strong man-monster theme pioneered by Ben Grimm?
My comic book reading tastes in July 1962 — the month this issue hit the stands — foreshadowed something for the industry. That month, I recall that I bought not just Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk and Strange Tales, but also Journey Into Mystery 84 (featuring Thor), Tales to Astonish 36 (featuring Ant-Man) and even a Marvel monster title, the first Strange Tales Annual.
The Human Torch feature made Strange Tales Marvel’s sixth superhero title, and the second to star a teenager. Johnny Storm was handsome, popular, well-off and celebrated, a “winner.” But Marvel’s other teenage superhero, who’d debuted in the dying title Amazing Fantasy only the month before, would be poor, unlucky and infamous, a “loser.” And that dramatic recipe would result in an iconic character who would leave his mark on American popular culture.
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| Marvel comics on sale in July 1962 |
Jim Romango wrote, "As I 'mature' each character has their moment in the sun. Adolescent me definitely related to young Johnny Storm and the power to 'burn and purge' my enemies or people that made me eat vegetables. Reed's intellectual abilities were fascinating when I was hoping women preferred soft, rubbery, but deeply intellectual males. As I became aware of various social causes I had to support Sue and the feminist movement for a few issues. My current wish is to brute-force my way through life so I'm identifying with the rock-skin guy for the next few years at least. There is an FF member for every season of life."
ReplyDeleteAllen Ulrich wrote, "I liked Johnny, and always loved his powers, but he was never written as a mature adult, so it was no surprise his relationships failed -they never matured either.
ReplyDelete"I always felt Johnny got billing in Strange Tales, because Marvel was watching what DC was doing -especially in bringing back the Golden Age characters as all new characters (Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, etc.)
"The GA Torch was a popular character in the 40s and 50s, so it made sense to feature the all new/all different Torch hoping to capture the interest of the past with a deeper character of the Silver Age...
"But Johnny wasn’t put in as interesting a world as Peter Parker, and like Hank Pym over in Tales To Astonish, Johnny’s Rogue Gallery was pretty lame -especially when compared to what he faced with the FF (even though both the Wizard and Paste Pot Pete/The Trapster both appeared in ST first).
"I think the FF’s popularity allowed the Torch to stick around in the book longer than he should have."
Paul Zuckerman wrote: Why wasn't the Human Torch as successful in the 60s as a solo character as he was in the 40s? I've often wondered about that. I think, perhaps, that a large part was the persona of Johnny Storm.
ReplyDeleteIn the 40s, personality was not really much a part of Timely's characters, at least from what I could see. Yes, Sub-Mariner was perhaps the exception to that at first but he was quickly tamed. The Torch, of course, was an android, but I don't believe that came up much either. When Feiffer reprinted a Torch story in his Great Comic Book Heroes, there was no inkling at all in the story that Torch was anything but human.
That story also showed how visceral and visual the character was in the beginning. Unrestricted by a comics code, The Torch sent a few bad guys up in blazes. I haven't read too many of the 40s Torch stories, but there was often an unrestrained quality in Timely Comics though I imagine that eventually he had to tame his flame. A tamed Torch was perhaps not as exciting.
But, I think the main reason was the character. There may not have been much character development in the 40s, but the Torch was the main hero in his stories (with Toro his helper.) He didn't answer to anyone.
Johnny, on the other hand, was just a teen-ager and, unlike Peter Parker, always being held back by Reed and Sue. He could never really develop his own interesting back story. His solo feature was mostly second-tier though there was the Captain America "try-out". The trials and tribulations of Johnny Storm was mostly not interesting at a time when Marvel was starting to push personality and personal conflict. The Torch had little of the latter and he was just a brash kid for the former. After a while, he began teaming up with the Thing and the stories were amusing but mostly non-substantial.
In his main title, the FF, there was little that was done with him. He met Wyatt Wingfoot and then later Crystal but his college career was quickly aborted and Wyatt was soon gone-he was split from Crystal and mostly just became one of the gang.
Nor was there much connection to the original Torch. Unlike Cap and Subby, who could draw on their long histories, the Torch was disconnected from his predecessor, who appeared once in the Silver Age and then apparently died.
Ever since, Marvel really hasn't been able to make Johnny a solo character and the attempts to do the same with the original Torch, Jim Hammond, has been interesting but not the stuff to make the Torch a star again.
Joseph Lenius wrote: From a personal viewpoint, even though I bought them, I was never much into the Torch's solo adventures in Strange Tales. It was a bit more interesting when Ben was added to the mix, with the humorous interaction between him and Johnny. But it was far from a must-buy -- as Paul implies above. Coincidentally, what Paul also mentions -- the interactions with Crystal and Wyatt -- are about the ONLY times I found Johnny/Torch interesting! But Wyatt was phased out quickly, and eventually Crystal too.
ReplyDeleteMichael Fraley wrote: It always annoyed me that the original Torch could never be allowed to shine again in the same way that Captain Marvel always stood in the shadow of Superman over at DC. In the end, the only reason Cap seemed to exist was to go crazy so he could fight Superman. In the same way, the original Torch lives in the shadow of an arguably less interesting character.
ReplyDeleteC Lue Disharoon wrote: Love what you said about the ads...covers, too (often prominent in house ads). The story you tried to make, from those few clues, is a powerful part of most fans' memories. Not all of us got to bring everything home...and back issues opened many mysteries, too.
ReplyDeleteEllis Rose wrote:
ReplyDeleteAs an even younger boy than you, I had some of the same reactions. I knew very well that the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) and Spiderman were teenagers as opposed to matured adults. And I thought it was an interesting angle. I couldn't explain why, but that was part of my fascination.
I too did not realize yet that the Human Torch had a WWII/Golden Age predecessor. Yet, we were given clues, weren't we? After their experimental space flight which exposed them to cosmic radiation, didn't Johnny Storm say aloud that he was becoming like a character he read about in the comic books? Or was that my imagination? And when he found Namor, the Submariner, in a Bowery soup kitchen, he recognized his face, although I don't think he clearly stated how he recognized Namor or from where. I remember as a little boy being frustrated with that loose end of the story and realizing that no one would be able to answer my question(s).
Mark Staff Brandl wrote"
ReplyDeleteI bought a bunch of those solo Torch comics. I loved his powers and look. Even then, though, I found them uneven, unclear as to connection to the FF — and with no real clear characterization of Johnny.
I replied:
All true. It was a frustrating feature, and my interest went to zero when Kirby stopped drawing it.
Bob Doncaster wrote:
ReplyDeleteI always enjoyed the good natured bickering between the Torch and the Thing. Sibling rivalry of the group
I replied:
Somebody pointed out the literal nuclear family configuration of the FF: Reed, Sue, Johnny, Ben — daddy, mommy, teenager and baby throwing tantrums.
Victor Rodgers wrote:
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, I thought the golden age Human Torch was connected to the Fantastic Four.
Bill Scott wrote:
ReplyDeleteI've always thought that the argument that the X-Men is a swipe of the Doom Patrol to be flawed because Marvel couldn't have known that the Doom Patrol was a success before X-Men was launched. However the Doom Patrol is very likely a swipe of the FF - super-strong, angry anti-hero trapped in a body he doesn't want (Thing/ Robotman), flying hero with energy based powers (Human Torch/Negative Man), hero with stretching powers (Mr Fantastic/Elasti-Girl), the leader and brains of the team (Reed Richards/Dr Niles Calder) and the female love interest of the team (Invisible Girl/Elasti-Girl). Doom Patrol just shuffles the Fantastic Four pack!
Charles W. Fouquette wrote:
ReplyDeleteI could identify more with Peter Parker than Johnny Storm. The shy, bookish boy was the main readership of these adventures.
Edward Bebee wrote:
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine now how much of a sea change Peter Parker was as a secret identity for a superhero.
A disproportionate number of heroes before him were independently weathly so they didn't need outside jobs and could afford crazy gadgets and crime-fighting cars.
The exceptions were those whose jobs somehow tied into being a hero -- cops, government agents, or crime reporters.
A kid in a lower middle class home hit the nail on the head re: getting the reader to identify. Only a great idea in hindsight.
I replied:
The uncertainty of Peter Parker's life, in and out of costume, came through strongly, and was a solid reader hook.
Gary Getchell wrote:
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this, good observations and I liked the comparison.
Ron Thomas wrote:
ReplyDeleteAll of which makes the early rivalry between Spidey and the Torch make sense and then, as they matured, it became ribbing each other, before they became actual pals.