A Marvelous Anniversary Part 1: The Human Torch

A MARVELOUS ANNIVERSARY begins now! Kicking off the week-long FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK event celebrating the 3rd anniversary of our Network and the 80th anniversary of MARVEL COMICS #1. We’re celebrating by honoring the earliest FIRE & WATER duo — The Human Torch and Namor the Sub-Mariner!

As we’re celebrating the birthday of the whole FW network, we brought along the gang! This celebration will last 7 days, each day with a new episode by various members of the FIRE & WATER PODCAST NETWORK focusing on one of the stories in Marvel Comics #1.

Today’s episode, Shag and Rob review the first story in Marvel Comics #1, “The Human Torch” created by Carl Burgos!

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Thanks for listening! Excelsior! 

11 responses to “A Marvelous Anniversary Part 1: The Human Torch

  1. Loved the Invaders as a kid. But even then I was trying to wrap my head around why I liked Frank Robbins art. I used the phrase ‘beautifully ugly’.

    I also loved that Byrne brought him back in that WCA run. Cool to see him back. I am stunned that in that run his costume (red long johns) wasn’t updated to something more nutty.

    Lastly, you see him in the glass tube in the flashback scene of Howard Stark in the Captain America movies!

    1. Is it a flashback? I thought it was right at the beginning while Steve and Bucky are at the World’s Fair?

      In any case, Human Torch 1 is DEFINITELY in the MCU because of it, even his I.P. isn’t.

  2. Great kickoff guys. I knew about the original Human Torch from an article in Comic Collector magazine (remember that?). Before that I thought Johnny was the one and only Torch. Then I learned the original became the Vision…then they retconned that away, and man, things got Hawkman-level complicated. Even thoguh I got a ton of Invaders back issues in the late 80s, I tend to think of Marvels when I envision the character… and that easter egg in First Avenger Anj mentioned above!

    I do like the “living flame” look. It’s pretty horrifying, actually!

    Chris

  3. I know I’ve seen this story before, because I remember that weird thing about the pool with the airtight cover, but I don’t know where it was printed! The other stories don’t ring any bells. This kind of stuff is hard to read sometimes. It’s so wonderfully amateurish! I took a look at Mike’s Amazing World (all honor and glory to him) to see where this fit in context. After Superman, the other mystery men were variations on the pulp and radio heroes. This book was truly different. These are fantastic beings! I’m looking forward to the rest of the week long celebration! Happy Birthday!

  4. I recently read this comic on the Marvel Comics Unlimited app (I blame you, Shag, for my falling down that rabbit hole). I wanted to see where my Marvel fandom all started. Let me say, I’m very glad I started with 1970’s comics and not here. I may never have picked up another comic book if I had to slog through these dense stories as a child.
    Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful these stories came along and appreciate their historical significance. I’m just glad kids of the 30’s didn’t have television.

  5. I agree with both Rob and Shagg: some Golden Age stories are darned hard to get through! I’ve tried multiple Human Torch stories through MU and they’re rough. I think the Sub-Mariner stories have enough imaginative material to help me get through the wordy parts. Plus, Everett’s art is so good!

  6. These Marvel Comics #1 episodes keep giving me flashbacks to the one early episode of The Marvel Super Heroes Podcast where I went solo to cover most of this material, and it remains probably the worst single episode I’ve ever produced. Also, I’ll never not see a dude firing a squirt gun at Human Torch on that cover.

  7. Thank you for including that audio clip at the end. Brought back memories of listening to that record as a kid, and it was the first place I’d heard of the Original Torch.

    I likewise just can’t get through most comics of this era. It’s so bad, sometimes I let myself skim the text and just look at the pictures. But picky me feels guilty about that. But oh, so very words!

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