Marvel Milestone Edition: Tales of Suspense

    (Marvel, 1993-1994)
™ and ©1993 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Conceived in the midst of the Cold War, a consistent theme propagated throughout Marvel’s early super-hero comics was that the concept of Communism was inherently evil. Nowhere was this more heavily pushed than in Iron Man strips, where a constant parade of ideologically motivated Soviet and Oriental villains are lined up for a pounding from the all-American hero. Iron Man’s origin, reprinted here in complete facsimile fashion from Tales of Suspense #39, sets the tone, with Tony Stark creating his life-saving armor to escape an evil Communist guerilla fighter. Stan Lee plotted, farming the story out to Larry Lieber for dialoging, while Don Heck was responsible for the art.

It’s a story already reprinted or reworked on many occasions, so of possibly greater interest to collectors are the two backup mystery strips. Paul Reinman illustrates a story of Earth’s last humans in competent fashion, but Steve Ditko is in top form for a story of a Viking ship cursed with immortality.
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  • 39
    #39
    Nov 1994
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber  ·  A: Don Heck, Steve Ditko
    Reprints Tales of Suspense #39
    8 copies from $4.25
  • 39-2
    #39 - 2nd printing
    Nov 1994
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber  ·  A: Don Heck, Steve Ditko
    Reprints Tales of Suspense #39
    2 copies from $20.00
  • 39/A
    #39 Variation A
    Has Spider-Man in barcode box on back Cover A
    Dec 1994
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber  ·  A: Don Heck, Steve Ditko
    Reprints Tales of Suspense #39
    No copies available
  • 39/NS
    #39 Newsstand Edition
    Newsstand Edition
    Nov 1994
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber  ·  A: Don Heck, Steve Ditko
    Reprints Tales of Suspense #39
    No copies available