Set Description:
Synopsis: This is a complete set of all 61 books with a minimum grade of 9.4, which has topped the registry for 14 years. Overall, 43 of our books are 9.8s, with 16 9.6s and just two 9.4s. Only problem is those two 9.4s are probably the two most valuable issues in this set. Forty-seven books in our set are highest graded examples.
Background: Both Tales of Suspense and its sister publication, Tales to Astonish, were launched with a January 1959 cover date. The title was initially published under Atlas Comics, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel. It fell under the Marvel banner with issue #19 (July 1961), the first with a cover sporting the early "MC" box. The title contained science-fiction mystery/suspense stories written primarily by editor-in-chief Stan Lee and his brother, Larry Lieber, with artists including Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck.
In Issue #39 (March 1963), Marvel introduced the superhero Iron Man, created by editor and plotter Lee, Lee’s brother scripter Lieber, and artists Heck and Jack Kirby. Iron Man generally starred in 13-page, but occasionally 18-page, adventures, with the rest of Tales of Suspense devoted to the anthological science fiction and fantasy stories the comic normally ran.
After debuting with bulky gray armor in Issue #39, Marvel redesigned Iron Man with golden armor in Issue #40 (April 1963). Ditko drew the first iteration of the modern, sleek red-and-golden armor appeared in Issue #48 (Dec. 1963). From Issues 53-58 (May-Oct. 1964), the cover logo was "Tales of Suspense featuring The Power of Iron Man".
Two months before the debut of the sorcerer-hero Doctor Strange, Lee, Kirby and scripter Robert Bernstein, under the pseudonym "R. Berns", introduced a same-name criminal scientist and Ph.D., Carl Strange. Making his sole appearance in the Iron Man story "The Stronghold of Dr. Strange" in Tales of Suspense #41 (May 1963), the character gained mental powers in a freak lightning strike. Issue #50 (Feb. 1964) marked the debut of The Mandarin who went on to become one of Iron Man's major enemies. The Black Widow made her first Marvel appearance in Issue #52 (April 1964), while Hawkeye was introduced to the Marvel Universe in Issue #57. Both issues are considered Marvel keys.
From Issues #49–58 (Jan.–Oct. 1964), one anthological story each issue acquired a framing sequence and ran as "Tales of the Watcher," narrated by the namesake cosmic witness introduced in The Fantastic Four #13 and used as a Marvel Universe supporting character since. The final "Tales of the Watcher" story introduced veteran artist George Tuska as a Marvel regular. Four years later, Tuska would become one of Iron Man's signature artists.
Captain America made his first appearance in TOS in Issue #58 and, beginning with Issue #59 (Nov. 1964), he and Iron Man began sharing the now "split book.” Jack Kirby, Captain America's co-creator during the 1940s Golden Age of comic books, had drawn the character as part of the superhero team the Avengers earlier that year, and was now illustrating his hero's solo adventures for the first time since 1941. Issue #63 (March 1965), in which editor-scripter Stan Lee retold Captain America's origin, through Issue #71 (Nov. 1965) featured period stories set during World War II, and co-starred Captain America's Golden Age sidekick, James Buchanan Barnes aka Bucky. Sharon Carter was introduced in Issue #75 (March 1966) and later became a love interest for Captain America.
The Red Skull, Captain America's major nemesis in the World War II era, was revived in the present day in Issue #79 (July 1966). MODOK first appeared in Issue #94 (Oct. 1967).
Tales of Suspense became Captain America with #100 (April 1968), while Iron Man appeared in the one-shot Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1 (April 1968), and then debuted in his own title with Iron Man #1 (May 1968).
Our Collection: TOS was one of the titles we started collecting back in the early 2000s and we have topped the registry in this one for more than a decade. These were some of my favorite books, as even when I fantasized about being a superhero or villain as a kid, I figured that only two were really possible, Iron Man and Batman.
The highlights of our set are two single highest graded issues, Issue #68 and Issue #99, along with highest graded copies of Issue #40 (Western Penn 1/3), Issue #41 (Pacific Coast 1/2), #42 (formerly single highest graded, now 1/2), Issue #43 (1/2) and Issue #44 (1/2). We also have highest graded examples of Issue #46 (1/2), Issue #48 (Don & Maggie 1/3), and Issue #50 (Pacific Coast 1/2). In total, 47 out of 61 issues are highest graded and all but one issue is at least second highest graded. The biggest weaknesses of this set are #39 (9.4 restored), #52 (9.4) and #57 (9.6), which are probably three of the five most expensive books in this set.
It is hard to set goals for this set as many issues are exceedingly rare and difficult to find. It would not be difficult for someone to top the census by buying a very high grade #39, if one has a spare million or so sitting around for one book. But compiling a 9.6/9.8 set of these books is damn near impossible. That being said, the effort goes on and, if you have a better copy of any book registered here and would like a quick sale at a very good price, please drop us a line.
2024 Update: We did not do much with this set in 2023, upgrading just two books from 9.6 to 9.8, which proved to be expensive for such small upgrades. There also was very little movement in the census in 2023. While this one remains far from our best set when viewed relative to the census, it does contain numerous early 9.8s, which are one of just two or three highest in the census. Ideally, we would like to upgrade our two 9.4s in this set, Issues #39 and #52, to unrestored 9.6s, but for now the cost of doing so remains beyond our means.
2026 Update: We did not add any upgrades to this set recently, but did unfortunately lose our last two single highest graded books in this set, which were in each case tied by a second copy. So overall, it was not a great year as far as this set is concerned. Still, it tops the registry by a wide margin, so things could be worse.
Current Stats:
61/61 Books
43 9.8s-42 Highest Graded
16 9.6s-5 Highest Graded
2 9.4s
31 WP
27 OW/W
4 OW
47 Highest Graded
13 Second Highest Graded
1 Third Highest Graded
15 Pedigrees
|
|
|
| The gallery tab shows only items with images. Click the thumbnails to enlarge. |
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 39 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 39 Apparent MP |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1056551002
|
Owner Comments
TOS #39 initiates the Iron Man run in Tales of Suspense. As a Marvel key, it has always been very expensive. We bought the pictured 9.4 in a CL auction back on 10/29/2011. Our book has undergone a moderate professional restoration, which borought the purchase price down to below $10,000.
We also had a copy of this book that we purchased on E-Bay when I first started collecting again. It was advertised as being a 9.8, but ungraded. I shelled out about $8,000 for the book in a competitive auction. It really looked great and became the first raw book I ever submitted to CGC at their booth at Dragon Con in Atlanta. I remember how devastated I was when I got the book back and it was only an 8.5. I subsequently sold it and was able to recoup my money. In hindsight, I should have just kept it, as CGC 8.5s make more than $8,000 these days.
It seems nowadays that you rarely see supposedly super high grade copies of key issues offered for sale in the raw. As one of my early mentors in the hobby told me, there is a lot more money to be made if the book is graded, why would they sell it as ungraded unless they are inflating the grade? During the early 2000s, I bought a number of ungraded books, paying in some instances several hundred to even over a thousand dollars. They were usually graded by the seller. I did submit some for grading, about half were restored, none came back as high as they had been graded by the seller. I quit buying raw books except as readers many years ago, but I still appreciate the looks of sharp books in a Mylar sleeve, rather than plastic encasements.
Through the years, I have been offered high grade unrestored copies of this issue many times. But they are always very expensive and I prefer to concentrate on completing runs rather than just key issues, which definitely makes me a dinosaur in this hobby. The real appreciation I have seen has been in the keys and continues that way. It has certainly been the way to go as an investor, but I have always just been a collector. In other words, I am not the sharpest tool in the shed LOL.
2024 Update: The single highest graded copy of this issue came to Auction on Heritage in April 2024 and sold for $800,000. A couple of things are noteworthy about that one. First, per CL, they negotiated a private sale of that same book sometime earlier for $2 million, so the owner must have taken a $1.2 million loss plus commission. Secondly, I understand the buyer was actually the owner of Heritage. I am not sure what his plans are for the book, but if I had had the liquidity to do it, I would have been a buyer at that price too.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 40 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 40 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0096243002
|
Owner Comments
Issue #40 features the second appearance of Iron Man, the first in his short-lived all gold armour. Our WP 9.6 comes from heralded Western Penn Collection. Surfacing in the '90s, much of this collection's history is shrouded in mystery. We know that both a father and his son accumulated the collection from the '60s to '80s, and there was allegedly a cache of Golden Age comics as well that may have been sold earlier (to date only a handful of Tarzans prior to 1961 have been CGC graded). Stuart Friedlander brought the collection to market, and several Silver Age publishers were represented, although Marvel was the predominant company. Known for very high grades and exceptional page quality starting in 1961, the Western Penn copies have been well documented, but do not exhibit any identifying marks.
Our book is also part of the Doug Schmell Collection, which was auctioned off by Heritage in July 2012. We acquired it off the CL Exchange in a package deal with the TOS #41 9.8 on 2/25/2015. It was at the time and still is one of three highest graded in the census.
One note about the story itself, why did Tony change his armor? Well, naturally, it was to impress a girl: Don’t we guys do everything for that reason? While taking his then girlfriend, Marion, on a date to the circus, several big cats break loose and start terrorizing the crowd. Tony steals away into a private corner and changes into his Iron Man armor. Iron Man’s hulking, gray, armored figure saunters into the big top arena, corrals the cats into a group and shocks them into submission. Iron Man then quickly changes back into Tony Stark and returns to Marion, who tells him that Iron Man would be much less terrifying looking if he didn’t wear such dull, gray armor. She suggests he would look more like a "knight in shining armor" if he wore gold armor, which inspired Tony to change the color of Iron Man's armor from gray to shiny gold.
And the secrets of Gargantus? Surprise, Surprise, he was a robot. DC used robots as villains repeatedly during the 50s and Marvel proved once again that there was nothing one publisher couldn’t use that the other couldn’t copy LOL. Reminds me of the lyric from that old show song from Annie Get Your Gun: “Anything you can do I can do better”.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 41 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 41 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1024024005
|
Owner Comments
9.8 WP and Pacific Coast pedigree, what else could anyone want in a book? Considered the greatest Silver Age collection to ever surface, the Pacific Coast collection was brought to market by Robert Roter after he discovered portions of it for sale on eBay in 1999. The books were marketed through PCE over the next several years and contained over 7,000 comics and magazines that included Marvel, DC, and Gold Key among others, covering a time span between 1961 and 1977. Many of the highest graded Marvel and DC issues from the early '60s hail from this collection with exceptional page quality. The books do not exhibit any distinguishing markings.
Our book is also one of two highest graded in the census as of 5/2020. Plus, the book was part of the Doug Schmell Collection, which was auctioned off by Heritage in July 2012. We acquired it off the CL Exchange in a package deal with the TOS #40 9.6 on 2/25/2015. These two books are the centerpiece of this set.
A note about this story itself, as you can see on the cover, the story is entitled “In the Stronghold of Doctor Strange”. The Doctor Strange in the story was Carlo Strange an escaped convict who had no relationship to Doctor Stephen Strange. But obviously, Marvel, or Stan Lee at least, was intrigued by the name, as they used it again just two months later when they created Doctor Stephen Strange in Strange Tales #110. Strange facts indeed LOL.
2023 Update: Unfortunately, there are now three 9.8s in the census.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 42 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 42 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2065097006
|
Owner Comments
Iron Man and Thor seemed to both fight the Reds a lot in their early issues. Iron Man battles the Red Barbarian in this gorgeous 9.8, which is the single highest graded copy of this issue.*
2021 Update: Sometimes comic collecting is a very frustrating hobby, as this book held the distinction of being single highest graded copy for just weeks. As of this writing, it is now highest graded 1/2. Once again, when it comes to buying single highest graded books, paying a premium is a risky venture. One is much better off financially being the buyer of the second book in any top grade.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 43 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 43 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1039352010
|
Owner Comments
Issue #43 features the first appearance of Kala, Queen of, the Netherworld. Kala was the youthful beautiful ruler of a Netherworld, a great underground kingdom. Before the continent of Atlantis sank about 20,000 years ago, its civilization had reached great technological heights. The priests and intellectuals of the city of Netheria in the southern part of the Atlantean continent foresaw that Atlantis would be attacked by the Deviant Empire based in Lemuria. Therefore, the people of Netheria enclosed their city in a dome of an unknown plastic like substance and excavated and fortified their city's foundations. Consequently, when Atlantis sank, Netheria remained intact, and its people survived, having discovered a means a recycling their air supply.
Netheria sank more deeply over the years until it finally came to rest in a huge sub-sea cavern. The Netherians renamed their realm the Netherworld, and were thereafter known as Netherworlders. They remained unnoticed by the surface world until Tony Stark found himself enveloped within a strange, crystal-like substance which sank into the Earth, taking him with it. The large crystal transported him to the Netherworld, whose people had been monitoring the events in the surface world for centuries with their technological devices.
Queen Kala intended to use her armies and highly advanced weaponry to conquer the surface world, but had no means of transporting all of her invasion forces and weaponry to the surface. She demanded that Stark create such a means, or else she would execute him, and two other hostages, and claimed she would activate devices that would devastate the surface world with earthquakes. Stark agreed, but actually used the laboratory facilities that Kala assigned him to create a duplicate of his Iron Man armor. Once inside the armor, Stark captured Kala and flew her to Earth's surface. There, as Stark had theorized Kala quickly aged into an elderly woman due to the difference in atmospheric conditions between Earth's surface and the Netherworld. Realizing that the Netherworlders could not live on the surface without becoming old and weak, Kala renounced her plans of conquest. Iron Man returned her to the Netherworld, where she regained her youth through unknown means.
Our 9.6 was given that graded by CGC on 06/22/2011 and is one of only two 9.6s in existence, with none higher. It marks the fourth of five issues in a row (#40-#44) where we have a highest graded copy where there are only two or three examples topping the census.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 44 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 44 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1998439003
|
Owner Comments
Both Marvel and DC managed to work Ancient Egypt into their Super-Hero sagas. In the 6th appearance of Iron Man in TOS, he encounters the Mad Pharoah. The story is kind of all over the place, Iron Man travels to Egypt to assist in an archaeological dig where they find the mummy of the Mad Pharoah, who turns out to still be alive. The Mad Pharoah blackmails Tony and travel back with the Chariot of Time to ancient Egypt where Iron Man kills the Mad Pharoah, defeats the Romans and romances Cleopatra, who asks him to rule with here. But not even Cleopatra can convince Tony Stark to settle down LOL.
Our 9.8 is probably the fourth copy of this book we have owned, going from a 9.0 to a 9.4, to a 9.6 and finally to this book, which is one of two highest graded. We acquired the book in a ComicConnect auction on 12/21/2018.
Our run between #40-44 is really special and one of the highlights of our entire collection. All five books are highest graded, and 4 of the five are 1/2 highest graded with the fifth a WP pedigree 1/3.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 45 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 45 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1968796002
|
Owner Comments
Iron Man battles Jack Frost, Gregor Shapanka, in this seventh installment of Iron Man in TOS. Gregor Shapanka is a Hungarian scientist obsessed with immortality, and decides that the study of cryonics is the first step towards his goal. Shapanka takes a job at Stark Industries to fund his research and attempts to steal directly from Tony Stark. After being caught and fired by Tony Stark for trying to steal from Tony Stark's secret vault, Gregor creates a suit containing cold-generating devices and is dubbed by the newspapers as "Jack Frost." He attempts to raid Stark Industries where he captures Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, but is defeated by Iron Man. Shapanka later escapes from prison and reappears as Blizzard.
Stan Lee earlier created another Jack Frost who was a hero in the Golden Age. His powers are not dissimilar to another later Stan Lee creation, Iceman of the X-Men. In fact, TOS #45 actually hit the newstands the same month as X-Men #1. And then there are DC’s characters Captain Cold who fought the Flash and Mister Freeze who battled Batman. Both of those villains made their first appearances in the 50s in Showcases #8 and Batman #121, respectively. I am not sure in this case you could say who copied who, since while the DC SA characters preceded Jack Frost and Iceman, but Stan Lee had been there before in the GA.
Perhaps the most notable thing about this issue is the first appearance of Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, two stalwarts of the Iron Man and Avengers movies, played cinematically by Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Favreau.
We long struggled to find a high grade example of this comic. We were finally able to acquire this book in the 2/21/2019 Heritage auction. It is the sole 9.6 in the census as of 5/2020, bested only by the PC 9.8, which was sold in the Doug Schmell Collection.
2023 Update: Bad news again, there are now two 9.6s of this issue in the census.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 46 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 46 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1031190005
|
Owner Comments
Issue #46 features the first appearance of the Crimson Dynamo, Professor Anton Vanko. Vanko was born in Armenia and went on to becoming one of Russia's top inventors, and supposedly the world's greatest expert in electricity. One of his inventions was an armor that could control electromagnetism. With its red covering, he named it the Crimson Dynamo. After a demonstration in which he used the armor to destroy a dummy robot modeled after Iron Man and controlled a tank, he was sent to the United States to sabotage Stark Industries, the main supplier of armament technology for the American government.
The Crimson Dynamo stealthily sabotaged numerous of Stark Industries' facilities, but he wasn't satisfied, as he wanted to defeat Iron Man in combat. During a final assault, Iron Man encountered the Crimson Dynamo, who revealed himself as the person behind the attacks. Vanko tried to electrocute Iron Man, but the armor proved to be more resistant and agile than Vanko expected. Iron Man moved the fight to a forest nearby, where he chopped numerous trees to trap Crimson Dynamo, whose suit didn't have the ability to go airborne. Iron Man then grabbed his enemy and brought him to Flushing Bay, threatening to drop him to the waters which could damage his suit and potentially kill him, forcing Vanko to surrender.
Iron Man tricked Professor Vanko into defecting after recording a false message he pretended to intercept from his superiors that stated Vanko would be killed as soon as he returned (unbeknown to Stark, Vanko's superiors did plan to kill him). He immediately started working for Stark Industries, and tried to atone for his crimes. One of Vanko's experiments for Stark Industries was a powerful ray gun, which still couldn't have been made safe for use. Two Russian agents, Boris Turgenov and the Black Widow, were sent to kill him for his betrayal. While he was working on his lab, Vanko was neutralized and taken prisoner in a submarine by Turgenov, who proceeded to steal his Crimson Dynamo armor and began using it to sabotage Stark Industries.
Our 9.8 copy of Issue #46 is one of the two highest graded in the census as of 10/2020. We acquired the book from the 10/23/2012 Pedigree Comics Auction.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 47 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 47 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1197716026
|
Owner Comments
Issue #47 features the origin and first appearance of, the Melter, Bruno Horgan. Bruno Horgan was an American industrialist who specialized in the development of weaponry for the US government. He was driven into bankruptcy when a government safety inspection team proved that he was using inferior materials. His defense contracts were later awarded to his foremost competitor, Tony Stark. He later designed the Melting Ray a weapon that could melt any material.He went on to be a founding member of the Masters of Evil.
Issue #47 is a strange book, as while a 1963 9.8, it is not even tied for highest graded, as there is a 9.9 in the census, which is really unheard of with this early a book. Our book was tied with one other 9.8 in the census and still is, there is just this unseen 9.9 on top of both of them.
We acquired our 9.8 from the 2/11/2014 Pedigree Comics Auction.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 48 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 48 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1198173012
|
Owner Comments
Issue #48 is a mini-key, as it introduces the new sleeker Iron Man. This book also marks the first appearance of Mister Doll, Nathan Dolly. While the cover touts him as being a truly different Super-Villain, he seems an awful lot like the Puppet Master from FF #8 to me.
In the story, Pepper Potts delivers the news to Anthony Stark that one of his business associates, steel tycoon Charleton Carter, has backed out of a deal. Stark doesn’t understand why Carter has done this and goes to Carter's estate to investigate. Once there, he spots a suspicious man dressed in a strange costume slinking around in the shadows and dons his Iron Man armor. Once inside the mansion, he sees Carter on the floor, cowering in fear, with the strangely garbed fellow standing over him. Carter tells the man to let him go, that he has complied with his demands and had cut off his business with Tony Stark, but the strange man continues to poke at a doll he holds in his hands, causing Carter to writhe in pain.
Iron Man enters the room and challenges the man. As Iron Man lifts him up into the air, the self-proclaimed Mister Doll rearranges the appearance of his clay doll to resemble Iron Man, and starts slowly squeezing it. This inflicts intense, claustrophobic pain to Iron Man, causing him to spin and fall off of Carter’s balcony into the ocean. He nearly drowns before the pain subsides and he is able to crawl out of
Mister Doll then turns his attentions back to Carter, while Iron Man rushes back to his office to recharge his chest plate’s batteries. Stark passes out for several hours after barely plugging himself in to the electrical outlet in time. Later he sets about creating a new lighter set of armor that would place less of a strain on his heart.
Meanwhile, Mister Doll has been forcing more and more wealthy individuals to sign over their fortunes to him, and the police are unable to do anything, as it has all been done in the letter of the law. Mister Doll then decides to turn his attention to Tony, and begins to mold his doll in Stark's image.
Back at Stark Industries, Stark has completed construction on the components of his new red and gold Iron Man armor. As he dons the armor for the first time, he describes how it utilizes an intricate system of magnets to connect its form-fitting components to each other. As he puts on the armor’s redesigned face mask, the new Iron Man is born!
Sometime later, the police visit Stark Industries to inform Stark that Mister Doll has somehow been convincing millionaires to turn over their assets to him and they want his help set a trap so they can catch him in the act. Mister Doll appears on the scene and changes his doll to imitate Iron Man. Once again, he starts to press on the doll, causing Iron Man severe pain. He then commands Iron Man to chase out Stark's security guards. With Iron Man quivering under his control, Mister Doll explains how he stole his magical voodoo doll from a witch doctor in Africa and discovered he could use it to inflict pain in others. Mister Doll calls Iron Man a weakling and orders him to leave the room, but not to try to escape or he will cause him more pain.
Iron Man falls to the floor in severe pain and crawls into his laboratory. With the door locked behind him, he decides on a risky gambit. He will disable his chest plate, causing his heartbeat to slow down and prevent Mister Doll from being able to control his pain. With his chest plate disabled, he frantically works on a project that he hopes will allow him to defeat Mister Doll. When the project is complete, he reactivates his chest plate and sets forth to confront Mister Doll again.
As Iron Man barges into the room, Mister Doll begins to manipulate his clay doll into his image again. Iron Man uses his new transistorized ray gadget to mold the doll into the image of Mister Doll himself. The surprised Mister Doll immediately drops the doll, fearing that he might hurt himself. As the doll hits the floor, he collapses into unconsciousness and Iron Man then scoops him up and hands him over to the police.
Our 9.8 comes from the Don/Maggie Thompson Collection. The Thompsons were responsible for several publications and writings during the '60s that helped bring together comic book fandom as we know it today. Already adults when Fantastic Four #1 was released in 1961, the Thompsons carefully stored away copies of most Marvel and DC comics throughout the '60s and '70s. Don passed away in 1994, and in 2013 Maggie decided to sell the collection through Heritage, resulting in nearly $1 million in sales, thanks to the pristine condition of their comics, which included an Avengers #1 and Tales of Suspense #39 in 9.4, a Journey into Mystery #83 in 9.2 and a Hulk #1 in 8.5.
Our book is also one of three highest graded in the census. We acquired it from the November 23, 2013 Heritage Auction.
2024 Update: It was a bad census year for us with respect to TOS, as now there are four 9.8s.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 49 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 49 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0062671005
|
Owner Comments
Issue #49 is significant in that it features the first X-Men crossover. Also, the "Tales of the Watcher" stories begin in Issue #49.
In the story, Iron Man is guarding a Stark Industries facility during an atomic bomb test, when the Angel flies into the test range. Iron Man sees him and attempts to warn him of the danger, but just then, the bomb detonates. Iron Man’s armor effectively shields him from the radiation, but the Angel absorbs the full force of the explosion, corrupting his personality and turning him evil-just go with it LOL. Having recovered from the blast, Iron Man uses his new jet boots to soar into the air to check on the Angel, who flies from him. Iron Man gives chase until his jet boots give out, causing him to fall towards the Earth. While plummeting, he uses his "magnetic repeller" to create a counter-force to help break his fall. He crashes through the roof of a Stark Industries warehouse, but he is luckily uninjured.
The corrupted Angel returns to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and announces to the other X-Men that he is leaving the school and joining up with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, because "that's where the action is." The X-Men try to talk him out of this, and as matters escalate, unsuccessfully attempt to prevent him from leaving. As he flies away, Angel ignores Professor X's mental command to return.
Professor X attempts to use his top-secret communication device to contact the Avengers for help. The Hulk, Thor, Giant-Man and the Wasp cannot be reached. Only Iron Man, as Tony Stark, hears the summons. Feeling responsible for the Angel's madness, he resolves to make the young boy come back to his senses.
Meanwhile, Angel flies over New York City hoping the Evil Mutants will attempt to contact him. He steals some sticks of dynamite from a demolition site and goes on a rampage, tossing them up in the sky, in the water, and near bridges. Although this does not succeed in drawing out the Evil Mutants, it does attract the attention of Iron Man.
Iron Man pursues the Angel through the sky, eventually coming to a stalemate. Iron Man then pulls the Angel down to the ground and tries to talk some sense into him. The Angel locks Iron Man inside a building and attempts to get away, but Iron Man tears the locked door down and continues to give chase. He spots the Angel standing atop a water tower, waiting for the Evil Mutants to show up, and puts into action a daring and risky plan. He hurtles towards the Angel and tackles him, knocking him off of the water tower. Not letting go, they race towards the sky, climbing further and further upward, until finally Iron Man’s jets run out of energy, and he begins to fall. Iron Man reveals that he is gambling that the Angel is truly good and will not allow him to fall to his death. For many tense seconds, nothing happens. Then, at the last second, the Angel realizes that he doesn't want the armored Avenger to die and swoops down to grab him just before he hits ground. This serves to snap him back to reality, reversing the corruptive effects that radiation had on his mind.
Afterwards, Iron Man explains to the Angel that his personality was affected by radiation from the atomic explosion. The X-Men arrive on the scene, having observed the battle, and thank Iron Man for saving their teammate from his evil self. Iron Man subsequently flies back to Stark Industries. On his way, Professor X communicates to him, telling him he's now indebted to him.
Our 9.6 is tied for second highest graded trailing a trio of 9.8s. I had the opportunity to acquire one of those 9.8s in the auction where I got my #48 9.8 and regret that I let it slip away. If you have one and would like to make a quick profit, please get in touch. We acquired our 9.6 in the 12/12/2013 CL Auction.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 50 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 50 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0705399001
|
Owner Comments
Issue #50 is significant in that it introduced the Mandarin, played in Iron Man #3 by Ben Kingsley. The Mandarin is a warlord and criminal mastermind, who has set his sights on world domination. Born in poverty, but with an ambitious drive, the Mandarin rose to power when he stumbled into a set of Ten Rings of alien origin, which granted him extraordinary powers; a different power from each ring he wore in each of his fingers. Building a criminal empire, he reinvented himself as a nobleman, claiming to be a descendant of Genghis Khan from a cultured background. Although the Mandarin's power derives from his ten rings, he is a skilled martial artist and swordsman, as well as a tactical and learned mastermind. The Mandarin's unrivaled power caused him to come into conflict with Iron Man, who became his greatest adversary and nemesis.
In the book, Iron Man goes to China at the request of the Pentagon to investigate the Mandarin. It is kind of a strange set-up, as Iron Man is in the position of invading the Mandarin’s castle-seems like he would be fully justified under US law to kill him. The Mandarin attempts to subdue Iron Man with a paralysis ray, which is deflected by Iron Man's chest beam. The Mandarin then unleashes the wondrous powers of his ten rings. First he employs a blast of high-frequency sound waves, which Iron Man counters with sound waves of his own. The Mandarin follows up with a paralyzer ray that manages to completely immobilize Iron Man.
Iron Man finally shakes off the effects of the Mandarin's paralysis ray. The Mandarin electrifies the walls of the chamber to prevent Iron Man from escaping and moves in to engage him in hand-to-hand combat. Iron Man devises a plan requiring him to make some quick calculations on his armor's built in slide-rule, then assumes the appropriate position to ensure that when the Mandarin strikes him, it would be at the right angle to cause him immense pain. Iron Man takes the opportunity to escape, as the Mandarin lies writhing in agony on floor. He takes to the sky just in time to intercept the military jet that is scheduled to pick him up to take his newfound intelligence back to the Pentagon. Again, it seems like one of the dumber plots as Iron man invades a home in a foreign county to gather spy-type info, but it does serve to introduce the Mandarin, who will be a frequent adversary.
Our 9.8 is one of two highest ever graded by CGC and undoubtedly the nicest. It hails from the Pacific Coast Collection and was also part of the Doug Schmell Collection, which was auctioned off by Heritage in July 2012. We acquired the book from the 2/11/2014 Pedigree Comics Auction.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 51 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 51 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1097121003
|
Owner Comments
Issue #51 features the introduction of the Scarecrow, Ebenezer Laughton, a villain who reappears in futures issues. Once again, there is also a Scarecrow in the DC universe, who first appears in World’s Finest Comics #3 from 1941. Ebenezer Laughton was born in Rhinebeck, New York, as the son of a farmer, along with his brother Ralph. Raised by an abusive mother, Laughton became a circus escape artist and contortionist, and while working as a carnival performer once helped Iron Man apprehend a fleeing culprit. However, he decided to make his profit in crime and became an accomplished burglar and professional thief while dressed as a scarecrow. He mostly worked alone—except for a flock of trained crows which served as carriers and killers.
In his first appearance, the Scarecrow is surprised by Iron Man while breaking into Tony's safe. The Scarecrow's crows entangle Iron Man in a drapery. When he tears himself free, Iron Man sees the crows flying out the window. Thinking the Scarecrow has escaped, Iron Man flies out, but In truth, the Scarecrow has merely hidden himself inside the apartment. With Iron Man gone, the Scarecrow steals the plans for some of Stark's new weapon systems and escapes.
The Scarecrow then blackmails Tony for the stolen plans, but Tony hides one of his gadgets in the briefcase with the money. The Scarecrow gets the money without handing back the plans and then sails for Cuba in a small motorboat. Iron Man tracks the Scarecrow to his rendezvous with a Cuban gunboat a retrieves the plans. However he fails to stop the Scarecrow from swimming ashore on Cuba.
There are still no 9.8s of this issue. Our 9.6 is tied with five others for highest graded. We acquired it on 3/16/2014 in a CL auction.
2023 Update: This one has a strange census, as there are now nine 9.6s, but still no 9.8s.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 52 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 52 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1292485005
|
Owner Comments
Issue #52 has become a major key, since it features the first appearance of the Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, who has been played in cinema by Scarlett Johansson.
In Moscow, Khruschev orders two of his agents, the Black Widow and Boris to dispose of Vanko and Stark, and Iron Man if necessary. Upon arriving in America, Black Widow presents herself as "Madame Natasha" and Boris as her brother and teacher from Ukraine, who has allegedly travelled to America to see Stark's technology. Tony always the ladies’ man is captivated by Widow's beauty, and offers to take her to dinner while Boris explores the factory on his own. Boris waits for a guard to go on his round and enters a restricted area. Using a "special" spray, he corrodes the wall of Vanko's laboratory, and breaks in using his super-human strength, intending to kill Anton. After Vanko refuses to help sabotage Stark, Boris uses a "jet paralyzer," which incapacitates Vanko and wraps him in a sack. He leaves the factory with the sack, claiming it's a package being delivered for Professor Vanko.
Boris leaves Vanko with other agents and returns to Stark Industries. He slips back into Vanko's lab and steals the Crimson Dynamo armor and begins to destroy equipment to both slow down America's defense production, and catch Iron Man's attention. Stark is interrupted in the middle of his date with Black Widow and informed of an explosion in his plant. Returning to his factory with Black Widow, Tony enters the plant, dons his Iron Man costume, and searches for Vanko, thinking his experiments with "laser light" started the chaos.
When he enters Vanko's laboratory, Iron Man finds the Crimson Dynamo. Iron Man thinks Vanko has donned his suit to guard his laser light machine, and offers to carry it outside, but Crimson Dynamo strikes Iron Man from behind with an electrical charge that damages his suit's circuits and drains his energy, knocking him out. Under cover of the thick blanket of smoke, Boris flees from the factory with Iron Man, and brings him to a Russian submarine.
Iron Man is kept locked behind a steel door in the submarine, and Boris returns to soil to meet up with the Black Widow and finish off Tony Stark. Iron Man wakes up from his slumber, and recharges his suit using a lightbulb as a rudimentary power outlet. As soon as he tears down one of the walls holding him prisoner, he comes across the captured Vanko, and escapes with him after battering a way through the steel hull of the submarine.
When they return to the factory, Iron Man catches Boris by surprise and easily knocks him down. However, Boris recovers and strikes down Iron Man. Tony recovers and puts Vanko's ray machine out of harm's way before striking back. The Black Widow pretends to have been struck down, and calls for Iron Man's help, distracting the hero, and allowing Boris to blast Iron Man with an electric discharge. Vanko threatens shooting Boris with his laser light pistol, but the villain thinks he's bluffing. However, Vanko makes good on his threat, claiming America has been good to him, and shoots at Boris, causing the machine to explode and kill them both. Black Widow takes advantage of the confusion and escapes. Once the dust settles, Iron Man claims that Vanko sacrificed himself to prove his loyalty to America, and he shall never be forgotten.
The following day, Tony Stark is informed through a report of "Madame Natasha"'s true identity. Tony pities her, and the Black Widow is later seen on the run, lonely, abandoned, and in fear.
This issue has become incredibly expensive since Scarlett assumed the cinematic role of Black Widow. There are no 9.8s of this one, our 9.4 is tied for second highest graded, trailing four 9.6s, the last of which sold for over $60,000. I am guessing that will mark the top of the market and that we will see prices recede much as we have seen with FF #52, but who knows, they just don’t come up often.
We acquired our book from the 2/18/2016 Heritage Auction.
|
| Slot: |
Tales of Suspense 53 |
| Item: |
Tales of Suspense 53 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
3834117001
|
Owner Comments
Issue #53 features the second appearance of the Black Widow.
In the story, Natasha who is still hiding in the US arranges a date with Tony, who seemingly falls for Natasha's charm, and shows her an anti-gravity device. After a little demonstration, Natasha uses a paralysing gas on Tony, and runs away with the anti-gravity machine. Tony suits up as Iron Man and goes looking for Black Widow.
After using the anti-gravity device to steal jewelry, Black Widow calls to Moscow and asks Khrushchev if she's forgiven. Khrushchev forgives her, and sends his men to track down Black Widow's call to help her. Meanwhile in Washington, a senator is interviewed by the press regarding the theft of Stark's invention, and he states Stark's behavior was borderline criminal negligence, generating negative press about Stark's loyalty to his country.
Back in his lab, Tony gives up on trying to recreate his invention and gets back to looking for the Black Widow. The villainess attacks Stark's factories, causing objects to float and destroy the facility. Iron Man returns to his plant and repairs the damage, but the Black Widow has already targeted another facility.
Later that night, the Black Widow is surprised by the arrival of three fellow agents who had been sent to help her. One of them is eager to try Stark's invention, and uses it on a car. The floating car catches Iron Man's attention, and he picks up the car and throws it at the origin of the anti-grav ray. He easily takes care of Black Widow's fellow agents, but she uses a reverse mechanism in the anti-grav ray to pin him down while she escapes, and then raises the building and lets it fall, crushing Iron Man beneath it. In the time it takes for Iron Man to escape from the rubble, Black Widow and her agents travel to Fort Knox.
She then uses the device to lift an entire mountain, and neutralize the tanks and army forces charging at her. Iron Man arrives and slows the descent of the tanks, before moving on to Black Widow. He uses a proton electronic charge that destroys the ray's output, rendering the anti-grav device useless. With the ray out of action, the mountain begins to fall, and Black Widow takes her chance to escape, while Iron Man rescues her fellow agents that were about to be crushed.
Minutes later, Iron Man debriefs two soldiers about the fate of the anti-grav ray, and the two military men thank him for "correcting" Tony Stark's "bumbling mistakes."
Our WP 9.6 comes from the legendary Pacific Coast Collection and is tied for second highest graded trailing a single 9.8. The Pacific Coast Collection is considered to be the greatest Silver Age collection to ever surface. It was brought to market by Robert Roter after he discovered portions of it for sale on eBay in 1999. The books were marketed through PCE over the next several years and contained over 7,000 comics and magazines that included Marvel, DC, and Gold Key among others, covering a time span between 1961 and 1977. Many of the highest graded Marvel and DC issues from the early '60s hail from this collection with exceptional page quality. The books do not exhibit any distinguishing markings.
We acquired the book from the 2/25/2021 CL Auction.
|
|