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When Wally Wood left Marvel
Patrick Ford
8 June 2016
TALES OF SUSPENSE #72, Dec. 1965 features a story and breakdowns by
Kirby, pencils by George Tuska, and a splash page and the three
following pages inked by Wally Wood, who is not credited.
The book was released the same month as DAREDEVIL #11 which also
happens to have been the last issue of DAREDEVIL Wood worked on.
Wood inking the first four pages, and not being credited, suggests
that Wood may have returned the remaining pages as he was leaving
Marvel right about this time. Wood's last four jobs for Marvel appear
to have been inking the Iron Man story in TALES OF SUSPENSE #71 (Nov.
1965), inking AVENGERS #22 (Nov. 1965), inking TALES OF SUSPENSE #72
(Dec. 1965) and inking (although it appears Wood also wrote and
provided layouts) DAREDEVIL #11 (Dec. 1965). Books cover dated Dec'
1965 would have gone on sale in October of 1965 and were probably
created no earlier than July or August of 1965.
Kirby's block of text at the top of the splash page places Captain
America in a situation which would have been common in Kirby's home. A
WWII combat veteran telling tales of his time in the Service.
Patrick Ford: Wood inking Don Heck AVENGERS #22 (Nov.1965). Heck's
margin notes at the top of the page. Lee, or someone else, didn't like
the hand gesture of the Scarlet Witch in panel 5 and made a crude
little sketch at the top of the page to note it. The white out
indicates Wood had already inked the hand when the redraw was asked
for. If the problem had been with Heck's pencils the hand would have
just been erased and redrawn.
Patrick Ford: I've always wondered how the letterers felt constantly
being made the butt of insulting quips. And yeah, I know. MMMS: WHAT
DO YOU MEAN!!! STAN WAS THE FIRST EDITOR TO EVER CREDIT A LETTERER
(not true BTW)!!!
J David Spurlock: This was the last job Wood was working on at Marvel
when he jumped ship to launch his creations, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R.
Agents, over at Tower. He left the job half finished. Upset over the
loss of such a stellar talent, Stan omitted Wood's credit. Still,
Marval further used it in the 1966 Captain America cartoon: Season 1,
Episode 11 - "The Sleeper Shall Awake" Art by Jack Kirby, George Tuska
and WALLY WOOD!
https://www.facebook.com/TheWallaceWoodEstate/photos/a.371197699583024.73827.353968687972592/490998010936325/
J David Spurlock: As well as the TV cartoon, Marvel further profited
off the work by licensing it to View-Master on which they added a
Romita cover. Romita was Stan's go-to replacement for top artists
Wallace Wood and Steve Ditko.
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