Tales of Suspense #60, December 1964 [published 8 Sept 64]  Yeah! I bought this one off the racks!

Based on the way the cover is formatted, I will review Captain America first. Man! These issues of Tales of Suspense (the covers) look so much more bizarre/askew that contemporary covers from Tales to Astonish.

Capt. America: “The Army of Assassins Strikes!” - 10pp - Script: Stan Lee; Art: Jack Kirby; Inking: Chic Stone; Lettering: Art Simek

“Captain America will be waiting!”

The splash page is just classic Kirby/Stone. I love it.

Where this story differs from the last one is it is part of the Masters of Evil storyline that (for me) begins with JiM93 and will end with .

It takes the second time the Assassins mention Zemo by name before Cap overhears them. Gotta clean out that earwax, Steve.

Again, I know to some this is a generic battle, but for me it’s also classic/archetypal Captain America. Maybe ToS60-63 is just what I think of when I think of a Captain America story. Yes, it is a big brawl, but I think it is intended to showcase Cap’s abilities and get him (and us) ready for further adventures.

I like the last page with the baiting/taunting of Baron Zemo. Cap is telling both us and Zemo that a final confrontation is not far off.

Iron Man: “Suspected of Murder!” - 13pp - Script: Stan Lee; Art: Don Heck; Inking: Dick Ayers; Lettering: Sam Rosen

Yes, this story is one page longer than the new standard. Either Don Heck wasn’t told in time, or he decided to treat us to an extra page of story.

Man! Could any splash page be more dramatic? Don Heck really nails this one. And the drama continues; this is really great!

If the extra power pods on his belt are supplying extra power to his heart – well, they don’t look fastened that securely. Isn’t there a danger a foe could knock them loose in a fight.

Happy is just too good-looking. I miss the old Happy and Pepper; their look was much more distinctive. What? Now, even Happy’s cauliflower ears have miraculously healed. He just looks too darned generic now. No, but wait, on the last page he does have his cauliflower ears back again. Has the Chameleon invaded Stark Industries again?

On page seven, panel two, Iron Man’s communication device looks just a little bit too much like some modern cell phone designs. Heck is prophetic! (Me? I just want a phone to be a phone; I don’t need anything else from it.)

Hawkeye continues to be a sucker for a pretty face. *SIGH!* I’ve been there.

Suddenly Pepper has the key to Tony Stark’s private lab! What?

An intriguing sub-plot with the Black Widow begins, and it has nothing to do with the Avengers movie!

As someone else mentioned, this story does reveal that that Natasha does have feelings for Hawkeye. To what extent, we’ll see some other time.

The Iron Man/Hawkeye fight is just the barest episode. The real story is the continuing … no longer … sub-plot. Overall I like this story, it does everything it was supposed to do.

In the lettercol it states that Iron Man has become a tin-plated Hamlet. Also, in all the lettercols I’ve read for this month, not only does Stan reveal to us what M.M.M.S. stands for, but he asks our input on what it should be/do! *SIGH!* I surely miss the old days!

Anarchy and Chaos are the natural state of the human race. Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And Chaos must always ultimately triumph.