Jubilant Jeff's Jauntings: May 2014

WELCOME TO THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF SUPER-BLOG TEAM UP MERRY MARCHERS! My colleagues in comicdom and I are unequivocally delighted to rollickly welcome you to this installment’s special theme of…VORACIOUS VILLAINRY! And this installment of SAS will be featuring the 1^st appearance of the voracious villain known as…THE CRIMSON DYNAMO! As always, I, Jubilant Jeff V, will be your guide through the sensational silver age of marvel comics! So as Vin Scully, the immortal voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers would say, “Pull up a chair and let’s get on to this one”. You heard the man merry marchers so pull up a chair let me share with you a terrific tale of suspense, a time when a golden avenger went head to head with a crimson dynamo!

Now, this silver age sensation, Tales of Suspense #46, in all honesty, is my favorite SAS in my humble collection. I only acquired this tantalizing tale this past December put I have already read this issue three times since then and probably flipped through it just for sheer joy another two or three times! I decided to visit a local comic shop while I was visiting back home in NJ, “The Joker’s Child”. Whenever I find myself in a new shop I immediately walk in in awe, just soaking it all in and having NO IDEA where to start! So my brother and I spend about half an hour walking around the store (it was a pretty big shop, plus I’m told a slow browser and only my brother can really put up with this so he’s my go to man when it comes to new comic shop hunts!) and the way the shop was set up that on the front of every long box stack was a placard of a cover with a price sticker on it. Turns out what they were and what this system was is the placards were actual photocopies of the actual covers of each of the “special” back issues they had in stock and the comics themselves could be found locked in a corresponding drawer. I can honestly say that I have never seen this approach before or since and I have been in comic shops in NJ, PA, NY, TN, MO, MS, OH, and AL! Once I saw the placard for this issue, for Tales of Suspense #46, it was comic book love at first sight! Staring back at me was the earliest Tales of Suspense featuring Iron Man that I had ever seen in person and actually had the possibility of owning due to its manageable price tag and fair condition. I saw this cover and knew that it just HAD to be mine:

Of course, like most covers during the early silver age of marvel comics, this cover was done by none other than Jack “King” Kirby himself. When the shop owner pulled this comic out for me, and I could feel that peerless power of a Kirby cover, a feeling of absolute joy poured over me! The shop owner grabbed me a new board and a new mylar bag and that made the cover pop even more! When I got the issue home, I couldn’t even bring myself to read it right away, I just admired it for the 1^st few days and it was a glorious thing! Alrighty then merry marvel marchers, bring on the villains and the panels!!!

*Let me fill ya in here loyal one! So Stark Industries is being sabotaged by the Crimson Dynamo, a villain with the capability to control and manipulate electrical currents and fields. Definition of a "dynamo" as per the unquestionable source known as Wikipedia ;) is "an electrical generator that produces direct current. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundation upon which many other later electric-power conversion devices were based, including the electric motor, the alternating-current alternator, and the rotary converter". Here is where it gets interesting loyal ones. This issue is also the 1st appearance of one Anton Vanko, a.k.a. The Crimson Dynamo. Name sound familiar? Perhaps from the marvel cinematic universe? Of course it does because merry marvel marchers are the most well informed readers in all of comicdom!

A showdown between the Crimson Dynamo and old Shell head ensues when Vanko decides it's time to go all in and take on Iron Man head to head. Tony manages to not only outsmart Vanko, but also gain a valuable ally.

Well that's all for today marvelites, Jubilant Jeff V signing off! EXCELSIOR!

P.S. Just to make sure you guys don't miss out on the bolstered Silver Age Sensation experience in each post, remember to click on any of the text that appears gold in each post because that means that I'm linking ya to even more goodness. -Awareness lovin Jeff!

If ya want more Silver Age Sensation Splendidness, head over to Twitter and Pinterest and give me a follow! Ya can follow me on Twitter as SilverAgeSensations @JubilantJeffV or on Pinterest as Silver Age Sensations @jeffv5

To check out the other issues in this #SuperBlogTeamUp mini series, follow these links loyal ones:

The Bronze Age Babies

The Frightful Four (Are Brains Required for This Outfit?)

http://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2014/05/super-blog-team-up-frightful-four-are.html

Between The Pages

Two Villains Rule The World of Cakes: Darth Vader & Boba Fett

http://betweenthepagesblog.typepad.com/between-the-pages-blog/2014/05/two-villains-rule-the-world-of-cakes-darth-vader-and-boba-fett.html

Fantastiverse

Green Goblin: The Art of Villainy and Madness

Longbox Graveyard

Thanos: Love & Death

http://wp.me/p1yye7-2pU