| Tales of Suspense | |
|---|---|
 Tales of Suspense #1 (January 1959). Cover art byDon Heck | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing |
| Publication date | January 1959 – March 1968(becomesCaptain America) |
| No. of issues | 99 |
| Main character(s) | Iron Man TheWatcher Captain America |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | |
| Penciller | |
| Inker | |
| Colorist | List |
Tales of Suspense is the name of an Americancomic bookanthology series, and twoone-shot comics, all published byMarvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as ascience-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists asJack Kirby,Steve Ditko, andDon Heck, then featuredsuperheroesCaptain America andIron Man during theSilver Age of Comic Books before changing its title toCaptain America with issue #100 (cover-dated April 1968). Its sister title wasTales to Astonish. Following the launch ofMarvel Legacy in 2017,Tales of Suspense was once again resurrected at issue #100, featuring the Winter Soldier and Hawkeye in a story called "The Red Ledger".
| Year | Circulation |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 148,929 |
| 1961 | 184,735 |
| 1962 | 126,140 |
| 1963 | 188,110 |
| 1964 | 207,065 |
| 1965 | 222,060 |
| 1966 | 252,239 |
| 1967 | 257,342 |
Tales of Suspense and its sister publicationTales to Astonish were both launched with a January 1959cover date.[2] Initially published underAtlas Comics, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel,[3] it fell under the Marvel banner with issue #19 (July 1961), the first with a cover sporting the early "MC" box.[4] It contained science-fictionmystery/suspense stories written primarily by editor-in-chiefStan Lee and his brother,Larry Lieber, with artists includingJack Kirby,Steve Ditko, andDon Heck. Issue #9 (May 1960) introducedChondu the Mystic as an anthological-story character; he would be reintroduced as a supervillain in the 1970s.[5]
Issue #39 (March 1963) introduced the superheroIron Man, created by editor and plotter Lee, Lee’s brother scripter Lieber, and artists Heck and Jack Kirby.[6] He starred in generally 13-page but occasionally 18-page adventures, with the rest ofTales of Suspense devoted to the anthological science fiction and fantasy stories the comic normally ran.
After debuting with bulky gray armor, Iron Man was redesigned with similar but golden armor in his second story (issue #40, April 1963). The first iteration of the modern, sleek red-and-golden armor appeared in #48 (Dec. 1963), drawn by Ditko (though whether he or Kirby, singly or in collaboration, designed it, is uncertain). From #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-heroDoctor Strange, Lee, Kirby and scripterRobert Bernstein, under thepseudonym "R. Berns", introduced a same-name criminal scientist andPh.D., Carl Strange. Making his sole appearance in the Iron Man story "The Stronghold of Dr. Strange" inTales of Suspense #41 (May 1963), the character gained mental powers in a freak lightning strike.[7] TheMandarin debuted in issue #50 (Feb. 1964) and would become one of Iron Man's major enemies.[8] TheBlack Widow first appeared in #52 (April 1964)[9] andHawkeye followed five issues later.[10]
The first Marvel superhero work by future company editor-in-chiefRoy Thomas was his scripting the Iron Man story "My Life for Yours" in #73 (Jan. 1966), working from a plot by editor Lee as well as a plot assist from Marvel secretary-receptionistFlo Steinberg.
From #49–58 (Jan.–Oct. 1964), one anthological story each issue acquired aframing sequence and ran as "Tales of theWatcher," narrated by the namesake cosmic witness introduced inThe Fantastic Four #13 and used as aMarvel Universe supporting character since. The final "Tales of the Watcher" story introduced veteran artistGeorge Tuska as a Marvel regular. Four years later, Tuska would become one of Iron Man's signature artists.
Beginning with issue #59 (Nov. 1964), Iron Man began sharing the now "split book" withCaptain America, who had guest-starred in the Iron Man feature the previous issue.[11]Jack Kirby, Captain America's co-creator during the 1940sGolden Age of comic books, had drawn the character as part of the superhero team theAvengers earlier that year, and was now illustrating his hero's solo adventures for the first time since 1941.[12] Issue #63 (March 1965), in which editor-scripterStan Lee retold Captain America's origin, through #71 (Nov. 1965) featured period stories set duringWorld War II, and co-starred Captain America's Golden Age sidekick,Bucky Barnes.Sharon Carter was introduced in issue #75 (March 1966) and later became a love interest for Captain America.[13] TheRed Skull, Captain America's nemesis during World War II, was revived in the present day in issue #79 (July 1966).[14]MODOK first appeared in #94 (Oct. 1967).[15]
Kirby drew all but two stories, for whichGil Kane andJohn Romita Sr. each filled-in. Several stories were finished by penciler-inkerGeorge Tuska over Kirby layouts, with one finished by Romita Sr. and another by pencilerDick Ayers and inkerJohn Tartaglione. Kirby's regular inkers on the series wereFrank Giacoia (as "Frank Ray") andJoe Sinnott, thoughDon Heck and Golden Age Captain America artistSyd Shores inked one story each.
Tales of Suspense becameCaptain America with #100 (April 1968).[16] Iron Man appeared in the one-shotIron Man and Sub-Mariner #1 (April 1968), and then debuted in his own title withIron Man #1 (May 1968).
ATales of Suspenseone-shot (Jan. 1995) which had a cover with a clear plastic overlay, featured Captain America and Iron Man in a single story written byJames Robinson and drawn byColin MacNeil.[17] Another one-shot,Tales of Suspense: Captain America and Iron Man Commemorative Edition (Feb. 2005) reprinted the previous month'sCaptain America vol. 5 #1 andIron Man vol. 4 #1.[18]
January [1959] saw the birth of two titles that would each have a place of importance in the coming age -Tales of Suspense andTales to Astonish.
{{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Jack Kirby threw himself enthusiastically into Cap's new adventures, including an action-packed series of stories that flashed back to World War II.
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