First Look Review for Strange Tales #109

Review for Strange Tales #109

This is a decent tale featuring the Human Torch but the villain is a bit weak. He’s basically just a crotchety old man who wants to be left alone until Johnny interferes and pushes him into crime. Sure, the Torch saves the day but I wonder if he also caused the problems in the first place.

Strange Tales #109

The Sorcerer and Pandora’s Box by Stan Lee, Robert Bernstein, and Jack Kirby. Published by Marvel Comics, 1963.

The Fantastic Four are headed out on a mission but since Johnny is still going to school they leave him behind. He’s not up for studying though so he heads out and finds some trouble to solve…Burning buildings and flash floods are easily taken care of but then he spots an old man chasing a bunch of teenagers off his property.

The Sorcerer as the local kids call him is pissed the teens were destroying his privacy and so he was chasing them with his dogs. Torch puts a stop to it with a wall of flame around his house and then he Torchsplains that if the old man wants freedom of movement then he has to allow it for others as well…huh? I thought the guy has a right to keep kids of his lawn but I guess Johnny follows some other laws.

In any case, this sets the Sorcerer off and he studies up and finds Pandora’s Box. This box has all the evils of the world and the person who controls it can control those evils. Once the old man opens the box, he goes on a crime spree with the helps of such evils as Hatred, Forgetfulness, Sleepiness, and Paralysis. No one can stand in his way until Johnny figures out it’s the old Sorcerer that’s causing this trouble. He heads out to the hermit’s home and the old man unleashes Disease and Flood on the Torch. But even with Foolishness and Laziness thrown in, the Sorcerer is overcome when Johnny welds the box shut as Fear is creeping out causing the old man to cower in terror the rest of his life.

On the whole I’m a bit disappointed that the Human Torch kinda set this whole crime spree in motion. He really should have let the man keep the kids off his lawn since it was his property after all. That poor decision by Johnny created this villain and as a hero he’s gotta be more careful.

You can find first looks at other issues in this title and from Marvel’s Silver Age linked in my January Reading List.

I rate this issue a C.

This comic can be found on Marvel Unlimited, Comixology or at your local comic book shop.