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1st appearance of Iron Man (Tony Stark) w/ origin; Jack Kirby cover; Steve Ditko art; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 10 (CBI)


Tales of Suspense #39 became an instant classic collectible with the first appearance of Iron Man in 1963. "Iron Man is Born!" has playboy munitions tycoon Tony Stark jaunting off to Vietnam, only to be wounded and taken captive by the enemy — before escaping by constructing an armored battle suit. (The suit's magnetized arc reactor also slows the approach of some shrapnel inching toward Stark's heart.) This same story would become a major part of the Iron Man film that launched Marvel Studios in 2008.

At the time, there was a lot of doubt about how Iron Man would play in theaters. The character was really one of the few options left to Marvel after they'd licensed Spider-Man, the X-Men, and more heroes to other studios. (Marvel even had to buy the rights to Iron Man back from New Line Cinema.) Robert Downey Jr.'s popular portrayal would ground the massive success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now collectors are seeing renewed interest in both Iron Man and Tony Stark after the announcement that Robert Downey Jr. was returning to the MCU as Dr. Doom — in both the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
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Long considered one of the toughest Marvel first appearances to track down, this copy should be just the thing for key fans looking to complete their runs of first appearances, it is a "must own” for anyone serious about Marvel collecting in general. With it’s sharp, clean cover, bright reds and rich grays, you would be hard-pressed to find a nicer copy in this grade. With the value of this key going up and up, it’s only a matter of time before this issue becomes out of reach of the average collector




Overstreet Guide 2019 VF- (7.5) value = $11,638


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Artists Information

Steve Ditko was an American comics artist and writer best known for being the co-creator of Marvel superhero Spider-Man and creator of Doctor Strange. He also made notable contributions to the character of Iron Man, revolutionizing the character's red and yellow design.

Ditko studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. He began his professional career in 1953, working in the studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin. During this time, he began his long association with Charlton Comics, where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero Captain Atom in 1960.

During the summer of 1958, writer-editor Stan Lee invited Ditko back to Atlas. Ditko would go on to contribute a large number of stories, many considered classic, to Atlas/Marvel's Strange Tales and the newly launched Amazing Adventures, Strange Worlds, Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish, issues of which would typically open with a Kirby-drawn monster story, followed by one or two twist-ending thrillers or sci-fi tales drawn by Don Heck, Paul Reinman, or Joe Sinnott, all capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-reflective short by Ditko and Stan Lee. The first collaboration between Ditko and Lee was 2-Gun Western #4 (May 1956), which was also Ditko's only non-fantasy story.

These Lee-Ditko short stories proved so popular that Amazing Adventures was reformatted to feature such stories exclusively beginning with issue #7 (Dec. 1961), when the comic was rechristened Amazing Adult Fantasy, a name intended to reflect its more "sophisticated" nature, as likewise the new tagline "The magazine that respects your intelligence". Lee in 2009 described these "short, five-page filler strips that Steve and I did together", originally "placed in any of our comics that had a few extra pages to fill", as "odd fantasy tales that I'd dream up with O. Henry-type endings." Giving an early example of what would later be known as the "Marvel Method" of writer-artist collaboration, Lee said, "All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect."

During the 1950s, Ditko also drew for Atlas Comics, a forerunner of Marvel Comics. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel. Ditko was the artist for the first 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, co-creating much of the Spider-Man supporting characters and villains with Stan Lee. Beginning with issue #25, Ditko was also credited as the plotter. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and the "Doctor Strange" feature in Strange Tales, Ditko left Marvel for a variety of reasons, including creative differences and unpaid royalties.

Ditko continued to work for Charlton and also DC Comics, including a revamp of the long-running character the Blue Beetle and creating or co-creating the Question, the Creeper, Shade the Changing Man, and Hawk and Dove. Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers, where he created Mr. A, a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. Ditko largely declined to give interviews, saying he preferred to communicate through his work.

Ditko was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. He will be posthumously honored as a Disney Legend in 2024.

Jack Kirby is called 'The King of Comics' for a reason, during his career that spanned six decades he gave us many of the most iconic characters the medium would ever see. From his introduction of Captain America at the height of World War II it was clear he wasn't your ordinary comics artist. But it was his creative explosion at Marvel Comics in the 1960's that cemented his legacy, over a short period of time Kirby would give us The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, The Hulk, The X-Men, Thor, Ant-Man and Nick Fury just to name a few. Kirby would then go to DC and create his Fourth World, introducing Darkseid, Mister Miracle, The New Gods and a host of cosmic supporting players. Long live The King.

Eugene Jules Colan was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series. He co-created the Falcon, the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics, Carol Danvers, who would become Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel, and the supernatural vampire hunter Blade.

Don Heck was an American comics artist best known for co-creating the Marvel Comics characters Iron Man and the Wasp, and for his long run penciling The Avengers during the Silver Age.