Part Three
Don Heck
The Sixties Part 1
In the early Sixties with Atlas Comics now reborn as creative powerhouse Marvel Comics under the helm of Stan Lee, Don was faced with a new drawing challenge; superheroes. He wasn’t as immediately suited to drawing them as Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko, and he was more comfortable with working from a full script rather than the new Marvel Method of working up the whole issue from a synopsis, but he adapted quickly. Because he was good !
Exhibit C
Tales to Astonish 54
Great art from Don on this one. Lots of Communist shenanigans as per usual ! There seemed to be a conveyor belt of Red Menaces attached to a revolving door in those early Marvel days. Communism ! The gift that keeps on giving ! Great figurework and panel compositions, and the story flows nicely too. Great perspective on that top panel on the third page and some fine detail on the steam train. The top panel on the fourth page with the beleagured, Commie plagued Giant-Man sitting back on the train carriages is the icing on the cake !
Tales of Suspense 54
Iron Man ! Sophisticated pencil- moustached man about town ! Master inventor and a bit of a smoothie, quite frankly. In other words, perfectly suited to Don Heck’s equally smooth art style. These early adventures of Iron man are an interesting mix; a sort of spy story/foreign espionage/ Communist threat mash-up with Iron Man quipping away in the usual snappy Stan Lee style. Marvel superheroes certainly did a lot of talking to themselves in the early years, didn’t they ? Apparently it’s supposed to be a sign of genius. These are clearly very intelligent heroes. Great splash page on this issue, and Mr. Heck handles the Tony Stark scenes (love his depiction of the gadgetry here) just as well as the superhero stuff. Some first class monologuing from the Mandarin here, it has to be said.
Avengers 28
Great issue. The curiously coiffured Collector (his first appearance) has stolen the Wasp for his collection, and an enraged, love addled (we’ve all been there) Giant-Man sets out with the help of his fellow Avengers to rescue her from the Collector’s lair. The story zips along nicely with some great dialogue-the constant bickering between Hawkeye and Captain America is a treat. And the art ! Frankie Ray (Frank Giacoia’s psuedonym) inks Don’s pencils with such beautiful clarity it is a joy to behold . I first came across this story in a black and white British Marvel reprint in the 70’s and i’ve loved it ever since.
