Peerless Power of Comics!

Continuing my look back at a very early fanzine, Hero , the fourth installment focuses on another Point of View article, with commentary by fans Bob Butts, Buddy Saunders and Al Kuhfeld. Rick Weingroff supplies the questions to the trio, which focuses on the newly christened Marvel Comics Group and their superhero features.   A little background: publisher Martin Goodman's superhero revival was less than two years old when Hero # 2 was mailed out to fans in May of 1963. Lee and Kirby's Fantastic Four started the ball rolling and was one of their best sellers. The FF was soon followed by The Incredible Hulk (which failed to achieve adequate sales and only ran six issues), "The Mighty Thor" (in Journey into Mystery ); "The Astonishing Ant-Man" (in Tales to Astonish ); "The Human Torch" (in Strange Tales ), "The Invincible Iron-Man" (in Tales of Suspense ) and The Amazing Spider-Man . With six super-heroes either starring in their own comi

Hero # 2, Spring 1963 (my issue is post-dated May 25th) had a circulation of 150 copies. Buddy Saunders cover art.   In my previous two posts I examined  Hero # 1, focusing on a few choice articles from that obscure fanzine. The second issue continues to investigate Marvel Comics' early superhero line-up as it was slowly finding its way; stumbling in places, but developing from month to month. Richard Weingroff, a knowledgeable fan, once again leads off the issue with his observations on that fascinating period.  Let's look back to a distant, and - for many of us of a certain age - dreamlike moment in time, when wide-eyed kids gazed in anticipation at the wire-bound comics waiting to be placed on sale by their local newsdealer. Alongside long-running favorites such as Action Comics, Jughead  and Uncle Scrooge  they   stumbled upon a few unusual surprises, including  Tales of Suspense # 39 and The Amazing Spider-Man # 1.                   Weingroff's article focuses primar