The Classics - Tales of Suspense #71

Of all the artists who did work for Marvel during the Silver Age, few were slammed as hard or as often as Don Heck, the artist on Iron Man in this issue of Tales of Suspense (cover dated November 1965).

But this issue shows why the people who did the slamming were wrong. Heck was a solid, creative penciler who could draw just about anything well, and this issue shows him at the peak of his powers.

Granted, here he's inked by the master, Wally Wood. But while Wood often overpowered the pencils of the artist, here he seems almost restrained, adding little more than the sheen on Iron Man's armor.

That's because Heck put it all on the page. Creative layouts, powerful actions sequences, raw emotion, beautiful women - he did it all well.

Granted, in the hands of a lesser inker (no names, please), Heck's work could be a little flat - but the same could be said of more high-profile artists whose work occasionally suffered under inkers who were not as top-notch.

It's a shame we didn't see more work by Heck and Woods - but they did manage to turn out the three-issue matchup between Iron Man and the Titanium Man, and it's a great story.

The Titanium Man is a Russian (in the good ol' Communist / Cold War days) who is already a powerhouse of a man. He's outfitted with armor as powerful as Iron Man's, and challenges the Golden Avenger to an Olympics-style duel.

TM has IM on the ropes (the bad guy cheats, natch) - but then Tony Stark's friend Happy Hogan risks his life to bring a high-tech weapon to a beleagured Iron Man. Tragically, Hogan is struck down by by a cowardly attack by the bad guy.

Hogan's sacrifice inspires Iron Man to seek revenge, and that's the story that plays out here. Written by Stan Lee, it's a stirring story that had me (at the age of nine) standing and cheering.

It stands to this day as one of my all-time favorite Iron Man stories.

As if that wasn't enough, the second half of the comic was given over to a wartime adventure with Captain America and Bucky, as they fight to stop a Nazi menace.

Like the other story in the comic, it's a tale of tragedy and triumph, with powerful art by George Tuska over Jack Kirby's layouts, with Joe Sinnott inks!

All that story and talent on display, and the comic cost a mere 12 cents! Those were the days!

Grade: A