#8

Synopsis

Gang leader "Scar" Tobin is visited by counterfeiter Wilhelm Van Vile, a painter notorious for his carelessness. Van Vile demonstrates his new talent, the ability to make paintings magically come to life and follow his telepathic commands. Van Vile tells Tobin's gang how he found the paints, left behind by aliens in an underground cavern. He intends to create an army of criminals and defeating The Human Torch will be a good test-case. Despite sending painting-images of Reed, Sue and Ben to kill him Johnny triumphs, destroys the alien paints and rounds up the gang.

Notes

Reprinted from

• Strange Tales #108
• Marvel Super-Heroes #16

Reprinted in

• The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales - The Complete Collection #[nn]

Credits

Script

Marv Wolfman, Robert Bernstein, Hank Chapman

Plot

Stan Lee

Pencils

Ron Wilson, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers

Inks

Frank Giacoia, John Tartaglione, Dick Ayers, Ernie Bache

Letters

Danny Crespi, Terry Szenics, Dick Ayers

Editor

Marv Wolfman

Original editor

Stan Lee

Characters

• Human Torch
• Invisible Girl
• Mister Fantastic
• Johnny Storm
• Ben Grimm
• Reed Richards
• The Thing
• Susan Storm Richards
• Wizard
• Bentley Wittman
• Zemu
• Jim Hammond
• Human Torch
• Thomas Raymond
• Toro
• The Un-Human

Other printings & variants

• British